By Joy Umukoro
Programme Manager, Institute for Media and Society (IMS), Timothy Olusola Bamidele, has called on governments at all levels to empower women and vulnerable people for participation in socio-economic development to promote gender equity and inclusion for local development.
He made the call during a roundtable meeting with community leaders on gender equity and inclusion of women and people living with disabilities for local development at Lagos State Polytechnic, Isolo campus, at the weekend .
“For you to have a working democracy, it must be inclusive, voices of people must be heard and various platforms must be created to disseminate information.
“We were in Alimosho and Mushin local community development areas to discuss the issues as it affect women, to be able to get certain empowerment, capacity building, digital skills, out of school children, especially their involvement in the electoral circle and how women should participate and what should be their lot.
“The end result is to allow people to have a say, amplify their voice, in the process by awakening their consciousness to take their destiny into their hands and the need to actually hold leaders accountable.
“Now for the issue of gender equity and inclusion, you must acknowledge human essence and potential in women, you may feel you are better off but you are really handicapped in many areas, because everybody is not the same, everybody has got a share and everybody has got an input,” he said.
The facilitator, Lekan Sote, said domestication of laws will promote 35 per cent participation of women in politics.
“We should remember in 1995, the Beijing conference and how far have we gone. We have National Council of Women Society in Nigeria but who is monitoring that process?”
“Then our first ladies, it is not enough to glamorise their position, we saw what some of them did with their programmes like the late Maryam Babaginda. How many first ladies at the state or local government level have done half of what Maryam Babangida did?
“Unfortunately, there are a lot of impunity in Nigeria, when we make laws, sometimes we also don’t obey, we should find a way to sanction anyone who breaks any of our laws.
“Otherwise how do you explain, Section 6 of Nigerian constitution saying you cannot hold governors accountable for their actions when they are in office, it’s also saying you cannot compel government to carry out contents of Chapter 2 of the constitution which is economic, social and health objectives.
“How can you have a constitution that is saying all these and nobody is querying that? Nobody is asking questions that why should these be in our law books, the constitution says government should give free education from primary, secondary and then at tertiary levels and they should try their best while Section 6 says you cannot compel government to do that.”
He urged men should to encourage and co-operate with women in their families and neighbourhood, and educate the girl-child to help them become the best they want to be.