The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, OON, has declared the 23rd National Women’s Conference open, saying that women have the capacity to transform not only individual lives but also the broader landscape of our nation and the world if given the needed support.
Giving a Keynote Address at the Conference organised by the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials, COWLSO, at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island on Tuesday, Senator Tinubu urged participants at the event to work together, collaborate, and support one another to ensure that every woman in Nigeria has the tools and opportunities to reach her full potential.
According to her, women have the power to shape the future as leaders, innovators, caregivers, and agents of positive change but must continue to break down barriers that limit their progress, challenge stereotypes, and foster an environment of equal opportunity for all.
The First Lady told women at the conference to remember that their potential is not just about personal success; but about uplifting families, communities, and Nigeria as a whole, hence the need to unleash their potentials and transform the communities.
She said “I call upon each and every one of you to embrace the theme of this Conference, "Unleash Your Potential," not only for your benefit but for your individual States and the benefit of our beloved Nation.”
While delivering a Goodwill Message at the event, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said that the theme for the Conference, “Unleash Your Potential”, is very apt in view of the current challenges that Nigeria is facing, as it underscored the need to be more intentional and determined in harnessing the innate abilities and capacities of women to drive the Renewed Hope agenda at the national level, and similar initiatives being implemented at the sub-national levels.
Sanwo-Olu maintained that the gathering of women under the COWLSO umbrella, represents an invaluable opportunity to explore the collective power and potential of individuals, particularly women, in the quest to build a Greater Lagos.
He acknowledged the many interventions of COWLSO in critical sectors such as Health, Education, Environment, and Youth development are impacting positively on the lives of Lagosians, revealing that COWLSO recently completed the construction of three-floor classroom building in partnership with the Lagos State Committee on Rehabilitation of Public Schools, (SCRPS), for students of Ogombo in Ajah.
The Governor urged participants at the Conference to be catalysts of positive change in their various communities, workplaces, and families, saying that together, we have the power to shape a future where every individual, regardless of gender, is afforded equal opportunities to excel and contribute meaningfully to society.
Other speakers at the event included the Senate President, Senator Goodwill Akpabio, and the Governors of Oyo, Ogun, and Osun who were represented at the event, lauded the various giant strides of COWLSO and the developmental projects already delivered by the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials.
Earlier, the Chairman of COWLSO and the wife of the State Governor, Dr. Mrs. Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, acknowledged the First Lady of Nigeria Senator Oluremi Tinubu CON, OON for the massive support she continues to give to women and children, as well as the Senate President Senator; Godswill Akpabio, the Governors of Oyo and Bauchi States, Engr. Seyi Makinde and Abdulkadir Mohammed for identifying with the cause of women's leadership and development in the State.
The First Lady who listed some activities of COWLSO under her leadership, reported that the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials had impacted lives through its various interventions in the education sector, Agriculture, donation to orphanages, seminar on sanitation, security, and safety for market leaders and stakeholders, senior citizens outreach with presentation of cash gifts and household items, just to mention a few.
According to the First Lady. The 2023 theme of the Conference “Unleash Your Potential”, is urging participants to take risks, face their fears, and push past their comfort zones in order to discover what they are truly capable of achieving. “Our focus is to bridge the gap between where you are presently and the place or position where you ought to be, where your potential is fully unleashed”, she added.
The COWLSO Chairman, however, remarked that unleashing one's potential is a step one has to take with courage as anyone who fails to unleash his potential has robbed the world of valuable treasures.