Women’s Day: Minister identifies women in leadership as panacea for development

The FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu on Monday in Abuja affirmed that encouraging more women into leadership positions remained critical in the development of any society.

Aliyu stated this at the 2021 International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration organised by the Association of Women Town Planners, FCT Chapter with the theme: “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World.”

Represented by the Director FCT Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Zalihau Ahmed, the minister also said that involvement of women in governance would go a long way in addressing the challenges of the future.

She stated that women in leadership positions must continue to push the boundaries of gender equality by utilising their strengths and leadership qualities in skill, knowledge, experience and emotion.

Aliyu added that women must pursue the things they wanted from their job and their career, not waiting for them to come to them.

She noted that education and practice reduced some of the invisible struggles of being a woman in a leadership role.

Aliyu, however, acknowledged that there were still challenges to face and overcome.

The minister, therefore, asked female town planners to continue to find solutions to the attendant multi-dimensional consequences of rapid urbanisation, as Nigerians strove to provide liveable spaces both within and outside urban centres

“More women in leadership positions must continue to push the boundaries of gender equality by utilising their strengths and leadership qualities in skill, knowledge, experience and emotion.

“Encouraging more women into leadership positions remains critical in our era and it will go a long way in addressing the challenges of the future,” she said.

She commended the leadership of the Association of Women Town Planners, FCT Chapter, for their thoughtfulness in organising the event.

The event, according to her, aimed at reinforcing the fact that everyone has a role to play in forging a more sustainable gender-balanced built environment.

“This goes to show that the female town planners are prepared to take the lead in tackling the challenges of building our cities sustainably.

“As professional town planners, the onus is on us to continue to find solutions to the attendant multi-dimensional consequences of rapid urbanisation, as we strive to provide liveable spaces both within and outside urban centres,” she said.

In her remarks, the Chairperson Association of Women Town Planners FCT chapter, Lami Ayuba, noted that women town planners were leaders in the built environment.

She encouraged female town planners to positively position the profession and expressed concerns over the proliferation of all kinds of estates in the city without planning.

Ayuba stressed that a proper standard should be evolved for estate development in the Federal Capital Territory.