# NigerianWomenMatters FOR ACTION AID NIGERIA AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS CANADA

Reports Lady Nkiru Celine Okoro from Abuja Nigeria.

Barely 20 days after the public launch of African women Leaders Network ( Nigeria Chapter), to galvanize women’s movement and their issues in Nigeria,  ActionAid Nigeria with support from Global Affairs Canada on July 22 2019 launched the “Women’s Voice and Leadership – Nigeria Project aka #NigerianWomenMatters in Abuja.

Women’s Voice and Leadership – Nigeria Project is a five – year Global Affairs Canada development assistance that seeks to empower women and girls, advance the protection of women and girls rights and achieve gender equality in Nigeria by adopting and supporting innovative approaches and activities. The project spans 2019 to 2023 and would be implemented in one state each from the six geo political zones that comprise Nigeria.  They are Bauchi, Cross River, Enugu, Lagos. Kebbi, Kwara and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“Women’s Voice and Leadership – Nigeria Project targets 100 local Women’s right organizations made up of 18 groups at the state level , two from each participating state, 72 community based women rights groups and 10 local women rights networks and movements.

The project expected outcomes include:

• Improved institutional capacity of local women’s rights organizations in Nigeria to set their agendas and manage the delivery of their programs;
• Improved effectiveness of women groups to deliver programs and advocate for women’s rights using innovative approaches;
• And increased effectiveness of local women’s rights platforms, movements and networks to influence policy, legislation, social beliefs and practices in favour of gender equality using innovative approaches.

The project will provide two levels of support to local women’s rights groups and networks by making funds available to support ongoing interventions that aim to close existing fund gap most women groups face in advancing gender equality in Nigeria. It will also provide tailored capacity building to women’s rights organizations and their networks while addressing capacity gaps in delivering interventions and advocacy that advance gender equality and empowerment of women in Nigeria.

In her goodwill message, Mrs. Ojobo former ActionAid Country Director and Director for International Affairs congratulated ActionAid Nigeria for the first Canadian Government project directly with a Nigerian organization without a middle-Canadian organization.  Said she, “It goes without saying that the ActionAid Federation is proud of this relationship with Global Affairs Canada. We are even more proud because this is a transformative move that places ActionAid Nigeria at a very sensitive place both as Ambassadors of the ActionAid Family and as representative of the Nigerian Civil Society community and of the Women’s Movement”.

Continuing Ojobo said, “This project is aimed at strengthening institutional capability of local women’s rights organization, networks and movements to hold government and other duty bearers to account at each level, demand a higher commitment to gender equality and gender justice; and to facilitate the creation of an enabling policy landscape in Nigeria through policy influencing, campaign and advocacy”.

African Women’s Decade 2010-2020; International Women’s Day, Rural Women’s Day, Widows’ Day, Sustainable Development Goal 5, CEDAW, Beijing +25, Child Rights Convention, Numerous legislations and policies in health, education, Annual New York pilgrimages to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSWs), World Conferences on Women, ambiguous constitution protection or discriminator, etc. are some of the burning issues the project will address concretely.

This is because, gender and development in Nigeria has been a case of 1 step forward, 2 steps backward. In the end, Nigeria is worse off in the status of its women and girls. The statistics of the male to female ratio in the National assembly is simply evidence as you will see on a tree where the fruits are sickly, diseased or just not succulent. It is not a problem of the fruits, the problem started from the seed, the roots, and the care. In this country, we have to go back to the basics. It is now a common joke to ask if women want to take over. This gives insight

From the establishment of ActionAid Nigeria in 1999, women’s rights has been central to our work in education, health, agriculture, and humanitarian situations but the thread that always and must run through all our work is the centrality of women and girls’ rights. As a Federation, we apply our learning to grow ourselves adopting in our current global strategy a feminist leadership approach with a feminist lens on our analysis.

We have also decided enough with the theories and have sat down as a Federation in 45 countries to say what does feminist leadership mean to us in our contexts in practice. We have honed that down to 10 basics of Feminist leadership and this is a journey on which every staff male and female is taking to travel through to 2023 and beyond. It is a male-female partnership for the holistic development of our organization and of our countries including Nigeria.

These principles are: Self awareness, Self-care, Dismantle bias – work to surface and dismantle visible and invisible discrimination. We check your privilege Inclusion, power sharing, and responsible and transparent use of power, accountable collaborations, respectful feedbacks, courage, zero tolerance for discrimination and abuse of power.

“We have exceptionally high hopes for the cataclysmic quality of this project and I congratulate all those who have worked tirelessly in Canada and in Nigeria for the birth of this project”.

In attendance were representatives of international Development Partners including UNwomen, gender focused women organizations and women led community development organizations  especially those working with ActionAid Nigeria and the media. Women’s Voice and Leadership – Nigeria Project was formerly launched by Iyom Josephine Anenih, former Minister, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs & Social Development.

Cross section of participants

ActionAid Nigeria is an affiliate of ActionAid International, a global alliance of groups working towards achieving a world without poverty and injustice, in which every person enjoys the right to a life with dignity. With operations in over 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and America; ActionAid uses community led approaches to development through committed partnerships with poor and grass roots organizations.

From country programmining in 1999 at the dawn of fourth republic, ActionAid Nigeria has transformed into a registered national Autonomous organization with functional offices in Lagos, Borno, and Abuja overseeing developmental projects in 36 states of the federation. There thematic areas include Health, Education, Food and Agriculture, women’s right, just and democratic governance and human security in conflict and emergencies.

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