The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has reaffirmed the Nigerian Army's commitment to promoting gender inclusiveness and integration in all of its activities.
Lagbaja stated this in Abuja at the opening of a one-week Leadership and Mentoring Course for Senior Female Officers in the Nigerian Security Sector yesterday.
The course was organised by the National Defence College (NDC) Centre for Strategic Research and Studies in collaboration with the UN Women and German Government.
Lagbaja represented by the deputy chief of Training (Army), Maj.-Gen. Olusegun Abai, said that the Nigerian Army had long recognised the importance of female officers to peace dynamics.
He said that more than ever before, the inclusion of women was important to peace and initiatives such as this course, were vital stepping stones towards achieving that goal.
"The Nigerian army is an institution committed to principles of equality, professionalism, and service to the nation.
"Throughout its history, it has prided itself on adapting to the needs of the country, maintaining high standards of excellence, and reflecting the diversity of Nigeria in all its ranks.
"Over the years, we have increasingly recognised the need for gender inclusivity, not just as a moral imperative, but as a functional necessity.
"The efforts of the Nigerian army towards gender inclusivity are rooted in the understanding that true strength lies in diversity.
"It is this diversity that allows us to be adaptive, resilient and capable of tackling the real challenges that confront our nation."
Lagbaja said that the course was a remarkable initiative under the umbrella of the enhancing gender responsive security operations and community dialogue project.
He added that the event had brought to the fore the indispensable contribution that women make in the realm of security, peacebuilding, and national development.
According to him, women are key to enhancing our security institutions for personnel effectiveness and cultural awareness, with their unique strength and capabilities.
In his remarks, the Inspector -General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, represented by AIG Aishatu Abubakar, said that the Nigeria Police Force management had been intentional about mentorship.
Egbetokun said the police had over the years, implemented different reforms, especially projects that had to do with mentorship specifically for women police.
According to him, the Force has had different engagements with its stakeholders, including the UN Women, and other stakeholders.
"We know that mentorship is very important if you want to have good leadership and we have started right from our police colleges and academies to identify women and mentor them through our very experienced female officers.
"This is intentional so that we will be able to share from our experiences.
"So we need to intentionally mentor our young women so that we are able to move together to this position of leadership and sit on the decision table together," he said.
In the same vein, the Commandant General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Audi, said the course would provide participants with the skills necessary to lead as well as serve as a platform for guidance and mentoring that would be invaluable to their careers.
Audi, who was represented by Commander Charles Opera, said that employing women in leadership would ensure that the security institutions were balanced and equipped to address the complex challenges of today.
"We are preparing them to take on more strategic roles in the defence and executive of our nation," he said.
The commandant, National Defence College (NDC), Rear Adm. Olumuyiwa Olotu, in his remarks called for deliberate efforts towards eliminating barrier to women's leadership in the security sector and institutions.
He said the course represented a critical step in building the future of the security institution, enhancing leadership across all levels of command, and institutionalising and providing the highest level of professional military education.
Olotu said the focus of the course was to provide an essential requirement and supportive network for women leadership as well as mentorship within security institutions, which according to him, is a vital component of national security and development.
"We cannot afford to ignore the critical roles that women play in shaping our security forces in these modern times.
"Despite the progress made towards gender inclusivity, there are still persistent barriers that limit women from ascending to the highest levels of command and leadership.
"Thus, addressing these gaps holistically has the potential to strengthen our institutions and improve our collective capacity to meet contemporary security challenges," he said.
The commandant said the course was in alignment with the principles of the UN Security Council of 1325, which emphasises the importance of women's participation in strategic decision-making processes and peacekeeping efforts.
He encouraged all institutions to consider the possibility of entrenching and sustaining the platform by implementing sustainable practices to ensure a brighter future for everyone.
He also urged participants to engage fully not only in acquiring the knowledge shared but also in contributing to the creation of a sustainable mentoring framework that would continue to impact institutions.
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The UN Women Country Representative, Ms Beatrice Eyong, commended the college for convening the course and thanked the government of Germany for being supportive in ensuring that gender was being mainstreamed in the security sector of Nigeria.
Eyong, represented by the deputy programme manager for the Women Peace and Security, Peter Mansha, said the support for Nigeria started since 2020, when it initiated the first phase of the Enhancing Gender-Responsive Security Operations and Community Dialogue.
She said the project was initiated based on the fact that UN Women conducted an assessment in some of the Nigeria's security institutions, and discovered that there was a huge gender gap in its security institution.
She said that the Nigerian army, police and NSCDC had adopted gender policies and strategies to ensure full operationalisation of the gender policy.
According to her, they are beginning to see women taking leadership positions in these institutions and see gender responsiveness in their operations.
"The second component of the program has to do with capacity building, institutional strengthening.
"We know that security institutions cannot be gender responsive if they don't have the capacity," she said.
