Don Advocates Gender-focused Rural Devt to Boost Nigeria Economy

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

A university lecturer, Prof. Grace Modupe Adebo, has expressed the need for a specific gender-focused rural development approach in the country.

She made the recommendation at the 74th inaugural lecture of the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, titled: ‘De- escalating Grassroots Gender Poverty: Imperatives for Sustainable Rural Development Agenda in Nigeria’.

She noted that over the years, it has been proven that generalised development policies have not favoured women, as they are often cornered by men while women are side-lined in all aspects of the policies.

Prof. Adebo pointed out that a women-focused policy programme would reduce the chances of its being hijacked by the privileged men in power and bureaucrats.

According to her, “Efforts made by rural women to bail themselves out of poverty yielded minimal results due to lack of finance and institutional support.” 

“Since women account for half of the total population of Nigeria, any development process that ignores the life chances of half the population cannot address the problem of poverty and rural development.

“Hence, it should be emphatically professed but without de-escalating grassroots gender poverty, rural development will be a mirage in Nigeria.”

The don said the major flaw in all previous rural development programmes is the exclusion of women, who are supposed to be the major beneficiaries of such policies, from the decision-making of their points.

She stressed that the participatory inclusion of women is therefore required to enable them to participate in decisions bordering on their fate and future and that it should be clearly stated that no masculine-dominated centres of decision-making can favour women, adding that gender-inclusivity should be enthroned by the government.

The professor said raising the living conditions of women could therefore be encouraged by organising women into cooperative groups since women are individually and economically weak.

She argued that: “This will enable them to pool resources to increase their scale of operations and consequently enhance their yield and improve their income-earning abilities. The government at all levels should encourage the formation of cooperative groups and support them financially for sustainability and effectiveness.

“To complement the suggested encouragement of women cooperative groups, the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should establish a Rural Bank for Women Development in all local government areas in Nigeria. The bank should be legally saddled with empowering rural women with zero interest and long-term credit facilities to support their farming efforts and other economic activities.

“To avoid the hijack of such banks by politicians and civil servants, the management should be by women of unquestionable integrity and those who have genuine interests in women’s development. Rural women should be included in the Governing Board of the bank and the CBN should assume the direct supervision of the bank with the audited reports on the bank published annually in national dailies.”