•Urges mothers to engage youths over protests
•Pledges to tackle violence against women
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday hailed the role of women in building the country, describing them as stabilizers of peace. Buhari, who made the comment when he received a delegation led by Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, urged them to engage the youths, in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests, on the need for dialogue, to avoid a repeat.
“Your visit here today comes in the wake of growing youth restiveness which engulfed parts of the country in the last few weeks. As mothers of Nigeria, you play a critical role in bringing about lasting peace. We very much regret the loss of lives during the protests and damages to businesses, including medium and small-scale enterprises.
“I urge you to engage with our children and youth on the need for dialogue that will yield better understanding going forward. Our youth remain our most treasured asset and it is our collective responsibility to present to them a pathway to realising their huge potential.
“I recognise the value Nigerian women bring to our society,. especially when they are supported and given a voice. This administration is a beneficiary of the strong support of Nigerian women and I truly thank you all for the display of resilience throughout our journey,” the president said.
Buhari informed the visitors that his administration remained fully committed to ending the budding rise of violence against women in Nigeria and the rest of the world.
He said although the country has not achieved the 35 percent affirmation on the participation of women in governance, the current administration was determined to exceed the benchmark.
President Buhari also reaffirmed his commitment to end child marriage as well as facilitate the promotion of girl child education in all parts of the country.
Earlier, Tallen thanked the President for always supporting Nigerian women, especially in the fight against rape and gender violence.
“This support that you have given by lending your voice and declaring Nigeria’s zero-based tolerance against rape and gender violence has clearly placed Nigeria on the global map to harvesting best practices around such issues as was spotlighted at the UN General Assembly in September 2020,” she said.
The minister appealed to the President to ensure that the issues responsible for the ongoing strike by university lecturers are resolved amicably, so that students could go back to school.
