18th May, 2017
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Bolanle Ambode; Senator representing Lagos Central at the Senate, Oluremi Tinubu and other women bigwigs on Thursday called for serious attention to be paid to the education of the girl child in the country.
They spoke at a Symposium organized by the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials, COWLSO, as part of activities marking Lagos at 50, held in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
According to Ambode, women had contributed greatly to the development of Lagos, especially when they were well educated, adding that overtime, women had left their footprints in the sand of time to ensure that Lagos attained the enviable position it is presently.
She said the theme of the symposium: “The contribution of Women to the development of Lagos State in the past 50 years,” was apt as women had contributed practically in all fields to make Lagos what it is today.
Ambode, who said women had played great roles in building education infrastructure, social engineering, food security, among others in the state, stated that women in Lagos would not draw back despite the lofty achievements.
Speaking, Tinubu lamented that the nation still had large number of women without access to advanced education and that there were women desperately in need of support to lift them out of poverty and degrading relationships.
“We must intensify our advocacy work and devise a holistic strategy to equip women to become even more relevant to the progress of Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole. The challenges confronting us in the task of equipping our women for further contributions to our society include the cultural challenges, socio-economic inequalities, institutionalization of patriarchy and absence of robust and reliable support groups,” Oluremi, who was represented by Laide Osijo said.
She said she was confident that these challenges were not insurmountable if women would work together, making impact in their communities.
“In order to actualize this, we must continue to prioritise education. Sadly, no such premium is placed on the education of the women folk in Nigeria. We have to continue to advocate for the education of the girl-child and for the access of the already-schooled to advanced education,” she said.
Tinubu added that Lagos could not have been where she is today without the contribution of women, adding that they could do better.
She said “Notwithstanding the progress we have made in Lagos State, we can do better. We still have a large number of women desperately in need of support to lift them out of poverty and degrading relationships”.
Also speaking, President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Nike Akande stated that if the position of women in the society must be improved upon, there was the need to agitate for the education of the girl-child.
In her own address, the Deputy Governor, represented by the state’s Head of Service, Mrs. Olabowale Ademola, eulogized the contribution of women to the development of the state, promising that the administration would continue to take women interests as priority.
In her presentation on the topic: “The Giant Strides of Women in the Lagos State Public Service”, Mrs. Oluseyi Williams, a former Head of Service, profoundly praised the exploits of women in the state’s public service, noting that though they started a little late, they had now stabilized and taken over completely.”
Other guest speakers, Mrs. Kemi Nelson, APC South-West Women Leader, and Chief (Mrs.) Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, Leader of market women took turns to commend the contributions of women to the development of the state, socially, politically and commercially in the past fifty years.
The chairman of sessions, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, noted that the contribution of those notable women, should inspire the younger generation of women to lift the state to the next level.
In attendance were many women permanent secretaries and other notable women in the state.