Fred Itua, Abuja

Wife of the Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, has bemoaned the marginalisation of women in the country. She said if the country must make substantial progress,  women must be appreciated.

She spoke at the French Embassy, Abuja, Tuesday night, at a stakeholders forum organised by Women in Africa, led by Costello Abiola.

Mrs Osinbajo who lamented that women were marginalised and looked down in Nigeria, urged the body to empower women at every level in the country.

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“I have two requests. Let us be one of those that give help to women from outside and from within.  It appears women are marginalised in Nigeria. We are looked down upon. I am an African woman, and like other women, I need help too. For every woman you help, you are helping an entire community, village or town. Men should realise that for every woman that is helped, everyone is helped too,” she said.

Costello Abiola, who was unveiled as the new president of the global body, said, if Nigeria and Africa must develop, women must take their rightful place.

She said the organisation would reach out to every nook and cranny of Nigeria and Africa to effect changes for women.

“What do we have in Africa that we can grow? Our communities are stronger than what we have in the western world. What we have in these communities are women. We represent only three per cent of the world’s economy. If we are going to grow Africa, the strong must grow the weak. It is time for us to take responsibility. We convened this meeting in January because we want to succeed. We will meet in Morocco in June to discuss about the future of women in Africa. We will have an event in Nigeria where people will bring their ideas. We will come up with a White Paper report.