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March 11, 2013 Comments

Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire

Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and other prominent Nigerian women said a woman would do better as the President of the country.

They made this submission at the Women fiesta  held to mark the International Women’s Day in Lagos on Saturday.

The deputy governor was represented by an official of the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Adeniji.

Orelope-Adefulire said women should always be celebrated because they play meaningful roles in nation building.

She said, “Right from the tender age, a woman raises a child, till he grows up to become an adult, president, governor or whatever. I mean, it is a big role and responsibility for women.

“And for a woman to undergo such a difficult task, it is not easy. So they should always be celebrated.”

The organiser and Managing Director, R-Wells Media and Advertising Company Limited, Mrs Jibe Ologeh, said they decided to celebrate women because, “we found that mothers are wanting in their roles, and we decided to remind them of being mothers before chasing anything else.”

She said she supported women in politics but advised that  they must first perform their primary duties of motherhood.

Influential women such as the first female Vice-Chancellor in Africa, Prof. Alele Williams; the Assistant General Overseer, Our Daily Manner, Mrs Flora Kwakpovwe; MD, Blue Ridge Microfinanace Bank,  Adeola Illozobhle among others, graced the event.

Meanwhile,  Orelope-Adefulire has said the government will not tolerate violent crimes perpetrated against women in the state.

Orelope-Adefulire said the protection of women’s rights as well as gender equality was one of the cardinal points of the present administration.

The deputy governor, who was represented by Assistant Director, Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Funke Odutola, stated this at an event hosted by the Women of Essence Foundation to commemorate the Women’s International Day conference in Lagos on Friday.

She said the issue of domestic violence had not been taken seriously because the National Assembly was male-dominated but maintained that Lagos State had promulgated a law and begun to enforce it seriously.

Also, Convener, WOMEF, Mrs. Omokorede Fashoro, said the programme, themed, ‘Women: Agents of Peace’ had become important if gender equality was to be achieved.

She urged women to be peacemakers at their homes and the nation at large.

“The idea is for everyone to play their part to ensure that the future of girls and indeed women is bright, equal, safe and rewarding and for the past seven years, WOMEF has been quietly touching lives and empowering women to flourish,” Fashoro said.