The United Nations Women, an agency of the world body, has decorated Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as a global HeForShe champion for his supportive policies on women.

UN Women is the UN organisation that delivers programmes, policies, and standards that uphold women’s human rights and ensure that every woman and girl lives up to her full potential. The body acknowledged that Governor AbdulRazaq has made Kwara a gold standard for gender mainstreaming, not just in Nigeria but globally. The award, symbolised by a lapel pin, signifies that the Governor is now a UN Women ambassador anywhere in the world.

Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Beatrice Eyong, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Government House in Ilorin. She stated that the Governor merits the global honour for his exceptional dedication to gender inclusion, women empowerment, and overall development, as recorded in Kwara over the past five years.

In 2021, Governor AbdulRazaq’s administration enacted a Gender Composition Law, mandating Kwara to have at least 35% gender representation in all public sector appointments. Ms. Eyong praised Kwara as a shining example of giving women their fair share of representation in governance.

“Kwara State is very important to women, and one of the reasons the state is important to us is because of what you have done. We are here to thank and congratulate you for all that you’ve been doing for gender equality, women empowerment, and overall development,” she said, shortly before decorating the Governor with the UN Women badge.

“You have made Kwara State a shining example in that regard. We are here to recognise you as a UN Women Global HeForShe Champion. We learned that in your first term in office, you had a female majority cabinet, and now you have a 50/50 cabinet. We also learned that the majority of your appointments go to women and youth. These are real progressive moves. You have created a favourable environment for gender equality and women empowerment by passing affirmative action into law. These are parts of the reasons we chose Kwara.”

Ms. Eyong requested Governor AbdulRazaq to speak with his colleagues at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to adopt a 35% affirmative action on gender inclusion, noting that this would stimulate the federal government to adopt the policy.

She also informed the Governor about the UN Women’s advocacies on issues affecting women, such as training on low-cost biogas technology targeted at easing cooking for women. “Low-cost biogas is a technology that has many advantages for our women. With low-cost biogas technology, women can produce their own cooking gas, meaning they don’t need to buy charcoal, kerosene, or cut firewood,” she said.

The biogas programme is due for launch in Kwara next month, and similar initiatives will also be flagged off in the state ahead of others due to its strategic importance to UN Women.

Ms. Eyong also requested the Governor to consider legislation that gives women more access to the public sector contracting process as a form of economic empowerment, noting that 90% of government contracts go to enterprises owned by men while women struggle with just 10%. She urged the Governor to rally political establishments to support women for elective positions.

The delegation was received by the Governor alongside the First Lady Ambassador Mrs Olufolake AbdulRazaq; Commissioner for Women Affairs Bosede Olaitan Buraimoh; Commissioner for Business, Innovation and Technology Damilola Yusuf Adelodun; Commissioner for Water Resources Usman Lade; and Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties Alhaji Abdulrazhaq Jiddah.

Governor AbdulRazaq expressed his gratitude for the honour, which he said would encourage him and others to do more. “I thank you for the award as a Global HeForShe champion. It encourages us to do more. If you see what is going on in other states, you could see we have to put on a lot of energy to achieve what we have been able to achieve and will continue to achieve,” he said.

“When we came in 2019, there was no single elected female official in Kwara State. By 2023, we have five members in the State House of Assembly. It was a deliberate advocacy, and we hope to make more progress in the next elections.

“By and large, we are crushing the stereotype that ‘women can’t do this, women can’t do that, no one should vote for women’. I think we are getting to a stage where what matters is the performance and what you do for the people, not your gender. The women we have put into public offices do not disappoint us. They are doing extremely well.”