…commends effort of UN, EU through Spotlight Initiative
Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade
Agba, says that the Nigerian government is committed to the global
effort at decreasing violence against women and girls by intensifying
collaboration with international partners in the fight against the
scourge.
Agba restated the commitment on Friday in a welcome address he delivered
at the first bi-annual meeting of the National Steering Committee for
the Spotlight Initiative in 2020 held at the United Nations’ auditorium
in Abuja.
The Spotlight Initiative specifically backs a national action to end
violence against women and girls amid the COVID-19 pandemic while the
Initiative’s National Steering Committee provides overall strategic
policy and political direction on the implementation of the spotlight
programme.
The Committee is also responsible for improving coordination and
accountability in the three-way partnership among the United Nations
(UN), the European Union (EU) and the Government of Nigeria.
Agba said, “Decreasing violence against women and girls requires global
solidarity, a multi-pronged approach, and sustained engagement with
multiple stakeholders,” adding “I, therefore, wish to restate the
government of Nigeria’s commitment to all agreed international
obligations in this regard.”
The minister recalled the cases of the 22-year old microbiology student
at the University of Benin who was on May 28, this year, reported to
have been raped, brutally assaulted and later died; and, the 18-year old
student of the Federal College of Animal and Production Technology,
Ibadan, Barakat Bello, who was on June 1, this year, also reportedly
raped to death in her home after returning from Qur’anic lessons.
According to him, “incidences such as these make it imperative for all
stakeholders to do everything possible to ensure that women and girls in
Nigeria have the right to live in dignity and free from violence.”
Agba said that the European Union/United Nations Joint Spotlight
Initiative, therefore, represented a veritable tool for such
partnership.
“Let me at this point, on behalf of the Government of Nigeria, express
our Country’s gratitude to the European Union (EU) and the United
Nations (UN) for their joint efforts at eliminating all forms of
violence against women and girls, as well as other initiatives that are
targeted at achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, in line
with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” he stated.
The minister further said that the Spotlight Initiative aligned with
Nigeria’s national priorities as encapsulated in the Economic Recovery
and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020, whose successor plan, the Nigerian
National Development Plan had, as an important pillar, ensuring that
women issues were very well captured.
Agba declared that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had,
in the last five years, worked hard to address some of the issues
confronting the nation in the area of violence against women and girls.
He assured Nigerians and other stakeholders that the government intended
to build on the gains of the past in order to conclude the work of
changing, in a fundamental way, all issues relating to violence against
women and girls.
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Dame Pauline Tallen,
acknowledged the support that Nigeria had received from the Spotlight
Initiative and urged all hands to be on deck in order to achieve a
desirable outcome.
EU Ambassador to Nigeria and Head of Delegation, Mr. Karlsen Ketil, said
the committee identified the need for more encouragement at state level
and for scaling up high-level actions.
Ketil said that the current national outcry over different rape cases
provided momentum for immediate action and called for a nationwide
virtual town hall meeting to discuss the issue with members of the
public on the way forward.
“We look forward to continuing these conversations to help transform the
Spotlight Initiative into a concrete and result-oriented flagship
programme”, he stated.
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator of the National Steering
Committee meeting for the Spotlight Initiative, Mr. Edward Kallon, said
“with the Spotlight Initiative, we are in a position to do more than
just connecting victims with services and hoping for the best,” adding
that, “although, immediate protection of survivors of Gender-Based
Violence (GBV) is essential, so too is addressing the systemic
challenges that perpetuate violence, gender inequality and injustice.”
Coordinator of Spotlight Initiative, Hadiza Aminu Dorayi, stressed the
need for all stakeholders to stay actively engaged and “work together to
successfully implement the Spotlight Initiative to eliminate all forms
of violence against women and girls by 2030 in line with the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).”