The Direct-General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Mansur Matazu, has promised to deepen efforts at disseminating weather alerts to rural women, to tackle weather-induced disasters.
A statement signed by NiMet`s General Manager, Public Relations, Mr Muntari Ibrahim, on Sunday, September 5, 2021 in Abuja quoted Matazu as saying this when he received the head of the National Youth for Women Empowerment and Education in Nigeria, Mrs. Lami Kayode, in his office.
Matazu, represented by the NiMet`s Weather Forecasting Services Director, Dr. Clinton Ezekwe, noted that such a move would reduce cases of crop losses across the country.
According to him, the essential role of women in the weather information dissemination value-chain cannot be over-emphasised.
“NiMet will drive the process of ensuring that the weather alerts issued trickle down to the women folk, who are most vulnerable to weather-induced disasters, since most of them in the rural areas are farmers.
”By arming the women with this weather information, it will reduce cases of crop losses from members of this particular constituency,” he said.
Noting that women in the country accounted for over 59.9 per cent of the population, there was the need to partner with them to disseminate weather forecasts and early warning massages, adding: “If you educate a woman, you are educating an entire nation.”
NiMet remained open to purpose-driven partnerships geared towards saving not just the women but Nigerians in general, from suffering crop losses, flooding and wastage due to weather vagaries, Matazu added.
In her response, Kayode stated that women throughout history had played pivotal roles in the development of society, adding that Nigeria was not an exception.
“The National Youth for Women Empowerment and Education in Nigeria is devoid of religion, ethnicity and tribe. Our organisation’s main objective is to see to the emancipation and entrenchment of women’s rights and values in Nigeria and the world,” she added.
By Gabriel Agbeja
