The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale-Martins, has admonished women to rise to the challenge of nation-building and to resist the mindset of gender inferiority.

The cleric was addressing women at the 2021 three-day National Conference and fundraising, held at the ST. Leo’s Church, Ikeja, Lagos, the conference.

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Organised by the Catholic Women Organisations of Nigeria (CWON) with the theme, ‘Let Us Think and Act the Heart of Mary, the conference was attended by delegates from all dioceses in the country.

Speaking, the cleric described women as good managers, who can utilise their good interpersonal relationships with God, to gain solutions to the nation’s issues, adding that women must exhibit their managerial prowess in different sectors of the society for the advancement of the nation, he said.

He also urged them to emulate Mary the Mother of Jesus Christ, St. Theresa, Esther and others who salvaged humanity during difficult times.

“Through the intervention of Mary, the mother Jesus Christ, our dreams come through by bringing into the world someone through whom God reconciled with human.

“As mothers, it is expected that you use your relationship with God like your likes in the Holy Bible and change things for the better.

“Through your prayers and doggedness in various strata in the nation’s polity, God will answer and make the society good for all for He knows our problems and the solutions are with Him,“ he said.

Adewale-Martins enjoined women to maintain a good interpersonal relationship with God to enable them to hear from Him and extract solutions to the nation’s myriad of troubles, adding that women in history triumphed despite odds because they confronted their difficulties with supplication to God.

He said with women’s numerical strength, coupled with the good management they possess, every aspect of the national life could be turned around for good unlike the experience in recent times.

Also speaking at the conference, CWON National President, Dame Mary Asibi-Gonsum, noted that as mothers they bore the brunt of violent crises in the country.

She decried the huge number of out-of-school children over the decade, the insurgents, kidnapping for ransom and other crimes and noted that they had overwhelmed the nation.

She however noted that women are responding in diverse ways to ameliorate the uncertainties in the land.

One way which the women are responding is the humanitarian services of the CWON to establish a boy boarding school in Garki, Abuja, to, among other things, help the less privileged with access to good education.

Asibi-Gonsum, who decried the falling standard of education in recent times, said the school in its third year with pupils in JSS 3 as the highest class, was established to bridge the gap in quality education laden with good moral and catholic character moulding doctrine.

 “We have the knack for holistic evangelism and the transformation of the society as enshrined in the scripture for the physical reform of mankind and salvation of souls.

“The CWON has lived up to the expectations of its founders. The establishment of the Mariae College for the training of the boy child is conceptualised to making a good home and society too.

“The boy of today will become the man, husband and father of tomorrow being the head of the home. If given proper upbringing and education, he will in turn impact on the family that is under his control. In that regard, peace and good conduct will be fostered in the society,” she said.