The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has called for renewed continental commitment to gender inclusion and sustainable development.
Addressing delegates from across Africa and the diaspora at the Global African Women Sustainability Conference 2.0, organised by ImpactHer in collaboration with the African Union in Abuja, the Minister underscored the symbolic and strategic importance of African women in shaping the continent’s future.
“A new dawn breaks upon the horizon of Global Africa, a dawn coloured by the resilience of the African woman, the silent architect of our past and the vibrant visionary of our future,” she said.
She emphasised unity and shared purpose among participants, stressing that “when a woman rises, she carries the hope of an entire generation on her shoulders.”
The Minister highlighted Nigeria’s demographic advantage under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as “a nation of over 200 million dreams, where women constitute over 50 per cent of our vibrant population and stand as our greatest competitive advantage.”
She noted ongoing reforms aimed at economic inclusion and regional integration.
“Under the transformative Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, we are turning this demographic reality into a dividend, ensuring that our young and energetic female population becomes the engine room of the African Continental Free Trade Area through the deliberate implementation of the Nigerian Gender Agenda.”
Sulaiman-Ibrahim reaffirmed the Federal Government’s policy direction. “This has translated into the Presidential Declaration of the year 2026 as the National Year of the Family and Social Development; a landmark policy signal that elevates the centrality of the family as the foundation of national stability, social cohesion, and sustainable development.”
The Minister highlighted the importance of legal frameworks for women’s empowerment.
“Recognising that economic empowerment cannot survive in a legal vacuum, we are aggressively rejigging our legal and institutional frameworks, strengthening the enforcement of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act (2015) and the Child Rights Act (2003), and dismantling archaic structural bottlenecks that have historically hindered women’s access to land and credit.”
On economic empowerment initiatives, she stated, “Central to this structural transformation is our National Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Policy”, stressing that the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-up (NFWP-SU) is actively targeting 4.5 million women, organising them into Women Affinity Groups to build the social capital necessary to move from subsistence to significance across all 774 Local Government Areas through the Renewed Hope Social Impact Intervention (RHSII-774).
On peacebuilding, she said, “The launch of our Third National Action Plan (NAP III) to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security is significant.”
Placing women at the nexus of continental peace, she noted, “By placing women at the centre of national security and conflict resolution, we are securing the peace that is a prerequisite for trade, acknowledging that while women are often the most affected by instability, they are also the most effective mediators and peacebuilders. Prosperity is a fragile blossom that only blooms in the soil of stability.”
The Minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s continental commitments. “Our vision extends beyond our borders, anchored by our commitment to ECOWAS and the African Union, where Nigeria continues to champion the harmonisation of trade standards and gender-sensitive policies. We are aligning our domestic strides with the AU’s Agenda 2063, proving that the ‘Africa We Want’ is impossible without the women we empower today.”
She concluded with a charge for continental integration: “Let us carry with us a flame that no shadow can diminish; a commitment to turn these words into the bread of opportunity and the wine of progress for every woman across Global Africa.”