Nature knows no pause in progress and development, and attaches her curse on all inactions –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In this piece Chizoba Ogbeche, examines the benefits of the National Retreat On Women Development, Peace and National Transformation held recently in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State fowards the progress and development of the Nigerian woman.
Nigeria's 1st Lady, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, as have become traditional of the country's number one citizen's spouses continued the struggle towards empowering the Nigeria woman. This journey to the promised land which has been mostly championed by wives of political office holders in all the tiers of government through different programmes has faced enormous challenges but the women are not giving up.
The recently concluded 1st National Retreat on “Women Development, Peace and National Transformation on Galvanising, Empowering and Energising Women as Change Agents for National Transformation, Peace and Development,” organised by the office of the 1st Lady was no doubt one of such programmes.
The four-day retreat, an initiative of Mrs. Jonathan and organised in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, drew participants from all tiers of government, the Non Governmental and Civil Society Organisations; professional and business bodies, the academia as well as cooperative associations among others.
Dame Jonathan who is also the chairperson of the African First Ladies Peace Mission, set the agenda for the retreat by enjoining Nigerian women to be at the vanguard of peace, national unity and transformation so as to ensure the timely attainment of sustainable development and national transformation in the country.
According to the 1st Lady, meaningful development is impossible without peace, just as she argued: “Peace brings freedom, promotes harmony and creates favourable environment for local and foreign investment..”
For her, “women have a fundamental role to play in building peace, encouraging development and promoting national transformation”, hence the retreat was convened to evolve strategies and initiatives that would reposition and empower women to be more effective in conflict prevention and resolution.
The President’s wife noted that with the very existence of Nigeria being threatened by acts of terrorism, it was time for women as mothers, peace makers and bridge builders to rise up in defence of peace and unity of the country.
Dame Jonathan assured the nation that the Nigerian women are committed to one united Nigeria where equity, justice and fair play reign, stating: “May we not forget that the fabrics of our nationhood are so closely woven that we will always need one another”.
Acknowledging that the journey towards women empowerment and development has not been at the expected pace, the governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, who addressed the retreat, advocated that women should be given more opportunity to contribute to the development of the country.? He, however, blamed the non-participation of women in political activities on their apathy and called for attitudinal change.
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, on her part, described the convergence of women on Uyo as a re-union, and meeting point as well as a platform for building greater bonds of friendship, given that the retreat was billed to address breakdown of family and social values among others issues militating against the development of Nigerian women.
According to the minister, the retreat was yet another means for the women to find a common ground as one people with common purpose and destiny. She commended the President Goodluck Jonathan led administration for delivering on the promise of 35 per cent Affirmative Action for women with support from his wife, Dame Jonathan. Maina noted that what women have been striving to achieve in nearly two decades was achieved by the administration in less than a year.
The Vice President, World Bank, African Region, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili; Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Chairperson UN Women, Professor Joy Ogwu and the former Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs, Hajia Binta Masi Garba provided a background of the issue as well as guide and focus for discussion at the retreat.
The retreat which took place between February 15 and 18, 2012, saw paper presentations on wide range of topics including: Why We Must Act Now; Key Drivers For Peace and National Transformation; Achieving More Through Effective Team Orientation; Career Women And National Development; Health Is Wealth: Tips and strategies to keep you ahead.
With presentations and discussions of the issues presided over by renowned women leaders like the Vice Chancellor on University of Uyo, Professor Comfort Ekpo; Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochepe; Chairperson Senate Committtee on Women Affairs, Helen Esuene; and Dr. Asmau Abdukadir, Special Adviser to the President on Gender, the retreat noted that in spite of major advances in their social, economic and political status, Nigerian women continue to face a number of challenges which limit their access to a range of opportunities.
These challenges include high rates of? feminised poverty, unequal access to education, training, healthcare and related social services, inequality in economic structures, inequitable employment opportunities, and marginalisation within the political space as well as girl child discrimination.
Though participants who included wives of governors of Akwa Ibom, Mrs. Ekaette Akpabio, Katsina State, Dr. Fatima Shema, Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; Bayelsa State, Mrs. Rachael Dickson; Benue State, Mrs. Yemisi Suswam; Niger State, Hajia Babangida Aliyu, and Kogi State, Mrs. Wada affirmed that the present administration has recorded tremendous achievements in promoting women empowerment and increased gender parity in political leadership, they argued that the representation of women was still inadequate.
According to them, women’s representation in governance remained far lower than men’s and this parity translates into lower earnings and productivity gap for women hence denying any woman her right anywhere in Nigeria is a threat to women and a menace to our democracy.
The retreat also acknowledged that women and girls were more likely to be victims of violence, just as the maintenance of peace and security remained the collective responsibility of all, as peace begets fundamental freedoms, promotes harmony and foreign investment which in turn guarantee economic growth.
Participants called on the Federal Government to domesticate the relevant conventions on the rights of women to which Nigeria are signatory at international and regional levels.
While it is right to say that there is still many miles to make in the journey towards women empowerment, it is also not amiss to note that like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe advocates there has been no pause in progress and development in the journey implying that end could be in sight.
However, there is need to assess and reassess the journey so far so as to correct the mistakes of the past and set the road map to achieving goals with time lines which should be evaluated from time to time. It follows, therefore, that women empowerment is the only viable tool towards women development hence a win-win option.