Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has called for strengthened global partnerships, sustained financing, and policy-driven interventions to advance women’s empowerment, protection, and social development.
Delivering a keynote address at the Women’s Diaspora Leadership Dinner on the margins of President Tinubu’s State visit in London, she emphasised the centrality of social policy to national development, stating, “The condition of women, children and families is not a side issue in national development. It is the issue.”
She further underscored governance implications, noting, “When women are unsafe, society is unsafe. When families are broken, communities are weakened. When girls are violated, futures are stolen.”
Highlighting the needed support for gender-based violence, “We must build systems. We must invest in protection. We must fund recovery. We must support survivors,” she stated.
Under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, Sulaiman-Ibrahim noted that 2026 has been declared the Year of Families and Social Development, driving nationwide interventions.
“Empowerment cannot stop in Abuja… the woman in the village matters. The woman in the camp matters. The survivor matters,” she said.
She outlined initiatives including EmpowerHer774, Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up, WAVE, PowerHer774, Women-on-Wheels, and the Happy Woman App to expand economic inclusion, digital access, and enterprise support.
On protection systems, she said, “Nigeria now has about 50 Sexual Assault Referral Centres… but… we need far more… at least 500 centres nationwide,” stressing the need for scale.
Calling for investment, she stated, “We need funding… protection costs money. Dignity costs money. Systems cost money.” Quoting national leadership, she added, “Put money in the hands of women.”
She urged diaspora engagement, stating, “I do not want your pity. I want your partnership… a mission where no woman is invisible.”
The Minister concluded with a call to action: “The time is now… it is indeed Women O’Clock.”
The Women’s Diaspora Leadership Dinner High-Level Stakeholders Dialogue was organised by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in partnership with Elevate Africa.