Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his Nasarawa State counterpart, Mr. Abdullahi Sule, have charged women not to allow gender, religion and cultural barriers be stumbling blocks toward achieving greatness in their various chosen endeavours.
The duo spoke during the closing ceremony of the 24th National Women's Conference of Wife of the Lagos State Officials, COWLSO, held at the EKO Hotels and Suites Victoria Island, Lagos, with the theme: 'Soar Beyond Boundaries...enrich communities.'
Sule, who was represented by his Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Aisha Ibrahim, said that the convocation of the conference depicts the collective commitment to foster regional integration, and it is a way to complement the effort of Lagos State government to fast track development and improve the wellbeing of residents.
He said "in view of the challenging social and economic conditions Nigerians are currently going through, the theme of this year's conference is apt and timely.
"It is pertinent to state that women constitute significant segments of our population and perform a unique and indispensable role in ensuring the growth and development of our society.
"The reproduction, survival and continuity of the human rest solely on women who have increasingly exhibited remarkable capacity and resilient in social, economic and political transformation, agricultural production, food processing and particularly of the wellbeing of their family and the society at large.
"Regrettably, negative cultural and religious considerations have over the years affected our gender, resulting to avoidable discrimination against women which has become apparent in all spheres of social living. This situation often creates inadequate access to opportunities for women to develop their innate ability and potential in order to contribute to the economic growth and of the society.
"Similarly, women have over the years proved to be catalyst of progressive change not only within the conventional corridors of powers and governance, but across all other human endeavours."
Sule said the event would serve as impetus to allow women to be abreast of the policies and programmes of their spouses at various levels of government and provide the needed opportunities to offer constructive advice, feedback, support, contributions to facilitate good governance in the interest of the citizens.
The host, Sanwo-Olu who was visibly elated charged women to take their rightful positions in the society, be creative and more productive to provide for themselves towards growing the economy and better the lots of the families.
He said that Lagos is using the umbrella of COWLSO to train and retrain the women and continue to provide a platform for the women for their voice to be heard.
"You can feel the excitement in my voice and see it on my face. I know that you are the real reason why the governance is exciting. As women, we believe that you are in a position of leadership you cannot stay at the back, a minimum we expect you to stay is by our side, you cannot take a back seat, it is not acceptable.
"And so we are in this leadership position together and the moment you can assure yourself that you can do it, we know that that you can multitask at all time. The skills are with you there, so go out and soar beyond the boundaries and soar higher, so that when next you come for this conference, you will come with renewed hope, vigour, skills and thoughts to say that last year at COWLSO, I have improved.
"You must be able to learn a skill, have a trade there must be something that you can do differently as a woman. There must be one knowledge, innovation and idea that you must continue to birth every time and that is what conferences like this will help you to put up those thoughts and reshape your thinking capacity.
"COWLSO has over the years been the sounding board that we as a government has continued to lend our support to. Year on year, COWLSO always challenged us even in strategic development areas, we have seen them transformed schools, renovate primary health institutions, help learning the environment in our schools, built old people's homes, and pass on training development. We want to thank them for their support, these are what we in government are meant to do.
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"Learning is a lifelong process and we cannot but continue to learn, the pursuit of knowledge and skills and personal development in our view. We will continue to make sure that you are adaptable and receptive to the needs of your family, community and the society."
Wife of the Lagos State Governor and Chairman COWLSO, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, in her remarks, urged women to come into the political space and be decision making positions to further strengthen their status in the society.
Mrs. Sanwo-Olu, maintained that it is imperative for women to desist from exhibiting affluence and ensure they give back to their respective communities and ensure that the focus of COWLSO which harped on how to impact on the lives of the people remains relevant and effective in addressing the evolving needs.
According to her; "Let us carry home this lesson, embrace modesty, prioritize your needs over wants lead by example in your community, practice prudent in spending, mentor next generation, instill in your children the values of hard work, resourceful and sustainability."
