Participate in politics to remake Nigeria, Abiola tasks women

Special Advisor to Governor Ibikunle Amosun and Founder of Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello, has appealed to women to increase their participation in politics to enhance the birth of a new Nigeria desired by all.

Mrs. Abiola-Castello, who made the call during the July series of Meet-A-WISCAR programme organised by the Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), said although the energy of men in Nigeria’s political landscape was very strong, they have not been able to lead the nation anywhere with their dominance.

She said it was against that background that Nigerian women should balance the energy through participation in politics, stressing that critical decisions that affect the lives of children, who are the country’s future should not be left alone to men.

The KIND boss said the nation was faced with all sorts of challenges, including not only killings from clashes, but also bad health system, poor educational standards, poverty among others.

Regretting that all that the men are concerned about inspite of the challenges is defections at the expense of nation building, she remarked: “We need more participation of women in every level of government, especially at local government level so that they should come out not for themselves, but for the impact they make on the future.”

Abiola-Costello, however, advised the women-folk not to engage in wrong acts, stressing that people should see them as right when they get the opportunities, because “as a woman you should give birth to new life at the political domain of Nigeria.”

She encouraged women to show how funds can be used without any concern for their own pockets and how public funds can be utilised in ways that don’t privatise the money, even if that is all they can do, since according to her Nigeria’s problem is not wealth creation, but diversion of public funds into individual pockets.

Speaking on the theme, “Promoting Inclusive Governance,” the Founder of WISCAR, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, said the programme was to sensitise and encourage women on how to ensure more active participation and roles in politics and governance, because at the end of the day, “all our lives are governed by the law and decisions that are taken by those in power and we feel that women have a key role to play in this.”

Oyagbola explained that until Nigerians saw the need to unite both men and women with the powerful brain trust to ensure nation building, the numerous challenges facing the country would not be addressed properly.

She maintained that the womenfolk were not asking for permission to get actively involved, “but they need to recognise the importance of stepping forward to actively participate, though they should be ready to make the necessary sacrifices that are required as well.

“We can’t continue to talk and expect things to change; we need to get involved, lead and make the change we want to see in our country,” she added.