Women in Maritime Africa (WIMAfrica) Nigeria, has donated two fishing boats and nets to Tomoro, Araromi Onisiwo community, Lagos State, to boost livelihoods and deepen participation in Nigeria’s Blue Economy.
The donation was presented during a community outreach led by WIMAfrica Nigeria President, Mrs Theodora Nwaeze, on Thursday in the riverine community in Lagos.
Nwaeze said the intervention was designed to provide practical support for women and youths whose economic activities depended directly on Nigeria’s waterways and coastal resources.
She stated that the outreach reflected WIMAfrica’s four strategic pillars of Empowerment, Innovation, Collaboration and National Visibility, aimed at translating the Blue Economy agenda into tangible community benefits.
Nwaeze urged beneficiaries to treat the equipment as productive assets and use them responsibly to build sustainable livelihoods that will benefit families and the wider community.
“We believe that when we empower a woman, we strengthen a family, and when we strengthen a community, we strengthen the nation,” Nwaeze said during the presentation.
The Keynote Speaker, Chief Jean Anishere, SAN, who was the former WIMAfrica Continental President, described the donation as an investment in people and economic development, not just a welfare gesture to the riverine community.
Anishere, also the former WIMA Africa President and President of Maritime Arbitrators Association of Nigeria, said: “Empowerment is not charity; empowerment is economic development” that creates jobs and wealth”.
She pledged support for more initiatives in the community and called for interventions in fishing technology, safety, affordable finance, insurance, processing, storage, market access and basic infrastructure.
Anishere also urged government and maritime stakeholders to improve landing facilities, roads, electricity, water, healthcare and security to enhance productivity and safety in fishing communities.
She stressed that Nigeria’s Blue Economy agenda should go beyond ports and offices to reach communities whose daily survival depends on rivers, creeks and coastal waters.
Also, Mr Ben Mosan, the President of Modern Crayfish Fishermen Cooperative, commended WIMAfrica Nigeria and pledged the cooperative’s readiness to strengthen collaboration for community development.
Mosan listed skills development, entrepreneurship, financial support, business training, health education, leadership and advocacy as key areas for collaboration to uplift women in fishing communities.
He said empowering women with skills and opportunities would strengthened families and build more resilient communities that can contribute meaningfully to national economic growth and food security.
WIMA Nigeria reaffirmed commitment to working with government, private sector and communities to promote sustainable livelihoods, responsible marine resource use and greater women participation in the Blue Economy.
