News

IWD: Friends Of The Earth Advocate Environmental Justice For Women

Published

10 months ago

March 10, 2024

By Gloria Ikibah

A non- governmental advocacy group and partners known as Friends of the Earth (FoE) have ramped up efforts to push for environmental justice and gender equality to enhance women’s status in Africa and other parts of the world.

This was the focus of a virtual press conference to mark the 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD, on Friday.

The Coordinator Forest and Biodiversity Programme of FoE, Rita Uwaka emphasized the need to chart a transformative course towards women’s empowerment and gender equality.

According to her, it has become incumbent on leaders, especially in Africa, to articulate a compelling vision of inclusive governance and gender parity, driven by structures that will give women more opportunities to occupy key decision and policy making positions.

Uwaka, a notable advocate of women empowerment, lamented that women play significant roles in agro-commodity production yet they are denied access to land based on obnoxious traditional and cultural practices that hinder them and reduce their potential.

She therefore called on the government and the media to help strengthen the means to democratize development and make women’s voices heard within international solidarity agencies that promote and support women’s right and permit women more access to land ownership, stressing that “environmental justice cannot happen without gender justice”.

Edna Tabajuika from Tanzania said that “women are the backbone of the societies because they are the primary producers in East Africa yet get fewer benefits because of cultural practices that deny them ownership of land”.

She decried the situation where companies in the extractive industries are notorious in grabbing land from women in Tanzania warning that this is leading to food insecurity.

“Food security suffers when women lose access to land, because it leads to economic disempowerment,” she said.

Azeeza Rangunwala from Groundwork based in South Africa in her remarks, highlighted the increasing level of violence against women in South Africa even as she called for a “feminist transition” that will dismantle the patriarchal system that has worked against women emancipation.

She called for reforms in all arms of government to give women more spaces with an action that will work towards ending the obnoxious ideas and cultural practices that exacerbate the crisis the women are grappling with.

Normor Bee from Liberia in her submission called on women to intensify their pivotal role in shaping the human trajectory. She advocated for new generation of empowered women equipped with the knowledge, skills, through training and capacity building to effect positive change in their communities and beyond.

Aminata Massaquoi from Sierra Leone in her remarks said that the issues of policies in plantation areas are rarely talked about. She pointed out that the advocacy groups in Sierra Leone are pushing hard, especially on strengthening the laws that will protect women.

However, in most parts of the world especially in Africa, enhancing the status of women has faced massive impediments due to historical pattern of poor priorities and policies as well as cultural practices that have hindered the women and limited their potential.

In Africa, women play massive role in agro-commodity productivity as their efforts help to feed the growing population of the continent. However, women have limited access to land in most communities and in many others they face gender violence, unequal pay for jobs and suffer severe exclusion in decision and policy making bodies.

They are victims of wars and conflicts like the war in Gaza, where many women have reportedly been killed. The women also face enormous sexual exploitation during such conflicts which most times plunge them into poverty and deprivation.

Naijablitznews.com reports that the International Women’s Day is conceptualized and enacted by the United Nations and celebrated every March 8.

News

Nigeria Renews Currency Swap Deal With China

Published

3 hours ago

December 27, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Nigeria and China have renewed the currency swap agreement between both countries.

The renewal is valid for three years and can be renewed upon mutual consent.

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who shared the information on his social media account, said China’s central bank confirmed on Friday that it has renewed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The total value of the agreement is 15 billion yuan (about 2.09 billion U.S. dollars), or 3.28 trillion Nigerian naira, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on its website.

It said that the renewal of the currency swap arrangement will strengthen financial cooperation between China and Nigeria, expand the use of the two currencies, and promote and facilitate bilateral trade and investment.

Recall back in 2018, the CBN and its Chinese counterpart, signed a currency swap deal after two years of negotiations between the two countries.

The deal, valued at about $2.5bn, is aimed at providing adequate local currency liquidity to Nigerian and Chinese industrialists and other businesses, thereby reducing the difficulties encountered in the search for third currencies.

The move is also aimed at facilitating bilateral trade and investment and promoting the financial stability of both countries.

News

Aiyedatiwa names court complex after Akeredolu

Published

3 hours ago

December 27, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has immortalised his predecessor, Rotimi Akeredolu, as he announced that the new High Court complex to be constructed in the state would be named after the departed ex-governor.

Aiyedatiwa disclosed this while speaking during the flag-off of the construction of the new high court complex also called the Judiciary Village in Akure, the state capital, on Friday.

Aiyedatiwa described the project as a historic milestone for the state, adding that it was conceived under the leadership and vision of the late Akeredolu.

He said, “This is a milestone celebration as we flag off the construction of a new high court complex in our dear state.

“Since the creation of Ondo State in 1976, no attempt has been made to provide a modern edifice for the administration of justice.

“Today, we are not only making history but also fulfilling a long-standing dream of the judiciary.

“This development is the actualisation of the dream and vision of our late leader, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

“He desired to provide a state-of-the-art high court complex to enhance the workload and welfare of our judiciary.

“Naming this project the Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu Judiciary Complex is a fitting way to immortalise his legacy.”

Highlighting the importance of embarking on the project, the governor expressed his administration’s commitment to the advancement of justice and the welfare of judicial officers in the state.

“Let me state with all sense of responsibility that we are embarking on this project at this time not because the state is too buoyant financially but because of our commitment to providing a good working environment with modern facilities that will enhance the welfare of our judicial officers, workers and people seeking justice, with the overall aim of speeding up the dispensation of justice in Ondo State.

“This complex will include a ceremonial court, modular courts, a registry, a library, exhibition buildings, a utility building and modern parking facilities.

“It’s designed to create a conducive environment for the administration of justice and to speed up the dispensation of justice in Ondo State,” he stated.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola lauded the initiative, describing it as a landmark achievement of the current administration in the state.

News

2024 Globe Soccer Awards, Ronaldo, Vinicius, Bellingham win big(Photos)

Published

3 hours ago

December 27, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Al Nassr and Portuguese forward, Cristiano Ronaldo was named the best player in the Middle East at the 2024 Globe Soccer Awards ceremony held in Dubai earlier on, December 27.

The organizers of the 2024 Globe Soccer Awards ceremony honoured Real Madrid president Florentino Perez with the career-recognition award tagged “The greatest president of all time”.

Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand alongside Alessandro Del Piero, Neymar, and Thibaut Courtois were also given lifetime achievement awards.

It was a night for Real Madrid and members of the team as the club’s coach, Carlo Ancelotti was named Best Coach at the Globe Soccer Awards. His player, Vinicius Junior, was named Best Men’s Player of the Year, while Jude Bellingham won the Best Midfielder award.