Women express readiness for WAG
Communities across the pilot-benefiting Local Government Areas of Ondo State in the Nigeria for Women Program Scale-Up Project have embraced the initiative, lauding the bottom-up approach it adopts.
Staff of the Project took the key messages of the program to the nooks and corners of Ilaje, Akure North, and Akoko Northwest Local Government Areas, moving from one Palace to another, and from one market to another, sensitising women on the need to accept the grassroots-oriented development initiative for women’s development – the Women Affinity Group- aimed at encouraging women to group themselves based on affinity and cultivate savings and loaning habits to improve their livelihoods.
In Ilaje, the Local Government Chairman, Hon. Maurice Oripenaiye, who led the management team of the council to receive project staff, commended the initiative and pledged the support of the Local Government for the success of the project. According to him, “development initiatives that are driven by the people have greater impact than the ones those in authority just conceive for the people.
The fact, from your explanation, that these women will own their groups, manage their own affairs, and then get supported by Ward Facilitators that you trained will make the project more impactful. I therefore give you my word that this Local Government, under my leadership, will do everything to support the successful implementation of this project which, to my mind, is in tandem with the development agenda of Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.”
The Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom, Oba Frederick Akinruntan, the Olu of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, the Amapetu of Mahin, Oba Oluwasegun Akinyomi, Regent of Ereke Kingdom, Princess Victoria Oguntibeju, the Monehin of Obinehin, Oba Williams Kajeijaye, and the Odede of Igboegunrin, Oba Philips Kajejaye, among many other traditional rulers in the Local Government, commended the non-partisan nature of the Nigeria for Women Program Scale-Up Project and urged for the careful implementation to capture all women in the various communities.
They promised to encourage women in the various communities. Beyond the sensitisation visits to communities and monarchs in Ilaje Local Government Area, women were also sensitised across markets and the streets. At the Igbokoda International Market, women took time to ask various questions and expressed eagerness to join Women Affinity Groups immediately.
In Akoko Northwest Local Government Area, traditional rulers commended the initiative and pledged their support for its successful implementation. The monarchs, including the Owa of Ogbagi-Akoko, Oba Victor Olasehinde Adetona; the Zaki of Arigidi-Akoko, Oba (Dr.) Yisa Abu Olanipekun; the Onirun of Irun, Oba Samuel Bayode Agboola; the Aláfìn of Àfìn-Akoko, Oba (Professor) Abdulraheem Mustapha Adejoro represented by the Aremo of Àfìn-Akoko, High Chief Muraina Kilani; and the Osunla of Erusu, Oba Sunday Olaniyi Mogaji (Imole I), urged the programme team to ensure that its activities reach every community across the Local Government Area.
While expressing support for the initiative, the traditional rulers raised concerns about previous empowerment programmes that, they said, failed to fulfil their promises, with some allegedly defrauding women and other intended beneficiaries. They therefore called on the Federal and Ondo State Governments to ensure the NFWP-SU is implemented transparently and that genuine efforts improve women’s economic well-being, rather than raising hopes without delivering the promised support.
The monarchs emphasised the need for accountability, effective implementation and equitable distribution of programme benefits, stressing that women in all communities across Akoko North-West Local Government Area should have the opportunity to benefit from the initiative.
In Akure North Local Government, project staff took the key messages of the Nigeria for Women Program Scale-Up Project to many communities in the area, as traditional rulers there, including the Regent of Oba-Ile, Princess Adefoluke Veronica Agunbiade-Adu, Asinigbo of Isinigbo, Oba Adu Omotayo, the Olu of Ilu-Abo, Oba Oluyemi Falae, among others, commended the implementation pattern of the project, emphasising the importance of getting the people involved in their own development. The monarchs also urged the implementing agency of the government, the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, to conscientiously implement the program to the advantage of women in Ondo State.
With the buy-in of communities across the three pilot Local Government Areas in Ondo State, the stage is set for the successful implementation of the Nigeria for Women Program Scale-Up project in the state. It is also expected that the women will now start grouping themselves in line with their affinities, bearing in mind the non-negotiable principles of the project.
