Nigerian women were on Friday by Olusegun Obasanjo admonished to be politically active, rather than being limited to home affairs. The former President of Nigeria who made the call in Ibadan spoke on the theme: ‘My understanding of women aspiration in business and politics’ at a program convened by Initiative for Information, Arts and Culture Development in Nigeria and The American Corner, Ibadan.
According to report from The PUNCH, the event was organized in support of women’s involvement in politics and governance.
Obasanjo stated that it is quite embarrassing to know that no woman in the country was among the fifty people who drafted the constitution.
The report further stated that the former president mentioned that he compelled about 9 women to get involved in political activities in the country during his administration as president.
He noted that Nigeria was below at par with Uganda, South Africa, Mauritania and Zambia.
In his words: our women should not be limited to only home affairs. Gender inequality cost Africa $95bn according to 2017 reports from United Nations. This is considered a total waste of resources and manpower. We would not keep wasting resources all the time and we must first start with educating the girl child and prohibiting child marriage’’. He said.
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Obasanjo maintained that women should make concerted efforts towards clinging to political power in order to contribute to both economic and social development in the country; saying that men are not ready to give up political positions easily.
Meanwhile, Ms. Darcy Zotter, the Public Affairs Officer at the United States Consulate, Lagos had made a call earlier on women to be the agents of change by increasing their involvement in the political landscape of Nigeria.
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