Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the incoming president of Nigeria, has vowed to create an environment in which women can fully develop and realise their potential.
Tinubu, in his message to women on the International Women’s Day celebration on Wednesday, said in Nigeria, women had always played an important role in social, political, and economic evolution.
“The story of many of our far gone heroines like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Margaret Ekpo, Hajia Gambo Sawaba and hundreds of Aba Women who fought for economic rights of women and contributed to the liberation struggle against colonialism will continue to inspire generations to come.
“The theme of this year’s celebration, “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” is not only about how we must mainstream our women into the digital economy but more importantly about the broader issues of gender equity, equality and the health developmental needs of women and girls through our practices and policies.
“Embracing gender equity for us in Nigeria has progressed beyond technology adoption and participation in innovation; to a more deeper engagement about how we treat issues of economic justice, social mobility and equitable (especially political) representation of women,” he said.
Tinubu added that “Our population demography and development indices indicate that we can only progress if we harness the numerical value of the human resources, the nation is blessed with. Specifically, our women play very important roles in national life from the family units where they nurture our children who will be next generation of leaders to the farmlands, markets and boardrooms where they play their role as major economic actors.
“As we celebrate our women today, I hold sacred my promise to provide the enabling environment for these goals to become manifest and usher another dimension to the strength of Nigeria – our women.
“Doing this will renew hope in Project Nigeria and energize the much needed citizen engagement agenda of our administration. I wish all Nigerian women a happy celebration.”