President of the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), Most Rev. Benebo Fubara-Manuel, has urged Nigerian women to stand against all divisive policies that deny them their rightful place in the nation’s scheme of things.
Similarly, the Programme Executive of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Nicqi Ashwood, expressed regret that eight years after the kidnap of Chibok school girls, the matter still remains not fully resolved.
Fubara-Manuel stated this in his keynote address to flag off the four-day Fifth Biennial National Convention of the Women Wing of Christian Council of Nigeria (WOWICCN), at the weekend, in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
The CCN president said: “You are blessed enough to shame the evil antics of people who device policies that marginalize women and deny them their rightful place in the nation’s scheme of things.
“You are no second class creatures. You are not inferior creatures. You are not unimportant creatures. You are blessed with enough and to spare, to dethrone all negative socio-religious policies that are masterminded by the forces of hell, to cut you out of leadership and prominence.”
The bishop said: “You are blessed enough and to spare, to lift the lives of women, who are presently downtrodden. You can lift them up and change their status.
“You can empower them and help them empower their children and generations after them. You can change the narrative concerning women because you are confessing with confidence that your cup of anointing and blessings are overflowing.”
While urging the women, who came from all states of the federation, “not to waste God’s endowment” in them, the CCN president also said: “Let those of us who have allowed society to silence us, rise with courage. It is not in vain that God has blessed us with all that we have and given us the opportunity that we have today.
“You are blessed with enough to spare, in dealing with the issues of women’s justice that are current in society today. You should not wait endlessly for men to do it for you.
“You should, by the grace of God, lead the path for women’s integrity and emancipation. You are blessed with enough to raise awareness of women on all socio-political, socio-religious and ethico-religious issues.”
In her goodwill message, Rev. Nicqi Ashwood said: “It has already been right years since the kidnapping of the Chibok girls; which heralded the intensification of kidnapping, abuse and exploitation of women and children in Nigeria.”
Recalling that the Chibok girls’ saga has not been fully resolved, Ashwood said: “This will require mapping, interrogation of harmful and questionable practices, capacity strengthening, systematic caregiving and diligence, as well as the courage and willingness to name the evil in our midst, in order to eradicate it.”
Welcoming the conferees earlier, the National President of WOWICCN, Dr. Uzoaku Juliana Williams, said that, “though the trend of insecurity, social, physiological and political landscape have not changed in the country, we must be grateful to God for the level of collaboration and doggedness employed in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe.”