Stop Depending On Men, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Leader Tells Women

The President General of Igbo apex socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mr. Nnia Nwodo, has charged Nigerian women to rediscover their talents and stop over-dependency on men, adding, “he who dares wins.”

He said that the concept of ‘a woman is a passenger and not a partner’ should be discarded, stressing, “in all civilised climes, a woman gives love, respect and care not at a price but in reciprocity for her partner’s affection and care.”

Nwodo gave the charge in a keynote address on Thursday when Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom recognised Prof. Uche Azikiwe and Prof. Joy Ezeilo for their contributions to the cause of women in Nigeria.

The event held in Enugu.

He regretted that in Nigeria, notwithstanding that women are more than men, public offices are still dominated by men.

“Women find it difficult to mobilise themselves because most of them are economically dependent on men and find it difficult to pursue their convictions when such convictions go against the wishes of their male partners.

“You can’t have talent and hide it like a lamp under a bushel. You must not let people second-guess your abilities. It must be so uncomfortable to see things go so bad when you know that you can do them better,” he said.

While he identified economy of scale as a dire necessity in women emancipation programmes, Nwodo enjoined women to combine efforts and build stronger and broader-based organisation to reach out to more people rather than “have multiple unrecognisable and less impacting organisations.”

In her address, Prof. Joy Ezeilo commended the organisers of the event for identifying her effort in advancement of women’s cause in Nigeria.