Policy Briefs

Women play an enormous role in the growth and advancement of the society. That’s according to the leading People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in the November 18 gubernatorial election in Anambra State, Mr. Oseloka H. Obaze.

Obaze, also the immediate-past Secretary to the Government of the state, said this on Saturday, when he spoke to journalists at the sidelines of the 2017 Women’s Forum organized by the Catholic Women Organization (CWO) of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish G.R.A, Awka.

He said though the man is the head of the family, the role women play in shaping the society ought to be better cherished and appreciated. “The man is the head of the family. A woman is also a critical part of the family. They both have their roles to play, but there is no society that can advance without the valued role of women.” He remarked that women, as the people who raise children, have the values of the society rested on them. According to him, children mostly take on the norms and values handed down to them at home.

Obaze, who was raised by a widowed mother after his father died during the civil war, attributed all he turned out to be in life to the training and nurture he got from her. “I’m a product of a woman’s tutelage. So if people consider that I’m good, it is because of the woman who raised me.”

The PDP governorship aspirant has severally advocated for more women participation in governance. According to him, having more women in positions of authority is not only right on the grounds of fairness, inclusion and equity, but it makes more room for robustness, competitiveness and increased creativity. He said he will unveil his plans for Anambra State when the campaign starts, but gave a hint that his government, if elected come November 18, will have a 60/40 gender parity ratio.

When asked on wife battery, the good governance advocate, whose amiable wife, Dr. Ofunne Obaze, is a consultant pediatrician, said the practice is wrong and should be condemned. According to him, “It is totally unacceptable. There is no reason for a man to lift up a finger against another person, talk more of his wife.” He said any one who does so should go to prison. He extend the same courtesy to some women who, though in rare cases, beat up their husbands. He advised people who have the habit of dumping grievances on another, by way of physical assault, to consider taking up a career in boxing or wrestling.

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