The Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, has implored women and other relevant stakeholders in the nation to continue working on how to improve the lots of women and the girl-child as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the 2024 International Women’s Day.
Women and girls in the world are usually celebrated annually on March 8 to show their importance as homemakers and nation builders. The theme for this year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) , is “Invest in women: Accelerate Progress”.
Ojelabi in a statement in Lagos on Thursday, 7 March, 2024, described the theme as very apt at this period when gender equality, women’s and girls’ empowerment, and their rights to healthier lives need to be given more attention by both government and the public to accelerate progress at all levels of the society.
He said that such exposure of women and the girl-child to self development and self depedence would reduce various abuses such as: sexually and gender -based violence, assault, sexual harassment, early pregnancy, to mention a few usually meted out to them.
According to him, both the government and the organised private sector should invest in women and children, especially the girl-child through empowerment because it is by so doing that the nation would be developing itself as well as its human resources.
The Lagos APC Chairman also canvassed the need for more women to enjoy priority attention especially in the critical aspects of healthcare, playing leadership roles and social empowerment, saying women should not be subjected to discrimination, harassment, and violence either at home or in their work place.
He advised non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with bias for women and the girl-child to always be more visible in championing their cause for the good of all.
The APC boss condemned alleged instances where women and girls had been turned into baby-making factories by unscruplous elements in the society and challenged the governments at all levels to set necessary machinery in motion for the arrest and prosecution of such culprits to serve as deterrent to others.
He enjoined fathers and husbands to always support their wives and daughters during their challenging moments. He also advised fathers and husbands to stop presenting their daughters and wives as being inferior to their male counterparts so as to build in them self esteem
Ojelabi prayed God to grant them many more years of celebrations in the land of the living.
