Mbah Calls For Women Inclusion In Nation-building

Governor of Enugu State Peter Mbah has stressed the need for the inclusion of women in social development, peace and nation-building.

Mbah, who was represented by the deputy governor, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, made the call during the Nkata Ndi Inyom Igbo annual conference held in Enugu yesterday

He observed that women have been veritable tools for societal development, insisting that more partnerships with them on issues concerning the society could only engender success and progress.

The annual conference was organized by the Igbo women with the aim of partnering with the men and young people to ensure that the insecurity bedeviling the nation, and particularly the South East region is quelled.

Speaking on the theme of the event, ‘Women: Unifying Force in Peacebuilding’, Mbah maintained that gone were the days when women were relegated at the backwaters of societal affairs, subjugated and maltreated by their male counterparts, saying if posterity would forgive the forefathers for engaging in such act out of ignorance, the present generation would not be forgiven should they resort in such acts.

“When we talk of the capacity and ability of women to build our community, local government, and the country, anyone who pretends that it is not true is only paying lip service to the reality that we all have to face. Most of the developments in the communities are the product of the women’s August meetings. The initiative they took is what gave birth to some of those projects we see in our communities.

Similarly, the Chairperson of the group’s Board of Trustees, Mrs. Regina Amadi-Njoku in her address maintained that the need for the conversation is borne out of the fact there is a need for speedy healing of Igbo land, as no society developed without security, justice and peace.

According to her, women are the daughters, wives, and mothers that fuel the informal sector, yet they become the biggest victims of the dysfunctional formal sector where modern development seems to have excluded their input, assuring that the conference would enable them to rub minds, proffer solutions in unison as they harness the ideas of men and women.