By Hassan Zaggi
As the world reaches 8th billion population, the United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) has called on governments to make the right investment in all sectors in order to create a world of infinite possibilities.
The UNFPA Deputy Country Representative in Nigeria, Erika Goldson, made the call at a media dialogue to mark the world 8th billion population in Abuja, Tuesday.
She, however, insisted that the world cannot move forward by holding anyone back, stressing that: “ Possibility and opportunity should not be privileges.”
According to her, “to harness the potentials of 8 billion people in combating the world’s most pressing challenges – climate change, conflict, violence, displacement and discrimination, everyone must be afforded fundamental human rights.
That, she noted, includes bodily autonomy, the freedom to decide about our bodies, lives and futures, regretting that too many are denied this most basic of rights.
“Without rights and choices, our health suffers, our dignity disintegrates, our potential lies dormant, our contributions never materialize, and our lives shrink. Multiply that scenario by billions. So, remove these barriers and open pathways.
“We focus on numbers, and numbers matter so that governments and societies can develop infrastructure and provide services that accurately reflect their people and address their needs.”
While calling for an all-inclusive development for the benefit of all, the UNFPA Deputy Representative said: “And not just a privileged few whose circumstance of birth was down to chance but as many people as possible, from the person in the densely packed urban centre of Lagos to the person in the remotest corner of Nigeria, old to young, rich to poor, with and without disability, and all gender.”
She revealed that out of the 8th billion population, Africa drives much of that growth and is expected to drive the next billion in 2037, noting that, with a population of 217 million due to consistently high population growth rate, Nigeria is the most populous African nation accounting for 15.3 per cent of the 1.4 billion people in Africa, but also accounts for 2.7 per cent.
While making a presentation on how the 8th billion population can impact on women, the Founder, She Forum Africa, Inimfon Etuk, noted that women are the custodian of grassroot economy, hence, must be present at all times at the decision making table.
She insisted that any decision making process that does not have women on the table is not meant to succeed.
“So, anything that concerns decision making in Nigeria, it is a priority for women and girls. You know, women are custodian of grassroot economy so, if you are taking decisions and women are not at the table, it means that making impact is not the objective is those decisions.
“If we need to see rapid development happening in Nigeria, we must find a way to make sure that the right ratio of women make it to the policy making level.
“It is also important because at the grassroot, women are the nurturers, women bring life, everything that has to do with growth is directly linked with women.
“So, if women don’t understand, if literacy level don’t go up, if empowerment levels don’t go up, then we will be shooting ourselves on the foot because we will be citing rhetorics that is not impacting the quality of life.”
Responding to a question on how the lives of women in Nigeria can be improved, Etuk said: “The solution is simply, marking 8th billion people in the world is a call for review and a call for stock taking, is a call to prioritise the kind of solution that we are providing.
“We must make sure development is well gendered. When we do women advocacy, it is not about women, it is about leadership that is authentic both for men and women.
“The misconception has been that gender is all about women, but gender is about development that is inclusive and that is representative because everyone needs to get a quota that works for them. Women have inert abilities which if well harnessed, it will improve the rate of development of the country.”
