Stakeholders have appealed to the government at all levels and members of the society to encourage girl child education and involvement of women in political activities of the country.
The admonition was made at the 70th Anniversary of the Queen’s School Old Girls Association, QSOGA, held on Saturday at Solam Event Centre, Oluyole, Ibadan.
Speaking at the event, President Worldwide of the Association, Dr Mrs Taiwo Adamson, a consultant Psychiatrist and former provost and medical director of neuro-psychiatric hospital, Aro, in her brief remark, called on the students to be futuristic and dedicated to their studies.
He said: “Today, we clocked 70 years and we old girls of Ede/Ibadan set out to celebrate ourselves. We have had a one week activities to thank God. So, this is the grand finale of the programme.
“Sincerely, I want to use this opportunity to call on our students to be dedicated to their studies and have a vision for their lives. If you don’t see something, you cannot achieve or attain it. It is what you see that ou can achieve. So, they must be able to strive to achieve their purposes in life.
“This is school of excellence, who have turned out wonderful and successful women, who are pillars in various aspects of their professions in Nigeria and worldwide.”
Berating the low participation of women in government and politics of the nation, she lamented that women lacked the economic power, opportunity and always sidelined in political activities.
She said: “We women don’t have the economic power and that is why men brush us aside. We don’t have the money but they must remember that women are the pillars of any society. Any man who does not have a stable he is always affected and everybody knows that.
“I want women to be given that opportunity because we come out but they end up pushing us away. They need to make conscious effort to let women rule this country. I can tell you if a woman is voted as president, there will be a change.”
The Chairman of the occasion, Dr Wale Babalakin, in his opening speech, called on stakeholders to make efforts to continue to rebuild the school without waiting for the government.
He said that, in actualising the aspiration of giving back to their alma mater, the Kings School and Government College must lead the way to rebuild the society.
He equally donated the sum of N2.5 million as part of his contribution to the growth and development of the school.
“They are seeking to reposition their school, which was one of the most outstanding schools in Nigeria and requires a lot of efforts to put it in good shape. And I have told them to be determined to give back to the society.
“Even as the guest speaker said, we must make conscious effort to develop our society. Women should have equal opportunity and right not just in name but action. I am saying this because I know that in developing the child, we are developing the society,” Babalakin was quoted as saying.
Also, the guest speaker, Prof. Mrs Mabogunje, who was a former provost college of Medicine, University of Lagos, emphasized that development of a nation is determined by how the leadership of the nation is able to harness the human resources of all of the population without leaving a particular gender out of the equation.
She added that there is a need to make and enforce constitutional laws that will attend to the needs of the girl’s child, starting from the family level to the educational stage and up to the professional sphere.
“I must sincerely add that mass education and enlightenment programmes are needed to ensure that families across the country, irrespective of religious or ethnic background, must see the girl as being equal to the Boy child,” She added.
The highlight of the occasion was the presentation of awards to distinguished, elders, entrepreneurs and foundation members of the association.
