Gender inequality: Bisi Fayemi tasks Nigerians with forging new values

In an effort to combat gender inequality, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, wife of the late Ekiti State governor, has called on her fellow Nigerians to set new standards and foster an enabling atmosphere.

In a speech titled “Breaking Barriers: Empowering the Next Generation of Nigerian Women in Business and Public Life” delivered on Saturday at the Osogbo launch of the Titi Tomori-Ponnle Foundation, Erelu Fayemi made the challenge known.

Fayemi, who noted that Nigeria ranks low on gender equality, emphasised that stakeholders must “prioritise legislative and policy frameworks to bridge the gender justice and equality gap, champion the Sexual Harassment Prohibition Bill at both the national and state levels, and ensure equal representation for women in appointments.”

She further pushed for lasting relationships between women and men, safe and less traumatic education for the girl child, and consistent investment in the girl child’s development.

Calling on men to be responsible and God-fearing providers for their families, Fayemi emphasized that true progress cannot be achieved without the full participation of women.

“There should be gender-friendly legislation that provides an enabling environment for women to achieve their full potential in the country,” she said.

In her remarks, the former deputy governor and originator of the organization, Grace Titilayo Tomori-Ponnle, noted that the cornerstone of development and national advancement is the empowerment of young people and women.

She said that the notion for the foundation arose from a deep-seated goal to build a society where every child and women may attain their full potential, achieve economic independence, and actively engage in changing their communities.

Tomori-Ponnle noted that the idea to start the foundation was prompted by firsthand observation of the issues encountered by youngsters and women in society.

She remarked, “Their resilience, creativity, and unwavering spirit inspired the creation of this foundation.”

However, she decried the absence of intended effects from some empowerment projects, saying that hardship had led beneficiaries to sell off their tools of empowerment.

Tomori-Ponnle outlined the foundation’s four pillars of empowerment to include belief in the power of education as the greatest equaliser; commitment to comprehensive skills development; provision of microloans and grants, and partnerships with financial institutions to create sustainable pathways to economic independence; and recognition that health is wealth.

In his goodwill message, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, asked well-meaning Nigerians to engage in humanity through the promotion of skill acquisition programs, entrepreneurship, and human development projects.

Oyetola stressed that human capital development is crucial for nation-building. He called on Nigerians to stand and support the national dream of actualising the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.