Former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has praised the Nigerian Armed Forces for the increased enlistment of female combatants into the military. Speaking at the 2024 Annual Defence Headquarters Gender Conference in Abuja, where she served as the Chief Launcher of the Armed Forces Gender Magazine, Jonathan highlighted the significance of the growing involvement of women in peacekeeping operations.
She noted that this development fulfills the long-standing dream of Nigerian women to be given due recognition in the military. Jonathan recalled that, prior to 2011, female involvement in the Nigerian armed forces was limited due to restrictive legislation. However, during the presidency of her husband, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, a policy reversal allowed women to be admitted to the Nigerian Defence Academy to train as combatants, aligning with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.
Jonathan expressed her pride in the progress made, noting that many women are now serving alongside their male counterparts in peacekeeping missions worldwide. She urged female military personnel to uphold high standards of discipline, professionalism, and ethical behavior, serving as role models for future generations of women.
In her remarks, Ms. Beatrice Eyong, the UN Women’s Country Representative to Nigeria, commended the Nigerian military for achieving 27.9% female participation in peacekeeping operations, surpassing the UN’s recommended benchmark of 17%. Eyong also called on legislators and security institutions to support amendments to laws that would further enhance gender sensitivity and effectiveness within the armed forces.
She emphasized the importance of the ongoing process to adopt a third national action plan on women, peace, and security in Nigeria, urging military and security leaders to support its implementation and monitoring.
