By Abolaji Ayodeji
Former Vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has said that he owes a lot of what he has become in life to God and his late mother, Hajiya Aisha Kande.
Atiku made this known on Tuesday as he congratulated all women across the world in a statement to mark the celebration of International Women’s Day titled ‘We need to take gender equality decisions now”
Atiku in his statement said, “in our dynamic society the contribution of women cannot be complete.”
International Women’s Day is celebrated every 8th March, where the world at large comes together to celebrate the contribution and importance of women in society.
He added that “the significance of International Women’s Day should not be reduced to merely celebrating the woman. It is much more than that. It is an opportunity for us as a human race to take the advocacy for the empowerment of half of us to the front burner.
“I owe a lot of what I have become in life to God and my late mother, Hajiya Aisha Kande. I lost my father at an early age. So, essentially, I am a product of single parentage by my mother. But there are many Aisha Kande, whose daily stories of toil and labor to raise promising children have remained unsung. Both as supporting partners to their husbands or widows like my late mother, those successful women who endured all odds to educate their children in character and learning are the real heroes that we celebrate today.
“By their successes, they have shown to the world that given an opportunity, the woman can prove her mettle in a position of leadership, either in politics or business.
The former presidential aspirant in the 2019 general election for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) emphasizes that it’s very important to educate a girl child so we can bring hope to other generations.
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The theme for the year’s International Women’s Day, “Gender Equality Today, for A Sustainable Tomorrow”, becomes relevant.
“The theme leads us to an important pointer that the synopsis for a sustainable future of our humanity must concede some power and responsibilities to women.
“Whether we talk about the problem of climate change or the problem of mass illiteracy that continues to manifest as the existential problem of out-of-school children in Nigeria; or be it the problem of primary healthcare accessibility and, even, terrorism — finding a sustainable solution to these problems will compulsorily start by giving education to the girl-child and impulsively require that we take the issue of Affirmative Action more seriously.
“It is only when we educate the girl-child that we can begin to have a hope that the next generation will be better equipped to confront many if not all of the problems that beset our world today. So, granting gender equality is not a want for our world. It is a need! And it is a decision that we have to take now!
“In my private capacity as an investor in education, the American University of Nigeria, which I happen to be the founder, has since its inception in 2014, giving priority to girl-child education, and particularly espousing initiatives that continue to take formal education to the streets, affording vulnerable children access to learning in Arithmetic and English Language. Through these initiatives, the AUN has registered some level of improvement in mass literacy in the North-East area of Nigeria.
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He further said, “that is why all through my career in politics — either in government or in the opposition — I have led a consistent campaign for upward review of budgetary allocation to education. A lot about what we need to do about gender equality rests within the corridor of policy formulation at the governmental level. It is disheartening that just recently, the national legislature in Nigeria threw away the baby with the bathwater by a sweeping rejection of some proposals that will give women some advantages in the current constitution review exercise, I believe that civil societies must continue to lobby both the executive and legislative arms of government in driving home the agenda. The process could be incremental, but we must never get our hands off the cart.
“Once again, I congratulate all women the world over on this special day, and I also use the opportunity offered by this day to make a plea to the government and relevant non-governmental actors to sustain the advocacy for gender equality towards guaranteeing a sustainable tomorrow for our world,” Atiku said.
