It was the maiden edition of Women of Divine Destiny Initiative, WODDI Inspiring Women Summit (WIWS) 2023 and the carefully selected speakers cut across politically exposed persons, women advocates, philanthropists, education managers and more who converged in Abuja to brainstorm on means to further harness the potentials of women.
The 2-day event was yet again another opportunity for renowned author, poet and founder of HalimaFactor Community Initiative, Halima Usman who has consistently remained a loud voice on the need to promote the welfare of women in the country, along with likeminds to x-ray ways women can overcome the bottlenecks hindering them from reaching their full potentials.
Wife of the country’s Vice President, Dolapo Osinbajo, Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Paulin Tallen, wife of Edo State Governor, Betsy Obaseki her Sokoto state counterpart, Maryam Tambuwal were among those who spoke at the event.
Speaking on the topic, “Unbroken in the Face of Adversity” on Monday, May 22 being the first day of WIW Summit, Usman, who is also the immediate past chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Abuja said despite several pains women incubate, they put up smiley faces as if all is well, noting that time has come for everyone to be each other’s keeper.
Citing one of the two survivors of the Dec. 20, 2005 Sosoliso plane crash, Kechi Okwuchi who is said to have undergone over 100 surgeries and still counting as a clear example of adversity, Usman said Kechi has moved on to become the envy of others without letting herself to be broken by circumstances around her.
She listed some adversaries women go through to include health, psychological social and financial.
“I remember in November 2022, a female official of DSS jumped into the Lagos lagoon. She was identified as Adetutu Adedokun. Only God knows what she was passing through.
“Shortly before that incident, we heard that her fiance proposed to her, her family was okay and she had a good job but something was going on, possibly psychologically and probably, nobody was there to talk to her before she ended it all”, Usman said.
She further stated that some of the social problems women pass through are finance-related even as she noted that physically challenged women live with the stigma of their conditions in addition to financial challenges, a situation she called “double wahala”.
Usman urged women to practice self-love, appreciate their modest efforts and blame themselves less.
“When you go all out, the community, the society, the weather, the economy and the social issues, all beating you and when you come inside, you beat yourself the more, that alone can kill you.
“Learn to practice self-love, look at yourself, what have you done wrong, what are the lessons, what wrong choices have you made, accept them and move on. Give yourself a hug, take yourself out and have a good treat”, she advised.
In her remarks, the founder Women of Divine Destiny Initiative (WODDI) and former First Lady of Imo State, Nneoma Nkechi Okorocha said the summit was organised for love of country and admiration of patriotic devotion to build a better society for this generation and generations of Nigerians yet unborn.
Others speakers include wife of former Senate President, Mrs. Helen Mark, Chairperson Senators’ Wives Forum Dr. Halima Gaya, Founder Love of Christ Generation Church Rev. Esther Ajayi and more.
They were in agreement that women are bearers of hope and important pillars in the discourse to move the family, community and the nation forward.
