'IT CAN BE DONE BY QUOTA, ' NAFDAC BOSS BACKS AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR WOMEN IN GOVT. (PHOTO).

 ‘It Can Be Done By Quota,’ NAFDAC Boss Backs Affirmative Action For Women In Govt

The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, has drummed support for the active involvement of women in governance.

The former Professor of Pharmaceutical at Roosevelt University in the United States said any country that does not embrace active women’s participation in the running of the day-to-day affairs of government is “missing big time” and “cannot grow”.

She spoke on Friday.

“First of all, I need to thank my husband because he is sacrificing a lot. That I am working this hard at this time in our lives.

“Any country that doesn’t include women in its governance, that country is not going to grow because God has given everybody endowment, different endowments to contribute to the society,” she said.

“If it is going to be done by quota, why not? We are missing out big time if we don’t involve women.

“We are wired differently, physiologically, compared to men. We are wired differently for the purpose of a stable society. Men, they will go straight and they know where they are going. Women, we will think what of this, what of that. The two combined. Waoh!

“Any country that leaves women out is missing a lot and that country cannot grow because we have different ways of looking at things but when the two come together, magic happens.”

Prof Adeyeye said transparency, sacrifice, and commitment are some of her major guiding principles. She urged people in public offices to live by examples.

Asked what she has been able to change since she assumed leadership of the agency, Adeyeye said she is trying to make all members of staff of the agency a part of the system in the real sense of it through constant training to “change the mindset” of the people.

She said upon her appointment, she met with the unions in the agency and dialogued with them on the need not to embark on strike. She said she did restructuring when she first got in and made the people feel a sense of ownership.

The NAFDAC boss said she has been able to rid the agency of corruption which was a norm among members of staff before her emergence.

“Because the DG was doing it, so they did it too. That’s what we are saying: living by example,” she said.