By Henry Uche
Wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has charged women in the country to consciously help in building a sustainable society where everyone would be free to maximize their potential without any form of apprehension for national growth and development.
Represented by the wife of her special advisor on Mineral Resources, Mrs. Mrs Victoria Olowu, at the 2024 Women In Management and Leadership Conference, put together by Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), in Lagos, she maintained that the task of building a sane and progressive society starts from the home; thus, parents must not be found wanting in their responsibilities of raising a godly children.
“Women must be a role model. What you do contributes in shaping an equitable society. You must confront those challenges inhibiting you from realising your full potential. And I urge you to take advantage of the initiatives from our office targeted at women and children to make positive impact in our society,” she stressed.
On her part, the permanent secretary, federal ministry of Special Duties and Inter – governmental Affairs, Ibiene Patricia Roberts, encouraged women across board to make themselves available for leadership, management and administrative responsibilities, instead of sitting on the fence or taking the back seats.
“Investment in women is investment in Nigerian’s future. I encourage you to lead with vision, courage and innovation as we embrace digital tools and opportunities to soar in our respective spheres of leadership,” she admonished.
With the theme, ‘Digital Transformation and Women Leadership’, the President/Chairman of Council of NIM, Mrs. Christiana Atako, challenged women at the conference to distinguished themselves and stand tall in everything they do, given their uniqueness.
She assured women of the Institute that her team would make inroads into relevant state and federal governments Ministries, Departments and Agencies to seek collaboration on better ways to advance the course of women politically, socially, economically, academically and otherwise.
“We must not relegate ourselves nor allow anyone do that. We can’t stand aloof nor take the back seats. We shall seek synergy with relevant government agencies to advance the potential of women in all fronts,” she assured.
Other speakers at the conference implored men to support women to fulfil their dreams and aspirations in life, even as women in other climes are making waves in different spheres of life.