Emmanuel Thomas, Lagos
September 18, 2015 – Deputy Governor of Osun State, Mrs. Grace Titilayo Tomori has described her rumoured death as handiwork of enemies, saying I am alive, hale and hearty.
Tomori who was speaking at the closing ceremony of the 2015 conference of Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials(COWLSO) in Lagos said she is grateful to God for keeping her alive.
“I thank God that I am alive. The rumour of my death is from people of the other side. I thank God for the opportunity given me to be among you today. It is my privilege and honour to deliver the closing speech of this conference,” she said.
The deputy governor who stunned the audience with songs of praise for about 5 minutes was joined by a large number of women at the conference.
She described her rumoured death as false adding that the rumour spread across Osun State and beyond, noting that the wish of her enemy will never come to pass.
Tomori who was at the conference to represent Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola said in a tribute entitled ‘Ode to womanhood’ that women are the guarantors of the world having been specially prepared by nature to take certain natural responsibilities.
“A woman has been prepared by nature from childhood to hold forth the home front and guarantee the family and society. As a child, she helped the mother at managing the home. As a wife and mother, she ministers to her family and in old age, she becomes a matriarch. A woman’s life therefore is a lifetime of service to humanity”, she said.
She added that to be able to fulfill her role, nature has prepared women to be stronger, contrary to popularly held belief and perception.
According to her, the dominance of men over women with the consequence of women underdevelopment is at great cost to humanity.
“When a woman is empowered, a whole family is developed and since the family is building block of society, where families are empowered, the whole society is empowered”, she said.
Alluding to the condition of women and families in the northern part of Nigeria, especially the north-east that has become the hotbed of insurgency, carnage and mindless violence, she prayed for the success of the military,
“I want to add however that in addition to the military and policing efforts, we need a holistic solution that will include a sociological approach”, she said.
In a communique issued at the end of the conference, COLWSO called on government, policy makers and financial institutions to establish and make available more robust, supportive enabling environment for women entrepreneurs to access financial services.
It also called on women to be resilient and ready to break all barriers, face challenges and endure for a while and never give up on a failed first, second and third attempt.
“Government should note that empowering women helps thriving economies, encourages productivity and growth. Thus, it is important to expand the economic opportunities for them”, the communique added.
COWLSO also encouraged women to cultivate the art of saving, invest in bonds to help in development of Nigeria.
