As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to celebrate the International Women Day, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that it is time to try women as male folks have failed this generation.
This is even as the party National Woman Leader, Hon. Amina Divine Arong, noted that despite the outcry, women have continued to be under-represented in politics and other sectors, adding that it is cleared that companies and organizations led by women seem to have fared better than their counterparts during times of financial crisis.
Speaking at the Women’s Day programme held at the party National Secretariat, the PDP Acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, said that the importance of women cannot be over emphasised, reports Daily Independent.
Represented by the party National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the PDP Chairman said, “the importance of mothers and the role of women cannot be over emphersized. Let me be sincere with you, if it is possible and I pray and I believe and hope that even if not in our own generation, I will like to see that one day a woman will become the President of this country and I say this with atmost sincerity and from the depth of my heart, because I can tell you that the menfolk have failed this generation.”
Emphasising the importance of women, the chairman said, “In those days in the village, when there is a problem in the family we look for our women. Our wives are the people that come to make peace, so the importance of women cannot be over emphasised.”
The party said that the founding fathers of PDP know the role of women, the reason why it is the most democratic party in the country and Africa.
He said: “This is the only party that gives opportunity to women to aspire to any position free of charge without buying any form. We do that because we want to encourage women.
“In the next dispensation of the National Working Committee (NWC), I hope we have opportunity to have more women in the NWC, even if it means to give up my own position for a woman to take over, I will gladly do that because we want an organisation where women can take advantage of their nature to take the country to another level.
“Today in Nigeria and world over, women have been victims of war, see what is happening in Nigeria. See what happened in Nigeria yesteday, the women are suffering, that is why this international women day we are calling on all the men in Nigeria to support women.”
The Woman Leader said that women’s equal participation and leadership in politics are one of the keys to the achievement of the sustainable development goals by 2030.
“According to the data made available by the UN, as at January 10th 2024, there are 26 countries where women serve as Heads of states or government, with only 15 countries out of 195 in the world. having a woman as Head of State and 16 having women as head of government which you will all agree is quite poor.
“Sadly, despite women being powerful agents of change with proven benefits, they have continued to be under-represented in Politics, and other sectors. The importance of having women in leadership positions cannot be overemphasized as result has shown clearly that Companies and organizations led by women seem to have fared better than their counterparts during times of financial crisis.
“Having women as leaders and decision-makers at all levels are critical to advancing gender justice, gender equality and furthers economic, social, and political progress for all.”
She further pointed out that “women have also established themselves as a symbol of unity and cooperation, playing pivotal roles to the survival of a family which is a basic social organization not forgetting to mention that women value accountability.
“Accountability is an important leadership quality. A leader who understands the value of accountability will not put the onus of any loss or blunder on individuals or members of their team or organization.”
Arong said that while it is important that “we continue to advocate for the active participation of women in politics in Nigeria, it is also very key that we imbibe the culture of actively supporting women and girls into leadership positions as well as involve them in decision-making processes.
“We must pave the way for women and girls-and invest in their right to active political participation, as a necessary step to achieving global gender equality and democratic governance and ultimately bring them into leadership positions.
This in turn will create a ripple effect that will yield multiple benefits not only for women and girls but for the family unit, communities and the country at large.”
