12092019

Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 — 23
We condemn violence
against migrants in
South Africa ...Tallen
…As ministry proposes collaborative
initiative to reduce maternal, child death
By Victoria Ojeme
The Minister for Women
Affairs Pauline Tallen
has condemned the
recent upsurge in violence against
migrants in South Africa saying it
is sad and unacceptable.
Mrs Tallen made this
condemnation at the weekend
during a media conference to mark
school resumption of Nigerian
children.
She appealed for calm, adding
that Nigeria had contributed
immensely to the apartheid of
South Africa and their
independence.
“What happened in South Africa
is heart breaking and we
condemn it totally. Mr President
has taken the matter with all
seriousness by sending envoys
who are already meeting with
Ambassadors to ensure
Nigerians are safe.
“ I appeal for calm and pray for
all Africans to support one another
and ensure all Africans are safe
all over the world,” she said.
Speaking on reduction of
maternal and child deaths and
other health related issues, she
said the ministry intends to
undertake the national level
advocacy meeting with the
Minister of Health and other
relevant Stakeholders.
“Nationwide advocacy and
sensitisation programmes with
Executive Governors, Legislators,
Health Policy makers, traditional
leaders, Civil Society
Organisation, on reduction of
maternal and child mortality.
Others include breastfeeding, girl
child education, all forms of
violence against children such as
ending child marriage, drug
addiction, rape, online sexual
exploitation amongst others.
"The ministry intends to
mobilise communities to promote
routine immunisation and
advocacy activities aimed at
educating and sensitising mothers
and caregivers to boost the
nutrition status of children and
Wife of the
Commissioner of
Police, Kwara State
Command, and Chairperson
Police Officers Wives
Association, POWA, Mrs
Elizabeth Egbetokun has called
on all well meaning Nigerians
to support POWA to further
impact on widows in the state.
Mrs Egbetokun made the call
popularizing Iocally available
weaning food,” Tallen said.
She said children constitute the
foundation on which the future of
nations are built, as such their early
years of life have a profound impact
on their future, health,
development, learning and well
being.
Tallen said education was the
major ingredients for self
actualisation and attainment of
potentials of any child, saying it is
a basic human right recognised by
the Child Rights Act.
She said according to the
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey,
MICS, 5 of 2016 and 2017
conducted by the National Bureau
of Statistics in collaboration with
UNICEF and other partners,
about 60 per cent of children of
school age are out of school.
“The North- East with 53.3 per
cent holds highest number of girls,
out of school of primary school age,
while the South-East had the lowest
number of girls out of school at 46.2
per cent.
“States in the North-East and
North-West have female primary
net attendances rates of 47.7 and
47.3 percent respectively.
Indicating that half of the girls are
not in school.
“The Girl Child is often withdrawn
from school for early marriage due
to economic reasons or some other
excuses such as inability of parents
to pay school fees, provide school
uniforms, books, sandals and other
hidden costs involved in the
education of children,” Tallen said.
She said Ministry would continue
to focus on girlchild education and
mentoring in order to prove the
quality of manpower and
population of Nigeria, adding that
collaboration with the Ministry of
Education would be robustly
strengthened.
POWA calls for widows’ empowerment
BY Esther Onyegbula
* Pauline Tallen, Minister for Women Affairs
at the Police Officers Mess,
while empowering 23 widows
of policemen who lost their
husbands.
Addressing the widows and
other police officers wives, Mrs
Elizabeth Egbetokun stated that
widow’s the world over are
vulnerable, majority of them
go through harrowing
experiences to cater for the
needs of families and the
education of the children left
behind by their breadwinners
with little or no assistance from
people around. As a matter of
fact that, widows don’t want to be
beggars, they desire to be
financially independent to be
able to provide for their families
and stand to be counted among
women of dignity” .
“Empowering them can
actually bring them out of the
deplorable financial situations
most of them found themselves
in after the demise of their
husbands. She reiterated her
desire to empower as many of
the widows as possible, out of the
* Hajiya Hadiza Masari, wife of Katsina State Governor
Masari’s wife urges FG to
give significance to women,
youths in agribusiness
By Ezra Ukanwa
Wife of Kastina state
governor, Hajiya
Hadiza Masari,
yesterday urged the Federal
Government to involve
women and youths in
agribusiness, saying it would
enhance agricultural
productivity and improve
the country’s ability to
process and reduce wastage
to human farm produces.
Hadiza made this urge
during an Agriculture
Summit Africa in Abuja,
organized by Sterling Bank
themed ‘Agriculture: Your
Piece of the Trillion Dollar
Economy” when she stated
that the effort of women and
youth in the agricultural
sector will make it flourish
and that it would have a
reprisal effect in boosting the
economy.
“It gives me great pleasure
and honour to be here today
to discuss what is very close
to my heart, which is agric
business. Most importantly is
the fact that this season, is
about women and youths
inclusion to boosting our
economy through up scaling
agriculture.
“It is a well known fact that
we are going to end hunger
and poverty in our lifetimes,
we need to include women
52 widows presented for
interview, 23 of them were
slated for the empowerment
which included training on
soap making and giving of
token that is enough to start the
business on small scale,
arrangements have been
concluded to guide them from
take off to the smooth
operation of the business”.
The empowerment program
is part of Elizabeth Egbetokun
vision to consciously alleviate
the sufferings of wives of
and youths to enhance
agricultural productivity,
improve our ability to process
and reduce wastage to our
human farm produce.
“It is also a well known fact
that women and youths make
up half of agriculture labour
in many developing countries
including Nigeria of which,
giving significance to them
will increase the yield and
affect more people in the
world, knowing full well that
women are more likely to
invest their income back into
farm yield, to improve
education, nutrition and
health.
“I, therefore, come to tell you
that when we encourage
women and families, we are
also encouraging them to add
their best and so also, the
Nigerian economy will also
flourish.
“If we improve agricultural
activities for women and
youths, and implement all our
laudable policies in agric
businesses, linking women
and youths to credit, market,
as well as polish up their
abilities to add value to
agriculture produces, we then
stand a chance to meet global
standard”, Hadiza said.
policemen who lost their
husbands. The widows were
also supported with food items,
so that the money given to them
would not be spent on food but
for the purpose it was meant.
She also appreciated the
POWA President, Hajia Fatima
Adamu, the wife of the
Inspector General of Police,
wives of the Deputy Inspectors
General of Police and the
Kwara State Commissioner of
Police, Ag. Cp Kayode
Egbetokun for their support for
all POWA programs in Kwara.