When I got admitted into the university for my bachelor’s degree, I was just 16 and I didn’t have any self discipline when it came to my studies. The first two years were filled with ‘let my people go’ grades.

I remember coming back home one night to meet my parents waiting up in the living room for me. This rarely happened in our home except you had really overstepped your bounds.

The subject of discussion was my poor grades, as fellow lecturers had told my dad I wasn’t doing well. My dad asked that critical question, after scolding me for not doing well and quoting Longfellow ‘the heights by great men reached and kept……’ what do you want to do with your life? My response was that I wanted to seamstress ( I made most of my undergraduate clothes myself by hand).

He was so shocked! He insisted none of his children will end up without a degree. He then said I must face my studies and be a good example to my younger ones.

The two most educated people amongst my siblings are women. We had the exact same opportunities as the boys, even though we were so many. I remember one of my sister’s brought her bae to meet my dad before she graduated and he said no daughter of his was getting married without a degree.

My mum worked and was a co breadwinner all her life.

We were all created humans equally important to God irrespective of gender.

The leadership given to the man by God ‘in the home’s is just for order, not because the man’s reasoning is superior! There has to be a leader.

On the 1st of March*, this International Women’s Month, Nigeria’s 9th National Assembly of *95.9%* men and only *4.1%* women voted to:

*1)* Decline citizenship to the foreign-born husband of a Nigerian woman; whereas a Nigerian man’s foreign-born wife gets automatic citizenship.

*2)* Deny Nigerians in the diaspora the right to vote.

*3)* Deny women the ability to take indigeneship of their husband’s state after 5 years of being together.

*4)* Deny 35% appointed positions for women.

*5)* Deny women 35% affirmative action in party administration and leadership.

*6)* Reject specific seats for women in the National Assembly

Their actions are saying that .. _*”Nigerian Women are Irrelevant!”*_

This has taken place in a country where some women are the breadwinners of their homes and still overseeing all domestic work. A country where many women have excelled in different fields of endeavour. A country with so may well educated women in every discipline.

It’s such a shock to see such blatant discrimination against women in the 21st century!

What are we as women going to do? Accept it, shake our heads and continue as if nothing happened?No!

We will work towards participating fully in the next elections. We must take our destiny in our hands. We have the numbers.

What are we going to do with our advantage? Keep pulling each other down? Or work together and stand behind each other? We will promote and lift each other up. We will support qualified female candidates with a forward thinking agenda.

We will teach our sons that gender discrimination and discrimination of any sort is evil. We will teach them to respect their sisters and other females. We will let them know that both men and women should have equal opportunities.

If we don’t change the narrative, we would have failed our daughters. God forbid that we bequeath them a country that disdains women!

As we celebrate ourselves today, let’s make up our minds to get involved and change the narrative. Nobody will do it for us, if we are docile.

I celebrate all the men who are confident enough to give us room to fly, men who are not intimidated, men who celebrate our wins with us.

Happy international women’s day to you all sisters. I celebrate your resilience through it all.

Break the bias!!

#IWD2022
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#breakthebias