…. Eulogises Mum
Former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, said it is sad that the 9th Assembly rejected some proposals during the constitution review exercise that will give women some advantages.
Atiku stated this while commemorating the 2022 International Women’s Day, however urged the civil society to keep lobbying to see those proposals come to live. The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Gender Equality Today, for A Sustainable Tomorrow.”
In a statement he personally signed, Atiku also canvassed for education of the girl-child, stressing that it will better equip the next generation to confront many of the problems besetting them.
He said, “It is disheartening that just recently, the national legislature in Nigeria threw away the baby with the bathwater by a sweeping rejection of some proposals that will give women some advantages in the current constitution review exercise, I believe that the civil societies must continue to lobby both the executive and legislative arms of government in driving home the agenda. The process could be incremental, but we must never get our hands off the cart.
“I congratulate all women the world over on this special day, and I also use the opportunity offered by this day to make a plea to government and relevant non-governmental actors to sustain the advocacy for gender equality towards guaranteeing a sustainable tomorrow for our world,” he added.
On girl-child education he said, “It is only when we educate the girl-child that we can begin to have a hope that the next generation will be better equipped to confront many, if not all of the problems that beset our world today. So, granting gender equality is not a want for our world. It is a need! And it is a decision that we have to take now!”
Atiku, who paid tribute to his late mother, Hajiya Aisha Kande, said, “I lost my father at an early age. So, essentially, I am a product of single parentage by my mother. But there are many Aisha Kande, whose daily stories of toil and labour to raise promising children have remained unsung.
“Both as supporting partners to their husbands or widows like my late mother, those successful women who endured all odds to educate their children in character and in learning are the real heroes that we celebrate today,” he said.
