By Chesa Chesa
Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri, and Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development in Borno State, Zuwaira Gambo, have called for increased representation of women in public service awards.
They made the call at the weekend after they were presented with too governance awards at the Nigeria Excellence Awards in Public Service (NEAPS) held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
They were presented their awards by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, at a colourful ceremony organised by the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Dabiri and Gambo, who spoke to he press afterwards, were two of the only four among the 48 awardees, and they expressed both gratitude and concern about the gender imbalance in the selection of recipients.
“It’s uplifting and pleasing, but at the same time, I think there should have been more women,” Gambo stated while appealing to the selection committee to be more gender-sensitive in future to highlight the significant achievements of Nigerian women across various fields.
The commissioner dedicated her award to the people of Borno State, particularly Governor Babagana Umara Zulum and his wife, to whom she credited the state’s leadership for creating an enabling environment that has facilitated significant progress in peace-building, resettling internally displaced persons (IDPs), and improving access to education and healthcare.
Gambo emphasized the challenges faced by women and children in conflict-affected areas, noting their vulnerability to insurgency, even as she noted the award as recognition of her efforts in addressing these issues and aligning with Governor Zulum’s vision for the State.
In her remarks, Abike Dabiri echoed Gambo’s sentiments on female representation, although she expressed surprise at her nomination and hope for increased recognition of women’s hard work in future awards.
According to her: “You work harder, it’s a public service award and knowing that you’re chosen based on your hard work and contributions in whatever field you find yourself and the public service. This will encourage public service officers to work harder.
“Your live is not about how much money you have in your account, but how many lives you’re able to touch and how much impact you can make wherever you find yourself, so I’m quite excited about that. I was surprised I only just got a letter, saying ‘you’ve been nominated’.
“Then of course, I hope with the next set of awards there’ll be more women. There were only four women out of 48, so I hope that more women will be considered because a lot of women are working so hard, but I’m grateful for this and I thank the lady who started this in conjunction with the Presidency. So this kind of thing should be encouraged and I’m humbled.”
