GBV: Wike, Kingibe Lead Long Distance Walk To Commemorate 16 Days Of Activism

Vehicular movements would be temporarily halted along some major roads within the federal capital city, Abuja, on Saturday, November 25, 2023, as the Federal Capital Territory administration (FCTA) is joining the world in ‘Orange’ with a long distance walk to create awareness in preventing violence against women and children. 

FCTA’s mandate secretary for women and children affairs, Mrs Adedayo Bejamins-Laniyi, announced this while meeting with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.  

She said the orange walk, which is part of the activities lined up for the 2023 ‘16 Days of Activism’ against gender-based violence, will be captained by the minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike and other notable personalities including the Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Senator Ireti Kingibe. “We are going to have a walk and the Minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, Commandant of the NSCDC and Distinguished Senator Ireti Kingibe others will be leading the walk. Also, the distinguished Senator Kingibe has come out with an incredible `Orange Nigeria Project’. She wanted all of us in the gender field to create a movement and to work together. So our `Orange FCT Cloud’ will be flowing into Orange Nigeria Project; Project of the FCT, and as we do this, it is non-partisan, non-tribal, non-political, non-religious and non-gender agenda. It is just a message,’’ Bejamins-Laniyi said. 

According to her, a total of 2,344 cases of Gender based violence (GBV) have been reported in the FCT, even as she admitted that there are challenges in reporting incidences of the GBV and how to bring it to the fore. 

“Now, the ingenuity of the FCT GBV focal person was created for this interaction and let them see alongside other geographical zones of Nigeria. If we trigger something of consciousness with the OAPs and influencers, mothers and leaders in those communities, they will also do something. For me it has also become a trigger, a clear dashboard for my own inaugural assignment. 

“From a thousand reported cases of sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGV), it has now shot up to 2, 344 as at today. This is caused by a greater consciousness and now a will to engage those channels of reporting. Also, I have become very much an activist for the GBV campaign and I have been deliberate about it. And we are going to focus on disability and gender base disability violence,’’ she stressed.

 The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign which takes place each year and runs from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10 (Human Rights Day). The campaign is used as an organising strategy by individuals and organisations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.