Mrs Aisha Abubakar, the Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Investment on Thursday urged women to use social media as a platform to make credible impact in the global community.
Abubakar made the call at the Social Media Week (SMW) 2017 in Lagos with the theme: “Making Social Media work for Women, hosted by Purple.’’
“There is need to change the mindset of people that make use of the social media.
“People are seeking information from credible source that have shared their opinions on certain issues or topic on the social media.
“It is necessary for the right thoughts be shared so that people could see the good side of things as they are.
“A foreigner that sees Nigerians as bad people is only because we tend to project that we are so online and this has to stop,’’ the minister said.
Abubakar urged women to have a strong voice and a strong tool to back it up, saying that gone were the days when women were seen not to be doing anything.
She said that for a woman to succeed in any field, she needed to be truthful to herself, be consistent, courageous and confidence in her profession, career or craft.
Mrs Aisha Augie Kuta, the founder, Centre for Art and Creative Talent, urged women to know and harness their crafts for their own good.
“Once you are good with what you do and you put it online, people will find you.
“Failure is an option but you need to sit up when you fail, do not be discouraged,’’ she said.
Augie Kuta called on parents to stop discouraging their children when they see them working with their hands, adding that they never could tell they might be in the future.
Mrs Aura Tunde-Anjous, Purple Brand Manager, said that there was need to teach young people socially balanced behaviours.
“People act based on the connection they have with experiences shared online of stories that have either changed a person for good or bad.
“There is need to have a shift in the mindset of people on what is uploaded online,’’ she said.
Mrs Tara Fela-Durotoye, the Chief Executive Officer, House of Tara, said credible contents online was a compulsory to succeed.
“Building credibility is very important, it takes time, we need to have patience and be consistent with what we do.
“Social media was everything for me during my campaign in brand building. People started logging into the platform because of the positive things online.
“Having that positive content will make people identity with your platform,’’ she said.
SMW Lagos is a week-long conference that provides the ideas, trends, insights and inspiration to help people and businesses understand how to achieve more in a hyper-connected world.
The event features a central stage for keynotes and panels, multiple rooms for workshops, master classes and presentations, and an area dedicated to co-working, networking and interactive installations.
SMW Lagos’ mission is to help people and organisations connect through collaboration, learning and the sharing of ideas and information. (NAN)
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