Gender activist enjoins Buhari to enlist more women into national service

With President Muhammadu Buhari about to commence a fresh mandate, a gender activist has pleaded with the president to enlist more women into his cabinet for equity and gender balancing. Mrs Uju Obuekwe, who is also a business strategist, made the appeal while speaking in an interview with a correspondent of the News Agency of […]

With President Muhammadu Buhari about to commence a fresh mandate, a gender activist has pleaded with the president to enlist more women into his cabinet for equity and gender balancing.

Mrs Uju Obuekwe, who is also a business strategist, made the appeal while speaking in an interview with a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday.

Obuekwe, Co-founder of the Lagos-based Platform Branding Company, asked Buhari and the incoming state governors to appoint significant number of women into key positions in their administrations.

According to her, women are better suited to drive the change and vision of the government at the national level and in the states.

“The new administration has to be sensitive to this issue because Nigeria’s population is 50 per cent women, which means that qualified women need to be brought into the mainstream for them to unleash their potential.

“We need to see that women are given strategic roles in the new administration to get them more involved in the administration of this country.

Obuekwe lamented that women had not been given their proper place in the scheme of things in the country over the years because people erroneously believed that women could not handle certain political jobs.

The activist noted that Nigeria should learn from current developments in women empowerment in Rwanda and other countries by embracing affirmative actions to give Nigerian womenfolk a voice.

Speaking on what had been her driving force in business over the years, Obuekwe said that determination had been the secret of her success in her area of endeavour.

“Knowledge capital was quite vital but we made sure we we reinvested every penny back into the business when we started 10 years ago.’’

She said that knowledge of digital tools was also necessary for people venturing into businesses in the digital age.

“Building a brand is the only way to distinguish yourself to be able to charge premium prices in your area of business,” Obuekwe stated.

NAN reports that her company emerged as the “Leading Brand Development Company of the Year” at the International Standard Excellence Awards, held in Ikeja, Lagos on April 2. (NAN)