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Minister
Charges Women Engineers
Minister of
Science and Technology, Chief (Mrs.) Grace Ekpiwre has charged the
Association of Professional Women Engineers (APWEN) to develop strategies
and modalities that will lift the average Nigerian woman out of poverty
because they constitute almost half of the nation's population.
Ekpiwre, who gave the charge in a keynote address at the opening ceremony
of the third APWEN National Engineering Conference at Metropolitan
Hotel, Calabar, stressed that they should be able to produce a working
document that can reduce the poverty status of the average Nigerian
woman.
The Minister, who was represented by a Director in her office at the
three day workshop, Mrs. Adija Momoh, queried "as mothers, women naturally
have compassion for children, will APWEN watch while the Nigerian
child dies?" She added that they should be able to use their understanding
of engineering to develop a faster methodology aimed at reducing child
mortality and improving maternal health.
She advised that APWEN members, in collaboration with the Ministry
of Women Affairs, Youth Development and other stakeholders, should
use the various platforms provided by Ministries, Departments and
Agencies (MDAS) to launch a productive plan to achieve the set targets
of MDGS and develop a food security project that will enable Nigeria
cultivate more of her arable land.
She said that with the unique indigenous technology, it can come up
with simple irrigation systems that will enable farmers to transfer
water to areas of cultivation through the use of pumping machines
and other equipment and techniques. Ekpiwre remarked that children
are presently out of school adding that APWEN can develop and suggest
ways of providing access to good primary education to a large percentage
of these children.
The Minister pointed out that environmental stability has become a
very global issue that every nation and organization should join in
the fight against global warming, ozone layer depletion, deforestation
and other practices that are threatening environmental sustainability.
Ekpiwre charged APWEN to take bold steps to address issues like water
contamination and poor sanitary conditions in Nigeria especially in
slums, to promote clean environment and safe drinking water.
The President of APWEN, Eng. (Mrs.) Nwakaego Monica Ojukwu, FNSE,
in her address said the association has come to stay as a forum where
women engineers converge and strategise on engineering practice in
Nigeria, disclosing that its membership has increased from 10 to 700
world class engineers contributing to engineering practice in Nigeria.
Ojukwu said the conference is expected to be an avenue for the exchange
of professional ideas and practice among them with the hope that at
the end, they will leave indelible marks in the minds of Nigerians,
stating that they intend to key into opportunities created by public-private
partnership as envisaged by the Federal Government.
She enjoined those to be conferred with awards during the conference
to support and sponsor their projects. The president of Nigerian Society
of Engineers (NSE) and Chairman of the Occasion, Engr. Kashim Abdul
Ali, FNSE, in a brief remark, commended APWEN for its creativity in
promoting girl child education, sponsoring indigent girls in the study
of engineering as well as for going round the department of engineering
in institutions across the nation,where it documented lapses detected
and sent it to the Federal Ministry of Education, saying that nothing
has been done.
He expressed the hope that Cross River, in its education development
programme, will do something about the teaching of engineering in
order to have a good practice. On MDGs, Ali hoped that by the end
of the Conference APWEN would come out with a feasible and workable
programme to be sent to the Presidency, adding that Nigerians should
learn to recognize the relevance of professions in the country so
as to attain its MDGS as well as achieve the vision 2020. He congratulated
Cross River State for its number one role in road and drainage construction
as a way of controlling flood while calling on other states to emulate
it in their own projects.
The chairperson, Organizing Committee, APWEN third National Engineering
Conference tagged "Calabar 2008", Engr. (Mrs.) Kosi Joy Nwaoko, said
the forum was to brainstorm over specific issues of paramount importance
to either human or national development and on how women engineers
can fully integrate in the efforts channelled towards achieving the
Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria.
Nwaoko disclosed that speakers have been carefully chosen to provide
a solid and sound platform to further discussions on issues related
to the conference Theme "Attainment of Millennium Development Goals
(MDGS) through participation of Women Engineers", and therefore encouraged
participants to contribute meaningfully throughout the conference
especially during the technical sessions.
Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State in his opening remarks said
the state is focused on the issue of rural development, the provision
of social amenities and attainment of Millennium Development Goals
(MDGS) but this cannot be achieved without the involvement of engineers
because they have critical roles to play for the state to be truly
developed. Imoke disclosed that awards for the construction or execution
of projects pass through due process which includes the involvement
of engineers in the process to show seriousness, authenticity and
fairness in the award, stating that consultants play a great role
in every programme or project embarked upon by the State.
The Governor disclosed that lack of local expertise has affected early
execution of the mono-rail project, which will finally commence in
January, next year, adding that engineering students of Cross River
University of Technology (CRUTECH) are involved in the execution of
state projects so that they can be well acquainted with the profession
when they graduate. He said the new Calabar Master Plan is underway
after members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers had made contributions
for its development to be uniform.
POWER, Central Bank, First
Bank, Oceanic Bank Partner to Empower Women Farmers
In a bid to
extend agricultural loans to women farmers in Cross River State, the
Partnership Opportunity for Women Empowerment Realization (POWER)
project, initiated by the wife of the State Governor, Mrs. Obioma
Imoke has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Central Bank
of Nigeria, First Bank and Oceanic Bank.
Speaking on the occasion, Mrs. Imoke said since POWER commenced about
a year ago, they had had the onerous task of finding funding for agricultural
projects. She said being a business woman, it was important to get
a micro credit scheme with an interest rate affordable to the women
and equally profitable and expressed appreciation to the partner banks
and especially the Central Bank which even during the 44-day break
in the present administration’s work, were still working effortlessly
on the MOU.
The state's first lady has assured POWER is not about government but
sustainability. According to her, "POWER won't end when this tenure
ends. It is going to be a programme that would be sustained." She
stated that the project started with agriculture because about 70
per cent of women in the state are into farming, adding that POWER
was designed to help them do what they already know how to do.
"We are just perfecting what they already know," she said. She explained
that the MOU was to be given to women cooperatives they were recommending,
and that they had already started training some of the people to benefit
from the scheme. She said the feedback so far had been impressive
and encouraged the women of the state to access the facility.
"We will do our best to ensure that facilities will be given at the
best rate available," she promised. A representative of the Development
Finance Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mrs. Hussein Sabo,
observed that the problems faced by the women are not peculiar to
Cross River State but the entire country and expressed appreciation
to Mrs. Obioma Liyel Imoke for setting the pace by organizing such
a project.
She said the state was the first to embrace CBN programmes geared
towards the emancipation of the downtrodden in the society and was
delighted that Mrs. Imoke had thought it wise to utilize the Trust
Fund Model (TFM) as one of the strategies to empower women in agriculture,
thereby alleviating poverty and contributing directly to the President's
seven point agenda and ultimately to the Millennium Development Goals.
Mrs. Sabo underscored the importance of the project as she said agriculture
was the mainstay of the economy.
The CBN representative noted that the success of the MOU depended
on how meticulously the organizers of the projects were in selecting
beneficiaries, to avoid using the loans for other means. She therefore
urged them to be transparent and sincere so that the right people
get the loan. She also urged the partnering banks to be up and doing
in monitoring the project in order to ensure its success.
Business Development Manager, Calabar Business Development Office,
Mr. Takis Caiaphas expressed the bank's readiness to partner with
the project, saying the bank has always had a good partnership history
with the state government. He was of the opinion that if the women
at the grassroots were empowered, the economy of the state would be
tremendously improved, adding that the women of the state were lucky
to have Mrs. Imoke working hard for their well being.
Pastor Tony Udoh who represented Oceanic Bank maintained that his
bank believes in building the country, hence anytime they have an
opportunity, such as the POWER project, they jump at it. He promised
to support the project. Representative of the Nigerian Agriculture
Insurance Cooperation, Mr. Emmanuel Umoren, said they were going to
provide farmers with the necessary insurance for the project. He assured
they were ready to work with the banks to ensure the success of the
project and promised to live up to expectation..
Stories from Nicholas Kalu
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