Mrs Cecilia Bolaji-Dada, Lagos State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, on Saturday advised women to embark on skills acquisition that would sustain them after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bolaji-Dada, who gave the advice at the monthly congress of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Lagos State Chapter’s Zoom Meeting, also enjoined women to embrace agriculture.
Theme of the Zoom Meeting was: “Post COVID -19: Financial Recovery and Empowerment Opportunity for Women.”
According to her, COVID-19 has started affecting the economies of the countries in a way that is leading to many job cuts and losses.
”We cannot wish COVID-19 and its impact away, but we must make deliberate efforts toward skill acquisition and engagement in agriculture.There is surely life after COVID-19.
“I strongly recommend that women in Lagos should go back to invest in agriculture. The time to invest in specific skills and agriculture is now,” she said.
The commissioner noted that women were often worst hit by the economic challenges, adding it was imperative for women to begin to evolve strategies for absorbing the shocks.
Bolaji-Dada said that various sectors were currently being adversely affected by the effects of COVID-19, and reminded women on the need to be proactive by acquiring skills and going into farming.
She said it was important for women to know that skills acquisition was one of the surest ways to achieving women empowerment and financial independence.
Bolaji-Dada said the state government has several vocational centres that had empowered many women in the state in various skills as well as gave them startups.
The commissioner, while thanking NAWOJ for its collaboration with her ministry and for choosing her as patron, promised to assist female journalists who were willing to go into agriculture.
She said that the state government currently had various agricultural programmes and other empowerment initiatives that had attracted women in the state.
In her remarks, Chairperson of NAWOJ in Lagos, Mrs Adeola Ekini, at the special congress dedicated to the first anniversary of her tenure in office, thanked the commissioner for her partnership with the association.
Ekini promised to make the list of female journalists and other programmes to the ministry.
She thanked members of the association for their supports. (NAN)
