Speeches

8th National Women Conference Organised By The Committee Of Wives Of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO)

Oct 29, 2008 - Woman, Who Are You?

I feel highly delighted to be at this event once again as Chief Host and as yet another year has rolled by, leading to another COWLSO Conference, the 8th in the series.

I am also truly honoured by the presence of my brother, who has accepted the invitation to declare open the Conference, His Excellency, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Officer of the Order of Niger, the Governor of Niger State, who holds the respected title of Talban Minna and prefers the appellation of Chief Servant to that of Governor. I will however crave his indulgence to allow me to continue to refer to him by his constitutional title of Governor, until the Constitution is amended to permit me to do otherwise.

I must commend Her Excellency, my darling wife, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, her predecessor, the graceful Chief Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu and other members of COWLSO for resurrecting and keeping this organization alive.

At last year’s conference, I recall that the theme was “Setting Your Goals and Making it Happen”. To me, this year’s theme, “Woman, who are you?” is indeed most profound. It is soul searching, it recalls history and raises many questions which I hope will be answered.

It raises questions. Who is a woman? Where is her place in the struggle of life? What is her role in the matrimonial partnership that produces and perpetuates society? How much does she owe the unending quest of human civilization for the good life?

In contemporary times, there have been more questions than answers in the face of the dwindling circumstances of women in our male-dominated world. Modern Africa’s experience of this situation has precipitated many debates, a large number of which bring to question the obvious inclination of some of its lettered women to seeking solutions to their challenges from cultures that have no bearing with the primordial uniqueness of our heritage.

Authentic African history is rich with details of great accomplishments by Africans. It is replete with stories of profound deeds. Indeed, Africa on the pages of proper documentations of our past is recognized as a land where peace and prosperity were widespread.

It has become imperative to give much thought and attention to the state of our womenfolk. In the face of economic hardship, social abuse, cultural restrictions, matrimonial battery, women and child trafficking and emotional distress, the African woman cannot but constitute a key subject in any genuine attempt at achieving development in real terms in any part of the African continent. Women are actually foot-soldiers in the perpetuation and enrichment of society. But unfortunately in present-day Africa, this fact dwells more in abstraction than in reality.

In our active cities, the African woman is an unrelenting struggler who strives as hard as her man to sustain the delicate union of body and soul but who is seldom given due recognition as a meaningful contributor to the sustenance of society. She bears the strain and pain of child-bearing for nine months and proceeds to a lifetime of stressful commitment to the safety and welfare of the priceless fruit of her womb without the comfort of social security. The African woman is no-doubt confronted with a lot of stagnating and frustrating difficulties. Her challenges are obvious and genuine. She is always likely to survive.

The truth is that maternal mortality figures have become a worrying index in Africa, and in Nigeria and because of the strategic role of Lagos we are determined to do all within our resources to make sure that our women do not lose their lives while giving life. In addition to our free ante-natal care programme, we are almost completing 5 (five) specialized hospitals solely for women and children, called Maternal Child Care Centres in Ikorodu, Isolo, Amuwo, Mushin and Surulere.

Our poverty alleviation programme of skill training and micro credit are deliberately targeted at women although the men benefit, and that is why a special Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation exists in Lagos to drive these programmes. We believe that those who feel the pain will know how best to relieve it.

The philosophy of self-help is an essential bedrock on which true liberation rests. We must begin to help ourselves in Africa! The women of Nigeria need to begin to shift away from the culture of marginal expression of dislike over the parlous state of their gender to the practice of organized, peaceful and relentless acknowledgement of the Creator’s immeasurable investment in them.

I am glad to acknowledge the inward solutions and internal renaissance in the are of fashion and what our womenfolk have done with local fabrics to the awe and admiration of the international community. I believe the same talent can be transferred to other fields of human endeavour.

The privileged and influential women of Lagos State should begin to find responsible and creative ways of connecting with the State Government’s vision of transformation to pioneer the running of a well-structured and effective movement of the general Lagos womenfolk away from standards, precepts and notions that deny them voice and visibility. No other set of people are in a better position than such privileged women as the wives of Lagos State Government officials to midwife the birth a new order of disposition and articulation against the inappropriate circumstances of their gender in the tasking and transforming city of Lagos. The women of Lagos should make themselves a model for other Nigerian women to emulate in the global quest for a better social, cultural and economic deal for women.

I must here publicly acknowledge that whether it is in our judiciary, the legislative or executive arm of the Lagos State Government, the women who hold offices that I have worked with are not being done a favour. They truly deserve to be there. They honour us with their service and I am very proud to have the privilege of working with them.

The struggle of women for a better deal is not and should never be a gender conflict but an exercise in contextual selflessness and sacrifice for due improvements in the workings of the productive system of human society. The unforgettable contributions of such women as Madam Tinubu, Nanny of the Maroons, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman Mother Theresa, Mary Slessor, Professor Jadesola Akande, Bimbo Odukoya, Benazir Bhutto, Kudirat Abiola among others to positive change are prominent examples in this regard.

Without a doubt, this very stimulating theme, which seems to discover women, will be incomplete if it fails to recognize the dexterity of the woman. While I will leave the Americans to decide who will lead them for the next 4 (four) years, the sight of Sarah Palin with her toddler on the campaign trail is a tribute to the multi task capacity and dexterity of women. I have run a campaign before and I should know what it takes.

The ability to simultaneously cook, nurse the baby as well as take care of other house chores is the preserve of the female gender. It must however not be a reason to consign them to those responsibilities. Women truly have a lot more to give. As I therefore ask what they can give and what they offer, I will ask again, Woman, Who Are You?

I am the vessel of life. I am softness and steel. I bear the pangs of labour as my duty and endure out of love so that I may fulfill the responsibility to perpetuate life and save mankind from extinction.

I am Madam Tinubu who stood for the fair treatment of all.

I am the pillar for the decent survival of family and for great accomplishments by society.

I am Nanny of the Maroons who fought gallantly to free and defend enslaved Africans in the Caribbean Region.

I am Harriet Tubman, who committed most part of my adult life to the risky project of liberating enslaved Africans in America.

I am Mary Slessor, a custodian of profound virtue who taught the sanctity of human life.

I am Travers Symons, the first woman to speak in the English House of Commons 100 years ago in 1908.

I am Rosa Parks, the self-respecting woman of courage who stood-up against segregation in Jim Crow America.

I am a respecter of divine stipulations.

I am Mother Theresa who showed and showered love on little children and the needy.

I am a diligent supporter of progress.

I am Queen Amina, the fearless defender of fatherland and heritage.

I am Benazir Bhutto who withstood tyranny for the purpose of true and lasting democracy in Pakistan.

I am Kudirat Abiola, a true believer in the cause of democratic ideals for which I laid my life.

I am Dora Akunyili, the scourge of fake drug merchants, the friend of nursing mothers and babies.

I am Bimbo Odukoya, an urban teacher of the necessity of the preservation of family values in a world where such is shrinking.

I am Jadesola Akande, mother, law teacher, first female Professor of Law, Human Rights activist and true Nigerian and African Patriot.

I am Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, first Nigerian Woman to drive an automobile.

I am Abibatu Mogaji, mother of a Nation, entrepreneur per excellence, a mobilizer of commerce and of women and men.

I am COWLSO, the Conference of Wives of Lagos State Officials.

Woman, Who Are You?

Stand-up and be counted among the great daughters in spite of a world of challenges.

Be a most active drive of the Lagos engine of transformation.

Join the progress-train to New Lagos with deeper thoughts, better resolve and clearer vision.

Thank you.

Eko o ni baje o!

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State