kebbi State Governor,
Atiku Bagudu today said that the emergence of LAKE Rice would not have been
possible without Governor Akinwunmi
Ambode, supported by the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials, COWLSO.
Bagudu spoke at the
closing ceremony of the three-day 18th National Women’s Conference,
organized by COWLSO, held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island area of
Lagos.
He said the partnership
between Kebbi and Lagos had helped to improve the economy of Lagos and Nigeria
in terms of local production of rice.
“Without Ambode, there
will not have been LAKE Rice. The significant of LAKE Rice was that it
encouraged a revival of ‘I can do it spirit,” he submitted.
He said the emergence of LAKE
Rice had help the nation to reduce the importation of rice by 90 percent, as
captured by President Muhammadu Buhari recently when he met the British Prime
Minister, Theresa May.
“Without Ambode, we won’t
have been able to do that and that was because he got the support of his wife,
who is the Chairman of COWLSO. His wife supported the idea and that was why it
was successful,” he said.
Bagudu, however, said COWLSO had done tremendously well by organizing the conference over the years in order to reposition women and take them to an enviable position in the society, adding that he was impressed that women in Lagos could take time off their busy schedule, to gather in a place to network and educate themselves on issues that affected women and society.
In his remark, Lagos State
Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode commended COWLSO for organizing the annual event,
saying that his wife, Bolanle had been able to take the committee to a higher
level than she met it.
The governor said he had
no doubt that the three-day programme provided opportunities for networking and
education among the women, adding that the opportunity to be part of the
conference was a privilege that came with responsibilities.
“You have a responsibility
to share your experience with others around you. This is the only way you can
deepen what you have learnt at the programme. Government will give attention to
the recommendation in the communiqué,” he promised.
In her speech, wife of the
Governor of Lagos State and Chairman of COWLSO, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, urged the
3,000 participants at the conference, to reflect the knowledge acquired in all
personal endeavours, and also try to pass on the knowledge to achieve desired
impact on society.
She said in one of the
papers, titled “Successful Marriage needs, Passion and Perseverance,” women
were told to define their preferences in life and ensure that the partners they
chose shared much of their personal perspective and worldview, adding that
perseverance, interaction and communication, played vital roles in the success
of marriages.
She further said in
another topic on “Strengthening our Collective Impact: Parenting Digital Kids,”
the speaker addressed how parents could protect their children from the harmful
side-effects of technology and how they could insulate them from digital
explosion, so that they could make responsible choices in life.
According to her, the
speaker was quick to point out the fact that while the goal of parenting
remained the same, methods and approaches of training children must change, stressing
that entirely disconnecting children from the digital world might be
counter-productive, and giving them unfettered access to every digital content
might also be counter-productive.
“There is the need to
ensure that our children acquire relevant skills, so as to make balanced
adjustments. The speaker noted further that there has been a major erosion of
core values and therefore encouraged participants, to stick to enduring values
and identity,” she said.
However, a communiqué
issued at the end of the three-day conference and read by the wife of the
Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, said the
conference resolved that women should acquire necessary skills to live desired
life; be brave, conquer fear of failure; have
the ability to recover from issues of life; choose their priorities for
success; acquire propelling purpose needed for success; be passionate about
what they were convinced about and have the right attitude for a successful
marriage, the choice of man and family and by defining their goals which should
be shared by their partners.
The communique also noted
the need to establish process of communication and interaction in marriage and
develop perseverance by uniquely developing one’s will power; while women
should begin to plan for their retirement by assessing the situation, as well
as seek advice from professionals.
The communiqué further
charged women to invest and save on regular basis but that they should never
put their eggs in one basket, while encouraging them to speak out and seek help
when in abusive relationship or see others being abused, as well as know their
rights under the law.
The conference charged
women to prevent children from becoming mothers by putting machinery in place
for continuous sensitization and advocacy to address and eliminate the
root-causes and consequences, urging government to put in place structures and
policies to address the issues of teenage mothers.
It added that government
at all levels, policy makers, health sector both state and local level, family,
society, NGO, among others, must all rise and resolve to eliminate the menace
by enacting a policy for a reduction in the minimum age of rendering family
planning services from 13 to 15 years.
Highlights of the closing
ceremony included the presentation of certificates of appreciation to
individual and corporate sponsors of the committee.
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