Mrs Elizabeth Sunday, a 47-year-old widow who deals in thrift clothing, popularly known as “okrika” in Kabusa village of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has expressed joy over President Bola Tinubu’s new interventions to boost women’s financial status.
One year into the new administration, Elizabeth said she has been on medication for high Blood Pressure (BP) and arthritis, but finds it difficult to access healthcare services and buy her drugs.
The mother of four, who said she is one of the beneficiaries of the N200 monthly healthcare insurance and free Point of Sale (POS) machines of Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, said she will now be able to generate extra money to take care of her children.
Sunday, like many women, showered accolades on President Bola Tinubu’s strategic interventions to empower women, through the Ministry of Women Affairs, headed by Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye.
Tinubu’s eight-point agenda, which he revealed during his inaugural Federal Executive Council meeting aims to turn around the economy and make life comfortable to citizens by focusing on food security; poverty eradication; growth, job creation; access to capital; inclusion; rule of law; and fighting corruption.
This is why he initiated the “Renewed Hope Agenda’’ to focus on his eight point agenda, which the Women Affairs Ministry leveraged on to ensure interventions for women, especially the grassroots in the areas of financial inclusion, health and political participation.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, while disbursing the first phase of the free 1,000 Units of Point Of Sale (POS) to some women in the FCT, said “we will continue to create an enabling environment to uplift the lives of women, children and the vulnerable in society, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
The minister said the 37,000 POS machines would facilitate financial transactions and boost women’s economic status, while the N200 monthly healthcare insurance, totalling N2,400 yearly, would improve their health status.
The President too, during the March 8 annual International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration, reiterated his promises to Nigerian women through impactful and accessible programmes that would improve their status and make life easy for them.
Represented during the event by Mr George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Tinubu pledged to empower women economically, protect their rights and promote national development.
He said “we are not just committed to women in Abuja and other urban centres, we are committed to all the women in this country, particularly the most vulnerable who live in rural areas.
“Government needs to continually implement policies that improve the lives of citizens and be deliberate about reducing the struggles of Nigerian women, while increasing their economic prosperity.”
On the issue of gender inclusivity, he said “we know what it takes to have a more gender-inclusive country, we need to make deliberate efforts to achieve this. It is time to empower our women.
“There is a limit, of course, to what government can accomplish on its own. We extend a hand of partnership to stakeholders present and beyond, imploring them to join us in building our women and the nation.’’
Meanwhile, the minister of women affairs said the programmes launched would address challenges, fight for the rights of women, promote their participation in all areas, particularly economically and politically.
She said rice, cassava and garri processing machines and other machines have been procured and distributed to some states as part of efforts to empower women and reduce poverty.
On her part, Mrs Beatrice Nyong, the UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, reiterated commitment toward supporting Federal Governmentto tackle challenges affecting women and girls, as well as empowering them.
She said “we are dedicated to promoting innovative solutions to address the economic challenges confronting women and girls in Nigeria.”
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, also emphasised the need to improve access to girl-child education and recognise the role women play in economic and national development.
He said “we know the roles women play, without them, there will be no procreation. Women are the first teachers in the home, if you have a good person, check his/her background, and you will find out that he/she has a good mother.
“As royal fathers, we know that without mothers, there can’t be men and without men, there can’t be women. So, we are committed to help government succeed in its programmes.
“We are not anti-government but anti-social ills. We assure government that we are 100 per cent ready. We have respect for women because they are the real wheels of development in the country.”
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, called for realistic programmes for women, as well as ensure strong follow-up and monitoring mechanism to ensure success toward empowering the gender.
Women, especially those at the grassroots in Nigeria have gained a lot in the last one year of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, as the focus of the minister of women affairs is to empower them and not to focus on advocacies and enlightenment campaigns, which she describes as “frivolous with little or no impacts on the lives of women.’’
This has changed the trajectory for women empowerment initiatives in the country as the focus is more on women at the grassroots to improve their economic status, health and political representation, geared at promoting gender equality and women economic empowerment.(NANFeatures)
