2021 Mothers’ Summit: A Clarion Call Against Gender Violence

Wife of Governor of Anambra State and founder of the NGO, Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ), Her Excellency, Dr. (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano (Osodieme), and crème de la crème of Anambra women from all walks of life, including those in leadership in government and the communities converged at Dr. Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, Anambra State for the 2021 Mothers’ Summit. Also present were five First Ladies as Guests of Honour.

Wife of Governors at 2021 Mothers' Summit: Pix2(L-R): These are Mrs. Kafayat Oyetola, Dr. Mrs. Gloria Diri: Host: Dr. Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano(Osodieme), Mrs. Anna Darius Ishaku, Engr. Mrs. Olufunke Makinde, and Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi of Osun, Bayelsa, Anambra, Taraba, Oyo and Enugu states respectively in Awka Anambra recently. These were Mrs. Kafayat Oyetola, Dr. Mrs. Gloria Diri, Mrs. Anna Darius Ishaku, Engr. Mrs. Olufunke Makinde, and Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi of Osun, Bayelsa, Taraba, Oyo and Enugu states respectively.

The theme of the 2021 Mothers' Summit: Fighting Gender Violence in Covid-19 World was topical and chosen with a view to generating discussions and seeking ways to end the social scourge.

Mothers Summit is an annual platform for deliberation on issues of common interest to Anambra women in the evolving demands of modernity. It seeks to arouse their interest in community development and to set agenda for the yearly August Meetings in the various communities across the state.

Addressing the Summit, Mrs. Obiano called for emphasis on grassroots sensitization and awareness-creation on issues of Gender-Based violence. This she emphasized will ensure that mothers at all levels are adequately informed; urging that they pay attention to behaviour of their children and also the men to ensure they are engaged in meaningful ventures. She insisted that it is everyone's duty to ensure that the society is rid of the ugly trend of violence.

Continuing, Mrs. Obiano stated that her NGO, CAFE, is at the forefront of the campaign against any form of violence against women as well as girl-child or boys. She explained that the organization’s Skills training and empowerment programme which has over 5,500 indigent women and youth beneficiaries to help boost their economic self-reliance is aimed at reducing poverty and vulnerability to all forms of abuses.

Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano(Osodieme),Prof Chukwuma Soludo and wife Nonye

In the same vein, the visiting First Ladies in their respective goodwill messages confirmed that the Nigerian Governors' Wives Forum, their umbrella association, is at the vanguard of the fight against Gender-Based violence with the push for domestication of the Child Rights Act by the thirty-six states of Nigeria. They agreed that mothers are at the centre of solution to the problem since mothers are the ones called whenever something happens hence they are expected to to be alert to their responsibility as the “gate-keepers” at home.

Also speaking on the issue, the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Pauline Talen, represented by Director Gender Affairs, Mrs. Friya Bulus said that rising cases of gender violence are results of economic deprivation and lack of social security for many and assured that the government is not resting on it's oars, but is improving social safety nets to curtail adverse poverty situations that make a segment of the population susceptible to Gender-Based violence.

Welcoming the participants, Anambra State Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Lady Ndidi Mezue said that the fight against gender-based violence requires an approach that is both liberating and self-sustaining, stressing that socio-economic emancipation remains the shortest route to ending the ugly trend.

According to the International Growth Centre (IGC), a global network of world-leading researchers and in-country teams in Africa and South thirty percent of women and girls in Nigeria aged between fifteen and forty-nine years are experiencing one form of abuse or the other, and with restrictions associated with the Coronavirus pandemic, social observers fear that more persons may be affected.

The Keynote Speaker at the Summit, Prof Chike Okoye of Department of English and Linguistic Studies, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, set the tone for a robust engagement by defining Gender-Based violence as any form of violence act against another. This, he explained can manifest in the form of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) which concerns those co-habiting, live-in partners etc. or Violence Against Women (VAW).

Prof Okoye noted that economic stress caused by the pandemic and the restrictions were veritable triggers for all forms of violence and abuse and recommended economic empowerment, sexual education of target groups. Also, Commissioner for Basic Education, Prof Kate Omenugha who spoke in Igbo to the appreciation of the mix-audience, had earlier called for concerted effort by mothers in ensuring that there is stability at the home front.

On his part, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) gubernatorial candidate, Prof Chukwuma Soludo called for action on the issue of Gender-Based violence through effective legislation and implementation. He also commended Osodieme for programmes of her NGO, which he noted reflects the true meaning of the APGA philosophy of "Be your brothers and sisters keeper."

The 2021 Mothers' Summit was unique not only because it would be the last hosted by Mrs. Obiano, as First Lady of Anambra State, but because it dealt with a contemporary issue that got every attentive participant talking but also generated varying and actionable recommendations. The Summit was indeed a clarion call to action against gender-based violence.