WORLD BANK COLLABORATION WITH AKWA IBOM GOVERNMENT TO CHANGE SOCIO-ECONOMIC FORTUNES OF 54,000 WOMEN

 

By Edet Okpo 

A total of 54,  000 Akwa Ibom women, representing at least 18, 000 from three local government areas in the State are set to benefit from World Bank Empowerment Programme tagged, “Nigeria For Women Project” (NFWP). 

This, it must first be noted, points to the robust international diplomacy and mutually beneficial partnership that the Akwa Ibom State Government under the people-oriented administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel has sustained with progressive external organizations like the World Bank. 

As clearly  stated during an orientation workshop organized by the Nigeria For Women Project  on Tuesday,  March 29, 2022, the three local government areas in the State to benefit from the implementation of the pilot programme include Onna, Oruk Anam and Ibesikpo.

Through the support of the World Bank, Akwa Ibom  women have been mobilized by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare to be trained on financial management and subsequently empowered to scale up productivity. The programme  is a World Bank sponsored effort to prioritize the livelihood of women and stem the tide of negative norms and gender biases. 

The Nigeria For Women Project is a World Bank Assisted Project implemented in six States of the Federation. They were selected as pioneer States one each from the six geopolitical zones of the country. Akwa Ibom was selected to represent the South-South region. According to the World Bank, the scheme aims at supporting and improving livelihoods to underserved women like petty traders in targeted local government areas of the State, nay country. 

X-raying the content of the massive programme at the Orientation Workshop, the Technical Adviser and World Bank Representative of Nigeria For Women Project in Akwa Ibom State, Dr. Temitope Sinkaiye, who commended the Akwa Ibom State Governor,Mr. Udom Emmanuel for providing enabling environment for the project to thrive  and  payment of counterpart fund, also acknowledged the tremendous  support and   strategic commitment of the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Dr. Ini Adiakpan, to the smooth take- off of the  World Bank Project in the State.

Assuring that the project will provide succour to the Women of the benefitting Local Government Areas and enhance their socio- economic fortunes, Mrs Sinkaiye further disclosed that Nigeria For Women Project was one of  the ways  World Bank supports women development and  encouragement of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.

Setting the tone for the event, the Akwa Ibom State Coordinator, Barr. Ofonime Otuknwa, who was beaming with smiles of gratitude for the selection of the State in the maiden implementation of Nigeria For Women Project thanked and heaped encomiums on the State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, for accepting and approving the Nigeria For Women Project so as to give leverage to women in the State. 

Describing Mr. Udom Emmanuel  as a strategic thinker, global financial expert  and gender-friendly Governor , Barr. Otuknwa also thanked the World Bank for what she called international and pragmatic concerns for women of the Third World who, statistically, are living in terrible conditions that need the best of models to change their situation.

Exponentially, Dr. Ini Adiakpan, whom the international organizers described as an individual catalyst to the running and overall success of the programme and hosting of the event in the State, explored other areas of the project and unlocked  more windows of understating for the attendees in her address. 

She said, “The benefitting women will be trained on savings, financial education, business skills, gender and life skills, grievance redress mechanism and business plan development. At the end of the individual savings period, successful people will be given grants to improve their businesses”. 

She observed that with the continuous population increase across societies of the world, women have been identified as the bedrock of their families’ survival, with little or no income and sustenance. She therefore saw the implementation of the project in Nigeria, and especially in Akwa Ibom State, as timely,noting that it was one of the best initiatives by the World Bank to reach out to Akwa Ibom Women as it will not only touch their lives, but will rub off on other dependents with collateral benefits. 

Dr. Adiakpan pointed out  that the project may not have been attracted to   the State  if the  Governor was not a man of vision and purposeful  leadership who, through good governance template, has created  enabling environment in the State for international collaboration and partnership in various ways. 

‘I am proud to say that the Government of Akwa Ibom State, through our gender-friendly Governor, His Excellency, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, is not only ambitious in this regards but has hands-on approach in ensuring gender equality, economic and social empowerment of women in the State”, the Commissioner stated.

Nevertheless, adding her voice to what best can be done to give steady steam and also  accelerate the project, the Women  Affairs Commissioner recommended that the State Coordinator of the Project, Barr. Ofonime Otuknwa, should marshal out  a workable and strategic plans required  of her office to achieve the objectives and success of the project in the State. 

The Commissioner reasoned that  such a huge benevolence  and goodwill from the World Bank should  not be taken for granted. 

To Dr. Adiakpan, the Nigeria For Women Project is a gesture that must be supported to succeed, hence her personal gratitude to the benefactors, Governor Udom Emmanuel, and First Lady of the State, Dr. (Mrs) Martha Udom Emmanuel for their foresightedness  and mutation of domestic and microcosmic initiatives targeted at  empowering  women in the State. 

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Margaret Edem, must further have spoken the minds of Akwa Ibom women and conveyed their gratitude when, in her vote of thanks, she said it was gladdening to see the State Governor build bridges connecting the women to a prestigious and renowned body like the World Bank, through the Nigeria For Women Project. 

It is therefore expected that the benefiting women of the project, on their part, shall operate by the rule of the game by bringing their ingenuity and skills to task and committing their time and energy to the expectations of the World Bank in Nigeria for Women Project.