Women empowerment, key to poverty alleviation, says Kwara official

Special Adviser to Kwara State Governor on Legal Matters, Sambo Muritala, has expressed the need to empower women to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) towards achieving food security and poverty alleviation in Nigeria and globally.

He stated that the advantages offered by AI should be maximised to support small-scale farmers and eradicate poverty, enhance rural development and improve food security.

He spoke virtually as a lead discussant at the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, United States of America, organised by Renew Our Earth, a United States registered Non-For-Profit Organisation and Human Rights and Rule of Law Committee of African Bar Association, headed by Dr Ugoji Adanma Eze.

The theme for the summit was “Empowering Women to use the Potential of Artificial Intelligence for Achieving Food Security and Poverty Alleviation.”

Muritala said: “The present administration in Kwara State, Nigeria under the leadership of Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has identified insecurity in food as an area that requires urgent attention; therefore, the introduction of a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) initiative, with the Chinese and French governments, to ensure food security and economic sustainability in the state.

“The state government has equally prioritised the active involvement of women in the running of the state affairs.

“At present, 50 per cent of the state cabinet members are women, surpassing the formulated 35 per cent Affirmative Action of women involvement in all governance processes, which is a national gender policy of 2006 in Nigeria.”

The state government, he added, had equally identified that women with their softer skills have a veritable hand to handle AI processes to ensure the predicted result when he appointed women as commissioners of Agriculture, Finance, Education and Human Capital Development, among other important portfolios in his cabinet.

According to him, Kwara State provides avenues for women and young adult enterprises to thrive and be profitable.

“We are very open to knowledge sharing, skill transfer, equipment and capacity building support towards achieving the application of IoT- and AI-driven technologies into the agricultural sub-sector of our economy to achieve the desired food security goal of the present administration. I must further acknowledge the United Nations for coming up with this topic at this critical moment when hunger and poverty drained the sense of morality off humanity. I must equally appreciate Dr. Ugoji Adanma Eze Esq., the President Renew Our Earth., for giving the event a complete human face,” he added.