Nigeria First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has tasked the leadership of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) to tackle the security challenges in the country.
Mrs Tinubu gave this task during a one-day Gender Mainstreaming Conference held at Defence Headquarters with the theme “building capacity through gender mainstreaming to meet security challenges’’.
The First lady commended the AFN for organizing such an event and acknowledged that it was timely given several security challenges facing Nigeria.
She emphasized that addressing these complex and multipath security challenges requires innovative and comprehensive approaches, including gender mainstreaming.
Mrs Tinubu recognized that effective security measures should encompass not only military strength but also human rights protection, economic stability, social and environmental sustainability.
She stressed that to achieve this goal, more cooperation among governments, civil society organizations, and international bodies to share best practices while holding each other accountable for progress.
According to her, to empower women within their rank and file in AFN further, education programs must include gender sensitivity training amongst security personnel.
Women’s participation in peace negotiations is essential as well as their leadership roles in conflict resolution efforts bringing a reconciliatory perspective into negotiations.
She also stated that incidents of gender-based violence should be reported without fear of victimization; collaborations are needed between governments’ civil society organizations and international bodies for proper mechanisms to report/address such incidents.
The first lady revealed that the Renewed Hope Initiative project is aimed towards strengthening women, empowerment by providing access to training, education opportunities along with equipping them with laptops, grants supporting educational, professional pursuits; as empowering women will empower communities and nations ultimately.
Responding, The Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa alongside Minister of Defence Alhaji Mohammed Baduru applauded Sen. Oluremi Tinubu’s recommendations during her speech at a one-day Gender Mainstreaming Conference held at Defense headquarters.
