The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has said achieving the Sustainable Development Goals would not happen without investing in women.
She was speaking when she led a high-level UN mission to Nigeria to assess women’s rights issues with particular emphasis on the north-east, where more areas are opening up as the grip of Boko Haram weakens.
“We are not able to achieve our goal if we are only investing in half of the population,” Mohammed told a press briefing in the wake of their visit.
“It is the nation’s, continent’s greatest asset: the human resource. Women are often half of it but lack the investment that we need.
“These days the context is different. It is not just a question of abject poverty, those out of school or maternal mortality. The context they are living in is that of conflict, extremism,” she said.
Citing conflicts in the north-east and Niger Delta, Mohammed said they were unraveling development and progress.
“Each conflict requires a different response. It drains the economy of resources, which could be better used for development. Whatever investment we are putting in development, we are seeing them eroded by lack of peace,” she noted.
Meanwhile, Women Affairs Minister Aisha Jummai Alhassan said the Federal Government was working to safeguard residents who fled Mambilla plateau into Cameroon for safety in the wake of crisis.
“Relevant agencies are arranging to bring them back because there is relative peace there now, and security agencies are all over the place to make sure no such thing comes up again,” she said.
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