Press Releases

Fashola Charges Women To Advocate Benefits Of Family Planning

Nov 3, 2009 - Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Tuesday charged women particularly those in business to help in leading the advocacy on the benefits of family planning as a way of improving quality of life and fighting poverty.

According to Governor Fashola who spoke while delivering the keynote address at the opening of the Eighth Annual Conference of Women in Management and Business (WIMBIZ) held at the Expo Hall of Eko Hotels and Tower, Victoria Island, “I do not wish to be misunderstood as suggesting that it is only your responsibility, but I appreciate that you can play more than an important role in leading this change”.

He added that the old arguments that were the foundation of very large families, such as the need for extra farm hands, poor healthcare that limited the survival chances of children and the preference for a particular gender of child have been demystified as simply not tenable.

He added that: “If there was still any doubt about what a girl can achieve, the members of this organization of confident, intelligent and successful women provide the answer to the skeptics”

“Mechanized farming has shown that you do not need so many hands to plant or harvest, immunization has improved the survival of our children from what it was over four decades ago when I was born”, Governor Fashola added.

Said he: “If we do not restrain our procreative urge, we cannot lift ourselves out of poverty. I urge you not to ignore this call to lead a most impactful change”.

He reiterated that women in business more than any other people know and understand that in business and enterprise management, efficiency and success is dictated by the prudent utilization and allocation of resources that are always limited.

Governor Fashola said it is therefore incumbent upon everyone to see the country and each of the component states as enterprises that must be effectively and efficiently managed by judicious utilization and allocation of resources in order to reduce scarcity and poverty.

He said as world leaders gather in Copenhagen in December to deliberate on environmental challenges of the world, now is the time for women to be more proactive in the search for sustainable sources of alternative energy on which businesses depend.

Governor Fashola urged the women to sufficiently arm themselves with enough information about the proposed reforms in the petroleum sector and participate in the process of formulating the rules that will govern the game of managing the petroleum industry just as the Senate begins the consideration of the Petroleum Industry bill, and the national government commits to its plan to deregulate the supply and distribution of petroleum products.

The Lagos State Governor said with the serious challenges which the practice of Globalization has come under, what lies ahead is a common resolve to create a new legal order a new body of rules to regulate how business will be done in a most uncertain future.

Rhetorically, Governor Fashola asked: “What should be our guide or compass to enable us conceive these new body of rules? What roles will women in business be expected to play in delivering these rules and in implementing them”.

He advised that as the most populous black race, Nigeria cannot stand on the fence adding, “our minds must be alert, our hands must be at work and our voices must be heard in the process of developing this new body of rules”.

“New ways of doing business in a way that puts the environment at less risk and affords protection to all of us are a matter of urgent necessity”, he emphasized.

He added that the face of international business has changed. The rules that worked 50 years ago have become inadequate to deal with today’s demands. Businesses that were the mainstay of families, states and nations have disappeared and many more are threatened.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Chairperson of the Women in Management and Business (WIMBIZ), Mrs Bola Adesola said a good look at some epoch making events around the world reveals that they were not made possible by maintaining the status quo, but by change agents who employ ingenious strategies to solving conventional problems.

She added that the Annual Conference remains a vibrant platform for networking and provides the participants an avenue to know how the game is played and also have new ideas and methods to change the face of business and leave landmarks.

Also speaking, the Chairperson of the Conference, Mrs Hairat Balogun said the Eighth Annual Conference of WINBIZ with the theme: “Change the Game and Make a Difference” is not only apt but very timely as it would allow a cross fertilization of ideas for the participants.

THE Conference was attended by the First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs Abimbola Fashola and many high ranking women.

Mrs Adesola later presented a gift to Governor Fashola in appreciation of his support and presence.