Lagos State first lady, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, has condemned the killing of of Miss Oluwabamise Ayanwole who went missing after boarding a Bus Rapid Transit and was later found dead.
The killing, according to Sanwo-Olu, was sad, shocking, and devastating.
The Lagos State governor’s wife made the remarks while leading a rally of women from various walks of life in protest of the National Assembly’s recent rejection of gender bills, demanding that the bills be passed immediately on Tuesday.
“As mothers, we are devastated; we are in shock; we are not happy. Lagos State is not known for ritual killings and we will not tolerate such.
“Investigations are going on and I am sure there will be justice. Mr. Governor is not sleeping. There will certainly be justice,” she said.
She called for one minute of silence in honor of the departed, just as she commiserated with her immediate family over the unfortunate incident.
Besides, she urged people to continue to be security conscious, adding, “When you see something, say something and do something.”
The rally, titled “One Million Women March Against Gender Discrimination,” was organized by the Purple Women Foundation in collaboration with the Nigerian Governors’ Wives Forum and saw the First Lady and the women march from the Lagos State Secretariat to the House of Assembly in Alausa, Ikeja, where they were greeted by principal officers including the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa; Deputy Speaker, Wasiu Eshinlokun; Majority Leader, Sanai Agunbiade.
It was put together as part of activities to commemorate the 2022 International Women’s Day Celebration, with the theme: “BreakTheBias: Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.”
Addressing the women, the first lady described the rejection of the gender bills as an act of brazen discrimination against Nigerian women, calling on the National Assembly to promptly reconsider the bills and approve them.
“Our interpretation of what transpired with this pattern of voting at the National Assembly on March 1st, 2022, is that the progress of Nigerian women has been rejected. All the proposed constitutional amendments were meant to end bias against women and ensure the minimization; if not total removal of barriers millions of women face on the basis of their gender.
“We hereby condemn in no uncertain terms this brazen discrimination against Nigerian women. As half of the population of the country, our voices and our lives matter. There can be no development without the full and equal participation of women in all spheres, and any country that continues to deliberately undermine the advancement of women, is simply stifling its own advancement,” she said.