…To assist female journalists willing to go into agriculture
The Lagos State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Cecelia Bolaji-Dada, has urged women in the state to embark on skills acquisition and engage in agriculture that would sustain them after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bolaji-Dada gave the advice at the monthly congress of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) Lagos State Chapter’s Zoom Meeting held Saturday June 6 on the theme, ‘Post COVID -19: Financial Recovery and Empowerment Opportunity for Women’.
In her view: “COVID-19 has started affecting the economies of the countries in a way that is leading to many job cuts and losses.”
She continued that although one could not wish COVID-19 and its impact away, one must make deliberate efforts toward skill acquisition and engagement in agriculture. There is surely life after COVID-19.
She, therefore, suggested strongly that women in Lagos return to invest in agriculture. “The time to invest in specific skills and agriculture is now”.
According to Bolaji-Dada, women were often worst hit by the economic challenges, stressing that it was imperative for women to begin to evolve strategies for absorbing the shocks.
She noted: “Various sectors are currently being adversely affected by the effects of COVID-19, hence, the need to be proactive by acquiring skills and going into farming.”
At this point, the commissioner highlighted the importance of skills acquisition as the surest ways to achieving women empowerment and financial independence.
Bolaji-Dada listed: “The state government has several vocational centres that have empowered many women in the state in various skills and even gave them startups.”
While thanking NAWOJ for its collaboration with the ministry and for endorsing her as the patron, the commissioner promised to assist female journalists who are willing to go into agriculture.
She said that the state government currently had various agricultural programmes and other empowerment initiatives that had attracted women in the state.
In her remarks, Chairperson of NAWOJ in Lagos, Mrs. Adeola Ekini, lauded the commissioner for her partnership with the association.
Ekini, in turn, pledged to make the list of female journalists and other programmes to the ministry.
