The youngest commissioner in Nigeria, Joana Kolo, while thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the Not Too Young To Run bill into law has said she is a beneficiary of the Act.
Speaking during a webinar on Accountability for Women’s Development 60 Years After Independence, Kolo, the Commissioner for Sports and Youth in Kwara State said her state governor, Abdulrahman Abddulrazak, had acted on the law by making her a commissioner.
Kolo, appointed commissioner in 2019 at the age of 26 was one of several speakers at the webinar on Tuesday organised by BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights.
She is the youngest Commissioner in the country.
Another speaker at the event, Hauwa Shekarau called for the participation of more young people in the fight for gender equality.
While acknowledging progress made since independence on the ratio of women in politics, Shekarau, a women’s rights activist and the first female chairperson of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Abuja, said there was still a long way to go.
Also speaking on the generational involvement, Oluremi Obilade, a professor of women’s studies said her generation needed to stop being overtly and covertly judgemental towards the younger generation.
Obilade said they should be able to put themselves in the shoes of the younger generation.
Uchenna Idoko, the executive director of Centre for Gender Economics (GCE) Africa said the government first, along with everyone else should be held accountable for gender equality.
According to her, the education system, teachers, the school curriculum and even the text in books used in institutions are all part of the challenge.
