IWD: Group Calls for Improved Women Empowerment for Overall National Development

Paschal Emeka, Abuja

The Woman Leader, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chapter of the National Association of Nigeria Traders (NANTs), Dr (Mrs) Rachael Adewumi has called on governments at all levels as well as others to improve women empowerment in order to boost Nigeria’s economy and facilitate overall national development.

Addressing journalists while marking the International Women’s Day (IWD) over the weekend, she said that because as a result of the inherent prudence qualities in women, if they receive support and monetary empowerment by the government, they would contribute in no small measure towards boosting the economy as well as contribute their quota in national development.

IWD is marked every 8th March all over the world and the theme for the one of this year is: Invest in the Women, Accelerate Progress.

With the belief that training, empowering the girl child and the women respectively would go a long way, Adewumi however opined that when you invest in the women, you have invested in the society, adding that the women are productive.

The woman leader therefore asserted that whatever you give to a woman, she would multiply it and give it back to you, even as she accused the men of go and squandering theIWD: Empower women to boost economy, traders woman leader tells gov’ts
By Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka
Abuja

The woman leader, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of the National Association of Nigeria Traders (NANTs), Dr (Mrs) Rachael Adewumi has advised the governments at all levels to empower the women in order to boost Nigeria’s economy.

Addressing journalists while marking the International Women’s Day (IWD) over the weekend, she said that due to the prudence in women, if given little monetary empowerment by the government, they would contribute in no small measure towards boosting the economy.

IWD is marked every 8th March all over the world and the theme for the one of this year is: Invest in the Women, Accelerate Progress.

With the belief that training, empowering the girl child and the women respectively would go a long way, Adewumi however defended that when you invest in the women, you have invested in the society, adding that the women are productive.
The woman leader therefore stated that whatever you give to a woman, she would multiply it and give it back to you, even as she accused men of negative habit of squandering the capitals for investment.

She particularly harped on the need to assist serious women traders, the Woman Leader also advocated for the rightful positions of women, considering their leadership qualities.

“There are many able bodied women in the streets, who are willing to work, but they could not because there in no conducive environment and most of them are from poor family backgrounds.

” In our Non Governmental Organization (NGO), Takem Empowerment Initiatives (TEIs), God has used us to empower women, the girl child and the widows, over the years.

“In some villages, you will see women who are willing to work and need help, but no one to assist them. Some of them who have finished learning a trade, have no one to help them.

“To boost the economy, let government train, empower those who are willing to learn. For those who are not willing and serious to learn, let the government mentor, train and give them capacity building for them to know the importance of doing something and they can then change and they will know that there is dignity in labour,” she said.

“Another group are those who have interest in schooling, learning, and could not achieve their aims and objectives.

“Let them be encouraged, because it will help the economy. There are another categories that have finished school and learned, but nobody to set them up, let them be sought out and fixed up.

Another group, he went on, is the mothers that go out very early in the morning to the bush to get farm produce to sell, saying that with little monetary empowerment, they will boost their businesses and economy generally.

According to her, due to high cost of fuel, prices of goods and services have skyrocketed, informing that where they used to go with about N10,000, you can’t go to with N50, 000 presently, not to talk of the price you used to buy items with.

Imploring the government to look into
all the problems and cushion the effect of hardship in Nigeria, she reiterated that if they can train and give the girl child proper training and backing, the result, according to her would be a boost to the economy, even as she disclosed that out of frustration, as a result not hardship, some of them have developed. She suggested that the government deploys services of psychiatrists and psychologists to rehabilitate them to normalcy and also resucitate them and give them capacity building, noting that it will make them know that they can be useful to themselves and Nigeria and that there is integrity in labour and that God loves them.

Commending the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Dr Uju Kennedy – Ohanenye for having concluded plans to empower practical women traders, Adewumi informed that in streets and markets, over 75% of the traders were women, even as she added that most of them started with little or nothing and they have over the time been outdoing their men counterparts. Some of the traders she said that her NGO trained and empowered, saying: “We usually visit them to find out how they have been doing and find we usually find out that they perform above average.

In a message to the women, she said:
“Let them remain focused and not be carried away by the situation in the country. Every woman should not only pray for the country, but also for those in authority. With prayers, there will be peace, free movement and economic restoration.

“I also advise them not to hoard food items and shun huge profit maximization. Let them go about their trading with honesty and moderacy.

“Hoarding food items and too much of profit maximization is unfair before God and man. So let us involve God in our businesses, which if done, would go a long way. That is why Jesus says that we should love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

To the legislators, she said: “Let the senators ensure that their constituents feel their impacts. Let them be training and empowering those in their senatorial districts. By doing so, the senators will have rest of mind and those they are representing will also feel his impact and it will go a long way to alleviate poverty, hardship and over dependence to the barest minimum.”