Ambassador (Prof) Olufolake Abdulrasaq, the First Lady of Kwara State and wife of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has been making positive waves in and around Kwara State since she assumed this noble role on the 29th of May 2019 with particular emphasis on women and youth empowerment, skills acquisition, maternal and child health care, advocacy against gender-based violence and the education of the girl child. Amb Olufolake Abdulrasaq has taken giant strides in making adequate welfare of Kwara women her utmost priority, especially through various skills acquisition and empowerment programmes.
As a famed diplomat and globally acclaimed technocrat, the erudite First Lady has been roundly commended for bringing numerous non-governmental organisations of international repute including UNICEF, WHO, Bill Gates Foundation etc to Kwara State in order to raise the educational, health and empowerment dynamics of the people to record highs.
Prof Olufolake Abdulrasaq, Founder, Ajike People’s Support Center has been keen on the women, youths, children, the infirm, the indigent, the physically challenged and other vulnerable members of society. During one of her numerous skills acquisition schemes, the benevolent First Lady empowered women and youths with beaded jewelry skill training in Kwara state.
During the graduation and work tool presentation to the beneficiaries of the program, the proactive First Lady affirmed skills acquisition as a strong tool for promoting economic empowerment and poverty eradication
According to her, this is key to attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG1). According to Prof Olufolake Abdulrasaq:
‘Skill acquisition is a veritable tool for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger with the aim of paving way for employment and creating a platform for jobs and wealth creation for self-sufficiency and reliance which will positively contribute to the growth of the state’s economy and that of the country at large.”
Incidentally, Prof Olufolake Abdulrasaq’s educational, empowerment and medical outreach programs also complements the policies, programs and strategies of the Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq administration geared to surmounting the challenges faced by women, youths and the aged through well thought out social investment schemes such as the Kwarapreneur, Kwara Farm, Owo Arugbo, Digital Kwara and other programmes of the Kwara State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP).
Indeed, Prof Olufolake Abdulrazaq’s social welfare programs have raised the desired consciousness in Kwara women, youths and other vulnerable groups thus enabling them to tackle issues that can impede their progress, safety, development and well-being.
So far countless women, youths and other vulnerable groups have so far been trained through the Ajike People’s Support Center initiative and empowerment tools ranging from sewing machines, hair dryers, make up and makeover kits, grinding machines and modern baking utensils has been presented to over ten thousand of these beneficiaries.
Apart from those vocations, similar skills acquisition programs have been conducted in tailoring, baking, confectioneries and farming in other to make the beneficiaries more self-sustainable and self-reliant for the overall benefit of society. Undoubtedly, Prof Olufolake Abdulrazaq has shown without any iota of doubt that the role of First Lady is not just ceremonial but can be enabled and calibrated for the development, empowerment, growth and progress of the citizens of the state irrespective of ethnic, religious, sectional or partisan affiliations. To God be the glory.
