…Comrade Bose Joseph and team drives “Made in Lagos Women” to greater heights

Lagos State is the most cosmopolitan state in Nigeria. It is often referred to as “mini Nigeria” and this is simply because every state, local government, town, village, or community is represented in Lagos. It is the state the indigenes call “Eko Akete”, the state of the aquatic splendor, centre of excellence, and most of all, the city where dreams come true amongst others. Practically, this ‘Rainbow’ State feeds other states in the country at the federal, state, and even local government level with vibrant and dynamic leaders. These leaders who are actually discovered based on their potentials and moulded in the state then move on to their mother states where they continue to excel profoundly. Whether it be, in public administration, political leadership and other sundry callings, the Lagos-bred leadership cadre is reputed for offering top-class services, a demonstrable effect of their Lagos tutelage. And this reflects in the caliber and number of top-class people in business, governance and technocrats that have passed through the state. The Lagos products, in all ramifications, are doing extremely well all over the country, and even in the diaspora.

Comrade Bose Joseph

To harness the full potentials of these ‘priceless human capital, groomed and developed in Lagos State, whose story is linked to the State’, Comrade Bose Joseph and her relentless team under the umbrella organisation, ‘Made in Lagos Women’ is ‘crisscrossing the entire widths of the State, networking the entire landscape of the country, and reaching out to the diaspora, to bring together such women, whose Lagos, the state had and still having a story in their lives together’.

The group was formed in 2018 as a selflessly determined and governance-conscious organisation of women. In outlook, it has a socio-cultural leadership and it is geared towards gender strengthening, lobby, support, and series of empowerment initiatives. All these are presently being implemented by well-orchestrated activities, advocacies, visits, and other mutually benefiting fora. The team is enthusiastically willing to “Walk the Talk”. That is, to do what is and are necessary, within their strenght as at when the need arises.

Comrade Bose Joseph is the driving force behind the Made in Lagos Organization’s drive to galvanize the women folks into taking up more leadership positions. Her vehicle to drive this epochal change in the face of women’s participation in economy, politics, and governance in the country is aptly named: Made in Lagos Women Organization.

The Non-Governmental Organization has been working assiduously in all the fifty-seven local government areas and local development areas of the State to raise the level of women participation in governmental activities. She wants them ‘to see participation in leadership as a project’.

Made in Lagos Women Group

‘We want to encourage women to come out more for leadership positions, especially in the public sector’, she told FEFERITY Magazine in an interview.

Comrade Bose Joseph believes that ‘a lot of serving governors, ministers, both federal and state legislators have passed through Lagos. Lagos is like an export state. It produces and exports so many intelligent people now serving in Lagos and in other states of the federation. The made in Lagos organization tries to capture people whom Lagos has a story in their life. The people whom Lagos have helped discovered their potentials and are now in good positions’.

She was happy that the Lagos State Government is adhering religiously to the Beijing Declaration which encourages governments to give at least, 30 percent of government positions to the women. ‘The sitting EXCO in Lagos has 12 women out of 37 members. This is about 30 percent. This is commendable. In Lagos of today, women are very relevant’.

According to the convener, ‘our song has always been women more, more women in positions of authority. And today, we are happy we are having about 33 percent women representation in the present government in Lagos State’.

Comrade Joseph took the time to commend several women who have commendably help top positions in the state. She singled out the Judiciary where women have been holding top positions for quite something now.

She, however, blamed the culture of silence among our people for the continued rise in gender violence and rape of young maidens. They have created promotional videos to sensitize the populace about the horrors of the girl child abuse in society. They are using their platform to create awareness on the need to eradicate the issue of abuse in whatever form or shape within our society.

‘on gender violence, we are not helpless. Our organization has been carrying out several campaigns to enlighten women on the issue of gender violence and rape. We encourage them to speak out always whenever in danger. But this silence is gradually giving way. People now come out to lay their complaints in the open and we are having good hearing’.

The Made in Lagos Women group is indeed reaching out to various parts of the community using a multi-media approach to reach their target audience.

Interview arranged for Feferity by Franklyn O. Frantos

Conducted by Afolayan Adebiyi

Feferity Media Group (c) 2020

All images & video, courtesy: The Made in Lagos Women Group.