A professor at Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Oluwatoyin Olatundun Ilesanmi, has called for the inclusion of women and youths in Nigeria’s national economic recovery programme, saying their participation is essential to sustainable development.
Professor Ilesanmi of the Centre for Gender, Humanitarian and Development Studies, made the call while delivering the 24th Inaugural Lecture of the university, titled, ‘Vulnerability, Voice, and Valour: Navigating Transformative Frontiers in Gender, Humanitarian and Psychosocial Wellbeing.’
She also appealed to consultants from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop training manuals based on transformative leadership, peace modules and gender issues to support the retraining of Nigeria Police Force personnel on human rights-based approaches to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Professor Ilesanmi said Nigeria needed to sustain its response to violence and exploitation, including sexual violence, trafficking, harmful practices and conflict-related abuses.
Explaining the motivation for her lecture, she said: ‘My scholarly and professional journey over the past several decades deliberately moved from the clinical pathways of the mind to the conflict-ridden corridors of global humanitarianism. The topic was informed by one enduring core concern: the dignity of the vulnerable human person.’
She noted that gender and humanitarian issues were closely linked, adding that development efforts could not succeed if they ignored structures that expose vulnerable groups to greater risks.
‘I have realized that we cannot fully understand humanitarian crises without grasping the gendered nature of vulnerability, nor can we address development if we ignore patriarchal structures,’ she said.
According to her, ‘When gender blindness meets a humanitarian crisis, marginalized groups suffer disproportionately.’
Professor Ilesanmi said her framework of ‘Vulnerability, Voice, and Valour’ was designed to move from identifying vulnerability to giving affected people a voice and ultimately achieving transformative action.
She urged humanitarian agencies to move beyond emergency relief and integrate psychosocial, clinical and family-sensitive services into emergency response.
She also called on government ministries to institutionalise gender accountability and budgeting, noting that poverty, poor housing and inequality often worsen the impact of disasters.
On Nigeria’s humanitarian challenges, she cited kidnapping, sexual violence, displacement and ecological distress, saying these required inclusive approaches to recovery.
She said her research had shown that traditional disaster-response frameworks could leave elderly and disabled people behind.
Professor Ilesanmi also called for stronger implementation of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP), particularly at the local government level.
‘The government must take the state-level Multi-Sectoral Action Plans for the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP) that I have helped draft for states like Bauchi, Lagos, Osun, Ogun, and Kwara, and aggressively fund and enforce them down to the local government level,’ she said.
She further recommended reforms in the security sector, including training for security personnel in human rights-based and trauma-informed approaches to handling SGBV.
‘Using data from my TETFUND studies on integrating gender issues into the Police Service, local councils and divisions must train security personnel in human rights-based, trauma-informed approaches to handle sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) safely and confidentially,’ she said.
She also urged local governments to consider the needs of elderly and disabled residents in housing and neighbourhood planning, particularly in relation to access ramps, safety and shelter facilities.
In the education sector, she recommended gender-responsive teaching and stronger mechanisms for addressing sexual harassment, while in the health sector she advocated integrated mental health and genetic counselling services within primary healthcare.
For the humanitarian sector, she called for mandatory psychosocial services in emergency relief operations and internally displaced persons’ camps.
She also urged the justice and rural development sectors to address structural inequalities in land ownership, market access and rural development, while ensuring the inclusion of women in peace processes, conflict negotiations and legislative drafting.
Speaking to young people interested in gender, humanitarian and psychology-related fields, Professor Ilesanmi said, ‘Voice is the most potent tool for transformative change.’
She encouraged young people to pursue education, avoid transactional survival and contribute to building systems that address human suffering.
She said the Centre for Gender, Humanitarian and Development Studies at Redeemer’s University had developed postgraduate and professional programmes designed to combine academic training with field experience.
Professor Ilesanmi concluded by challenging policymakers and institutions to translate research into practical interventions.
‘My life’s work has been an attempt to answer one enduring question: How may knowledge serve life? It serves life only when it refuses to let vulnerability remain invisible, insists that care must be highly intelligent, and demands that justice must be aggressively embodied in our institutions,’ she said.