The Executive Director of Hands of God Widows Support Initiative, HOGWIN, Phranklin Audu has called on well-meaning Nigerians to support the government as it plans to conduct a National Population Census, stating that it will guarantee better planning for underserved and underrepresented in the society.

In a press statement, Audu further stated that the 2023 national population census gives Nigeria the opportunity to lead the charge in shaping the path for economic planning to cater appropriately to widows as vital members of her national population.

According to him, a national population census offers the opportunity for governments at national and sub-national levels to focus on the vulnerable demography while planning adequately for their well-being, and social and economic reintegration into society.

He said: “It is important that national action plans include actions to count, map, and profile widows so that their needs are addressed, and they have access to restorative justice, support, pensions, and resettlement. One wonders how there can ever be meaningful development, reconciliation, justice, an end to violence against women, and sustainable peace without the inclusion of widows.”

He stated that despite the passing of the law on Violence Against Prohibition of Persons (VAPP) recently, not too many states have done much to domesticate this law particularly where it affects the protection of widows in local communities.

Audu said: “In some cultures, widows are required to spend days in isolation, drink the bath water of their dead husbands, and undergo certain inhuman conditions to prove their innocence upon the demise of their husbands. Many cultures confer culpability on the widow and therefore subject them to harsh trials during the period of mourning. In many African cultures, a widow has no right to inheritance. She is in fact considered an asset to be inherited by her late husband’s family. She is therefore stripped of her human dignity and all economic means.”

He further noted that if Nigeria is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, then it cannot afford to leave widows behind.