By Kuni Tyessi in Abuja
As Nigeria celebrates its 60th Independence anniversary, women have been called upon to reposition themselves for better opportunities and key roles towards workable policies and national development.
The Director-General of the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), Ms. Mary Ekpere-Eta who said this in Abuja, noted that
Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary presents a good opportunity to celebrate the immense contributions of women to the development of the nation.
In her Independence Day message, Ekpere-Eta noted that Nigerian women had played major roles in key sectors of national development, rising through cultural barriers and limited opportunities, as well as qualifying the women folk to be hailed as nation builders.
Ekpere-Eta stressed that Nigerian women did not lack female role models from the pre-post independence era, as women from the community to the national level had helped in moving the nation forward.
She opined that Nigerian women had by stint of hard work and admirable resilience made feminine excellence the norm in a country like Nigeria where women were once held down by socio-cultural barriers.
“From the academia to business, sports, politics and governance, Nigerian women have proven themselves as major contributors to the nation’s progress. Nigerian women are agents of peace and harbingers of hope, the mothers who have raised the world class beaters, young Nigerians the world regularly celebrates.
“Our country’s independence celebration , especially the landmark age of 60 is a good time to celebrate how much our women have contributed to all the attributes and qualities for which Nigeria is respected across the world”, Ekpere-Eta stated.
She however noted that women had also struggled to survive some of the challenges that comes with a nation still on the road to development. She called on women not to buckle to these challenges but rather to reposition themselves as new frontiers as better opportunities emerge.
She also called on leaders at the state and local government levels to introduce and sustain policies, laws and programmes that will better the lot of women. This is as according to her, the Federal Government has performed better in the regard.
