Women politicians in Nigeria

"I verily aver that the right or otherwise of the process of the evolution of the Electoral Bill into the Electoral Act 2001 is trite. However, it is noted that President Olusẹgun Ọbasanjọ has pronounced that no law is perfect and that those opposed to the Electoral Act should go to court. It is equally notable that Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim has indicated that any law can be revisited any time in the future. These are food for sober reflection and positive action. Consequently, a few remarks thereon are mandatory and urgent."

"On this score, I will briefly address the re-entry of Biafra as a talking drum in our recent polity. A minister of state (Mrs. Dupe Adelaja) had the recklessness to say that Biafran soldiers cannot enjoy retirement benefits, not minding, for instance, the reality that some of them were Nigerian soldiers before the emergence of Biafra and that pardon has been granted to all ex-Biafran soldiers."

"I think the first thing is to warn INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) to be careful. It is in their interest to be good neighbors to Nigerians and prove that the country was not a banana republic as the ruling party is making us believe."

"“If it is the will of God.”"

"“I used to belong to the school of thought that females in the Nigerian music industry were disenfranchised. However, knowledge, time, maturity and research made me realise it’s the effect of our traditional beliefs that the girl-child is positioned to play a second fiddle.”"

"“Subconsciously or unknowingly, it plays out in our attitude towards professionalism and commitment to work. The male artistes put in more to attain the heights they get to. I cannot say the same for the women and I am guilty as charged. There are lots of other distractions, both natural and artificial, but the bottom line is that if women put in as much effort as men do, there would be equal results.”"

"People mistake it for a guy's name or a nick name. Gift is my real name and that is where I got the G in Muma Gee, forget the fact that I added double ‘e’ to it, just as it sounds Gee but the G is just the G in Gift. For the Muma, the Jamaicans will call mother Muma and papa Pupa. The Muma in my name means 'do good' in my language."

"[It] is all about the African woman, her beauty and how she makes herself beautiful. An African woman is therefore not to be messed up with or looked down upon because she’s feminine. Even though she’s beautiful, she’s strong and has a sense of pride."

"One needs to take one’s time because good work takes time. But it must be worth the wait in the end."

"keep moving on and you will get there someday."

"My contesting for election has nothing to do with being face of the sports festival. My contesting election was inspired by the fact that irrespective of who we are as entertainers, I believe we can bring the required change into the system. I believe we have what it takes in terms of exposure and grassroots reach to steer the wheel of the nation right. I was motivated by this realisation to contest. I contested for the Federal House of Representatives under the Federal Constituency of Odiabidi and Ahoada East."

"I get that skillashy, effizzy, I'm sexy, afrotasticthat skillashy, effizzy, I'm sexy and afrotasticAfrican Womanmy body no be for sale ohoriginalI no dey sell ohI be African woman ooooriginal"

"I come from a place where there are opportunities staring you in the eye, but it's looking for the people who have the heart and the courage to do it and do it right."

"Sometimes you have to take a hard decision and when you take such a decision, you have to stand by it. It’s not everybody who sees what you are seeing."

"As a people, we have the power of choice. We get to choose who we are, what we become, and what we do."

"When you are pursuing your dreams and trying to leave a legacy, you will find help."

"There are Challenges everywhere you must have Tenacity; you must have the strength of character not to cheat."

"We will not stop until every Nigerian girl-child has found their voice and found their pocket."

"Financial services are the lifeblood of an economy, enabling households and businesses alike to save, invest, and protect themselves against risk."

"Success in financial inclusion entails reaching these users with products that can significantly improve financial lives."

"We should criticise ourselves, but we should criticize to build. We should see a problem and be angry about it and innovate and seek to find the solution to the problem because we know why we want to do it. Because we know that this country must work."

"I want my nation to work, I want to be able to tell my children this is why I say you must live in Nigeria and nowhere else."

"The Nigerian woman is smart, beautiful, fashionable, driven, purposeful and has the capacity to take on the world without fear, that is not a tool you leave at home when you are building leadership"

"For a country that needs help, women are key to the success of Nigeria."

"Wherever you sit, look behind you, how has it benefited other women constructively because sometimes, you can’t do what your friends want, but you must do what is strategically effective and positive for building the power of getting women to the table."

"". I chose to maintain our integrity and retain our credibility.""

""When I started, I displayed some level of commitment to what I was doing and that is what kept me on the track up till date.""

""I said to myself I could do this, and I could do it right""

""In life, you decide on those things that are important to you,""

""I also apply wisdom most of the time""

"I want you all to know that education is very important for the growth and development of our nation... When you are educated, you contribute to building a more peaceful and prosperous country."

"Before you carry the children to that school, you did not write to the commissioner, army man is not even aware that the children are to sleep there without security."

"When the first lady is calling you, come I want to help you find your missing children, will you keep quiet? Chai! There is God oh!"

"You must work hard and be disciplined to justify the investments made by your parents and guardians."

"So, my beloved children, I urge you all to shun social vices that will bring shame to your families and guardians."

"As mothers, we dedicate our time to building the family and bringing up our children to understand moral values and ethics."

"All these blood you people are shedding, there is God o, there is God o, God…o….Chai, there is God o"

"What of the WAEC teachers that can tell us that they conducted that exam, principal did you come with any? No, only you waka come, okay."

"As critical stakeholders in the peace-building process, we must therefore discharge this role with grace, so that together, we can break new grounds and enthrone the world of our dreams."

"Women are natural peace-builders who play key roles in maintaining peace in our society."

"Why can’t we encourage the young ones to grow? Why can’t we encourage them to do better? We, our mother born us and train us, why they train us is that we should be better than them. Are we to bring the young ones down? It’s not our portion."

"A bird at hand is worth a million in the bush. Nigerian women, let us shine our eyes. Women of Nigeria, are you ready to go to prison? Are you ready to go and give your father food in the prison? It is not our portion. We reject it."

"The founding fathers of Nigeria had a dream of building a united, prosperous, and developed nation-state where social justice reigns. We also have to continue to dream because once we stopped dreaming then life is gone."

"Women tend to be less corrupt and more focused. There are many more great women leaders out there who need to be given a chance."

"When you have a big sister like me, your problem will never be cash but how to spend your money."

"I am convinced that Nigeria should remain as one nation after 100 years despite her challenges because our common values overwhelm our differences."

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”"

"Nigerians have for long clamoured for an opportunity such as this to discuss our problems and come up with solutions that will strengthen the bond of our nationhood. I regard this national conference as President Jonathan’s best centenary gift to Nigerians, and a proof that he is a listening president."

"Mr. President’s speech oozes humility, modesty, patriotism and a deep concern for the present and future of this beautiful country, Nigeria. Mr. President in that speech admitted that sovereignty belongs to the people. And those in authority are only holding power on trust for the people and of course that nobody has monopoly of knowledge. Hence, the decision for convening this conference. One thing that stands out from Mr. President’s speech is that there is no trace of negativism."

"For instance, he made it clear that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable and our duty at this conference is to discuss ways to build a stronger and better Nigeria and I totally agree with him."

"Apart from our long history of togetherness, we’ve also enjoyed many decades of inter-marriages and mutual co-existence. We have to make sure that this conference delivers on the true spirit of Mr. President’s speech."

"While we discuss the value of unity as written in his speech, we must realise that millions of Nigerians are being discriminated against in various parts of this country where they are born; where their forefathers lived; based on the so-called state of origin."

"The founding fathers of Nigeria had a dream of building a united, prosperous, and developed nation state where social justice reigns. We also have to continue to dream because once we stopped dreaming then life is gone. In conclusion, I am convinced that Nigeria will work and fulfil its destiny."

"I therefore look forward to collaborating with other delegates to chart the way for a better a new Nigeria. We all want to see a positive transform Nigeria and I therefore urge all of us to work individually and collectively so as to set the right agenda for the Nigeria of our dream."

"Mr Chairman, distinguished delegates, I leave you with the words of these Greek proverb “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.""

"The best man for the job is a woman."

"An unpredictable consumer drug market is a form of public health terrorism: Nigerian patients on prescription medications cannot rely on drugs purchased from pharmacies, and legitimate multinational drug manufacturers have struggled in Nigerian markets because they are unable to sell quality products in a market infiltrated by inferior drugs. These inferior drugs include expired or uncertified drugs; drugs with very little or no active ingredients; and drugs sold to the general public without contact information printed on the label."

"Tufiakwa! Not at all. The Dora brand is still the gold standard. It is as solid as coke. No shaking. My enemies can concoct stories about me but none of their evil stories will stick on me. God forbid! (She signs herself and mutters the Hail Mary)."

"Well, my only regret was going to Anambra State to partner with Gov. Peter Obi. You see, when you’re away from home and you depend on the newspapers for your stories, you’re setting yourself up to be fooled. I thought Gov. Obi was a good Catholic because I heard that the Pope endorsed him in last year’s gubernatorial election – and that God then ratified. In fact, I believed he was almost a holy man. Then I got to Anambra State and saw that he was a hypocrite. He carries around the rosary but he is just another crooked politician. The man is a creation of the media. He has a group of media men cleaning his image. The one that really shocked me was my discovery that he is not even popular in Anambra state. I could not believe it. If I had known, I would have remained in PDP and run for the senate seat under PDP. I would have won the election hands down. I was fooled by Peter Obi. He is surrounded by sycophants who won’t tell him a single truth. They deceive him by calling him “Okwute,” Rock of Ages. Meanwhile, he is just a mound of dust. Uche Ekwunife did the right thing – she did not allow Obi anywhere near her campaign. She kept her distance. She knew Obi was toxic. I did not know that. The man lives a fictional life. He is just a fraud sold to the public as a man with a great narrative."

"Who told you that Gov. Obi brought the money used to buy them? They were all bought by my brother, Anayo. Gov. Obi knows only his pocket. He won’t even give anything to Catholic priests who received and transmitted the message that he was the pope’s candidate last year. The man is just a miser."

"But being a miser does not mean he is using government funds well. He is not a miser when it comes to stuffing the funds in his pocket. The first time you meet Gov. Obi he swears to you in that innocent voice of his: “If I steal a kobo of government fund, may God punish me and my children.” Like most people, I believed him. Then, right there in your face, he goes on to stuff his pocket. He is such a fake."

"Yes. That’s my very dear brother in whom I’m very pleased. He was suffering as a teacher at a community college in Virginia when I advised him to come back home. I told him that the miserable life of a teacher was not his divine portion. He listened to me and came back home. He started Solid Base Contractors LTD. When you have a big sister like me, your problem will never be cash but how to spend your money. I hooked him up and the rest is history."

"We set up the Foundation in memory of our parents. For something like that, you just have to pick people you trust. You don’t want the wrong people to come in and mess things up."

"Gen. Sani Abacha heard all these great stories about the good work I was doing at UNN and in Anambra State and he picked me. That’s the honest truth, before God and man. It was purely on merit. Don’t listen to what my enemies are saying."

"It's very important that we don't withhold aid from people that it matters most to."

"Sustainable development is not an option; it is an imperative."

"We cannot afford to exclude half of humanity from the solutions that will shape our future."

"Leaving no one behind means reaching the furthest behind first."

"Young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow. They are the partners of today."

"Until everyone gets the vaccine, we will all be at risk, and we will not be able to take the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to where they ought to be by 2030."

"For many, the health pandemic has been a tragedy, particularly in developed countries, but for developing countries it has a socio-economic impact that will take so much longer to recover from."

"Innovative instruments including blended finance can all play an important role, but we need to massively scale-up that delivery."

"We must design a future that is shaped by women and girls that realizes their right and aspirations to a world where equality is reality."

"We are better investing now because we just won’t be able to afford it later."

"For the first time we’re not putting a band-aid on the problem, we’re looking at the root causes."

"I think early childcare is not in a classroom, but very much in Africa today, it needs to start with adult literacy and mothers because as African women, and in our cultures"

"To begin to build the foundational skills of literacy and numeracy, by putting the digital in front so that we’re not waiting until oh, Africa is ready, or Africa has the resources right at the beginning."

"You’re not just looking at capacities and skills to connect to the outside world without understanding anything about who you are, and the part that you play in your own ecosystem."

"We learn to have pride and independence of one’s being, how that contributes from the inside out."

"And there has to be a huge amount of courage that what you’re doing is shaping the future. I mean, concretely, shaping that future for your people with what you know is the right thing."

"As human beings, what we look to is what they stood for."

"And I think that we have to think and listen to what the leader is saying and doing, rather than judge what’s in the closet."

"First of all, I think Africa is trying to make those strides that are necessary to achieving SDG 5 (Gender Equality). But the approach to development in Africa has always been ad hoc, and I think we have been pitting some of our greatest challenges against each other in terms of making choices. For example, we will say, Well we have to make a choice between a woman and health. Or a woman and an education budget. And I think this is where we have got it wrong. The fact is that women are an integral part of any investment, be it in health, in education, in agriculture, etc. Africa needs to recognise that our human resources are the biggest asset base that we have, and to ignore investing in 50% of it, is just foolhardy and affects results, as well as the rights that women have in their lives."

"We definitely need more women in decision-making and particularly in parliaments. For example in the DRC, they have a constitution that acknowledges parity, but they need the law to effect that. And in addition to the law, they also need to make investments in women, their education, their ability to actually participate in diplomacy and therefore, in the decision-making that goes along. In addition, there are a number of investments that need to be made in line with the laws aimed at empowering women."

"In Nigeria, it is quite shocking to see the low levels of women in parliament – both in the Senate and the House. And that we actually have men actively opposing efforts to reduce their capacity. I think here, Nigeria needs to change its strategy and it needs to start on the local level of the parties. Again, I see the great capacity of women in Nigeria to participate, so I don’t think that’s our challenge. Our challenge is the construct and what the male community puts into it."

"I think we must stop stereotyping some of these issues. The truth of the matter is that there is an evolution of society. At one point, you have one breadwinner, at another point you have more than one breadwinner and a different kind of context and environment. How do we empower everyone to have a role and a place in the home, in the workplace and in society? I think if we do that, we will balance the decisions that we take and we will not be shut out of it."

"I think men have to recognise that in every home, the woman has a right to participate in the economy and has the abilities to contribute to that. But that should not be done to the detriment of the home, and it should be a shared responsibility."

"When we are talking about women in politics, what we need to see is opening up those opportunities at all levels and institutions and that, I don’t think is happening. Men aren’t just going to step aside."

"However, gender parity is at the top of the agenda in the United Nations and everybody buys into gender parity in terms of aspiration. But the realities of how you move men out of positions in order to make room for women to get gender parity is a tough discourse and it has to start at the entry point – into parliament, into jobs, into institutions."

"And what the SDGs tell us is: Let’s take a step back and let’s ask people to set the foundations on which we are building sustainable development. Let’s get them right; let’s take the time to do that and not be in a hurry to fail."

"Most certainly, these are challenging times. But I think the ownership and the process that we started to get in this incredibly ambitious framework took into account context and recognised the different complexities of our world today. And also, the context of political upheavals, of conflict, of migration, and of terrorism. It really did take everything into account."

"I think it’s a real struggle and the response that we are seeing right now is how countries are grappling with what they are going to do about the current order. Let me just underscore here that we are in transition time with the SDGs. As we have always said, it would take a couple of years to transition from the MDGs to the SDGs."

"Yes. In the context of many of our countries that are experiencing different types of conflict and humanitarian challenges, it’s difficult to address some of these goals."

"The UN’s approach to that, as the secretary general firmly puts it in his vision, is: We have got to look at how we prevent conflicts and once we come out of them, how do we sustain the peace and development. And in the middle of this, we are saying that the SDGs are the frameworks that we need to invest in. There are therefore no quick wins in this discussion. If we are to have sustainable development, we cannot put a band-aid on things. And if you don’t address the root causes, we are never going to have sustainable development. Therefore, we have to go back to the drawing board and we have to be courageous about it; and the UN has to come together and be much more responsive in the way in which it supports countries, in order to move them forward."

"I think in the short term, as you will have seen in the last six months, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations have defined their frameworks for peace and security. Again, this is to bring more coordination and coherence, a more efficient way of looking at the results, and get them around the continent. What is important here is to align the AU’s Agenda 2063 and the UN’s Agenda 2030. So, in the short term, we are getting the partnership frameworks right especially on roles and responsibilities."

"But while you are right that we don’t see as many conflicts as before, we do, however, in those pockets, see much more larger scale conflicts, which have larger regional implications. I therefore think it’s much more challenging because they are bringing cross-border issues. Here again, the mechanisms are around putting mediation into place, ensuring that there is a plan straddling the peace process with development. And clearly addressing the fact that when we talk about the humanitarian development nexus, in theory, we have so many red lines. But in practice and on the ground, people are dealing with this in the same context and trying to move the humanitarian crisis to reintegration on a development trajectory that achieves the SDGs. So, it is difficult."

"We don’t often look at the fact that root causes can require to be addressed over the long-term. We have to have a balance on what we do in the short term; what can we do in the long-term, and there are some of those low-hanging fruit that give a sense of the possibilities of achieving the longterm objective. But people often want to have things done yesterday."

"The UNGA theme, tried first of all, put the emphasis on the need to bring the resources and the political commitment. We are going to discuss the problems we have and addressing their root causes, but at the same time, we have to find the resources and financing to put into development and unless we ratchet that up, then we will be losing the gains of peace as quickly as we are putting our resources at the problem."

"First of all, I think that any population should be seen from the perspective of being an asset to a country and we need to make the investment to make sure there is quality and that everyone has equal opportunity. Today we have populations growing without the ability to service them and therefore, women and children take the brunt of this and are suffering. We have to go back to those policies and see why that is happening. In many cases, it’s because we don’t have the choices around population issues to make those decisions and I think that’s what we should be given, the free choice to make the decisions we need to, to have a healthy family."

"Depending on the context of my means, this may be two children or six children. I think that the bigger, inestimable problem, is the ability to make sure that we can provide for those that come into the world. So, on the population issue, I think there are many dimensions to it and health and life is a very big one."

"I think both in the global community and in Africa, we have the right rhetoric, we have the correct framework. But it’s when that rubber hits the road that action comes into play. I think in the case of the AU, what we have seen the African leadership do in the last few months is to, first of all, get behind the reforms that are needed and make them happen, and ask and take the tough questions on how to reform an institution to take responsibility for the decisions that happen to get the results, both in terms of the AU’s Agenda 2063 and Silencing the Guns. We have also seen that they made progress in taking responsibility towards financing the AU itself. These are all works in progress at different stages but I believe the leadership right now is incredibly serious about it and we are redefining our relationship with Africa on the basis of respect and solidarity, as the [UN] secretary general says."

"I do think that we have an opportunity now. What we have to do is to make sure we get behind the leadership. Let me just say that on both Agenda 2063 and the SDGs, Africa is the only region that has a common position – a 10-year plan."

"We also have a lady who is heading up the Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe, and I think that this is amazing because she’s going to bring a different kind of vision to supporting Africa’s agenda; making sure that we integrate the economy; women’s issues, youth issues, technology, across some of the promises that have been made by African leaders. So, in short, I would say the rubber is about to hit the road and what we need to see is that rhetoric and those frameworks are turned into action."

"The response to that is so complicated; it’s not a neat number, it’s not a neat set of targets. I think that, first, we should acknowledge that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were a really good effort. It was the first time the world came together to set a number of integrated issues together. We might not have achieved all of them everywhere but we knew that it did work and therefore, what we did was take it a step further."

"The MDGs are still unfinished business but what this new framework has done is provide, first of all, the recognition of building on the MDGs with a little bit more ambition. But to do so, we do have to look at strong governments and institutions. We need strong partnerships and the funding that comes with that. What we have is a response that is still valid, even more today because of the kind of political turmoil we see ourselves in."

"Regarding gender-based violence, I believe as a human family, the first thing we have to do is draw up our sphere of tolerance. And then to look at what we need to put in place to ensure that tolerance becomes a sustainable part of our community. In Nigeria, for instance, gender-based violence takes many different forms depending on cultural practices. And there’s been a lot of work that the United Nations has done to overcome some of them. But new incidences are being seen, as we face the complexities of some of the conflicts we have in the northeast, for instance, with Boko Haram kidnappings, the rapes and the sex for food. These are unacceptable but again, you have some gains in other parts of the country where we have greatly reduced some of [the harmful] cultural practices."

"And in the DRC, where Goma was once known as the rape capital of the world, they have made strides and put in place people who are responsible for trying to reverse the tide. Working with UN Women and our special representative on sexual violence in conflict, we have seen a huge reduction, although not enough, because we said zero tolerance. However, we need to scale this up and share the best practice."

"Wow. We have so many young women and people around the world and around Africa that I come across and I also look up to them. A New African Woman is strong and is at the top of her game in informing and shaping the future of Africa on every level: economically, politically, environmentally, because we are there in all these fields. It is also about African women’s rights and aspirations. African women are closing the gap between the realities of today and our aspirations for tomorrow."

"I think it starts first of all for from where we create access to education, and the curriculum that we put in place for it. And we talk about the scientific basis that we find we must have in early childcare. I think early childcare is not in a classroom, but very much in Africa today, it needs to start with adult literacy and mothers because as African women, and in our cultures – our children are with us until they’re three, attached at the hip, if you would."

"So I think that we need to find creative ways of bringing education into the home, and not taking kids to institutions at that early age. So early childhood education, for me, is one transformation that happens together with a mother [for] that bonding in the community, where we say that Africa is brought up by a village and not by a couple of people. So, really bringing that community learning into early child care."

"Then, building on that, the primary and secondary education that we need. One that really looks at that intrinsic value of education to a person, a person’s identity from their cultures, their religion, the good practices – so we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater – we’re always referring to harmful cultural practices, and we never look at it from the positive side."

"And that we move on from things that we did not know were so harmful because they were so cultural, or so male-vested. And we need to move on. But there are some good things there."

"Our ambition is for each child, as a global citizen, and not just an African citizen, but to bring that whole technology and learning into an environment."

"What I’m trying to say is that as we learn to have pride and independence of one’s being, how that contributes from the inside out. So you’re not just looking at capacities and skills to connect to the outside world without understanding anything about who you are, and the part that you play in your own ecosystem."

"I do this because I was part of an education system that did this, although I have to say that we had a broader education. But as years have gone on, that curriculum has become loaded. It has lost its core. And I think people are struggling with who they are, and who they are is such a contradiction to people who want us to join this global family."

"And I think that we are richer for it if we identify with what we really are. The question of diversity for me is far deeper than the narrow, silo approach that we are seeing on diversity now."

"The diversity piece has lost its meaning, because we’ve sort of pigeonholed different parts of our society that are different, and will choose to live differently. And what we need to see is healthy respect, and that these are the threads of our human fabric."

"And as such, each thread matters, each thread makes the fabric stronger, not weaker. So the less threads we have, that we leave behind, the weaker that fabric. And I think if you say that to people, then they see themselves in the fabric. It’s not you against us."

"And that’s what really draws me to the Arch [Desmond Tutu]. Because I think he really taught us how to respect what’s behind our skin. It’s us, it’s human beings. And as you’re born, you’re incredibly free of everything, and depending where you land, is what shapes you."

"I think essentially, we’ve got to have a few conversations with ourselves. And there has to be a huge amount of courage that what you’re doing is shaping the future. I mean, concretely, shaping that future for your people with what you know is the right thing."

"And this is our leaders, and I’m saying leaders at different levels, because the leaders that we point to and look to as inspirations and heroes, they’re all gone now. And I don’t know who we point to, to replace them. Because today, we’re so critical of the person, we’re so judgmental of the person, and we miss the message that that person carries."

"I think people like the Arch and Madiba [Nelson Mandela] always recognized their failings. And so people didn’t have a chance to throw any stones at them. What came out was ‘okay, I’m not perfect, I’m not God, but these are the things that I believe in, these are the things that I will fight for’. So as human beings, what we look to is what they stood for. And I’m not sure today that we give so much grace to leaders. And I think that we have to think and listen to what the leader is saying and doing, rather than judge what’s in the closet."

"Everybody’s got a closet, and some worse than others. But if that person takes a good message that does no harm, that brings people together, that forwards Africa, we need to find that community."

"We have a responsibility as followers to get behind them to do the right thing. So conversation, really serious conversation. Whether it happens in the African Union [AU], and I have to tell you that in the AU, when leaders try to get together to have a closed-door meeting, the international community wants to be in on it."

"Even I, as an African, say to people, ‘oo, I’m the United Nations’. That’s their conversation they need to have. I can have a private one as well, as a brother or sister conversation to them. But in this piece here, give them space, because every one of them has baggage, and that baggage is colonial. And many of them are tied to it inextricably, and it’s hard."

"So what common ground can they come together on to move us forward? And I think that the fact that we’re seeing no solidarity with Africa right now has actually empowered a conversation. I think the United Nations has been helpful for a sanguine Economic Commission for Africa that did a lot of work with the Minister of Finance. So they were able to take the issues in an international arena and argue them, and it’s quite difficult for our people to do that because essentially, they’re in their own bubble, fighting the day-to-day challenges of broken democracies and an incredibly different set of difficult situations, conflict, etc."

"I think we’ve been told what to do and what’s good for us. And we have to come back and determine what is good for us. That’s why I said for education, it’s really important we think about that. And we think about what skills are going to put a kid, from when they get into school for 15 years, to the workplace? Is it the skills of tomorrow?""

"Then you hear what’s going on in South Africa with AI, and you’re thinking, ‘okay, what is the transition going to look like? How do we build that capacity? How do we look at the financial architecture, which was really built for another era, and not for our development – [what about] access courses or even profiting from the natural resources that we have, so that we can build?’ And so it’s going to be complex, because we are many, and our issues are very complex."

"We need to think, ‘what is the low hanging fruit for a politician that is bound by a four or five-year cycle of democracy and elective office, to one that is longer?’ Longer term means you need institutional memory; that means that the services the institutions need to be able to carry us through these different cycles of elections."

"The policy somersaults that we are feeling right now, I guess they feel them in the United Kingdom, they feel them in countries in Europe now that are going so far right from being so far left. So, it’s important, and then I think that, the more we educate people, the better constituencies we have for engaging. You can’t engage with one person, one vote, when there is quite frankly, a lack of education as to understanding why the vote, and what’s my vote worth? Is it $5? Or is it educational reform, and health services, and things that are my rights, that’s what my vote is. So it’s a little bit of a journey, as you know, the long road to freedom – the road is still being tracked."

"There are so many. Climate for me is the biggest challenge that we have, and opportunity. So when a farmer says to me that this is not about a flood, or temperatures, it’s about I wake up in the morning and my crop is gone because of a dust storm, and that dust storm has come because of drought, and my farm is gone, my livelihood is gone."

"And then the livelihoods of all these Maasai women and men that I met, their livelihoods, their cattle have died. You see the carcasses on the road. And we don’t want to talk about that much. But that’s assets that have just been taken away. And so when Kenya is dealing with that, they’re saying, ‘okay, right now, the private sector is coming in, and we’re asking them to put a fund together, so they buy the cattle before they die’. So there are resources for that community, for the hard times, and they can replenish stock. Then we have put things together that will help us to build back with a level of resilience."

"Those are real stories. They are real situations that have to sometimes find their way into the media, into the headlines. Not so much the misery of it, but the way that we can prevent it and then link that to the 1.5 degrees."

"I think there’s a disconnect between science, the 1.5 degrees and the reality on the ground. We need to link it, we need to say a third of Pakistan is underwater, because we’ve just had floods that are melting glaciers, and we can tie that to China, and it’s industrial pollution. We can do all this. So how do you tell the story?"

"I listened to an elder just three days ago, and his eyesight had gone. And all he said was ‘we’re very grateful for what you’ve been able to give us here, but there’s a lot of people you can’t see that haven’t been able to get to this’. And the first thing he said was women and people with disabilities. And it just made me think, ‘wow, this person right now is not talking about can we have more for me and my tribe’, which is what generally gets into a story, he’s been very specific about the people that are being left behind, that we don’t see."

"I think he’s given me fodder for my advocacy. Because when I go back into those sterile rooms, that somehow craft language that I don’t understand, and many people don’t understand, we can break it down. And this is where I think the partnership with the media is so important. This is a new partnership that we need to have."

"I want to encourage you to work hard, believe in yourself and never rely on others for validation."

"You can’t force talent or do something simply because someone else is doing it."

"Now is not the time to stay silent and the youths must overcome."

"We need to shoot more movies that promote and celebrate our culture. Right now, it should be all about presenting our stories to the Western world. I think Nollywood needs to shoot more indigenous, historical movies to tell our stories like ‘Sango’ and all of that. We can change the Nigerian narrative through our films. I believe Nigerian filmmakers have a lot of power in their hands to change our society and even hold our politicians accountable."

"I draw inspiration from happenings around me. I could get an idea and when I am in the bathroom taking a shower I develop it. Later on maybe during a massage, I could give the concept a deeper thought."

"Build a proper structure for yourself and your brand. Get an office, a good website, social media presence, business name etc."

"Everyone makes mistakes, but admit your own before you point out someone else’s."

"Nollywood should get ready for the new faces. Working with young people has really touched my life; so, anytime I hear that they have something new to work on, I quickly jump on it and support them."

"I encourage young ladies out there that are in a hurry to get married, that are pressured to get married. Calm down, take your time, If you rush in, you will rush out.Also marriage is all about marrying your friend"

"It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. Originality is key."

"It’s not having the skill to do something. It’s about having the will, desire and commitment to be your best."

"As the highest-grossing filmmaker in Nigeria and a reputable actress, I’m proof that hard work and determination can take you far"

"This week – and always – walk as if you know who you are"

""You are golden, intelligent, worthy, powerful, strong, beautiful, and you never doubt it. You must stand tall, take up space. Never shrink. Never apologize for your greatness," she declared."

"Funke is like a mother, she has that mother figure in her. She cares a lot about people around her."

"Nothing good comes easy."

"Working with her was a masterclass, not just as an actress, but also on how to conduct yourself as a creative."

"The organization is a child of necessity, I was the president-general of the better life program for Africa rural women (BLPARW), Which was a pet project of her Excellency Late Maryam Babangida, the Former Nigerian First lady, established in September 1986."

"WAELE AFRICA was established to empower African women, economically, politically as well as to ensure the participation of women in peace and conflict transformation."

"We have quite a great plan moving forward; as for Now, WAELE AFRICA publishes a monthly magazine, in Both French and English."

"Women must be involved in leadership positions globally. More women should be part of the economic and political development of their respective countries. This will lead to accelerated growth and development worldwide."

"This organization is a child of necessity! We felt it would be unkind to abandon the people we had already mobilized."

"Africa is in need of mediators and peacekeepers. Our continent is engulfed in inter-religious, ethnic, and tribal conflicts, and women are proven to be the most effective agents for peacebuilding."

"We have called on African leaders to deliberate on peacebuilding and conflict resolution across the nation."

"The NGO has earmarked the sum of two million naira as a revolving loan for each of the selected states, with 20,000 naira given to each widow to run a business of her choice."

"We have trained hundreds of widows across Nigerian states such as Benue, Enugu, and Cross Rivers on financial empowerment."

"She was conferred with the Global Excellence Award for Women Empowerment and Development for her role in empowering women across Africa through her foundation."

"Investing in infrastructure is key. If we can create a revenue base outside oil, we will be less exposed to the volatility of crude prices."

"The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is doing a great job in this regard already. It is all about data and bringing people and companies into the formal sector. Firms that operate under the radar can easily avoid tax. The government is doing basic things to expedite this process, such as scanning all business cards we receive and sending them to FIRS. If a company comes looking for payment from the government to implement a project, we check them before any money is released. At the beginning of the administration’s term, we found that some firms, such as fuel marketers, were receiving subsidies from the government but were not registered for tax. By increasing the flow of information and following up on such cases, we will quickly expand the tax base."

"There are two solutions to unemployment, one is a job and the other is entrepreneurship...We need to increase 'made in Nigeria'. Even me. We all need to buy 'made in Nigeria'! Eat 'made in Nigeria'! Drink 'made in Nigeria'!"

"If you keep on working and you don't tell people what you are doing, they lose confidence."

"If we just feed ourselves rather than import foods, we will create jobs! We will create wealth!"

"Public service is hard work, not about seeking glory."

"when you add the enabling infrastructure, the work being done on ease of doing business with the natural talent and entrepreneurism of our people, it is easy to become very optimistic about our long term future."

"There is no theory of economics that suggests that an economy can grow doing what we have been doing."

"When there are no limits and boundaries on the application of public funds, an economy cannot grow."

"When you allow people to steal brazenly, there is no text book theory needed to tell you there is a need to enhance controls and reporting or you will have problems."

"I think every country has to work out its own model because the old global consensus is over."

"Learn which parts of yourself to nourish and which sections to heal."

"The creator of the stars, mountains, oceans, galaxies is not too busy for you. He is available and accessible. You do not need a special place or a religious person to talk with Him, just talk with Him. He is right here and He is obsessed with you!"

"People should never regret. If it is good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it is experience."

"Take your heart back from the past, take your mind off the irrelevant, and take the time to be better."

"I appreciate the mistakes I made in the past cause it is shaping my future."

""In your flaws are hidden your strength. Your perfect imperfection will lead you to change."]"

"I’ll never regret the love I gave anyone, even if it wasn’t reciprocated. Love always comes back full circle, that love is coming back to me in some shape or form. Keep putting love into the universe, because it’s coming back with interest!! No Regrets, Just Lessons To Grow!!"

"It is time to step up the game. For a country that has 70% of its population as young people, that 70% has no business being quiet."

"I decided to run for office because the people who were running our affairs over several decades were not doing a good job of it. We were living through a shameful and incongruous situation where we were known to be a country with huge resources, but where the overwhelming majority of the people lived in abject poverty... It weighed on my heart that the students I was teaching could not enjoy the same standard of education I had."

"In the next couple of years, if the young people of Nigeria decide that something will happen in this nation it must happen, because the number is overwhelming, there is too many of you."

"I really don't believe that money should be wasted, not in a country like ours where we are told that so many live below the poverty line."

"When do we begin to understand that we need a fundamental change in our political structure?"

"I would tell my 20-year-old self… To read much more widely. Being a student of the Arts meant that I read a fairly decent amount of literature, but I could have ventured more into other areas – philosophy, biographies of great people, etc. Of course, I’ve done a bit of catching up, but there’s no doubt that some ground was lost."

"For any development to take place, there has to be gender equity."

"Women are very peaceful, tolerant, incorruptible and patriotic."

"Give her skills that would enable her to empower herself, not just acquiring the knowledge. Let the knowledge be there and the knowledge not just the theoretical aspect but let’s have the practical aspect."

"So the issue of relegating women to the background is a thing of the past, women are now fully aware that we are human beings, God created us."

"If we go by merit we have so many intelligent and determined women who are focused and can deliver any time."

"It is not just exposing the girl child to acquire the basic education, but what happens afterwards. Give her skills that would enable her to empower herself, not just acquiring the knowledge. Let the knowledge be there and the knowledge not just the theoretical aspect but let’s have the practical aspect."

"If your religion has given you power, opportunity, and the go-ahead to seek knowledge where ever you can get it, then what is limiting you? The only problem is attitudinal and that we have to address and change."

"There are obstacles that are not surmountable, there are also obstacles that are surmountable. So I believe that challenges are good in somebody’s life because challenges build somebody."

"Well, I have said it, it is really encouraging, if you go to our universities now, both state and federal universities, colleges of education and other tertiary institutions, the enrollment of women is really encouraging. They are really going further now."

"Only the emergence of a woman President would end such marginalisation and allow women contribute more meaningfully to national development."

"Women in the state would push for the emergence of a woman president in Nigeria in 2019."

"Women should be given more space to exercise their rights in the country."

"My parents are enlightened and educated, so in my family right from the first to the last child, we are all exposed to this issue of western life and Islamic education. My father had said if it means spending his last penny he would educate my siblings and I on both western and Islamic education, and he really did keet his promise before he died. So I have all the encouragement from my late father to my husband, friends, brothers and sisters."

"You know it was as a result of my participation with non-governmental organisations (NGO) in the state, that actually brought me out and that was how I even got the recognition of some of the international agencies. That was how government and some international agencies got to know about me and really involved me in their activities."

"I was a consultant to UNICEF at a point, to USAID and other international agencies and that was how even the state government got to know me, and got convinced of my ability to really deliver and I was invited to really participate in running the state affairs."

"I was part and parcel of the formation of some of the NGOs and also a member of for instance, the Federation of Muslim Women"

"The whole issue of HIV/AIDS was new and it was myself and one Hajara who started creating awareness about it then. We achieved that by going round schools, prison yards and some ministries, to do advocacy and sensitisation exercises and later, we embarked on some training programmes and thereby got some funding from some organisations to work more."

"From there we continued that same exercises of HIV/AIDS, and I was again asked to consult and look at the issue of people living with HIV/AIDS in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states and I did and we submitted the result. On the basis of our findings, so many other strategies were adopted to really address the issue of HIV/AIDS in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states."

"This is really long overdue, and I think time has come for women to really get up and participate fully in politics not only in politics but all spheres of life. The only thing is, we should, and must be guided by our religious status and once you have that in mind, you would go places, and also be comfortable, wherever you find yourself. So the issue of relegating women to the background is a thing of the past, women are now fully aware that we are human beings, God created us. So, even in the teachings of our religion, there are areas where men are superior to women, there are areas where men and women are equated. So women have qualities to reckon with."

"The only thing is to give women the opportunity to do that, we lack this and, also the Nigerian factor of picking people in some areas based on interest is really what is killing the situation. If we go by merit we have so many intelligent and determined women who are focused and can deliver any time."

"Although the situation has improved and is improving, I am not really impressed, because you have more of talking than action as people tend to talk too much but little is done. You hear so many things about girl-child education, but if you go round actually what people are saying, this is not exactly what is happening. Like I said, there is improvement but we need to do more than what we are doing."

"What is expected doesn’t stop at just enrollment. We may have very high enrollment figures but in the area of monitoring and supervision, you find so many things falling apart. For instance, if you enroll a hundred girls this year, by the time you get to the second year, if there is no proper monitoring, you hardly get fifty girls.So what are we saying? What we need is not high enrollment figure but high retention figure, high completion figure and after completion, what next?"

"We would be able to add something that would add value to their lives, so we need to have serious programmes that would really empower women in Nigeria, most especially in the north."

"In addition, going by the free education policy, the only problem is that, how free is the free, when you find little charges?"

"We have been hearing our elders, our imams and malams preaching the gospel of truth, saying that it is not the religion of Islam that discourages participation of women in the pursuit of knowledge, because it is categorically stated that acquisition of knowledge is mandatory to every male and female child, so it is not religious, it is not, it is not Islam. If your religion has given you power, opportunity, and the go-ahead to seek knowledge where ever you can get it, then what is limiting you? The only problem is attitudinal and that we have to address and change."

"Well, there are so many challenges, both internal and outside your home. As a wife and mother there are internal challenges and many other issues to contend with; you go to the external places it is the same thing."

"First and formost, I am an advocate of girl-child education because I have seen the benefits, and I have been a role model to many young girls. I will call on the women in the state, the region and country in general to really be focused, to be determined to achieve the best in any condition and environment they found themselves."

"For parents generally, I will urge them to treat all their children equally because all human beings are equal before the Creator. There is no inferior or superior sex, we all have our weaknesses and we all have our strengths. And if you look at it critically I am happy that when you go out and begin to talk with people you would begin to hear women are more affectionate, compassionate, more understanding, they are more intelligent and parents are now beginning to appreciate their female children more than even the male children and that is good."

"I will use this opportunity to call on the parents to please look at the female children as they are looking after their male children, let them educate female children as they are educating male children, and they shouldn’t have the impression that females have lower intelligence level, because in some areas girls are even more intelligent than boys, and research has proved that."

"I will call on parents to really take the girl-child issues more serious, I will call on the government to also address the issue of girl-child education more seriously and I will call on the opinion leaders and the policy makers to really come up with policies that would really favour girl-child education. I pray that God Almighty Allah will widen the scope, open up our eyes, give us more knowledge, and more focus, more determination to see that the girl-child is really educated."

"I saw the area to be an interesting field, most especially as a woman, and as a mother. I thought the course would be useful to me, my children, and the community itself. Psychology is all about the study of human behaviour, the how, what and, when. By the time you meet with people, and you are able to draw insights from observing them, then half of the problem is solved."

"I am more concerned about the orientation of the family, especially for the girl child. I was also married quite early, but my parents knew the value of education, and it didn’t deter me from furthering it,” she said. “Marginalization of women in any form should be eradicated from the human space."

"“First and foremost, there is nothing that says a woman cannot be a president in Nigeria because we have women who could even perform better than the men but the African culture has really restrained our women, we are just coming out gradually. Men have started accepting the fact that we must have to share this space, that they must have to allow us share this space with them. And that it is a gradual process, I am sure you would be surprised that by the time we would have a female president, it is the men that would nominate them, you would be surprised. It is happening everywhere now.”"

"“I know that Lagos State has many skill acquisition centres and that graduates of the centres are empowered with kits and some token. But if you train a woman as a florist, you must equip the woman with necessary kits. A lot of them have been accused of selling their kits. It is true. If I am not trained to be a hair dresser and you give me a kit for hair dresser, I will sell it.”"

"“In politics, men still believe that women will challenge their authority and so they are scared of competition, that is why they work against women’s interest during the elections.”"

"My prayer is that they should have twins. I wish them success."

"“As the only female member of the Lagos State Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), Kemi Nelson continued to be part of the governance structure that led to the transformation of Lagos State into the Centre of Excellence it has become”."

"“We shall never forget Yeye Nelson. For her past sacrifice for Lagos and indeed Nigeria, she will be remembered. For her commitment to the womenfolk and the downtrodden, she will be celebrated.”"

"She” had touched so many lives and affected many lives. She means so many things to so may people. She played her part.”"

"“RIP Chief Mrs. Kemi Nelson. Our great party has lost a front-line woman leader, democrat and urbane individual whose progressive politics positively inspired many.”"

"You know that Mr. President cannot go to Parliament and say, you must do this; you must do that. He has said it severally that he is not against diaspora voting."

"It’s about inter-agency collaboration. It is massive awareness. But I was surprised that somebody said to me last week that they went to somewhere they didn’t know; we have to get all those trying to hide under ‘we didn’t know.."

"Definitely, we can’t pretend that everything is perfect. This insecurity, by the grace of God, is a temporary thing with everything being put in place by the government."

"Ukraine, which also will answer the question in terms of how much spent on evacuation. I really can’t answer the question, because I don’t deal with money. All I know is that we didn’t receive one Kobo for evacuation whether it’s Ukraine, whether it’s South Africa, or Libya. NIDCOM, as an organization, did not get one kobo."

"...You go to Indonesia, carry drugs, do cultism and come begging to be rescued from death sentence. Thank God for @ndlea_nigeria now saving people like you from death row."

"This happened Saturday, as a result of a fracas, during a football match between African and Indian Students. The Nigerian mission immediately took custody of 86 Nigerian students, invited the representatives of the Indian government, got their commitment to ensuring the safety of the students who have reportedly fled the school after an altercation with their Indian counterparts."

"It is a fact that Nigerian diasporas have the global exposure, resources, competences, and skills as well as the passion and linkages to be a catalysts for national development."

"We are appealing to parliament to look at the issue of Diaspora voting because Nigerians are across the world. President Muhammadu Buhari is on board, but the ball is in the lawmaker’s court."

"As a new organization, it has been challenging but we give God the glory, having had very amazing people to work with, we have been able to set the issue of diaspora on the front burner, although there is a lot more to do especially regarding diaspora voting which I hope the next parliament will put on the front burner."

"One of the initiatives focuses on investments because a lot of people in the diaspora have been sending money which sometimes disappears and nothing happens but through the initiative we guide them. We have a regular forum whereby they come together and Nigerians abroad are putting a lot of investments in the healthcare sector, agriculture, food business, education, ICT and we put all the figures together."

"Firstly, information is key and these countries have stronger rules and regulations guiding them which can even be found online. For instance in Dubai from a certain age range especially for men, the rules are very stringent. Also if you apply for a family visa and go without a family, you will be turned back."

"We look for platforms where they can make profitable investments in the country and we are here to guide them, most importantly, this is home for them and they will return at some point. We have a program where we target the younger generation of Nigerians abroad, they walk into this office with so much passion about their country, looking at what can be done to make improvements."

"Funding is the biggest challenge but it has not deterred us and that is one of the many reasons I am proud of our staff who have just been putting the best work into the commission. However, I do not complain about money because if you do, you will not get anything done but as we are growing at the commission, we need to be creative and we are already doing that."

"Initially, I felt like an alien from another planet. It was my sister who introduced me to him. He was a friend to the family even before he travelled abroad. Then, I had already graduated from the university and had started working. My sister became worried that I was always keeping to myself; I am naturally not an outgoing or sociable person. I love fashion and love to dress well. She match-made the two of us and we didn’t really have a long courtship before we married. I realised that it was a relationship that required seriousness and not one to play around with. For me, it is either a relationship is working from the beginning or not. He saw me and thought that I was a wife material. I was interested, too, and realised that he had a good job."

"I believe that everyone has a part to play for us to build the Nigeria of our dream. We all have something to contribute towards the growth of a vibrant nation- be it time, skills or money."

"Everywhere in Nigeria today, there is widespread concern that poverty and unemployment continue to foster intense insecurity across the nation. Several of us in the senate are not indifferent. I want to reassure you that I will continue to work with my progressive colleagues to fight and agitate for legislation that will lead to the creation of jobs for our youths."

"The change that we seek in Nigeria may appear to be far off, but let us be reassured that we have set our hands on the plough, and we will not look back until the harvest of true development, social harmony, economic progress and political emancipation is realised across the landscape of Nigerian federation."

"As elections draw close, I urge us to be resolute in the choice of our leaders. The future is not about me, but it is about our children and the legacies we want to bequeath to them. I invite you to join me and our party, the All Progressives Congress to work for a better Nigeria."

"My advice is that women, who are fortunate to rise to positions of power, influence or wealth must invest such in the commonwealth of women. Rather than join the “men’s club”, they must reach out and pull other women along. From the girl-child to that young struggling graduate, that lady professional in between jobs, that woman who has to joggle domestic and professional duties and the woman out there who badly needs just one opportunity to prove that she is capable, truly need our help. In little or big doses, it does not matter, just do it. Because out there are women who can and will succeed on merit if given the chance."

"We need more inclusiveness of women in governance, allocation of appointments, in policy making and other aspect of leadership in the country. When both sexes work together a great lot of differences would be made and our nation would be best positioned to tackle most of the problems, which plagued our budding democracy."

"Yesterday, I was inducted into the Nigerian Women Hall of Fame for being the first female Senator to be elected to serve in three (3) consecutive parliaments. This is only possible because of Constituents who have continued to believe me and I do not take it for granted."

"I haven't had any problem being married to a Muslim. I even put on the hijab during their festivals as a sign of respect but it hasn't affected my faith in any way."

"I went into exile as an Anglican, came out as a Pentecostal. I remember I was looking for God from one church to another, it was very difficult. When I came back, l had amnesia, I lost my memory, it was traumatic for me and that’s why I don’t like attending social gatherings because people walk up to me and I don’t recognise them anymore."

"I have seen what insecurity has meted out to Nigerians and the vulnerable group in particular women and children. State policing: if we want to go there, we should allow states that are ready."

"Beyond the rhetoric, I challenge men and women alike to support women and their causes, condemn in absolute terms all forms of gender based violence and crimes against women, and create around you, an environment that ensures that women can flourish and thrive."

"“As women, we must also continue to show strength and courage, challenging assumptions and raising the bar in our homes, businesses, our chosen careers, management and public office.”"

"“A Nigeria of abundance has begun, and to be part of the greatness that God has started in the nation, Nigerians must look beyond their current realities and embrace hope anew.”"

"“If we do not have hope, how do we become part of this greatness that God has started in the Nation? We find through the love of Christ, a deeper message of hope, especially, in the theme for this year’s celebration, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” ”"

"“Good governance, she said, can only be impactful if we all follow the example of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who embodied the fruit of the spirit, including love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance and forgiveness ”"

"“There is no challenge, obstacle, or difficulty that we cannot overcome or surmount if we imbibe the nature of Christ who said in Matthew 11: 28; come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ”"

"“We just came back from UNGA; it was successful for us as a nation. The world awaits Nigeria, and investors are teeming. We came back with good news. All we inherited are things that happened many years ago. We are not here to put the blame on any administration, but to fix what has been damaged.”"

"“My husband is not a magician. He is going to work brick-by-brick, and I believe and have hope that you will have faith in this administration. The best is yet to come”"

"“I speak from my mouth to you how grateful I am. I never knew I would ever be in this place. I remember the first time I started this journey, I had press conference , a press man asked me why don’t you start from House of Rep, why did you want to go to the Senate but you know he is one of those after my first term who came back and commended me, we are friends today, when I see him , we will shake hands.”"

"“God sustained me for three terms, from the 7th assembly, 8th assembly and 9th assembly and I am still confused myself how I have been able to continue this journey.”"

"“At the time , I even thought that let me retire and begin to face my family because serving the nation takes a lot of sacrifice and it starts with a sacrifice from your home, your children, even your better half. It takes a lot of sacrifice to want to give time to serve the nation. At the same it’s a great privilege for all of us that are here”"

"“We have been blessed in this 9th assembly, when we look at us, it is not due to our cheerlock that we say that the president has passed through this place before, the vice president and also wife of the president and not only that , the Chief of Staff, the Deputy Chief of Staff and we also have deputy governors, a female , my colleague and my sister who is here today and what else can we say than God is good and we need to give so much to this nation.”"

"That my wife is a senator today was not a programme I supported. They collected the form and told me if I am not running, then release your wife to run. Today, I am really proud that she is a senator because she has made the Lagos Central senatorial district a better place."

"Senator Tinubu is an unrepentant progressive without any pretence and the book talks about how she has brought governance to her people and her achievements so far."

"To say you have been a blessing to Lagos State and our country is simply saying the obvious. Your philanthropic gestures have helped to build hope, encouraged some people and motivated others. You have also remained an example of what a representative should be. Thank you for the roles you have played to make Lagos and Nigeria great."

"He, who works hard, will stand before kings because I strongly believe that there is no nobility in poverty and it doesn’t matter where you’re from; immediately you substitute recklessness for diligence, your true potential becomes a reality."

"Finding the exact words to match how I feel about the passage of Late Senator Abiola Ajimobi eludes me. A rude shock. To live is to leave, death is indeed the ultimate end of our sojourn on earth."

"True relevance comes only when you stop seeking validation from people. You say you don't care about what people think of you but it's a big fat lie. You do care. That is the reason you grant countless interviews about your ex. My dear, there's so much you can become without the shadow of your ex. Break free and abound. The future is so big. One advice for you, don't come for me when you see me, you'd be sorry. P.s my only response to you."

"To every little boy and girl out there dreaming, dream tall. Never let anyone stop you."

"My decision to venture into agriculture was a cross between me buying a house and buying hectares of land for farming. Of course I chose the latter. I invested in agriculture. Many people are missing out on opportunities for few social media validation. Don’t burn opportunities for few moments of comfort. Think long term. You are not in a race with nobody."

"Leaving a man because he cheats is like relocating from Nigeria to America because of rain. News flash: it rains everywhere. Find a good man who loves you and appreciates you. Every other thing can be worked on. Men are naturally born to cheat. Look beyond this flaw and focus on how he treats you."

"Not many men can sincerely say they have been with only their partner for 10yrs without “playing”. It doesn’t make them bad people, it just makes them men."

"As a woman and a mother, I can only imagine what you have gone through managing six children, it must have been energy sapping and depressing, but I salute your courage and I want to assure you that this government will not abandon you, we will stand by you and ensure that you are assisted to get back to a normal life."

"It must be established that we are not and should not be advocating the displacement of men from the governance stage but we must remain resolute in our calls for more women to be given the chance to be active and important partners and this is the platform this conference provides for women to understand the issues militating against them while also learning from other accomplished women."

"Otherwise, our case will be like a one-legged athlete competing with others who have two strong legs. In essence for Nigeria not to be left behind, in the new world of inclusive sustainable development, economic prosperity and healthy environment, the girl-child of today must not be left behind in STEM education. Gone are the days when brute strength and stamina gives advantage to the male folks. With tools and techniques a woman can do any type of job."

"Islam is a religion of peace and we must continue to tell ourselves the basic truths that will help us to do things that are right before God and man. Our state has the enviable record of being a place where adherent of all faiths coexist peacefully without any rancor."

"The major challenge in the education sector is the shortage of man power and it is a fact that quality teaching and learning is better achieved when there are fewer students for a teacher to handle. The injection of the huge number of corps into the school system should considerably address this area of challenge."

"History teaches valuable lessons about human nature; it also helps people to abandon incorrect assumptions. History is an inexplicable subject which leads the past and the present. That is what history subject impacts in us and that is why Lagos State Government is very particular that we have history as a subject back in our curriculum."

"I had never, in my wildest dreams or imaginations, thought that I would be considered for the position of the deputy governor. I will always treasure the privilege."

"My presence at the Senate will further promote APGA ideology and acceptance of the Igbo nation by other states of the country."

"Thirty years ago this day, 4th Dec. 1988, I ventured in trepidation onto the grand stage of the National Theatre, Lagos, as a contestant in the MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN NIGERIA PAGEANT by Silverbird Productions. By the grace of God I won the contest. I was then a law undergraduate at the University of Nigeria. The rest, as they say, is history."

"Ojukwu’s personality transcends a political party. He means much more to the Igbo nation. He is the son of the ‘Rising Sun’."

"12 years in wait, 7 years after our wedding and 3 children later, the father of the bride said ‘Yes’!. Enugu was shut down by a mammoth crowd as people from far and wide, distinguished personalities from all over the country as well as all the governors of the south Eastern States stormed the legendary ‘Okwor’s Fortress’, the ancient stone palace of the late High Chief Gabriel Okwor Onoh, Father of Chief C.C. Onoh, to witness this significant event. It was nothing short of a carnival!"

"It is most unfortunate that Obiano decided to remove the picture of Ojukwu on APGA uniforms and replace same with his picture, just to drive home his statement that he would no longer tie the fate and fortunes of APGA to the memory of a dead man, obviously in reference to my husband."

"APGA is now like a secret cult, and this has reduced our once vibrant party to a shadow of its former self."

"Kanu’s release will further buttress President Buhari’s commitment to healing the wounds of marginalization felt by the Igbo nation."

"We must unite to achieve our common goal. I know you are concerned about what is happening at home. We, as an ethnic group, have been denied the presidency of Nigeria for so long. However, we cannot make progress by becoming internally divided, with some of our major stakeholders working against our collective interests. But we must not box ourselves into a corner. We must continue to build pragmatic partnerships and anchor our aspirations on strategic engagements, alliances, and negotiations which, while tapping into our collective goodwill and progressive agenda, will advance our political interests."

"Our own Barrister Bianca Ojukwu is one of our brightest and best in Igboland. She is our priceless jewel of inestimable value. A classical and celebrated beauty in her own class. She is a scholar in the best tradition. She is well brought Child, former Ambassador to Spain, former Miss Nigeria, daughter of a former Governor of the old Anambra State, Chief CC Onoh, wife of Ikemba Nnewi, former President of Biafra, a well-respected scholar, soldier of soldiers, IKEMBA Nnewi, Dikedioramma of Igboland, Onuo Onaa of Igboland. Bianca is a big fish, a jewel of inestimable value in Nnewi where I come from. Her husband Ikemba Nnewi was a lion and Hon Bianca is a lioness. Please know this and have inner peace."

"“NTA used ‘Iyi Ogogo‘ to open and close their station for eight years, but they didn‘t pay me a kobo. They didn‘t even ask my permission. When I asked, they barred me from being shown on NTA and I went on hunger strike. They felt they were doing me a favour by using my music. Ben Bruce said ‘Don‘t touch that lady. I don‘t want to see her face, I don‘t want to hear her music on my station‘. And I said no, it wasn‘t his station, that NTA belonged to the nation. This was in 2000.”"

"“Politics must not be left in the hands of notorious people or the mediocre. We must bring our best into it and no one has a right to complain if one refuses to get into politics, and some other people ventured into it and make laws that will affect your generation yet unborn.”"

"“I was targeted and abused for being an Igbo woman who came to give jobs to and elevate my people while sidelining them.”"

"“Be careful of what you live for posterity. If you can’t give your best, don’t step out because what you recorded is always going to be there for long, so you got to give it the very best. Center your artistry around something that will last with meaning, not just shaking bumbum and it’s just the women that are always shaking it, the men don’t shake anything. Women are worth more than shaking their bumbum. Enough of the bumbum. Though, everyone is free to be creative, but just know that yours will not last while the other person with meaningful lyrics will remain evergreen.”"

"“I cried my eyes out, with the realization that as difficult as my life was, it could not be compared with what Winnie Mandela was going through. I was no Winnie Mandela for sure, but I could identify with her loneliness and some of her pain. That night, I could not sleep. I had to put my pain to a song. I needed to give something back to Winnie for the sacrifice of her life to the Apartheid struggle, in which every decent human being had a stake. I saw her sacrifice as a global one, made by an African Woman, brave and courageous beyond words, for her man and her country.”"

"“My personal memory of Dr Alvan Ikoku covers the period of the Biafra war when he made every effort to ferry my sister Ijeoma, my first cousin Ifeoma Ejindu and myself to Gabon, to save us from the war. Eventually, Ijeoma and Ifeoma were cleared to leave but I was not. I remember vividly how we all visited with the old man and knelt down to thank him for his efforts in saving us from the war. Dr Alvan was particularly touched by my show of gratitude, even though he did not succeed in getting me on the approved list and he said so. As fate would have it, the war ended just two weeks before my sister and cousin were to leave Biafra.”"

"I am just an ordinary human being, a woman trying to live her life in the best way possible; dealing with the issues of life, making contributions to the society and to leave this place better than I met it. Hopefully, I can achieve that even at a personal level, because if you look at the country as a whole, the country has deteriorated. So I probably will not leave it better than I met it, unfortunately."

"I have great admiration for market women. The incredible thing that we don’t know is that they are holding up a large sector of the economy of this country. These women that sell tomatoes, pepper, onions; that is how they raise their children. That is how they train their children up to university level. That is how they hold their families together."

"“I probably would have been somewhere buying and selling like every other woman who is trying to survive. If I didn’t have education, it would still have been the same thing. I can buy and sell at all levels, considerably.”"

"“I don’t live like a star. When I go on stage, my reality takes nothing away from me, because I will diva you. That is my training that is my life. I will bring whatever I have to bring to the stage. I give the best performance and lift people up. When I come down from the stage, I am a mother, I am a homemaker, I am a gardener, a cleaner, I go to the market, I cook. I have never employed a cook in my life. Those are the things that rule my life.”"

"“I have learnt to keep my privacy out of the public purview especially in discussions with journalists. But there is nothing hidden in my life. I live a very open life. But I decided from day one not to discuss my family on the pages of newspapers, because it is not fair to them. They do not have the opportunity to present themselves the way they would have liked to. And that is not fair.”"

"“I wonder why government is not doing anything to protect the copyright of artistes. These are the things that affect our economy. The music industry is a large section of the economy of this country. Why is government not paying attention, not caring? These are frustrations. Your intellectual property is your wealth and somebody is sitting on it. People are making money off someone’s work.”"

"“Mistakes make you human. But the point is, how do you look at your mistakes? What are they there for? Nobody is infallible. You are going to forge ahead based on what you have learnt from them. When you fall down, you have to get up. Learn your lessons, get up and keep going even stronger.”"

"“These young artists of today will evolve. They will evolve. I am hoping that they will evolve. They cannot remain at the nonsensical level of shaking their bum-bum and exposing body parts. No. That’s not what your art is all about. You can express yourself that way, but please, to a certain extent, do not make music a pornographic thing,”"

"“Small minds, narrow minds can’t comprehend a great spirit when they see it. When they insist in stereotyping you, even when the evidence is there, look at them carefully, they are lacking some sort of professionalism.”"

"“When people ask me, ‘what is it that you have,’ I tell them it is contentment. My spirit as a Christian fills me in with contentment. We are here for a purpose. Find that purpose and work towards realizing it. The challenges will come. I mean you can’t run away from them. In life there must be issues. It is only when you’re six feet deep that you don’t get them anymore. If you can put all that together and put your faith and trust in God who sent you here, you’re fulfilled.”"

"“The example of her life was a teaching tool because she showed that she could stand as a woman on her own…be a contributing member of the community.”"

"“My mum was the one who when I was in college would write, ‘remember your music.’ She knew that I had followed the family tradition by going to school, she encouraged me to not forget the artistic side of it. There was a rule in my house that when you had done your Masters, and only after that, get your education first.”"

"If you are at peace within yourself, every other thing will be right with you."

"Anybody can campaign for candidates of their choice, especially if you are doing it for genuine reasons. There is nothing wrong in campaigning, your reason for campaigning is what we should be talking about."

"It’s bad if you are supporting a politician when you know he is not genuine and only seeking political post because of his own selfish interests. But it’s a noble thing if you are supporting a politician because of the deep conviction you have about that person’s good manifesto for the people."

"Social media has become some kind of demon. Everybody wants to talk about their private affairs on the social media."

"Well, controversy is part of life; if nobody talks about you then you don’t exist. So it’s actually good when people talk about you. It helps you to shape up your life and move forward and work harder to surprise people the more and make them understand that it’s not really about what they think. It’s about who you are and who you want to be."

"Well, settling down is what comes whenever it comes and it’s a thing of the mind. When you think your mind is ready to settle down then you do it."

"There are several toxins that come from oil exploration activities that devastate the environment."

"The fight against oil pollution cannot be won except toxicologists are actively involved, they develop safer chemicals that will control pollution."

"Several harmful chemical go into the environment on exploration. I encourage the toxicologists to be proactive. If we do not do something now, soon our waters may become lifeless."

"Toxicologists are not supposed to come into work when the damage has been done to the environment, rather they should be actively involved to work alongside the oil explorers so that all chemical wastes would be handled appropriately."

"The sources of soot are; refineries, fertilizer companies, illegal refineries, setting ablaze of illegally refined petroleum products by the military, tire burning, gas flaring, meat roasting with used tires, asphalt plants refuse to burn among others."

"Ogoni communities were very susceptible to the precarious toxins."

"The chemicals inappropriately disposed into the environment have an irreversible effect and Ogoni communities are disposed to this."

"There is lack of sound chemical management in Rivers state, especially Ogoniland. Oil management is taken for granted. As oil creates jobs, so also it has caused pollution by throwing toxic material into the environment."

"I advice the people of the state and Ogoni to plant more trees in the environment, it helps in redeeming the environment. I also propose a collaboration of the scientists and toxicologists."

"The State Government arrived at the decision to set up a technical committee to address the sources of soot. after a detailed consideration of the report of the Scientific Committee."

"The State Executive Council went ahead and appointed members of the Technical committee for purpose of the implementation of the report of the scientific committee."

"Rural dwellers are the first to suffer from threats of ecosystems either by pollution, climate change or over-exploitation."

"Billions of rural people around the world spend every working day connected to nature and appreciate fully well their dependence on natural water supplies."

"They are among the first to suffer when ecosystems are threatened whether by pollution, climate change or over-exploitation."

"Nature’s gifts were hard to value in monetary terms. Like clean air, they are often taken for granted at least until they become scarce, such levity had resulted to the environment’s degradation at the detriment of the rural people."

"Economists, as parts of their contributions, are developing ways to measure the multi-trillion-dollar worth of many so-called ecosystems services, the ministry was reviewing and updating its extant laws for the enforcement and achievement of best environment practices including green economic policies."

"It has come to the notice of the state government of the sudden appearance of strange black soot deposit noticeably seen on cars and rooftops in our environment especially in Port Harcourt and its environs. The public is hereby advised not to panic as the Ministry of Environment has duly dispatched its officials to different locations in the state to monitor and locate the source of the black soot for prompt action."

"It is apparently obvious that the state government cannot decontaminate the airspace, but it can put a stop to this pollution if the source of the soot is located. Consequently, the public is hereby urged to complement the effort of the state government by assisting to look for the source of this strange soot."

"Collaboration with relevant stakeholders, multi-national oil companies and security agencies is key in the fight against Soot in the State."

"The current increase of prostate cancer among men as well as cervical cancer in the women were mostly caused by Soot particles due to the bombardment of the atmosphere."

"The inclusion of security agencies and International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the Civil Society Groups on the Committee by Governor Nyesom Wike during the inauguration was a deliberate attempt by the present administration to end the menace."

"I commend the GOC and his officers for their great efforts so far."

"In Africa, the proportion of city dwellers is rising at an alarming proportion and it is predicted that the rate will likely reach 50 percent by 2025."

"Many urban towns in Nigeria needs regeneration because urbanization is taking place at different speeds in different continents globally."

"Aside from the Affirmative Action principle, processes should be explored making it constitutionally mandatory on governments of African countries to set aside a certain percentage of the membership of their cabinets for women."

"Reduction in the cost of nomination forms as a measure to encourage greater women involvement."

"Knowledge is key to effective women participation in the political process, especially in a post-colonial Africa whose economy is becoming increasingly knowledge-driven."

"Women must show the compelling intellectual capacity to provide visionary leadership that will help African nations defeat poverty, create wealth, create jobs and enhance prosperity."

"It is a fact universally acknowledged that our problem lies neither in the differences of our nationalities and tongues nor in our forms of worship."

"We are stronger when we act to promote complementarities, when we join hands to cooperate with one another, when we stretch out hands of fellowship. This way, we are better off as a human race and are able to advance the frontiers of life in ways that are collectively beneficial."

"Being a woman, I wanted to be one of the first in politics to make a mark in Nigeria."

"Other contestants were fighting among themselves. There was money exchanging hands. I went into the primaries with 26 delegates and my delegates were literally bought off me and I was reduced to nine."

"If you believe in something you must stand by your belief. You cannot start wavering because of material benefits."

"We were on the threshold of being an independent state and those who formed the Egbe, they saw what was going on in Europe – free health, free education and all that – and they wanted to translate same to Nigeria so that we could move forward and if possible catch up with the western nations."

"Mandela was a unique human being, you don’t have many like him; I think he was like a ones-in-a-lifetime person. I must say I am very happy to have lived during his lifetime. He was a marvelous person, very courageous, he had vision for his people and he carried that vision through. I only pray that we have somebody like Mandela in Nigeria to lead us to the promise land."

"We are a resilient people and we don’t give up when we fight for just causes until we triumph."

"The things I didn’t do right can no longer be corrected. So, there is nothing I can do about it. We all make mistakes, we all take wrong steps, so, I think one should not dwell on things that one did not do right but dwell on things that you want to do."

"Politics teaches one about life. It also teaches one about human nature because you meet all sorts of people in politics, as a result of that you learn about life."

"One will not expect a human being to behave the way he behaved especially to someone who had never done anything wrong to him."

"The greatest lesson life has taught me is to fear God. Once you fear God you will approach everything in life with the fear of God, therefore you wouldn’t do what you are not supposed to do."

"We will work assiduously to ensure victory for the party in all future elections."

"I want to assure you that the doors of our government will now be wide open to women. The women represent a sizable voting block and no government can get to power without the support of women and that is why we are here."

"Children from our local government areas do not apply to the state university even though they are indigenes of the state."

"It will be good to let our people know that every local government has a certain number of slots of admission into the state university. This is because they are the major stakeholders."

"But in many occasions after admission, we found out that so many local government areas did not meet up their slots."

"Life is about taking risks and whatever you do in life amounts to taking risks. I knew that when I left the classroom and university environment to take up being the running mate of a sitting governor, it was either I win or I lose."

"I believe that God orders people’s destinies and whatever comes your way is a risk and whatever you take up to do in life, as long as you believe in God, and believe in yourself, God will sort it out with you"

"We might have hurt each other in the process of politicking. Now, that is over, we should put it behind us as brothers and sisters, mend our fences because the things that unite us are more than the things that divide us."

"If we focus on things that unite us as Adamawa citizens and Nigerians, we will build a better Adamawa State for ourselves and our children yet unborn."

"What has happened in Anambra is a consistent and strategic rise to the top; it is a bold and courageous step toward the eradication of criminality in education."

"If you can’t recite the state values, you will be sacked. The earlier you key into the Obiano’s vision in education sector, the better for you."

"At a particular time of the day, everywhere will be shut down; everybody must hold a book to read for 20-30 minutes, including the gateman. When we started that project, we saw that many of our students were reading at frustration level."

"I advise those teaching without the requisite teaching qualification to endeavour to acquire same before the December 2019 deadline."

"My parents taught me to read. My father taught me poetry as early as primary 2."

"Some of them are located in the town halls, schools and markets. So, even if you are trading in the market, you can attend classes in the evening before going home."

"Feminism means change, creating and making an attempt to change, no matter the gender that is oppressed."

"The state Ministry of Education has done a lot toward getting private schools work together in order to achieve more for the state."

"It is regrettable that some of these private schools engage in examination malpractices, otherwise known as Miracle Centres."

"Every teacher needs self development to move forward on the profession and ICT is the way to go now for teachers development."

"Education is about ideology. It is what you believe in that you profess and what you profess, is what you do."

"She is determined and not giving up in delivering this mandate. She is on move. We wish her well."

"I think the challenge in politics is that somebody is mischievously trying to make the Nigerian woman believe there is problem for her going into politics."

"Sensitization is Key. We have loss of values. Making efforts to enforce law is the best way to develop society."

"Women have shown commitments and have the capacity to deliver dividends of democracy to the people but they have not taken their rightful places in politics and governance but with support of their husbands and mentors, they would be able to attain their aspirations."

"believe that when you put yourself a hundred percent to something and you commit to it the universe is going to serve you."

"I want to tell them to start with what they have and where they are."

"I want to be an employer of labour and control my resources and destiny rather than depend on anyone for my progress."

"Governance is the control of power, policy and resources. Thus, good governance in any country is often judged by the degree of equitable access of all citizens to basic facilities irrespective of age, ethnicity, religion and other prevailing human and environmental parameters. In setting up the structures for improving the quality of life, there is a need for both rulers and the ruled to work together towards the achievement of their shared goals."

"From the womb to the tomb, there are clinical conditions which could be prevented jointly by the patient and the healthcare team and a well spaced family through the use of family planning will ensure that babies have a better chance of survival which is not the case in most Nigerian societies."

"It is important to note that fever, cough and diarrhoea are the three commonest symptoms of illnesses in young children under two years of age. These children, because of their immaturity and low immunity are prone to infections of all types including bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal infections. About eighty percent of children seen in the children’s emergency ward are suffering from infections of various types and their complications."

"Over the years effective policies and programmes for establishment of Primary, secondary and tertiary facilities and institutions have been formulated to combat all health needs of the people but lack of efficient management has reduced the exercise to below average."

"I am leaving this cabinet because I consider my dignity, reputation and legacy, values that I have worked hard for and hold dearly. I am returning to my unblemished career which I have assiduously laboured for over the years with resounding success nationally and internationally."

"Misuse and abuse of power by rulers invariably leads to loss of confidence in governance by the ruled and sets up a vicious cycle of tyranny on the side of rulers and perceived rebellion and non-adherence to the rule of law by the ruled. This is why governance must be well grounded on democratic principles that guarantee the evolution of a just, free and egalitarian society. National underdevelopment carries with it the burden of caring for its masses, particularly those who are living below poverty line. This has been said to constitute 60 percent of Nigerians."

"Whilst the misery of men cannot go unnoticed, the exploitation of women and children becomes a silent scourge which leaves its scars not only on the victims but on several generations to come. This is a major reason for focusing on children since they constitute our hope for a secure future. With good governance, rights of these children would be guaranteed."

"During the Victorian era in Britain, as illustrated by Oliver Twist, it was quite bleak for children in poor households. There was widespread deprivation and this meant that children were often forced to work long hours in hazardous occupations inside factories, down mines and up chimneys."

"Poor diet, healthcare and sanitation coupled with overcrowding also meant that disease was rife and mortality high. Large numbers of children were also orphaned and ended up living on the streets. Some were forced into prostitution, while others sought shelter in sewer pipes. This is virtually the situation in developing countries today. Also, at that time, specific legislation did not exist to protect children from cruelty. A change in societal attitudes inspired many philanthropists to take action. In most cases, people were inspired by a sense of religious duty. It was not until the end of the 19th Century that government began to intervene. The lesson to be learnt here is that economic growth alone does not automatically guarantee the development of a comparable level of humaneness in society."

"Enforcement of this policy helped mainly to reverse the widespread level of child abuse that existed in developed countries up to the beginning of the 20th Century. The second effective strategy employed in developed countries is the encouragement and support of couples to have only the number of children that they are able to take care of and provide for."

"This facilitated the implementation of policies that relate to the rights of the child with respect to access to education, health and social welfare. Therefore, in Nigeria today, in order to conquer the consequences of illiteracy and poverty, we cannot afford to wait until all our children are educated."

"The parents must also have access to the type of education that will enable them to make the right choices in their occupational pursuits and family enhancement practices such as family planning."

"Usually, the immediate caregivers of children are their mothers and it has been shown that the survival of children is dependent on the survival of their mothers who in turn has the major responsibility for ensuring that family practices do not jeopardize the survival of the breadwinner and other members of the family."

"Unfortunately, the current participation of young mothers as co-breadwinners has often led to the restriction of the time devoted to what is usually considered as their primary responsibility. This calls for greater flexibility in task sharing between couples especially in parenting. Of course, in polygamous relationships the arrangements could be even more complex. Whatever be the case, the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Nigeria is a signatory stipulates that the welfare of the child must be the first consideration and decisions taken at all levels must be in the best interest of the child."

"There is need to re-examine the contract of marriage that is based on violation of the rights of the girl child. Child marriages have gained acceptance in some cultures because the parents have put their selfish interest and needs first before those of the children."

"In many instances, these child brides are not physically, mentally and emotionally mature for childbearing and child nurturing, hence several of those who had consummation of their marriages as children die or become disabled during child birth. The commonest of such disabilities is vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) which means that the abnormal passage which has been created between the bladder and the vagina leads to uncontrollable leakage of urine from the victim."

"Many of the children of these ‘child mothers’ also succumb to malnutrition and preventable childhood diseases. These conditions in many cases lead to physical or mental retardation. Exposure to HIV/AIDS may further complicate the situation. Many societies have their own practices that have enjoyed wide social acceptance for many generations."

"However, the retention of some of these practices is incompatible with the adoption of the democratic principles which we now accept as the guiding principles that will lead us to attain a lofty position among the first twenty world economies by the year 2020."

"Although, in a democracy, relationships between consenting adults are based on personal choices, these choices are not acceptable when the relationship has to do with a minor who has not reached the age of consent. In such instances, all guardians of democracy must protect the rights of these children and others who, though they are adults, are also vulnerable by reason of retardation in their level of physical, mental or social circumstances."

"They must be protected from physical, mental, sexual and other forms of abuse such as child trafficking and subjugation to hazardous labour. A child’s first few years are critical not only for survival, but for her or his optimal physical, intellectual and emotional development. Therefore, deprivations especially during this period greatly hamper children’s ability to achieve their full potential thus contributing to a society’s cycle of endless poverty, hunger and violence."

"Fulfilling children’s rights by providing them with basic education, adequate nutrition, health care and protection from harmful practices, breaks this cycle. Their chances of survival and of a productive future are greatly increased – as are the chances of a truly fair and peaceful global society."

"In conclusion, economic development alone cannot get us to the promised target year of 2020 as one of the first 20 leading economies of the world. Economic development must go hand in hand with socio-cultural and political development."

"This means that social developmental indices such as the number of children per family, the number of children receiving uninterrupted schooling for a minimum period of 10 years, the number of children who have access to basic education and health care and the numbers whose inalienable rights are protected, which are intermediate indicators of maternal and child mortality rates are just as important as the indicators that measure our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Income (GNI)."

"Thus, critical social indices must be measured regularly and put on the same scale as the economic indices so that the true balance can be revealed. Government, NGOs and the private sector must work together in order to give the needed support for the achievement of appropriate economic and social objectives through the application of appropriate strategies."

"In addition, the institutions that are responsible for bringing about positive transformation of these critical social indices must be well supported by government in order to guarantee equitable access to these institutions with resultant improvement in the living standards of the people."

"Vulnerability of children to ill-health can be markedly reduced by taking steps to respect, protect and fulfill child rights. This is indeed one of the significant hallmarks of good governance."

"By and large, I believe there is going to be a change of narrative and I am ready to be part of the young people. Myself I am tired of this godfatherism, expensive way of politicking, no matter how sound your ideas are, it never really matters because the winners are always determined even before the election."

"You don’t endanger people, you don’t destroy properties, and you don’t frustrate the electoral process just because you want your candidate to win call it ‘the beauty of democracy’."

"Our people want good representation and they voted for it. I am out to prove to Nigerians that women folk are intelligent."

"I want to be remembered as a bold and reformative leader."

"I will say the entire election in Kogi Central is a sham, I find it quite barbaric and undemocratic. I will pretty much say 90 per cent of the polling units had no elections but surprisingly results came out of them."

"My unjust suspension from the Nigerian Senate invalidates the principles of natural justice, fairness and equity. The illegal suspension does not withdraw my legitimacy as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I will continue to use my duly elected position to serve my constituents and country to the best of my ability till 2027 … and beyond."

"This was orchestrated to silence my voice. That action is an assault on democracy... I am not apologising for speaking my truth."

"Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has also advocated for greater transparency in Nigeria's mining sector. She urged the federal government to publish all memoranda of understanding (MOUs) entered into with investors in the mining and solid minerals sector, emphasizing the importance of making these documents readily accessible to Nigerians."

"I feel that life does begin at 70. It is no mean feat to live to 70 years in good health and sound mind. But I’m ready to face old age when it comes."

"I work – by choice; because in most cases when you retire at a certain age, it’s like a signal to the powers that be that you’re ready to die. That’s why I think that retirement is overrated. So I say to people my age, Continue working if you can. Continue being active. It will prolong your life."

"I have the right to support whoever I choose to. I am a member of the PDP. I have never left the PDP or decamped to any party like others. It is my right to free comment and I have exercised that"

"You must learn how to manage your time. I love cooking. I come from work, I remove my jacket and I’m in the kitchen."

"Senator Daisy Danjuma is a trailblazer in politics, governance and an unrelenting champion of good governance and a campaigner for equal opportunities for all Nigerians."

"Boko Haram is a curse to humanity and all Nigerians at all levels should reject it in its entirety, knowing fully well that it is an issue that does not affect only the Chibok girls but affects the entire Nigerians."

"The fact that this bad precedent has been repeated by a government that espouses respect for human rights is dangerous. What it implies is a deepening belief among the military that journalists can write a coup."

"The information support of IFEX has really helped press freedom NGOs around the world to lift advocacy work to new heights so that there was pressure everywhere Abacha’s government reared its head...Without the work of groups like CCPJ, the tyrannical grip on Nigeria would have been tighter. The widespread negative publicity and the groundswell of consciousness it raised neutralized the millions of dollars they spent laundering the image of a sick regime."

"What I saw in the days of incarceration is a long story but to me what is important are the positive things that came out of it...I now appreciate life more fully. I have learned the true meaning of freedom. I value it and will fight for it both for myself and others."

"The Nigerian press won its own freedom without relying on the courts or enjoying their cooperation. Our freedom has been won at very high cost. We value it and fight to keep it every day."

"We in the independent press who have borne the brunt of the onslaught are in a state of physical and financial exhaustion. Repression has caused us to retreat into stone-age operations so that publishing now amounts to miracle-working."

"The Nigerian press, the human rights groups and the few vocal individuals and politicians have been alone in the war on the home-front and they have been clobbered by the massive force of repression. While they remain willing to fight on, they need the power of the people behind them for the battle they fight is for the true emancipation of the people. A man who cannot speak out, cannot express his opinion in his own land is not free. Freedom, total freedom should be the goal of every Nigerian now."

"Senator Anyanwu has no moral justification to run down Governor Rochas Okorocha, whose achievements in less than eight years have surpassed the achievements of all those who had governed the State before him put together”."

"Before venturing into politics, I was widely known as an accomplished businesswoman and a trade economist."

"I am an accomplished Business Woman, a Trade Economist and Good Governance Advocate. In the course of my sterling career spanning over two decades, I have garnered extensive experience in advising Governments at various levels on policy issues with special focus on Sustainable Economic Developments, amongst others."

"My passion of helping young minds fulfil their purpose propelled me to become a member of the counselling team of the ‘Apostles in the Market Place’ that provides counselling to young professionals on ethics and overcoming career and personal challenges."

"We also invited business member organisations such as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Chambers of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture and it was a nice avenue for these entrepreneurs to come in contact with various stakeholders that they come across in the course of their businesses."

"Nigerians need to have the spirit of nationhood that our fathers and forefathers had. Whether you are Ibo, Hausa, Yoruba, Tiv, Ijaw, Igala or Berom we have to be tolerant of one another."

"Let our women join the league of women from other parts of the world.Let us give our women a voice; let’s empower our women politically and economically."

"The several quantum leaps in the advancement of science and technology are leaning towards renewable and more climate-friendly energy sources should alarm leaders in the Nigerian project particularly the ECN as the future of fossil fuel looks very bleak."

"The impact you make in your constituency affects the lives of voters."

"I want to say that whenever people call you to run for any position, you should first listen to the voice of God and your inner voice."

"If there's no disincentives for the perpetrators of violence, my fear is that the political space for women is going to continue to shrink."

"We must have people who actually understand, who are the beneficiaries of these policies, being part of the policy formulation."

"I just didn't feel that my voice was represented in the kind of laws that were passed. I didn't think that my demographics ever showed up on the radar, with the things that we were thinking about, talking about."

"I was a double minority. I was young and I was a woman...but I felt there was a gap. "I think it was the lure of that ... that got me interested in politics."

"He (her father) was absolutely supportive. He watched me for three years, my teething years. Every time there was something about me in the news, he would buy all the papers."

"I would say that my greatest achievement in my dichotomous world is the ability to run a home and a career while challenging the narrative of the typical Nigerian female politician."

"Terrorism is a new, worldwide phenomenon that should be fought in whatever shape or colour. Everyone should fight against this. Otherwise, we leave ourselves open to violence of unimaginable proportions."

"It is a wise person who does not believe everything that is written about a person, place or country, but instead, seeks to find things out for him or herself."

"The idea is to have a defense force, capable of responding rapidly and decisively across the full spectrum of military operations in order to guarantee national security, and influence the global environment to the advantage of our country."

"How can you be talk about a population with its 55 per cent made up of females yet there is no single woman on the decision making table in the country."

"On when Nigeria will be ripe for female Presidency, it’s possible for this 2023. Why not? Because all the people that have become the President were supported by people. If the players and kingmakers decided that a woman should become the next President, then that is it."

"Give a man/woman a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man/woman how to fish and you feed him/her for a lifetime."

"At the 2020 Daily Trust Dialogue she proved why she is called beauty and brain when she aired her view on the brand of Democracy Nigeria is practicing Hear her What we have in Nigeria now is democratic GOVERNMENT and I don’t think we have democratic system to support it. For instance, if you look at our last two decade of democratic rule, you will notice the high rate of fluctuating numbers of women in both elective and appointive positions. But in truth, democracy ought to be all about equitable representation for all interest groups in the society and sadly in Nigeria we have continuously struggled to achieve this perhaps largely due to the absence of political party ideology which remains a key weakness in the Nigeria setup."

"Women In Politics: Lynda Chuba-Ikpeazu, January 17, 2020"

"No doubt, health is private, but it is not private when you put yourself up for the highest office in a country – not if you want lead – but maybe if you want to rule."

"Decent, accessible, affordable public health is a right, not a privilege, and we should not give our votes to those who see the best health care as their entitlement and sub-par health care as a privilege to us."

"Elections are not democracy. Holding regular elections is not democracy."

"Our political parties are generational. Nothing is going to die out. It has become a system, a process, and a culture. I met fathers who are preparing their sons to take their positions bearing the same mentality. Whether we have old people or young people it would be the same if we do not develop a different strategy to make things work"

"Life in your 20s is a fierce hustle, and you'll need to be resilient in the face of setbacks."

"If you help each other on this journey, you will all perform better, and you'll be happier, too."

"My advice to students in this situation is to team up with your classmates. Work together, trade notes, and share."

"Most people don't realize that the cocaine snorted at raves in Europe directly funds both the Latin American drug cartels and al-Qaeda terrorist networks across West Africa."

"Girls can and will change the world. Let’s support, educate, and empower them, for they are the future leaders who will bring positive change to Nigeria and the world."

"Mum didn’t spare the rod, she beat us to shape"

"I will say, the best of party slogan anywhere in the world, but unfortunately the plague was philosophical understanding of the manifesto."""

"My loss at the primaries would continue to haunt the women folk in the country for a long time to come."

"They don’t appear to be the best but whatever happens we must have the patience and spirit of tolerance because we will not ask people to go and riot."

"The ignorance about the high sense of responsibility of claiming to be a progressive party, and only thinking of the slogan and not acting practically."

"When you have a constitution and you don’t abide by the constitution and whatever your slogan is, they are the first steps of preventing corruption."

"And if we choose to disobey God, to disobey the words of our mouth, of course, we will go astray."

"As a mother, it is my duty to continue to nurture the conscience of the human specie.."

"Nigerian women should tell me what I have done wrong and how I have misrepresented them that made them afraid to vote for me."

"Parents should monitor their children even though some of them try to dress decently at homes but when they go back to school especially those in the high institutions, they dress indecently. Parents, therefore, should monitor their children by ensuring that the clothing they take to school were properly checked and ensure that you ask your children questions and be close to them"

"Parents should not be too harsh or too strict to avoid scaring them away and anything that concerns them should not be taken for granted. Show them love and mentor them; more importantly, always pray for them for God’s guidance and direction."

"“I had made up my mind that I wanted to be somebody who’s going to clean up the water and this pushed me to research. I was 12 or 13 years old at the time. When I did research in the library, I found out that the people who engaged in solving problems by systems were engineers, particularly chemical engineers. So I decided to become a chemical engineer.”"

"We needs to focus on educational programs that helps graduates develop skills."

"They believed that service was what each human owed other humans. I joined Red Cross as a pre-teen because I wanted to ease the suffering of others and when I was in college, I continued to volunteer to shelters and work as a mentor to young children."

"I learned that it was better to focus upon serving others than dwell upon my own life’s issues."

"I realized that if something wasn’t done about cleaning up the soil and rivers, cleaning up the oil spills being my motivation for desiring to study Chemical engineering."

"I began to think like an advocate from an early age looking back, I have always been drawn to helping the underdog or rooting for them in stories that I read."

"You can do it. You can have a good family life. You can succeed in any field that you choose to play in. There are no limitations to what a woman can do. You can be as good as the next man."

"The AfCFTA will open a bigger market for businesses in Africa. We have an opportunity for industries to manufacture products that can be exported within regions, enabling us to earn foreign exchange. It will help us improve trade practices and remain competitive."

"To be clear, African countries are seeking development partnerships, not handouts or aid. In Nigeria, we have requested longer-term financing from MDBs to weather the current storm. These banks could also facilitate partnerships between private investors and local African businesses to boost economic growth and job creation."

"African countries must work together with the global community to lift the continent out of poverty. But they should also focus on leveraging their abundant resources and young and dynamic populations."

"We have very serious revenue challenges and it is up to us to make sure we shore up the revenue base of the country.”"

"You are working for the president and at the end of the day, you are also working for the benefit of the citizens.”"

"The president has a lot of confidence that we can do this if we work together.”"

"We are the jinx breakers; we are the solution to the nation’s problem. We women in Nigeria, we should not take no for an answer. This is the time we must get up, we must rise up, we must take our rightful position in the scheme of things in the economy of Nigeria. Women, we are very moderate, we see far ahead, what men don’t see, we see."

"Women should take over this country, for this country to get out of the woods, for this country to be redeemed, for this country to become what it ought to be, it must be governed, it must be ruled, it must be led by women at every level because the women know how to do it. We are born nurturers, we are born managers, we are born strategists, we are born organizers. It is in our DNA, look at every institution you know where a woman is at the helm of affairs, compare it with a period when it was manned by a man and you will get the answer. The woman’s period is always better, it is always more progressive."

"The election period is over; it is time for governance and we have to allow the captain of the ship to steer the ship of government the way that he considers most appropriate in the interest of the nation and its people."

"Women bring peace to every situation."

"If I had a choice, I would have recommended that the whole cabinet be filled with women for reasons that are clear to all. There are women with the capacity and temperance for leadership."

"As you are aware, the businesses in culture and tourism are about people, and when bars, hotels, event centres, shows, flights are shot down, and restriction of movements are enforced, it is like taking our sources of income away ."

"If at all it’s true, I don’t see why they should refer to me as the president’s girl because there were six of the ladies in his cabinet. I was really tough in a man’s job and the chauvinistic environment was quite volatile, but I tried to hold firm."

"The women need more support in Nigerian politics as politics is seen as a "Man's World.""

"Whether we like it or not, basically, we need the support, of your husband or the men, because this is a man’s world."

"Society itself has not been moving well because you leave out half the population from decision making, or, those who make decision are making decisions for people that they do not appreciate their problem."

"The women really have to come out and do something."

"As we continue to face various natural and human-induced hazards, it is imperative that we equip our LEMC’s with the necessary tools, knowledge, and systems to effectively anticipate, respond, and mitigate potential disasters."

"Their dedication to our state’s disaster risk management efforts is truly commendable and I look forward to furthering our partnership in this critical endeavor."

"Jobberman is at the forefront of connecting talents with opportunities, and I commend them for bridging the unemployment gap in our State. Well-developed human capital is pivotal to reducing unemployment, thereby lifting citizens out of poverty. Unemployment poses a threat to national security with increasing poverty. On the instructions of the Governor, all ministries, departments and agencies of the government have been mandated to put processes in place to assure ease of doing business by private initiatives in Kaduna."

"The state government has taken responsibility for the medical care of the injured victims, who have been evacuated to Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, where they are receiving necessary medical attention."

"In response to the immediate needs of the affected community, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has been directed to deliver relief items to support the victims."

"The injured victims have been evacuated to Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, where they are receiving necessary medical attention."

"In response to the immediate needs of the affected community, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has been directed to deliver relief items to support the victims, while the government takes responsibility for the medical care of the injured."

"No! When I say no, it’s a no. You don’t have to push further, asking me why I said no."

"When we get to that bridge, we will cross it; don’t worry."

"We believe in doing what is right for the people. And that is why they elected us. The difference between us and others is the willingness to take very difficult decisions."

"I try as much as possible to put in my very best in everything I do."

"I really appreciate you all. May Allah be always close by to meet you at every point of your needs. May you each, have several reasons to be celebrated. God bless you all richly."

"The rate of people testing positive for malaria has also reduced from 33 to 16 percent in the last two years."

"We have achieved 68 percent refill rate order for all antimalarial commodities (DHIS), and a reduction of malaria test positivity rate from 33 percent (NDHS 2018) to 16 percent in 2021 (MIS 2021)."

"Time to Deliver Zero Malaria; Invest, Innovate, Implement."

"Intersectoral, inter-agency and robust partner collaboration helped in achieving integrated delivery of malaria services in the state."

"I look forward to quick and complete recovery from this infection."

"I appeal to everyone to observe the simple public health measures and COVID-19 prevention protocols such as the use of facemasks in public; frequent washing of hands with soap and running water or use of sanitisers; and avoiding large gatherings or crowded places."

"We are here to receive the equipment that Kaduna State Government bought for all the 255 focal PHCs in the state; as you know, we have 255 wards and in line with the implementation of the policy of Primary Healthcare Under One Roof, we have embarked on renovations, upgrades and now equipment of facilities."

"We have put measures in place to ensure that the equipment are properly distributed, and put to use for the people."

"This on Friday in Maiduguri during the launching of a resource centre organised by NCWD in collaboration with the United Nations Women to promote Women’s political engagement and advancement as well as mentor-ship for aspiring female politicians in Borno state."

"The centre will serve as a hub that provides opportunity for female politicians to access information and knowledge products, electronic equipment, internet facilities, counselling and contacts that would enhance female productivity for effective participation in politics."

"It is no news that Women’s representation in Nigerian politics has been on a downward slide since 2011, and extremely low in Borno State."

"The resource centre is being launched to compliment the current administration in its pursuit to advance women in politics and governance in Nigeria."

"The “Women Economic Empowerment Training Programme for Female IDPs” is part of the efforts by Maryam Babangida women centre to boost the capacity of women across the country, adding that about sixty women have benefitted from the exercise."

"This intervention will go a long way in complementing the efforts of the state towards women empowerment and economic emancipation."

"I wish you nothing but success in the future."

"This decision was not an easy one and I have consulted with people before taking such a step due to certain factors."

"I want to use this opportunity to thank the party for all the support given to me for over two decades. I wish you nothing but success in the future."

"the election of Governor Bala and his Rivers state counterpart, Governor Fubara as Chairman and Deputy of the PDP Governors’ Forum is a good development that happened to the Party in recent time."

"They are passionate and committed members of the party and founded on their experience, they will provide a purposeful leadership to the forum and renew hope for the party."

"Yes I sensed manipulations because we had an overwhelming victory, especially in Awka-South but the opposition party made all efforts to see that the votes that were cast by numerous supporters of the Labour Party were cancelled and the reason why it took so long to declare the results since Saturday the election ended and the results just came out this Monday evening of 27th February."

"Where things are done in an orderly way and where people accept defeat, these results should have actually been out but there seems to be some kind of distortion in the process by people who think they are in charge of the state."

"Nigeria is losing millions of dollars in revenue from false CSR claims by companies…this we want to stop with the introduction of the CSR bill."

"The Company Income Tax Act has a provision for expenses incurred in CSR. These donations, goodwill or infrastructural development they did in their communities, they claim it and at the end of the day, the tax they pay to the government is not actually the amount they are supposed to pay."

"The routes serve as horrendous channels for the influx of inadmissible aliens and goods. Nigeria at the moment lacks sufficient security personnel to safeguard the existing illegal routes across the borders."

"It is not the game of politics that is dirty; it is the player that can be dirty"

"Although gender was not a consideration in the appointment, a section of the public would definitely see her as being at the vanguard of our faith for more women participation in government. By her appointment, we now have a triumvirate of women in key positions like the Chief Judge, Head of Civil Service and one Deputy Governor."

"We had to do it as the law had dictated that we do it. If the haven fell, too bad, that is the way it was."

"The massive unemployment of tertiary institution graduates is a tip of the icebergs. The millions of idle youth is not unrelated to the insecurity on the ground."

"It is human to feel cheated or having the short end of the stick but one who is not declared the winner at any of the electoral contests, such emotion however grim does not justify bringing the roof down, the roof of our nation, the reason is simple that in such an eventuality, that aggrieved person may not be spared as the commotion would be like an unguided missile which could land anywhere and upon anyone"

"I have seen somebody who is very compassionate, and very caring. The moment you’re around her husband, she takes care of you. She sees you as her husband’s person and so she will always relate with you. Some of us are direct beneficiaries of the care through our relationship with the husband"

"An independent judiciary is essential to the protection of human rights and respect for the rule of law. The principles of independence are the hallmarks of the rationale and the legitimacy of the judicial function in every State. Their absence leads to a denial of justice, and makes the credibility of the judicial process dubious."

"When those who should know the importance of the sanctity of the judiciary descend to the arena of abusing it with their preemptive utterances just to show loyalty and support to their interests, we as a party see this as unfortunate and dangerous to our democratic journey as a nation."

"As a judge, Odili applies the law to the facts and understands how a judicial decision affects human beings. Above all, she is a judge of immense courage, always willing to do what the law requires of her even when the course of action is not popular. In rendering justice, she has consistently shown compassion, empathy and respect for the essential dignity of all persons"

"She is an exceptional judicial icon whose service at the bench will continue to be referenced as a result of her sense of balance, fairness, integrity and confidence in the nation’s judiciary."

"It is without a doubt that throughout her career, she has not only been a jurist that other jurists wanted to emulate, but also set standards of professionalism, ethics and legal acuity that people will continually attempt to achieve."

"The judiciary should never be misconstrued by any individual or institution of government as the weeping child among the three arms of government that must always be chastised and ridiculed to silence because of our conservative disposition."

"For me, the ill-advised raid was an attempt to intimidate the judiciary, judicial officers and custodians of the highest temple of justice. It is yet another attack on Justices in our country that deserves condemnation and should not be allowed to happen again."

"“Unfortunately, the majority of Nigerians, especially the youths who fought with patriotism to reset their country through the ballot box, are now wondering if elections have not become the tool for legitimizing the corrupt takeover of Nigeria. This dark cloud of angst arising from a terribly mismanaged 2023 general elections has jolted the confidence and hope of many Nigerians, thus propelling us as Citizens of Conscience to take the bold step of beginning to resist and mitigate the intended and unintended crisis looming over our dear country.Therefore, we condemn the outright manipulation of the electoral process and abdication of responsibility by INEC as it has not only destroyed trust in the democratic process, but has rewarded wrongdoing, making it possible for persons of stupendous wealth, who lack legitimacy, to become the real beneficiaries of our electoral process."

"I am a member of the National Assembly inclined to make changes happen in the National Assembly but I will not succeed, I know it, I regret it, I sympathise with myself that I will not succeed. Why? Because I do not form a critical mass.I will remain an obedient participant without necessarily doing what they are doing. That is the reality. In politics you have to belong somewhere and that is why you have to stand on the platform of the party, you don’t (stand) outside of it and you have to represent it somehow."

"The number of poor people have rather increased. Nigerians should run away from APC because they have compounded the socio-economic woes of Nigerians. Vote them out of power"

"There is no wholesome condemnation or commendation because there is no society that is wholly good or wholly bad, If you want to change that situation, you have to come in there and change it, If we do not have a dominant counter force in the system, the system will continue to support its own, it will continue to define itself in the way it is defined. The beneficiaries of the system will continue to benefit from the system."

"The other reason you can read into things like this is some level of hostility over something. I am not suggesting I know of any problem between both countries but it’s not unusual for countries to harden their stance towards each other, to draw attention to something that is probably hurting one party at another level. I think we may have to look beyond the surface."

"There are inhibitors which make it difficult for women to come out. The first thing you are told when you come into politics is to go and bring your money, you this prostitute! So the whole engagement with women takes more than ordinary courage to come out and become part of what is happening in governance. It is not an easy journey for women and society is not making it easier. So these bills are attempting to make it easier for women to come out. We are asking the National Assembly to step back, take a deep breath, reflect again on the five clauses that we wanted."

"So, when you’re voting, you’re not voting the individual but the party, which will in turn ensure women comprise 35% of the list created for position. In every country where an increase in governance has happened for women, the party list was used. Now, it is left for voters to look at the party list and decide to vote for a party based on their likeness for whoever catches their fancy on the party list. So, the seats won by each party will now be proportionally distributed to candidates, but ensuring by law that 35% of the distribution goes to women."

"Often times in Nigeria we say we have a lot of educated graduates but we haven’t looked at the content of these graduates in terms of the know-how. If you go today and say look I’m having a problem with my maize. This year something is eating up the leaves of my maize, caterpillars or worms or something… And you say you’re looking for people who know what to do in Nigeria, it will amaze you that with all the graduates in agriculture you wouldn’t find someone who knows what to do."

"We have a prebendal politics, we reward people producing little based on loyalty which is rewarded , and this produces a dysfunctional system where people for instance in the Civil Service are rewarded not on the bases of work done but it is based on those who you favour and nobody is held responsible for things like leakages because everything goes"

"One tends to listen to different shades of opinion and weigh them."

"If you are not a good listener, you cannot be a good politician."

"Women should be strategic, visible to be nominated into boards."

"When you are dealing directly with people, they have this satisfaction that their interests are protected and they are getting what is due to them."

"the best thing is to cut your losses short and move."

"The only regret is that you can’t see the future."

"It is a coalition that brought him in; another coalition could also take him out."

"The most permanent thing in this world is change."

"I tell people that if they want to go into politics and they have skeletons in their cupboards, they should not bother."

"Even though people can have ambition, we should work together because the realization of any ambition is from God."

"Any position you want can only be achieved in unity because we do not have independent candidate position under our party."

"It is very important. People should do things right because we have a constitution."

"We need focus on blocking loopholes that encourage diversion by creating barriers to diversion."

"Let’s Regulate Social Media Instead Of Enacting Draconian Laws"

"I believe that humility can take one to any length in life, so I never allowed my position, fame or success to get into my head."

"There is negative attention as well but there is a lot of positive attention, and that is what I’m focusing on."

"I have worked for PDP for 21 years now, I left the party because I believe that it is only changed that is constant. It is a new chapter in my political career and I want to move on, I feel my interest is paramount to me.”"

"the President needs the support of all to steady the ship of state, warning that doing otherwise would be catastrophic."

"Every discerning Nigerian should be worried about the trend of events in the country within the past few months or one year, as it were."

"just returned to Nigeria from a foreign trip, and I tell you, the rest of the world is worried about the situation of things in our country because the people we met would ask you very probing questions pointing towards their worries about the future of the country. International investors would have been falling over one another to be in Nigeria given the increasing collapse of the economies of their respective countries, but they are being held back because of security breaches reported in Nigeria on daily basis."

"What gladdens my heart now is that everybody, most especially the northern leaders are now up in arms to ensure an end to terrorism in the country."

"You cannot just push out a government like that most especially when the period of another transition is near. All we can do is to wait for 2015 to decide the next set of leaders we want. That is Democracy. Talking about the plot of impeachment in the House of Representatives, I want to see that as a wakeup call to get the attention of Mr. President on certain issues pertinent to the socio-economic development of the country"

"We don’t want to proffer solution that will be workable to our country."

"You can’t sit down and make conclusions on herdsmen."

"We have become so impatient that’s why we don’t listen to each other."

"Politics is like market, as you are coming back, others are going."

"Once your objectives are to serve the people, why are you fighting to serve them."

"Politics is not a do-or-die."

"In our journey toward harmony and prosperity, it is essential we recognise and pay tribute to those individuals who played pivotal roles in advancing peace and stability"

"I urge all Nigerians to embrace dialogue, tolerance, and understanding as we work together to build a more harmonious society. Let us remember that our diversity is our strength, and together, we can overcome the challenges that threaten our unity"

"We didn’t come out to play. We came out to build and unite the old path that generations will take. Nigeria deserves all that we can put to keep it back on its feet. We have a great NATION. Your victory, it’s God that did it because without God, even if we put all our strength, it won’t happen. By the grace of God, we will work"

"You may think that because you are a youth, you don’t have anything to offer but there are lots of young people doing great things in their lives. We need your expertise. We need your knowledge to drive this country because you have technology at your fingertips,” she stated."

"I did all that was required of every legislator, motions, bills, even some bills that were assented to as law. I can only just be grateful to God for what He has done and for the people I met here even though we might not understand each other, but we used to relate with each other with respect, and I believe that we can build a nation that even our young ones will be proud of"

"We are very humbled by what you have done, you have exhibited great leadership and dexterity in the way you do things. I want to sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart because you don’t come into this role and say you know it all"

"Like I said, if you get into a position you never envisage in your life time that you will ever occupy, you believe it is a privilege and God must have made you to become that. So you have to go back to God and ask ‘how do I do this"

"Good governance can only be impactful if the people follow the example of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who embodied the fruit of the spirit, including love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance and forgiveness."

"A Nigeria of abundance has begun, and to be part of the greatness that God has started in the nation, Nigerians must look beyond their current realities and embrace hope anew."

"There is no challenge, obstacle or difficulty that we cannot overcome or surmount if we imbibe the nature of Christ who said in Matthew 11:28 that ‘come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

"Let me tell you how I see Africa through my eyes. I see a continent rich in culture, diversity, and creativity, where communities are resilient, innovative, and deeply connected to their roots. I see young people driving change, entrepreneurs building solutions to local challenges, and a wealth of natural beauty that is second to none."

"The resilience of the Nigerian people, their kindness, and their deep connection to their heritage stand out as some of the many things that make this country so special. It resonates so much with our people in Kosovo and the joint values we share. Kosovo remains unrecognized as a state by many countries in the world."

"Oluremi Tinubu is coming to Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, with formidable credentials and considerable clout. She is a politician of remarkable competence in her own right and she had received great mentoring from her husband, for many years."

"To say that Nigeria has problems is to make an understatement. The wise should listen, wherever help and advice come from. Those who republished the old letter should have spent time to respond to the content of the said statement which, among other things, called on President Buhari to join the rank of retired elder statesmen in 2019. I would think this was appropriate and even unnecessary advice, given the serious medical problems he has had over the last few years."

"He (Tunji-Ishola) just ended being such a wonderful gift to the nation. I hope he will continue to have success. I hope he continues to have active participation in politics and I hope he continues to have positions where he can contribute to the growth of the state and the country."

"I won’t be your legacy, let your legacy be Nigeria in the fractured state you created because … I pray Nigeria survives your continual intervention in its affairs"

"I am surprised that agents of the current administration who should benefit from the advice and admonishment of one of the most brilliant leaders to ever emerged in modern Africa have resorted to a cheap tactic that further reiterates the message that they found abhorrent enough to start looking for unconnected issues to put together to make their point."

"I wanted to say to you: when you copy something you also copy the modifications based on the learning from the original; only a fool starts from scratch and does not base his decisions on the learning of others. In science, we use the modifications found by others long ago to the most recent, as the basis of new findings; not going back to discover and learn what others have learnt. Human knowledge and development and civilization will not have progressed if each new generation and society did not build on the knowledge of others before them"

"It is tiring to continue to be part of Nigerian conversation when there’s no positive impact to it.I really do not want to be part of it, as I’ve found over and over again that speech and words are wasted on people who have no understanding of responsibility on us as black people on this planet."

"To tell you the truth, throwing mud at your father’s white garment in the village square is the least effective way of redressing such complex family squabbles. What you have done is sacrilegious. It shows bad upbringing and want of character. It puts a big question mark on the academic background and intellectual quality of the author. By all known cultural, social and global standards, your open letter and its contents are very inappropriate."

"My first child, my daughter (Iyabo) will not take nonsense from you. And you try it; you would be put in your place. It doesn’t matter; you may be 10 times her height, she will bring you down. (It is) because I give them the encouragement and you heard, eight of my children have PhDs. I have slightly more boys than girls but I have more girls with Ph.D. than boys."

""You find that when people knock you down, they don’t expect you to get up again. So, when you get up, they have mixed feelings,”"

""God raised other people to help me.""

"". I believe that the God who has seen me through till today will continue to do so until He comes.""

"We have residential, commercial, multi-purpose plots, including religious, leisure, schools, markets, health centres, green areas and every other needs for a city to thrive.be"

"Edo state can build smart cities while closing out housing gap."

"My name is Khadija Waziri Bukar Ibrahim, I represent Damaturu, Tarmuwa, Gujiba, Gulani federal constituency from Yobe State. Mr Speaker, honorable colleagues, this indeed is an indispensible budget. I want to first and foremost commend the enthusiam of Mr. President, for representing the renewed hope. A budget which will go further like ever before in cementing micro economic stability, reducing deficitä, increasing capital spending and allocation to reflect the eight priority areas of the administration..."

"we can take male chauvinism out of our minds, a lot of things will work out positively for women in this country."

"We must not be taken as enemies of progress. We should be taken as friends of progress…whatever the situation, we must be seen to also have the guts and will power to see that we try and contest for such leadership elections."

"It will make our women folk proud that indeed a woman tried – a woman participated in the process of choosing leaders of both houses."

"We must ensure there is no crack where lizards and other reptiles can enter and spoil our relationship between the different factions, religions, parties and cultures and so on."

"We should consider our country first because it is hugely diverse in culture, religion and any aspect of society you are thinking about."

"We should not allow people to take advantage of the crack in the wall."

"Daddy, that's what we all call him. We come from the Ahmed's Family of the Aguchimeachi Family... as an Ahmed was an Ahmed. Ahmed Family of the Aguchimeachi Family. I grew in and out of his house, Mummy was the eldest I was the youngest. So it's kind of a fair place that I moved in with her when she was into her business. And honestly and sincerely, daddy has always being a true brother to me. He supports that we were never ever discriminate against. He was there for us at all times..."

"Well, National Mandate Group is all over Oyo State campaigning, canvassing for Atiku and for the PDP. So yeah, we are very busy. We are making progress."

"I feel really good because I never thought that I will make eighty judging from all the troubles I caused in my youth. I was a fighter. Am still a fighter. But for God to keep me alive till the end, I don't know how far gone I will be, but I pray He will keep me longer."

"First Female Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly delivered a bouncing baby on Saturday."

"What God cannot do doesn’t exist."

"Good people of Garkida will forever remember the nice Senate. The senate are aware that on the 21st February 2020, an insurgent group attack the good people of Garkida, a peaceful town in Gombi local government area of Adamawa Central Senatorial District. The insurgents in over seven gun trucks and many motorcycles attacked the town at about 7:00pm, setting many buildings ablaze. Also aware that three soldiers are killed in the deadly attack. Properties worth millions of Naira were burnt or destroyed including public hospitals, schools, telecommunication facilities, police stations, buses, cars, food stores, private properties belonging to the good people of Garkida. Worrying that the Garkida crisis which has led to the destruction of lives and properties were planned by the insurgents to have a religious connotation considering that churches and residences of some prominent indigenes are burnt. And at aim of destroying the foundation of peaceful co-existence Garkida community and Adamawa State at large..."

"In 1999, no woman contested as only two candidates, Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic (PDP) and Olu Falae of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), slugged it out. Mr Obasanjo emerged the winner. However, 2003 remains women’s best attempt at occupying Aso Villa. Of the 20 presidential candidates, two were women – Sarah Jubril of the Progressive Action Congress, (PAC) and Mojisola Adekunle Obasanjo of the Masses Movement of Nigeria, (MMN)."

"As lord mayor of Leeds, I am committed to working tirelessly to ensure voices are heard from all areas of the city and every triumph is recognised and celebrated.”"

"“It was not just the city where I lived, studied and worked, it’s where I chose to raise my children and become a public servant"

"If I want God to answer me, I have to forgive and let go of so many things."

"You cannot be the judge in your own case but the records are there."

"Someone must be bold enough to challenge the status quo."

"If God says this is the place I am taking you to, people may try; people may do whatever they feel they can, if they succeed in doing anything, you cannot blame them."

"In life, you can never choose for God; you can’t say that this is what I am going to be."

"You cannot stop people from saying whatever they want to say; everybody is entitled to their own opinion."

"There is no way you can quickly say bye bye to politics, most especially if you are born into politics."

"No, once you are in politics, you are there, you don’t quit. There is no way you can quickly say bye bye to politics, most especially if you are born into politics. It is very hard for a politician to quit politics; you will have your followers and supporters."

"Timbuktoo is the heartland of Civilization of Commence and Knowledge."

"We are borrowing the Timbuktoo to describe this initiative because we are looking at Africa from the past to the future."

"As a person, you must have dreams, and actualising these dreams means that you have to struggle."

"Life has taught me to struggle, to appreciate people not matter who they are. It doesn’t matter whether they are high up there or whether they are low down there."

"It is important to appreciate people for what they do and this would certainly encourage them to do much more."

"My confidence is that he’s been somebody who has been tried and tested at some point and found diligent and also found acceptable."

". I believe that everything that happens in one’s life is for a purpose. For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, I believe it was the way it was destined for me."

"A day begins a story"

"You do not know the price of stability until you have been faced with either breakups or uncontrollable situations that could affect the unity of this country."

"The legislature just like any other thing is evolving, graduating and maturing and in doing that, it is coming up with quality legislations better ways of handling issues and ensuring that there is amicable, understanding between the three tiers of government."

"These laws that we have made, all we need do is to ensure that between we the lawmakers and executive the implementers and of course, the judiciary, the interpreters to ensure that there is a harmonious relationship amongst the tripod."

"I am not a lawyer but if keep quiet to some certain things it means that you are in agreement to all those things."

"All we need to do is to ensure that we do all we have to do and think outside the box."

"All it requires is hard work and good people to implement the strategy."

"What arises is the extent of your competence and capacity."

"if you don’t want to be talked about, then you have to do away with success."

"I think no one can give me a name that is not mine. It is me who will define me."

"When it comes to contributing towards national development, the issue should not be men or women."

"We cannot use the decision of a small group of people to override the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

"Of course, what is worth doing is worth doing well."

"Let’s start from somewhere; it is a process and you cannot do it all in one day."

"Restructuring is about devolution of power, fiscal and physical restructuring."

"You allow every state to control its resources, it will create a sense of competition and cure this laziness among the states."

"When a ministry is not working, it is either expanded to three departments or reduced."

"Restructuring is not a new word. We should embrace it because that is the answer to our problem of insecurity."

"Any advice that is given to me should be geared towards achieving restructuring."

"If you leave the government open for your cabal to manipulate you, you will never get it right."

"There are many challenges one faces in the course of the job, but you have to be resilient and resolute in your conviction."

"When I sponsor a bill, I do it in hopes that I will change our country for the better."

"And even if the bill is not successful, I hope it will spark a conversation that will enable something to change or the introduction of something better."

"The major challenges are the lack of understanding from the majority of the constituents about the role of the legislature and also the need to have institutional memory and capacity building in the legislature."

"Implementing the Act is more important than delaying it"

"Everyone should have it at their fingertips and know where they come in; even market women, philanthropists, everybody."

"Believe in God and to hold on to God in everything that you do in your life."

"Understand the reason why things should be done in the right way.understand that there is fire on the mountain."

"I always advise people that whatever you are doing in life, leave God to drive that vehicle for you, let him be your captain and pilot. With him, everything will be possible."

"If you hold God, not just going to Church and Mosque, you have everything."

"In Islam there are five pillars, the first is to believe in God, if you don’t have that, then forget about the rest."

"We must all recognise God and believe everything that is incomplete will soon be too much."

"Who can take care of your needs if not God? Anyone pocketing people’s resources, would be punished."

"Always put God first in everything you do and he will bear your burden."

"Except something is done quickly to remove the grains from the chaff, the LP would itself degenerate beyond the subsisting mercantile groupings."

"It is valid and in order to raise technical points that should keep a political party within the rule of law and indeed, to avoid arbitrariness."

"Female President is possible if women unite."

"I like to say something, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has shown us the way to take people as friends, as partners to move the women of Nigeria forward. To be seen as mothers, as helpers. Until we as women unite, we are not going anywhere. We have to unite. We have to remove our differences, it doesn’t matter where you come from or it doesn’t matter who you love, you are a woman, you are a mother"

"“At this juncture, I call on women of Nigeria to support Mrs. Tinubu in the office she is today. She has shown that she can help the women of Nigeria, can support the children of Nigeria. And together we will be strong, one day, we will find amongst us, one of us that can be the leader of this country.”"

"Ufot Ekaette was exceptionally patriotic to Nigeria’s cause."

"But with my mum, I got everything I needed. I got the father’s love, the mother’s love and the sister’s love. I remember my younger days, when it rains, my mum will say, "what are you people doing in school? Just sit down/""

"Where am I even going? It’s already wet, outside is wet. Just sit down and rest, another day, you can always pick it up."

"Everybody letting you be yourself. There wasn’t any air around us and not that we had everything we wanted, but we were contented. We never lacked anything when we were growing up. It was all very peaceful and there was no cause for complaints from the parents’ side."

"I am not so sure that’s what God has called you for, but we’ll put it in prayers. I’ll keep praying and when I return, we’ll revisit it."

"Dame Virginia Ngozi Etiaba born 11 November 1942, was the firstand, up till now, only female governor in Nigeria's political history"

"Breaking down biases against women parliamentarians requires concentrated efforts, adopting a moral situation strategy to engage female parliamentarians and community leaders on what community stand to gain when more women go to the parliament. Women focus in the parliament should regularly should regularly engage with political party leaders, civil society organization, as well as socio-cultural organizations for an enlighten conversations. We must go beyond the strategic approaches and begin to appeal to the sensibilities of the men as every items to push for more women representations in Nigeria through legislation have failed."

"We should all thank God for Mo. I have never seen a more 60th birthday celebrant. I think she is celebrating her birthday herself. She is so happy and people are so happy for Mo because everybody here wants to dance with and for Mo."

"I am celebrating her not because she celebrated me when I turned 70 but because Mo and her friends, Ruth Osime, Nkiru and others are amazing and jolly good fellows. I am so proud of her and that is why each time I send messages to her , I always end it with I am always proud of you."

"Most of the women here have always struggled and have consistently made it. Mo is an incredibly, unbelievably strong girl. I wonder how she gets her courage, her resilience and I don’t know where she gets her energy from."

"I am approaching 80 and I understand what battle is all about because I have fought so many as a politician for over 32 years. I’m seeing sincere love for a fellow woman. Women are beginning to love and appreciate each other. Women should continue to be happy for each other. If there is anything like reincarnation, I want to come back as a woman."

"If there is any issue, I am accessible, I am open, let me know what is going on and we will intervene and ensure that peace prevails."

"Having historical facts of the places that are having issues and discouraging court cases were possible ways of resolving boundary disputes."

"MEMBER of the House of Representaives, Ms Temi Harriman has called on the Federal Government to widen its recent dialogue with Ijaw militant, Alhaji Asari Dokubo into a national conference involving all ethnic groups in the country."

"Harriman (PDP, Warri, Fed. Constituency, Delta) in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday said the urgency of a national conference had become imperative with the recent involvement of the presidency in brokering peace between the hitherto feuding Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF) and the Niger Delta Vigilante Force (NDVF)."

"My dad was in good spirit until he was taken into the theatre"

"Senator Omo-Agege’s call is especially welcome at this time and must be supported by all legislators and the operating companies in order to ensure that balance between the community and the companies,”"

"My position was based on the fact that virtually all parts of the Niger Delta and indeed other geo-political zones of the country had contending issues with which to discuss with government."

"Every time I hit a pothole,I call somebody’s name,imagine how many times I call that person’s name in a day.I see roads flooded I call that person’s name"

"I have decided to step down and show a sign of political responsibility"

"I have enjoyed every moment of service to my nation always mindful that I should not let down the trust bestowed on me by the president and the people of uganda. However to err is human."

"Even when we still begrudge the manner in which justice may have been exercised to the logical unit, it my humble patriotic duty in the interest of the people, my party NRM, and my biological family,I will for now give away to allow smooth and unfettered consideration of the controversy I find myself in.I therefore resign my current position of minister in charge of presidency and Kampala capital authorities with effect from December 14"

"The challenges that Nigeria faces today require me to continue championing the struggle for a better country with a clear conscience as I remain absolutely loyal to Nigeria."

"I introduced Buhari to politics."

"My husband, late Bala Muhammad was chopped into pieces and burnt alive for his opposition and what he was saying. The day I identified that body, that was the day I decided I will continue where he stopped."

"What I am trying to say is that I always follow my conscience. I will always do things for God and my country and not for myself. Those who think that they can lie for peanut should wait for their end. All the problems we are having in this country are a result of hoping to get something."

"Last year, on Saturday, 14th September 2019, at approximately 5:52 pm, a fire broke out in my house at No 15, Justice Lawal Uwais Street, Asokoro, Abuja. Many of my documents were lost in the fire, including which was my NYSC certificate. Therefore, I am writing to apply for the replacement of my NYSC Certificate that was lost in the fire incident."

"I don’t know what you have heard. There have been so many different accounts of that particular situation. The fact that I am sitting here means that I didn’t do anything wrong. But I have not come out to set the record straight as to what happened. The social media has just run rife with different accounts."

"The matter had been adjudicated and one day, I will come out with my account. I have probably done more NYSC than you (presenter). I have done at least two NYSCs in my life."

"I think what I owe Nigerians is to say that I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t break the law. The NYSC I did and finished. That is the much I can tell you. Everything I did was by the law."

"An adult education programme will soon take off in the constituency. The programme is being initiated by her office in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Education to boost Adult Literacy in the constituency."

"My office is initiating series of programmes to improve the condition of women in the area. I urge you to continue to remain united for the progress of the community."

"People travel for an hour to access health facilities in the state. Past administrations did not do well across the state, which led to the collapsed of health care system."

"We have 24 local governments in Katsina state and past administrations did not judiciously apply part of loans they borrowed in the health care sector."

"All health personnel working in facilities across the 34 local districts of the state have been adequately informed of the development and trained on how to handle Lassa fever cases."

"The loan, if granted, would be used essentially to develop and upgrade primary health care in the 34 local government areas of the state."

"Over the years, there have been huge gaps between where the sector needs to be and where it actually is due to lack of collaboration and synergy between the Federal and State Ministries of Transportation. To possibly bridge these gaps between the Federal and State levels, the Federal Ministry of Transportation saw the need to set up a Forum that will cover the existing gaps."

"Our vision is to build a strong, non-partisan, non-profit Institution that brings together all 36 appointed Commissioners and State Special Assistant/Advisers on Transportation to actively and effectively promote inclusiveness, good Governance, sustainable growth and development in the Transportation Sector."

"Seriously I did not campaign for this position. I acted for a couple of months and election was conducted that confirmed me to seat at the helm of the forum such as this. What can I do on my own? Honestly it is a collective effort of all Transport Commissioners, a fall out of the last annual retreat."

"I encourage you women to continue to be strong and to strive to succeed in all you do because you hold the key to national development."

"I urge you to carry everyone along regardless of religion and ethnicity, strive to create inclusion in all you do and work together as one, encouraging each other to be better."

"I commend the initiative of the Women of Worth Global Group. This is a major milestone in promoting women and giving them hope in politics and all spheres of life."

"My inability to attend Sunday’s meeting with the wife of the president, Dame Patience Jonathan, over the abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, was not to disrespect her office."

"I was inaugurated as the Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development by His Excellency, @RealAARahman on Friday."

"I return all glory and adoration to Almighty God, I pray for His guidance in actualising the Kwara of our dream."

"I also want to express my gratitude to our indefatigable governor for the confidence he reposed in me to serve as one of his cabinet members."

"I promise to discharge my duty diligently and not to let our youth folks down."

"When the accounts of past public officers are to be given for posterity to judge, these individuals would make the list because of their contributions to the Nigerian project. However, long after they left public office, not much has been heard about them again."

"We must resolve to jointly exorcise the evil spirit behind this darkness."

"Ahead of the 2023 general elections I make bold to say that Nigeria is indeed ready for a female President; a Phenomenal Woman, a quintessential diva. A Woman of Substance, with a heart of gold, who is no other than Evangelist Dr. Ebiti Ndok-Jegede, originally from Cross River State, but born and raised in Ibadan, Oyo State."

"Evangelist Dr. Ebiti is Queen Esther and Judge Deborah of our time. Coming with a 5 Point Agenda for Nigeria, which includes; restoring, Reviving, Reconstructing, Restructuring, and Revolutionizing Nigeria mentally."

"Only seven female Senators (7.63 per cent) and 19 Representatives (5.28 per cent) were elected in 2011 (7th Assembly) as opposed to nine senators and 25 Representatives that sailed through in 2007. Out of those elected in 2007, only three female senators and 11 Reps were re-elected in 2011. The women who shaped the federal legislature in the 7th Senate were Chris Anyanwu, Zainab Kure, Nkechi Nwaogu, Nenadi Usman, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, Helen Esuene and Aisha Jummai Alhassan, who died in May this year in an Egyptian hospital at the age of 61. In the House of Representatives, the women were Hon. Abike Dabiri, Mulikat Adeola-Akande, Nkiru Onyeagocha, Uche Ekwunife, Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas, Beni Lar, Khadija Bukar Abba-Ibrahim, Elizabeth Ogbaga, Peace Uzoamaka Nnaji, Juliet Akano, Maimunat Adaji, Suleiman Oba Nimota, Folake Olunloyo, Martha Bodunrin, Betty Okogua-Apiafi, Rose Oko and Nkoyo Toyo among others."

"A Nigerian senator, Rose Oko, is dead."

"The late Senator Rose Oko will always be remembered for her good works while alive."

"For seasoned female politician, Hon. Mrs. Eucharia Okwunna Azodo, her resume is intimidating. She has, at various times, held various positions both in the political party and public positions."

"One of the major objectives of the water abstraction control scheme is to provide a platform for data gathering on the various groundwater abstraction facilities in the state, either existing ones or those to be drilled in the future."

"Let us continue to work for a better Plateau."

"I am deeply saddened by the attack on the Riyom Divisional Police Station, which tragically claimed the life of a Police officer. This act of violence is not only senseless but a painful reminder of the challenges we face in ensuring security across our state. My heart goes out to the family of the fallen officer and the entire Police Force. We must honor their sacrifices by working together to prevent such tragedies from happening again. I call on our security agencies to intensify efforts to bring those responsible to justice. I also urge community members to support these efforts by providing any useful information. Together, we can build a safer, more peaceful Plateau."

"I am deeply saddened about the devastating fire outbreak that resulted in the loss of goods and properties of our market men and women at the Katako Market in Jos North, My heart goes out to all those affected by this tragic event. They are not alone during this difficult time, i stand with them in solidarity, especially that it falls within my constituency. Our administration led by our able Governor Caleb Mutfwang has taken immediate steps to address the situation and provide support to those affected as they navigate through this challenging period. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected as we work towards recovery and rebuilding."

"12 years... It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. Your memory and legacy continue to inspire me every day. Prayed for the forgiveness of your sins and a place in Jannah for you my dearest father. And then listened to Yusufu Olatunji - couldn’t get into it before, but you liked it, so I love it. (If you know you know). May the souls of all our dearly departed continue to rest in peace."

"Celebrating our freedom, embracing our diversity, and looking forward to a brighter future. May our nation continue to grow in unity, peace, and prosperity."

"It is not very difficult to exclude the women and they do not exclude us; we get involved in as many things as we like to."

"I think that the needs of the people, that is, the majority of the people – healthcare, education, security, and water."

"I am also looking forward to making impact on the lives of women."

"I enjoy inner peace. When you are in Christ, everything is possible. I take each day as it comes. I am conscious of what I eat."

"I have a small consultancy firm where I deal with educational issues. Once in a while, I go on speaking engagements. I attend a lot of seminars in and outside the country. I attend development programmes as well because as you age you still have to constantly renew yourself. I still do a lot of reading and writing."

"I am from Badagry in Ojo Division of Lagos State, which gave me the opportunity to serve my people as a politician.I studied English Education. I am a teacher by profession. Ironically, going into education was accidental. I never intended to be a teacher. I went to collect a form for a cousin of mine, and from there, my passion was fired and I just said why not try it out. I found out it was my calling especially when it comes to improving the lives of young people."

"He really supported me. He even took it more seriously than I did. He served in the Navy and knowing the family I come from it wasn’t a big deal for him when I was called upon to serve. When the time came there was no way I could run away from it."

"The retinue of aides was for protocol sake and it is for a certain period of time. I still have my aides but on more humble and quiet side. It is natural for everybody to enjoy the glamour of office. Outside it, you still attract that respect; you still get honour from a lot of people. Remember that life and power are transient and the only thing that is stable and constant is change."

"My husband supported me which made life easy for me while in office. My children were also grown up: My last child was already in the secondary school while the first two were in the university. We had a family meeting to agree on how we are going to balance it. I was in touch with my family all through. I was able to keep my home and was stable in the office as well."

"It was not convenient especially when I had to work late into the night. Oftentimes, he came to my official residence and I visited my home regularly. My husband didn’t live with me in the government house because it wasn’t convenient for him."

"He knows that nothing can move me or take me away from him."

"Of course, I did. You know men would want to do that husband thing. He would say ‘Please, can you cook that my vegetable for me?’ He loves it so much. And I would cook it because the difference is in his wife’s hand. I did that once in a while, not all the time."

"I will continue like my father did it till he breathed his last. Politics is not something you can quit once you get involved. I will continue to be of service to my people because I come from the riverine rural area that is always marginalised. It is only through political participation that their plight can be addressed and their voice heard."

"Well we came in, like I said, there were a lot of challenges, especially having to do with infrastructure of the schools. We knew what we wanted immediately. We felt to do this the funding in previous years was increased. In previous years a ratio about 50%."

"No, not of the total budget. I mean, what is allocated to education in previous years, we have to add more to this. There was an increase, a large increase, to what is allocated to education. That has helped us in doing most of these things. But nevertheless, funding is still a challenge to us. Even with the increase, it is still very difficult for us to provide all those things we wanted. As a result of that we said, "we can't just fold our arms and say by the time we utilize what we have-." Let's find other ways of getting funding, because it is the greatest challenge. If you want quality things-you want the best things-it costs money."

"Like I said, even the government has a ten-point agenda-infrastructure, education, water provision, and so on. It wasn't that difficult because for allocation of funds, to budget for it, you have to see, look at what comes in, what we can generate generally. You have to look into that and see how you want to allocate. You know these are social services. Healthcare is also there. People need-in that part of the world we also have to improve, provide a lot of healthcare for our people. So, that is one area that takes a large chunk of money as well, and education as well, is also a social service and needs a large chunk."

"Not that it wasn't possible-not that people never knew that education is the necessary thing-but before, people they tended to believe that to get to the people in charge then, that it was not easy. Unlike now, that they can access people like me. They can access officers that are in charge, so that's a big difference. The openness of how we do things now has been a great change from what used to happen before. Even at the offices, there has been a sort of restructuring. That means that departments that are in charge as well, you reassess people."

"You see people, you tell them "I'm doing this." They want to see it. That way we have been able to prove in this state, that "we want to do this." This is our budget. This is what we spend the budget on. So, you go around and you see the manifestation. You want to see a lot of roads that have been completed. You want to see a lot of changes that are taking place. You see schools that are being rebuilt, that are being rehabilitated. You see the books, you see the physical things."

"Sure. You mean, when we were going around to say "vote us in, you will not be disappointed?" Yes. You know, even before you come in, like a democratic government there are things you want to tell your people that we're going to do or we're going to improve on, and these are the areas-. We continue to have free education and we even provide the quality, not just education. We make roads for you. We provide water for you. You will access free healthcare and you now see all these things that we said. We said it and we are doing it. After four years-within two years, you've seen all these things manifested."

"We need people to know what we are doing, so that we continue to get their support. We welcome ideas on how to even do it better than what we are doing. We are very lucky to have a leader that is young, dynamic, committed, and focused-it has really helped our government. The people of Lagos, they are very happy. As I said, they have not made a mistake in choosing him as a governor to lead-they have not made a mistake in choosing all of us to work with him, as well."

"Thank you very much and I hope it will be useful for your studies."

"We have discovered that some women are scared because of the muddy water of politics."

"Where are our women? So, we must be consistent. Politics is a profession like any other profession."

"Gender parity is a statistical measure that compares women and men through their income, education, and work hours among other points. It is also an important tool for policymakers striving towards gender equality."

"Celebrate women around the world, promote gender quality as well as eliminate gender stereotype."

"Marrying your friend will encourage you and support you in whatever you do."

"We must foster cooperation and mutual respect, ensuring our legislative actions align with the executive’s vision."

"Kudirat believed strongly in supporting women’s economic empowerment."

"provided clear leadership in this period of general confusion following the annulment of the election. She stepped forward with the conviction that the military’s action amounted to violation of fundamental rights of Nigerians to elect their government."

"Her participation inspired new level of activism in Nigeria’s pro-democracy movement. Alhaja Kudirat mobilised market women, students, activists and other human rights community to fight for the struggle of democracy."

"In the summer of 1994, Kudirat was actively involved in moving and sustaining the oil workers 12 week strike action against the military government. The strike which succeeded in isolating and weakening the government, was the longest in Africa history by oil workers."

"Her fight was essentially for the release of her husband and restoration of his mandate which was annulled by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida in 1993. Abiola was detained soon after the June 12 election."

"My vision of this nation is an enlightened, prosperous and peaceful country."

"In pursuit of her dreams, she had to juggle wedlock, motherhood, the justice system, helping the needy and the world’s disadvantaged."

"There is no limit to her bid to foster the rule of law and societal stability. She adjudicates and resolves the most troubling legal quagmires even as she jumps in the trenches to lay the bricks for the homeless’ shelter."

"By virtue of her professional and academic achievements, Fati Abubakar, is unarguably the most erudite of all of Nigeria’s First Ladies. Yet, Hajia Fati, as she is popularly called, remains the most humble of all the country’s First Ladies and her humility taught her how to avoid the arrogance of power."

"In my numerous encounters with her either in their home or her office in Minna, she comes across as a serious – minded, highly principled, disciplined and firm woman."

"Her attitude and disposition as the country’s First Lady distinguished her as a woman of unusual morality and personal ethics among the country’s First Ladies."

"Even while her husband was Head of State, she was so committed and dedicated to her job as a lawyer that she never left the legal profession. This is very impressive as some other women see the ‘First Ladyship’ as a role of glamour and wanton frivolities."

"The spark within her soul shines brilliantly today as it did in her youth. It was the lure that ensnared and kept on the leash of love that has blossomed and glowed between her and elder statesman Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. Spurred by innate zeal and resolve, Justice Abubakar found the wherewithal to turn her gaze finally outward even as she summoned strength from within to achieve her dreams."

"Her interests included gardening, interior design, music, squash, badminton, bird-gathering, philanthropic activities and reading."

"Maryam Babangida was a phenomenal woman whose impact was felt in Dodan Barracks in Lagos after her husband moved in as head of state in 1985."

"She had to schedule extensive renovations to make the rooms more suited for formal receptions."

"She actively championed the problems facing women. She reached out to other African countries’ First Ladies to stress the important role that they can play in improving their people’s lives."

"She had considerable impact in collaborating with the National Council for Women’s Societies (NCWS), helping to win support for initiatives such as the controversial SFEM (Special Foreign Exchange Market) initiative to cut subsidies and to devalue and repair the currency."

"“She was like a Roman empress on a throne, regal and resplendent in a stone-studded flowing outfit that defied description…” Women responded to her as a role model, and her appeal lasted long after her husband fell from power."

"Despite the criticisms that may have trailed her life, one cannot look away from the fact that Maryam Babangida was not regular. She was the first woman to turn the First Lady seat from ceremonial to active and important."

"Young military officers often had short-lived liaisons, myself included. Despite this, I was fond of Maria, and she grew fond of me. Our relationship felt predestined. At NMTC, I became more aware of her."

"“Maryam wanted to be more than a housewife; she recognized the importance of the home front in our mutual success. Throughout my career, she stood beside me."

"“Observers may find it surprising that a focused woman could also be a devoted wife and mother. For me, her commitment to our family and country was the foundation of her success.”"

"I admired her clarity of mind in knowing the extraordinary demands on senior military officers at that time."

"Marriage is another school where you can never graduate but with patience, prayer, endurance and cooperation of my husband, I am where I am today."

"A teacher that does not eat, there is nothing he wants to teach. Even if you force him to go to class, there is nothing he can teach the students. You can’t work on an empty stomach."

"I appeal to the government to put an end to this shooting of protesters by security agents. We need to exercise great patience, restraint and compassion in handling the demands of these youth."

"My words are written with a sense of responsibility for the prosperity and protection of the nation. If some willingly try and misunderstand my words below, so be it, as the matter is too important and above individual vanities."

"The present and future of Abia depend on the quality of education we provide for our children. We will intentionally prepare our citizens to be skilled participants in the global village, where science, technology, and mathematics are used as productive tools for work and play."

"Things may not go exactly as we wish but even then, we have a responsibility to step out with hope, doing our best each day to pursue the outcomes we seek for ourselves and our loved ones. Hope must override despair and nothing should distract us from giving our all to achieve the goals that we have carefully laid out in the weeks and days leading to this remarkable day. I do not possess the power to predict the future but I know one thing for sure: victory ultimately goes to the one who never gave up."

"We strive valiantly but again and again, we come short, not because we so desire but because it is the nature of human endeavours. Our modest success in the last one year has come from waking up with new enthusiasm each morning, believing that we shall achieve better outcomes in the new day, having learnt from the mistakes of yesterday."

"“we are not adequately represented in government and that is why we keep pushing and advocating for more inclusion of women in governance. “I believe with this push, more women in the next dispensation would occupy more public offices.”"

"I want to thank you mah and all your executives for putting up this not only for civil women, but for all Nigerian women.."

"And I know, a lot has being said already, so many people have said everything that we needed to hear and what we need to do as women because what I'm taking back home from here is that all the women, all of us must come together, no matter where you are from, no matter your party, no matter what, all of us must come together. If we don't come together, nothing will change. And if we can do it together a lot of things will fall in line. And if women are in position of authority, we will make laws that will suit us and a lot of things will fall in places for all of us to enjoy.."

"Just like Mrs Okoracha has said we have no other country apart from Nigeria, we are from here, and this is where we will stay and to the end of our lives, till the day God calls us home. So all we need to do is to do is to come together, that is why we have always being appreciating sisterhood platform. I love that sisterhood platform so much. It helps bring all the women of Nigeria together and that is exactly what our mother if doing today. So please lets come together. We have a lot, and lot, and lot to pick from what people have said; and we need to even go back to the drawing board to sit dowm=n and make sure all this things come to be. We shouldn't just do the talk and without doing the talk. We shouldn't leave what we have heard today, what we have being told; a lot of people have spoken and just leave it at that door and walk out. Please let's put it into action. Let's implement. let's do it together and we will all succeed. Thank you very much and God bless."

"Governor Kefas described the late Lami as a “golden export” from Taraba to the rest of the world and lauded her significant contributions to women’s causes, noting that her work stood tall in the history of gender activism."

"It is an honor indeed to be given an award for the Woman of the Year. Woman of the Year is a very powerful recognition. I remember five years ago, the Democracy Year Award gave me the award for the Best First Lady of the Year, this was whole five years ago and I had a bit of relationship with the award for quiet a long time and it is good to see that it is growing bigger and stronger. So this, uhmm yeah, being named the Woman of the Year is really very heart warming because it resonates and shows me that people are noticing what we are doing. People are watching and listening. I love the fact that it is a voting sort of award. The ceremony is not just nominations. The people actually voted. I want to really thank those out there that took the time to vote for me to become "Woman of the Year 2025". This obviously, you know, as you asked, is a powerful testimony at what we have being doing and it will continue to spur me on to do even more..."

"..Because we notice that some girls did not go to school five days in a month, we have being working as first ladies with partners to be able to get sanitary pads for this girls, so that they don't miss school. But now we are so happy with the support of the First Lady of Nigeria we've being able to reach more people. So being a humanitarian I will say is in my blood, and I'm very very happy to continue to do it."

"For me, even if we don't have a lot of women in the panels, what we are sure of and what we can take over is that we have more women traders who actually trade although we need more representation of female voices on the table but then they can tell their stories, they can speak up there perspectives as women on how their policies and the regulations and complains affect the women from their own perspectives. So I say this is what we are clamoring for. In Nigeria we started developing the shift rate, women in trainings initiatives to support more women, to support our inclusiveness. These are some of the things that we should be looking at to adopt in these kind of conferences. We have to make that effort to reach out to more women. We have them coming with the spirit."

"Oh yes, yes. Anything in terms of global policies we start with baby steps. So, there is phase implementation for everything. There's a strong advocacing for women inclusion because actually, women are important. They represent the.. I won't say they are the same, but they are under-represented. And so, there is a strong push for women inclusivity and we will see that happen."

"We also encourage for citizen engagement. There is particular category of assessment deliverables; is about having citizens engagement, be it a town-hall, a meeting, civil society engagement, it could be a twitter space engagement virtually. But that citizen engagement is important because the president is keen for citizens to be aware of what his ministries are doing"

"Hello welcome to One-on-One. My name is Cyril Stobber. My guest today, is educated at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and the University of Leeds at the United Kingdom. She holds a Barchelors Degree in Business Administration and Masters Degree in Development Studies. Her career actually started at the private sector, but over the years, she has stints in the public sector.."

"I'll just go about and just give you a brief background of my guest today:"