By Josephine Agbonkhese

Vice-President, Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport International, CILT, Ibrahim Abubakar Jibril, has called on womenfolk to identify and take up careers in the logistics and transport industry to facilitate growth in the economy. The logistics and transport industry is one traditionally-male terrain which only  started to feel the vibes of womenfolk recently, leading to the formation of a women’s wing now known as Women in Logistics & Transport, WILAT,   by female members of CILT Nigeria, comprising the aviation, maritime, road, rail and logistics industries.

However, according to Jibril who spoke at a health walk organized by WILAT in commemoration of its 6th Founders’ Day anniversary in Lagos, women are still very much under-represented in the industry. “There is so much we can achieve with women. That’s why we need as many of them as we can gather to become professionals in the logistics and transport industry. That is our aim and that is what we want to achieve,” he said, while also reaffirming CILT’s support for WILAT.

Jibril disclosed that a core area of CILT’s programmes for the next few years is built around women as it concerned about improving women in the industry by moving WILAT forward. Speaking on the rationale behind the choice of a health work from Ikoyi to Lekki through the link bridge, in celebration of WILAT’s 6th anniversary, Hajia Aisha Ibrahim, Founder, WILAT, said: “We operate in very hazardous environments. We have more challenges than women who do duties in the office. Hence the need for this healthy approach to mark our day. Walking, they say, helps people stay both physically and mentally healthy.”