COWLSO: Women must be aggressive to contribute to national development

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials, COWLSO, has charged women to be positively aggressive and assertive in words to contribute the development of the nation.

This was one of the recommendations at this year’s National Women’s Conference organized by COWLSO at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

The communique read by Prof. Ibiyemi Bello also charged women to embrace entrepreneurial disposition which would be helpful in overcoming challenging situations.

The conference said there should be more advocacy to encourage women to explore their innate abilities to make a difference.

The conference charged women to take full advantage of the paradigm shift from oil which is leading to a major leap for the agricultural industry.

The conference also urged government to provide land and conducive environment for women farmers, adding that women could source funds through grants, equity and debt financing, among others.

The Communique urged government to provide more opportunities and full support for young women and youths, to acquire skills for agri-business, while women should be empowered to take care of the family, community and nation.

Speaking, wife of the Lagos State Governor and Chairman, COWLSO,  Mrs Bolanle Ambode urged participants at the conference to make use of what they learnt for their personal benefits.

Mrs Ambode said women should key into the area of entrepreneurship at this challenging period to make positive impact.

In the area of agriculture, she challenged women to have good mentors, be consistent and persist in doing things right as challenges were stepping stones that did not kill.

Mrs Ambode said one of the things learnt during the conference was that stress contributed to death of six out of 10 people worldwide, adding that as such,  women should conduct annual comprehensive medical checkups, exercise regularly, maintain ideal body weight and shun habits like smoking, hard drugs, among others.

Speaking, Lagos State Governor, Akinwumi Ambode tasked women to implement all 21 resolutions reached at this year’s COWLSO Conference ahead of the 2018 edition.

The governor reiterated government’s commitment towards supporting the course of women in Lagos State.

While declaring the conference closed, the Governor of Adamawa State, Mallam Bindo Jibrilla, stated that the conference had succeeded in showcasing the creativity of Nigerian women as transformation agents.

According to Governor Jibrilla, who was represented by his deputy, Martins Babale,  “Nigeria has come a long way; it is engagements like these that the nation needs, the platform is a national engagement beyond Lagos, it adds value to governance up to the national level.”

He acknowledged the developmental projects in Lagos state, as he maintained that the achievements recorded in Lagos as well as in Adamawa State had underscored the success of the All Progressives Congress-led governments.