By Olasunkanmi Akoni & Monsuru Olowoopejo

LAGOS—THE Wife of the Vice President, Dolapo Osinbajo and five governors, yesterday, harped on the importance of women in nation building, stressing that women are key agents for Nigeria to achieve her desired status globally.

The five governors were Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode; Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose; Bayelsa state Governor, Seriake Dickson; Akwa Ibom state governor, Udom Emmanuel and his Edo state counterpart, Godwin Obaseki.

They made the remarks at the opening of the National Women’s Conference, organized by the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials, COWLSO, held in Lagos.

Fayose

Declaring the conference open, Osinbajo challenged women to reflect on the past and to know where they were coming from and continue to create and transform the nation in all spheres of life.

While listing several women who had achieved greatness in Nigeria, especially, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, the wife of the Vice President urged women to emulate the virtues that made them great.

She further charged women to speak out against rape and abuse; speak for the needy and speak in defence of Nigeria’s unity.

Leading the governors in their message to women, Ambode stressed that women were constantly creative; making something out of nothing which indicated their relevance in the society.

Disclosing how his administration had increased number of female entrepreneurs, Ambode said that through Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (ETF), no fewer than 2,613 female entrepreneurs had received a cumulative sum of N2.1 billion, which represented 42 percent of the total loans disbursed.

Assuring women in Edo, Obaseki said his administration would continue to support the course of women in the area of entrepreneurship development.

Meanwhile, Fayose emphasized that life without women would be one full of crises, hinting that, if women were put at the helms of affairs of the nation, they would turn things around.

In her address, wife of the Governor of Lagos State and Chairman, Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials, COWLSO, Bolanle Ambode disclosed that the theme of the conference: She Creates, She Transforms, will focus on ingenuity of the Nigerian women in the pursuit of innovative and practical solution aimed at achieving sustainable development within her immediate sphere and community at large.

According to her, “Female gender mutilation is evil, it is evil, it is anti-social and unjustifiable. In fact, it is a crime against women. We must devote time for enlightenment and awareness, especially among uneducated mothers. We must stand together against it until the practice is totally eradicated in our country and the world.

“We must desist from and discourage child-labour, Child Abuse and fight child-trafficking with all our strength. We owe it a duty to give good parenting to our children and indeed all other children put in our care. We must give them hope and allow them see the positive side of life as a way of bringing back good morals and societal stability,” she said.