Women Must Be The Focus Of National Development – Prof. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande

Posted by: Folamidavid in Politics, News Nov 26, 2019

President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Prof. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande has come out to say that women have to be at the centre of all national development issues for Nigeria to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He disclosed this in Abuja on Monday during his first official visit to Nigeria as President of the General Assembly.

According to him, steps must be taken to make sure no one is left behind in this journey.

His words, “If we must leave no one behind as the SDG theme says, then women must be at the centre of what we do.”

Tijjani emphasized the commitment of the assembly toward putting an end to all kinds of violence against women and children.

He added that their rights will always be promoted.

The UN Women’s Country Representative to Nigeria, Comfort Lamptey also said the government has to take care of the plights of women and kids in Nigeria.

Her words, “We must root out all forms of violence against women and children. We must invest in women empowerment and ensure that perpetrators were brought to justice, while victims were supported.”

Do you agree?

Tijjani Muhammad-Bande (OFR) (born 7 December 1957) is a Nigerian political scientist, administrator and career diplomat. He was the permanent representative of Nigeria to the United Nations and served as the Vice-President of the General Assembly during its 71st session in September 2016. On 4 June 2019 he was elected the President of 74th session of the Assembly. He succeeded María Fernanda Espinosa, whose term ended in September 2019.

Muhammad-Bande was born on 7 December 1957 in the town of Zagga in present-day Kebbi State, northwestern Nigeria. He attended Ahmadu Bello University for undergraduate studies, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Political Science in 1979 before proceeding to Boston University, where he graduated with a Master of Arts in Political Science in 1981. Muhammad-Bande received a Ph.D in Political Science from the University of Toronto in 1987.

Bande taught at Usman Danfodio University as a graduate assistant in the 1980s and rose to the rank of professor in 1998 at the same institution. Between 2004 and 2009, he served as vice-chancellor of the university before being appointed Director-General of Nigeria’s National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, a position he held from 2010 to 2016. Previously, Bande served as the Director-General of the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development in Tangier, Morocco, from 2000 to 2004.