Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has urged men to support their wives in business and economic activities, describing men who fail to empower their wives as “fools.”
Radda made the remark on Saturday at the fourth CEOs Round Table Summit and Exhibition organised in Katsina by the Initiative of Innovative Youthpreneurs Sustainable Development.
“Any man who does not empower his wife is a fool. I swear to God, I am telling you,” the governor said.
He argued that supporting women to establish and grow businesses would strengthen families and improve household welfare.
“Any man who does not empower his wife is, by God, a fool. Because he is destroying his own home by himself,” Radda added.
The governor urged men to support their wives who are interested in business, stressing that women’s economic participation contributes to family prosperity.
The governor, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening entrepreneurship and creating opportunities for young people and women in the state.
Radda described entrepreneurship as the ability to identify problems and develop practical solutions, saying enterprise development was essential for job creation, household income and economic growth.
He particularly praised women entrepreneurs for their resilience and growing contribution to commerce and family livelihoods.
The governor, however, noted that access to finance alone was not enough to guarantee the success of a business.
“The links are capacity, market and finance,” he said, assuring entrepreneurs who meet the necessary requirements of the state government’s willingness to support them, particularly women.
Radda also linked economic empowerment with security and social stability, saying productive engagement of young people could reduce idleness and some social pressures associated with insecurity.
Earlier, the convener of the CEOs Round Table, Lubabatu Umar Ahmed, said the initiative was established to connect entrepreneurs with ideas and successful business leaders.
She commended the Radda administration for empowering 17,400 people in Katsina through various agencies and programmes, including KASEDA, Women Affairs and Girl-Child Education.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Banking and Finance, Bilkisu Suleiman Ibrahim, who represented the First Lady, Hajiya Zulaihat Dikko Radda, encouraged young entrepreneurs to embrace technology, mentorship and financial inclusion.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Aliyu Lawal Zakari Shargalle, said more than 800 young people had been trained under the Songhai programme in the past two years, while another 361 were currently undergoing training.
He said beneficiaries receive start-up capital and grants, adding that about 700 young men and women were also undergoing additional skills acquisition training with financial support and toolkits.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Aisha Aminu Abdullahi Malumfashi, disclosed that more than 4,000 women are expected to showcase their businesses at an exhibition scheduled for October 6.
She added that 2,200 women are expected to receive grants under the Nigeria for Women Project.
