A gender activist and Founder, of Voice for Less Privileged Organisation, VOLPO, Dr Ego-Queen Ezuma, weekend, asserted that women across the country are worst hit by the cash crunch as families groan in pain.
Ezuma who spoke on the celebration of women on International Women’s Day 2023 with the theme ‘DigitalAll Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality’ said celebrating women is not enough based on the helpless situation women find themselves despite they have a huge number of voters across the country.
Being also a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the Imo State Chapter lamented that amid the current hardship occasioned by the new Naira design policy coupled with litigation by some State Governments against the Federal Government, and the recent judgment given by the Supreme Court Nigerians, especially women and children have continued to bear the brunt as families are losing their children and women due to poor access to cash, particularly women in the rural areas who do not know about anything digital and do not own smartphones and bank accounts are suffering with their families.
She said: “The worst hit by this cashless policy are women and it is affecting them seriously in all ramifications. There was a day I went to buy some fresh tomatoes in the market, and I told her that I want to make a transfer of the money to her she asked me ‘who eats the transfer and that she does not have a bank account for that.
“Women were not sensitized about the cashless policy, especially those in the rural areas, and there is a need to train them on all these things because their number is large.”
Speaking on the implication of the cashless plight of women as managers of the home, she said, “The implication is death because they cannot even go to the hospital, pharmacist shop and if they cannot it with their children.
“We see death every day in the rural areas, and the pharmacist shops insist on cash payment, and some of them have resorted to herbal treatments, and some cannot buy bread because of no cash, and it is serious.”
According to her, a former governor who was on national television said his family cannot eat because they do not have money somebody of this level says his family could not eat with his family not to talk about the downtrodden.
Speaking on this year’s International Women’s Day celebration, she (Ezuma) asked in pain, “What are we celebrating, who are we celebrating and by what means?
“I will not say yet that 2023 is the worst year for women and we believe that God will answer our prayers because our knees are on the ground calling on God. When things are getting bad we believe the end is near and we will be freed.
“In as much as we congratulate and appreciating the Nigerian women, there is the need to help us not that we are not trying.
Look at what happened in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, for example, Ireti Kingibe, was so hardworking and persistent that y the grace of God she has gotten it, but now these are the women that are outspoken and vocal but the type of risk they take to succeed in this country.
“The political system in Nigeria right from the party, they are not encouraging women at all despite promises and at the end of the day nothing is done.”
However, she called the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to consider more appointive positions for women in his government.
“This is something he knows better because when he was the Governor of Lagos State he did it well, and he loved women by giving them appointments, giving them choice positions, and he has a lot of respect for women, encouraged women a lot and supported them.
“I believe he will do better this time around because when he was being screened the same question was put to him by my humble self how is he going to handle women when he becomes president, he said he has been doing it and we should check his track record when he was Governor of Lagos State, and that women got more than the affirmative action.
He will do it once he says something. I have told women to wipe their tears that salvation is coming.”
