UNGA: Mrs. Tinubu, Adeboye, Others Seek Peace at African First Ladies’ Forum

Chiemelie Ezeobi in New York

Nigerian First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, Pastor Folu Adeboye, Founder, African Missions Global, and other African First Ladies, yesterday, called for global peace at the First Ladies High Level Forum at the 78th sidelines of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

Themed “Gender Actions for Peace: Ambition for Women Leaders as a Key Players on Global Peace”, it was championed by Prof Ada Okika, Africana Women Working Group at the UN; Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani; Framazaz Foundation and others.

The Peace Day established by UNGA in 1981, is a call to action that recognisedthe individual and collective responsibility to foster peace, contributing to the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Beyond the several sessions that held, the first ladies marked the 2023 UN Day of Peace Prayers and Ringing of the Peace Bell and as the 517th person that rang the World Peace Bell, Tinubu and others rang for three things: “global sustainability, love and peace, as well as the world as one.”
Earlier in her speech, she said: “The journey towards a lasting peace requires dialogue, engagement and empowerment of all members of society, in particular women in leadership roles.

“Women bring unique perspectives, qualities, compassion and experience, which can play transformative roles in conflict resolution, peace and sustainable development.”
She urged the women to make use of their soft power in advocating for peace and pursuing democracy, urging them to contribute in reducing underage violence.

Also speaking, Adeboye, urged the First Ladies not to let their husbands cause trouble for their respective countries or go to war, using Biblical references to highlight the importance of a woman or wife to a leader in the peace and development of a society.
At the event, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, also presented the SDG 16 Nigeria 2022 Shadow Report 2023 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

The report was prepared using a Transparency International global template,which helped cross chapter comparison amongst countries and was produced by CISLAC as TI Nigeria under the project, which sought to improve democratic accountability of public institutions and anti-corruption deficits by Strengthening Accountability Networks among Civil Society (SANCUS) which is supported by the European Union.

In one of the sessions, Mrs. Ijeoma Ogalla, President of Naval Officers’ Wives Association (NOWA), who was represented by Zainab Akpan, wife of the Chief of Policy and Plans, Rear Admiral Joseph Akpan, said peace would not come unless people make it happen.
Prof Okika of the African Women Working Group of the UN said since 2010, they had continued to advance the course of women in leadership positions through the programme, First Ladies Becoming High Level Forum on SDG 16 and Targets to bring global awareness on the most needed roles of Fist ladies of Nations on women and peace.