Ekiti scores another first in women empowerment

The inauguration of the first woman Head of Service in Ekiti State, Mrs. Peju Babafemi, by the Governor Kayode Fayemi, apart from etching the name of the administration in the history book, has sparked excitement among  advocates of gender equity. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports

 

Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has scored another first in the history of the state with the swearing-in of Mrs. Morenike Olapeju Babafemi as the first female Head of Service (HOS).

The announcement of Mrs. Babafemi on February 3 was greeted by profound joy from many of the civil servants who described her as a thoroughbred career officer and a round peg in a round hole.

Mrs. Babafemi, from Efon Alaaye in Efon Local Government succeeded Mr. Ayodeji Sunday Ajayi who hails from Ara Ekiti in Ijero Local Government who retired having reached the mandatory 60 years retirement age.

But, her inauguration by the Governor a week later, on February 10 ushered in a new era in the Ekiti civil service that plays a significant role in driving the policies and programmes of the Fayemi administration.

The blueprint of the second tenure of Fayemi, otherwise known as the JKF 2 Administration, is encapsulated in the five pillars of governance, agriculture and rural development, social investments, knowledge economy and infrastructure and rural development.

The execution of the policy framework, equally known as the Roadmap To Restore Ekiti Values is already having a positive impact on the lives of the citizenry with key life-changing projects going on in all parts of the state, better welfare for workers and other residents, attraction of local and foreign investment, among others.

The Governor described Mrs. Babafemi’s appointment as “another landmark in our deliberate efforts to restore the values, the dignity and honour of our state.” He also described the rancour-free process that threw up Mrs. Babafemi as the Head of Service as a “welcome development.”

Fayemi charged the new appointee: “I enjoined the newly-appointed Head of Service to justify the confidence reposed in her and align with the state policies and programmes as boldly enunciated in our five-pillar agenda.

“Though this terrain is not strange to you, having been in this position in an acting capacity, now that you have risen to the zenith of your career with your appointment as the substantive Head of Service, I belief that you will continue the good work you started when you acted as Head of Service and also build on the success of your predecessor.

“All eyes are now on you to provide leadership and direction to the civil servants. Clearly, you were chosen out of many other eminently qualified Permanent Secretaries to steer the ship of the Ekiti State Civil Service.

“Therefore I implore you to see your appointment as a call to serve, a call to etch your name in the sands of time in Ekiti and a call to be part of positive history. I urge you to do your best to justify the confidence reposed in you.”

Mrs. Babafemi promised not to disappoint the governor who appointed her, the state civil service she was chosen to lead the entire state in repositioning the service for better service delivery and the realisation of the policy goals of the current administration.

She said: “Today is historic.  In over two decades of the inception of our dear State, this is the first time, a woman is sworn-in as the Head of the Civil Service.

This appointment, therefore, exemplifies remarkably, the adherence to principles of good governance, which include accountability, transparency, inclusiveness and equal opportunity.

“I appreciate and congratulate the Wife of the Governor, Her Excellency Erelu Bisi Fayemi; my mentor since I served a couple of years ago in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

She continually brings to bear her passion for the principles of social justice and gender equality. Her footprint is solidly on the sand of time as a relentless advocate for social gender balance.

Although the position of the Head of Service is a civil service office, the highest one at that, the occupant, who is also a member of the State Executive Council, has inputs in politics and governance of any state in Nigeria.

Mrs. Babafemi’s ascension to the highest civil service position in the Land of Honour has drawn plaudits for Fayemi from far and wide and is already causing excitement among women politicians and civil servants in the state.

Women politicians and female civil servants could not hide their joy at the Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office, venue of Mrs. Babafemi’s swearing-in as they sang the praises of the Governor and his wife, Erelu  Fayemi, to high heavens for making the feat to be possible.

Mrs. Fayemi who attended Mrs. Babafemi’s inauguration as the state’s number one civil servant beamed with smiles intermittently as the event wore on. The Ekiti First Lady gave the new Head of Service a warm embrace apparently fulfilled that her clamour for better positions for women has yielded a very high dividend.

The governor and the first lady had been advocates of gender balance and equity and women empowerment and had walked the talk during their two different stints at the corridors of power.

It would be recalled that Fayemi, during his first tenure had the late Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka and Prof. Modupe Adelabu as Deputy Governors while his then political platform, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), produced three members of the House of Assembly during the 2011 general elections.

The three-state female legislators produced by the progressive bloc in the 2011 general elections (which was the only national elections that the first Fayemi administration witnessed in power) were Mrs. Abeni Olayinka (Ado 1), Mrs. Ayo Olajide-Fatunbi (Moba 2) and Mrs. Omowumi Ogunlola (Ijero).

While Olayinka and Fatunbi joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) immediately Fayemi exited office in 2014, Mrs. Bunmi Oriniowo (Ido/Osi 1) had before then joined the APC until the Fourth Assembly finished its term in 2015.

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With Fayemi back in power in 2018, it was a bigger haul for the APC women in the 2019 general elections which were due largely to the advocacy and influence of Mrs. Fayemi in ensuring better women representation.

The 2019 general elections, the APC produced four female members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, an unprecedented record in the history of progressives in the state. They are Mrs. Kemi Famuagun-Balogun (Ado 1), Princess Teju Okuyiga (Gbonyin), Mrs. Bunmi Adelugba (Emure) and Mrs. Yemisi Ayokunle (Ekiti Southwest 1).

Former State Assembly member, Mrs. Ogunlola, who was Chairperson of the House Committee on Information and also served as Chief Whip, was elected in the last general elections as the House of Representatives member for Ekiti West/Ijero/Efon Federal Constituency.

At the December 7, 2019, local government election, only one woman, Mrs. Omotunde Fajuyi, grabbed a chairmanship seat (Ado Ekiti Local Government) but six other women emerged as vice-chairmen out of 16 local government areas of the state while more women were elected councillors.

Although womenfolk had managed to produce two former Secretaries to the State Government (SSG) in persons of Mrs. Abike Sonoiki during the state of emergency administration of Brig.-Gen. Adetunji Olurin (retd) and Dr. (Mrs.) Modupe Alade, during the immediate past Fayose administration, the position of the Head of Service had eluded them.

It was against this background that Mrs. Babafemi’s appointment as the Head of Service is being celebrated not only by the womenfolk but among gender advocates, women journalists, civil society and human rights groups.

This gave a ray of hope for women politicians in Ekiti of a better future as another cycle of elections approach. The gesture of the Fayemi administration in entrusting the office of the Head of Service in a woman has triggered the talks of a woman governor in Ekiti in the future.

The development in Ekiti will fire the zeal of women politicians to work harder ahead of the future elections to produce more council chairmen, state lawmakers, federal legislators, first woman Speaker of the State House of Assembly and possibly, first elected woman governor.

The deputy governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, said the Fayemi administration would continue to give women better status in public service and political careers because of its belief in women empowerment and gender balancing.

Egbeyemi, who spoke at a Gender Summit organized by a civil society organization, the New Initiative for Social Development (NISD) with the support of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the United Kingdom Agency for International Development (UKAID) held in Ado Ekiti last December, urged more women to join politics and seek political power to better the lots of the citizenry.

Egbeyemi who declared at the forum that “women are more reliable and dependable than men in politics,” lamented that women representation in executive and legislative positions in Nigeria is still low when compared with some African countries like Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa.

While showering encomiums on Mrs. Fayemi for her role in spearheading women empowerment and influencing their placement in political offices, Egbeyemi urged Ekiti women to “show more interest in the political affairs of their immediate and larger constituencies” in the areas of voter registration, membership drive by political parties, acquisition of party membership cards and mobilization of the electorate.

The occupant of the Office of the Head of Service may not be a politician, but the position has been used in many parts of the country as a stepping stone to higher political offices.

Former Minister of Education during the Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar administration, Dr. Samuel Olaiya Oni served as Head of Service in the old Ondo State before becoming Secretary to the State Government (SSG) after retirement. He later became Ondo State Chairman of Labour Party (LP) which produced Dr. Olusegun Mimiko as Governor following victories at the Election Tribunal and Court of Appeal.

Current Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Dr. (Mrs.) Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, a medical doctor, served as Permanent Secretary before becoming Head of Service from where she emerged as running mate to Governor Nyesom Wike.

At the federal level, Alhaji Mahmud Yayale Ahmed and Ms Ama Pepple served as Head of Civil Service of the Federation before becoming Minister of Defence and Minister of Housing and Urban Development respectively after retiring from service.