Former president Olusegun
Obasanjo on Friday in Ibadan called on Nigerian women to fight for their
political and economic relevance instead of accepting to be confined to the
other room.
Obasanjo spoke on the topic, ‘My
Understanding of Women Aspiration in Business and Politics’, at an event
organised by Initiative for Information, Arts and Culture Development in
Nigeria and The American Corner, Ibadan.
He pointed out that Nigeria was
ranked far below South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Mauritania among
countries that encouraged women in politics.
He said, “No longer should our
women allow themselves to be consigned only to the ‘other room’ and the
kitchen. In 2017, according to the United Nations, gender inequality cost
Africa $95bn. That is tremendous waste. We cannot continue heaping up waste and
expect that we will not maintain our poor record of being the world’s poverty
headquarters. The starting point is girl child education. Child marriage must
be made unlawful.”
He said women should make
definite efforts to fight for their place in politics and economy, as women and
children were usually the direct and indirect victims of poor leadership. He
said men would not relinquish their position willingly.
The Public Affairs Officer at the
United States Consulate, Lagos, Ms. Darcy Zotter, had earlier called on
Nigerian women to trigger the agent of 21st century positive change in them by
increasing their political awareness and challenging men for political space.
“You don’t have to be a
superwoman, you have a vote and you can be the 21st century change maker,” she
added.
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