PIC: Gender, Inclusion Summit ‘ll Mainstream Issues of Nigeria’s Vulnerable

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Policy Innovation Centre (PIC), an initiative of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), yesterday said that the upcoming Gender and Inclusion Summit 2025, the largest gathering of its type in the country, would ensure that the issues besseting some of Nigeria’s most vulnerable groups are mainstreamed.

Tagged GS-25, the gender and inclusion summit was conceptualised in 2022 as an annual event to provide an inclusive platform to explore transformative ways to advance gender equality, inclusion and gender responsive governance in Africa.

The summit aims to bring together cutting-edge gender-related research and practice providing an opportunity for attendees to share perspectives, exchange ideas, learn and expand their networks for future policy and programmatic work.

Themed: “New Voices and New Approaches for Accelerating an Inclusive Society”, Executive Director of PIC, DrOsasuyiDirisu, stressed that the event will serve as a platform to accelerate progress towards harnessing innovative approaches and amplifying new voices as a strategy for advancing economic and social development for all.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja to herald the event slated for September 2 to 4, Dirisu stated that the platform will ensure that usually ignored voices are well represented when the issues of gender and inclusion are discussed.

“So as we look through evidence, look through literature,  it became clearer to us that if our platform, the Gender and Inclusion Summit, is going to be truly inclusive, then we now have to bring those voices into the room.

“ Many times, we programme for inclusive development from our own lens…How then can I ensure that I’m able to reflect on what bringing development to these people exactly what it means? And so this year, we want to explore new voices.

“And by new voices, we mean bringing the critical voices into the room to ensure that we are better solving for problems that have been clearly identified. We also want to ensure that we’re giving voice to people who either have been silenced or lack the agency or platform to end their abuse,” she stated.

For the first time in four years, she stated that the platform will veer off the traditional conversations and the prescriptive approach to doing things, whether in terms of leveraging technology or using data differently and raise voices that will help to review and evaluate how policy interventions work for vulnerable citizens.

Also speaking, the Minister of Women Affairs, ImaanSulaiman-Ibrahim, stated that government agencies were already institutionalising gender responsiveness, and looking at gender budgeting, procurement and every aspect of the work of the government.

Represented by a Senior Special Assistant in her office, HadizaGamawa, she stated that even in the private sector, Nigeria must have gender mainstreaming, noting that the government believes strongly the mandate needs to be fully explored.

“Presently the ministry has the mandate for women, children, families and the vulnerable. This tells you that the ministry is the human face of the government, the human face of the society and the human face of this administration and we do not take that for granted.

“And because of that, President Bola Tinubu launched what we call the Renewed Hope Social Impact Intervention Programme where we have several social support programmes for women, children, families and the vulnerable.

“Within that structure, we have already engaged in developing the policy framework that will provide the enabling platform for all the programmes to be created and to have what we call the sustainability plan.

“So this summit is timely, it is indeed a programme that we need to uphold and it is indeed a summit that needs to continue to engender the discussions in terms of the dialogues in terms of gender inclusiveness and we are very happy to be partners,” she stated.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of the NESG, DrTayoAduloju, noted that the event was not another women’s conference, explaining that the Gender and Inclusion Summit is intended to deal with the fundamental gap that has been recognised over the years.

“The data shows us that socio-economic transformation in Nigeria is impossible without solving for gender mainstreaming across all verticals and horizontals of socio-economic activity and existence in Nigeria. It’s impossible.

“When we discuss Nigeria’s transformation and somebody says, how has that to do with gender mainstreaming, it has everything to do. In fact, it is structurally impossible to transform Nigeria without gender mainstreaming. That’s what the data says.

“Where the larger percentage of your population are women, you leave them behind at your peril…So, from the very beginning, we were clear that we had to look at the data from the cradle to the grave and ask, how has the woman been disconnected from opportunities, from resources, from means, from possibilities, from capabilities to fulfill her full potential?

“ How has the person with disability been delinked from opportunities, from possibilities, from the capacity or the space to even begin to envisage the pursuit of their dreams?  One of the things that we are excited about is that what the Gender and Inclusion Summit has done in its first, second, and third edition is that revolution of the shifting of minds,” he added.