As an Igbo woman I can go to ANY part of Yoruba land and buy land, even in their villages, Christian or Muslim or Traditionalist. I have Yoruba female friends who inherit ancestral lands

As a woman I cannot own ancestral land in my village. My brother/cousin has to front for me
These are the honest, difficult, open & meaningful conversatii we need to have as Nigerian women. HOW we can learn from positives of one another and not demean one another

FGM is highest in Osun and Ebonyi states. And lowest in the North. And so, we can learn from the North too.
The challenge of child marriage and it's associated consequences (VVF/lower literacy rates..), are more pronounced in the North. These challenges existed I the SE/SW and were curbed using a combination of approaches. We can all learn from one another.

Across board, uplift women
Everybody wants to pretend that their region is all honky dory wrt women rights. That denial has to stop. Islamic law/hausa culture actually offer some specific protection to widows/divorcees...Like my elderly aunt keeps saying, until you become a widow, you cannot vouch for ours
Frankly speaking, I think we are at that place where from birth, we begin to teach both boys AND girls to be financially/psychologically healthy/independent. And let them know/exercise their boundaries equally. And learn to cook/cater to their needs. The "Oriaku" era is long gone
For instance, our villages in the SE could become hubs for development if we simply built separate professionally run cemeteries and STOP burying our kith/kin on our ancestral lands. Open up some lands for investment instead of mansions used only for 2 weeks annually, in December
I am convinced that for Nigeria to develop & TRANSFORM, it must become more inclusive of competent/ethical/visionary/creative women/youths

E.g Simply absurd that @NGRSenate has NOT passed the #GeoBill or that Govt has FAILED to #ReformPoliceNG esp re Rape culture/DV/other crimes
Can we talk about how in markets, our sons/brothers are mostly the ones shoving/fondling/making sexist remarks/tapping body parts..of women/girls without permission? Can we talk about young ladies complaining incessantly and yet we are not evolving this horrid permissive culture?
Pls may you speak with at least 12 Igbo women who are widows/gave birth to only daughters, to share their experiences with their late husband's family around inheritance/property rights, especually re his ancestral land. Then come back let's have open/honest discussion on culture
And can we talk about how we are always harping on the North about child marriage but refuse to face/address FGM or rape culture or baby factories or minors being assaulted in ala-igbo? Do you realise that the entire SE does NOT have more than 2 SARCs? And both are privately run?
Can we talk about how 5 SE states have domesticated CRA but NONE has a well formed strategy to implement child rights? Can we talk about elite using under-aged for maids and mistreating them? Can we talk about gross human rights violations an unconscionable unjust caste systems?
Can you actually allow women talk about women issues without forcing down your experiences or opinions on us, being that you are not women in the first place?🙄Can we rest the ego for a bit and talk of gang rapes in our schools/towns/cities? Girls are crying out. And boys too..
Anyway, systemic series of rapes in schools triggered these tweets. Turns out school authorities were trying to bury the story. To save the reputation of the school. The girls (victims) were being shushed and NOT given ANY psycho-social support/therapy. A "god-fearing" school🙄😡
And we will set up different fora (live/recorded; open/closed), to actually begin to talk about these issues...

Culture is a way of life.

It is not static. It must evolve and be dynamic.

Only we can change our communities. Inclusivity matters. The time for ego-speak is gone!!
In parts of Igbo land, father dies, and leaves everything NOT to the wife that has toiled with him for decades, not to ALL his children but only to his SONS. And yet the daughters are to look after their mothers, sometimes with no help from their brothers.
Pls let's discuss well

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More from @wholewomancoop

Aug 30, 2018
Honour is important

When politicians agree on a set agenda with clear rules of engagement, whatever the outcome, the decision should be upheld, especially if the parties participate.

Nothing is do or die. Rules should not be changed when it does NOT favour individuals

#Honour
And the most important questions are:

Did candidates pull out before the votes are tallied or after? If after, it means they participated and so were bound by the rules;

If the voting outcome were reversed 4:3 and FD lost, how would we have felt/reacted if FD backed out??
When aspirants dropped from 19/18 to 13...why didn't those who felt it was no longer a consensus/no longer comfortable with the process, all back out like Sowore did?

I guess I am saying processes matter.

Constitutionally, yes, everyone can still run...but, lots to learn here..
Read 7 tweets
Aug 30, 2018
1/7 It suddenly hits you that we have serious systemic rot as a society and behavioural challenges wrt personal hygiene, maintenance culture, waste management & environmental sanitation.

This is a thread about the intl airport in Abuja, our Capital, the gateway to our nation😭😢
2/7. Typically, I love to be law abiding. I just think a culture of anyhowness does no one any good. However, today, I did not do as asked.

Basically, I was told to take off my shoes to go through the security checks and I flat out said NO! Why? The carpet/floor were so filthy!
3/7 On any other given day, I may have simply overlooked and tippy-toed on the dust/dirt filled carpet but not today. I just couldn't. What would it cost these folks to have a proper maintenance/cleaning culture in place? Why have a carpet that traps so much dirt & not vacuum it?
Read 7 tweets
Jul 30, 2018
I AM VOTING for KINGSLEY MOGHALU.

Some deride and attack, publicly and via DM, saying it's akin to a wasted vote. Really? I supported a 'strong man-General' from the North, today, Zamfara is wasting away. You voted a Southerner from Niger Delta, till date, Ogoni is wasting away
FEDERAL ROADS in the NORTH and SOUTH are still death traps! Boko Haram is still bombing, herdsmen are still slaughtering, bandits are still attacking/sacking villages, kidnappers are still killing...ARE YOU NOT TIRED OF THE UTTER DISREGARD FOR LIFE? Are you not sick of deja vu??
Is your soul NOT wearied from seeing the poor & vulnerable treated with such contempt? Are you not livid that IDPs are being created daily? Does it not seem like we're at war? Are you not darn tired of EVERY DAY FEELING LIKE A HEART-CRIPPLING DAY OF NATIONAL MOURNING & HATE-FEST?
Read 9 tweets
Jul 2, 2018
1. Great Reminder
"In the spirit of healing some of the pain and frustration Nigerians are currently going through - when it seems like we just cannot get along, I am sharing an old speech by Nurudeen Lemu that might help us chart a way forward to peace and Justice." -@Naijavote
2.

Written and Presented by Sheikh Muhammad Nurudeen Lemu from Niger State:

“As a delegate, and as a people representing people of faith in God from the Islamic perspective, one thing we believe is that God will protect the community that stands for justice..."
3.

"..even if they are not Muslims and God will not protect the community that goes contrary to justice even if they call themselves Muslims.

God is not a religious bigot. He is not a male chauvinist. He is not an ethnocentric tribalist. God is not the oppressor of anyone..."
Read 14 tweets
Jun 30, 2018
If you think the dysfunction/historical experiences/lawlessness/injustice of this nation doesn't shape your thinking or unconscious behaviour, you may be in lala land.

50 years post-civil war, Igbos build lovely mansions they hardly use, in their villages because "what if"...???
People in the middle belt and in all other regions, will be shaped by these experiences. Trust in nationhood is built when citizens trust the state to protect them.

In the absence of this, lawlessness reigns & people jetisson state/community of residence & cling to their origins
If people do not feel/experience/perceive a real sense of security, then we have not achieved anything as a nation

The danger/sadness of Nigeria is once you are cast as a villain, when you are attacked, your pain is diminished/justified

Igbos for the war. Fulanis for herdsmen..
Read 12 tweets
May 13, 2018
My prayer for all of us is that after critiquing eloquently on these streets, when we are called upon to serve, may we not do like or do worse than those we criticize.

May all critiques/feedback we dish out to others, also be the lens through which we self-reflect and improve..
Each time I am home I am reminded of this stark reality- friends/fellow advocates/family members/mentors/business partners+collaborators..,who were so eloquent in calling out leaders/politicians, now get into power & fall to the lure of abuse of power. Past/present admins. So sad
#BelovedNaija There are still kids begging/sleeping on the streets, there are still dilapidated classrooms, some without toilets, there are still poorly paid/not well-trained teachers & even among the well trained, some are owed for months! Yet Governors/Senators/HoRs get awards.
Read 8 tweets

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