The wife of the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Olufunsho Amosun, has called on the Nigeria Girl Guides Association (NGGA) to pay more attention to girls and women so as to encourage and improve their standard of living.
Amosun made the call recently at the opening of the association’s conference tagged ‘Ogun 2016 International Camp’ with the theme ‘Connecting Worldwide towards Achieving Excellence’.
She said the association has been recognised worldwide in its effort to train and empower women and girls to be better leaders in order to contribute to the development of their respective countries, adding that taking its programmes down to the grassroots would not only empower them, but assist in exposing them to other societal vices as it affects them.
Amosun said the theme of the conference was apt; as it would provide participants the opportunity to network and scale up their activities in line with best practices, adding that emphasis should also be made in the education of the girl-child as gone were the days when the women were only confined to the kitchen.
“I encourage you to continue to pay attention to our young girls and women, particularly those in rural areas. I need you to put more programmes in place that will continue to cater for issues especially as it relates to the girl-child and women.
“Groom them to be independent minded women and make them to be focused, following in line the virtues of the girl guides. They should be more rounded individuals by being members of this association.”
In her remarks, the Chief Commissioner of the association, Mrs. Maria-Goretti Sule, commended all the guides who had been making sacrificial contributions towards the development of the association at various levels.
“We want to also use this opportunity to extend our hand of fellowship to our leaders in areas of authority who make the decisions that influence our youths. We believe that together we can train and develop the youths to be useful citizens of our country.
“The girl-child especially deserves special attention and this association is committed to empowering girls and young women to develop their potential and take action where their voices can be heard. We look forward to achieving these goals and creating more impact within our communities, states and nations.”
The guest speaker, Prof. Folasade Henshaw of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta urged Nigerian leaders to show more commitment in ensuring that the rights of the girl-child are protected.
According to her Nigerians must strive to work together as a people and shun ethnicity, religious inclinations and other anti-social vices so as to move forward.
“We want our young people to break the barriers by connecting, interfacing, interacting and exchanging brilliant ideas wherever they find themselves to make this world a better place to live in.
“The theme of this year’s conference is apt because our young people need to know that one cannot be an excellent person unless they start doing things the right way and also by submitting to mentoring to people with experience, knowledge and capacity builders. That way, we shall create a world free of hate and gull of prosperity.”
