The founder and Chief Executive Officer, Toba Adaramola Foundation, Mr Toba Adaramola has called on the government at all levels to create the ministry of men and boys affairs to address various issues affecting the gender.
Adaramola who canvassed for the ministry said this became necessary as men and boys in the country are being neglected to their fate without proper attention and care, unlike their female counterparts.
He stated this in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital during the second lecture series of Toba Adaramola Foundation with the theme , ‘ 21st Century Gender Challenges ‘
Papers were presented at the event by Professor of Sociology at the Ekiti State University, (EKSU) Professor Christopher Oluwadare, President of Ekiti State Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Monisade Abodunde and former EKSU Registrar, Dr. Omojola Awosusi.
According to the founder, “all government activities are geared towards girl child gender equality, nobody is talking about the men and they will say what you don’t value will eventually become a problem for you.
” They are the ones that are into commercial motorcycling. How many of our ladies are seen doing Okada work in this place?
“After their education, these ladies come back looking for husbands. Where will the husbands be when they are not educated? So these are some of the things that we are looking at and we say, let us arrange it. It is not as if the men are not having issues, there is nobody that you will call that will not tell you that he is having issues.”
The former local government chairman in the state who stated that his recommendation was not a matter of rivalry but a necessity further said, “I advocated in my presentation that there is need for government at all level to create the ministry of men and boys affairs to cater for men folk as they are doing for the ladies or for women affairs.
“How many ladies are doing yahoo-yahoo (internet fraud)? majority of them are in school studying but boys are busy looking for money. So these are some of the things that we need to address and then to balance the equation and if they are not addressed, I am afraid there is a problem.
The convener of the lecture series revealed that a communique that will be issued at the end of the event will be forwarded to the governor, the State House of Assembly saying, “if we can get it to the nation, Ekiti State can give light to the entire country.”
Prof. Oluwadare in his lecture titles: “On the road to marity: Planting the seed of social hypogamy” called for specific public policy and programmes to address the peculiar medical, sexual and demographic needs of men.
Justice Abodunde in her presentation, “the roles of men in women development in the 21st century” she outlined education, sound policies and legislation, being supportive, women in leadership, ending harmful practices among others as parts of what men should be doing to ensure women development.
Dr Awosusi who spoke on “21st century men: challenges, expectations and prospects” said a lot have changed about men in the 21st which should be a source of concern to present and incoming generations.
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