- Women living in Lagos, Kaduna and other far places shun the annual August meeting over insecurity, harsh economy
- Despite low turnout, politicians used the meeting to carry out their campaign activities
- Many communities engaged in development projects during the meeting
For over three decades now, Igbo women in the South East have shown their relevance, resilience and pertinence in the affairs of their marital homes through the annual August meeting deliberations and resolutions.
However, owing to the biting insecurity across Nigeria in general and the South-East in particular, the observance of this year’s August Meeting was held with caution in many communities.
The month of August in Igbo land has been earmarked as one of the busiest month for all women across the geopolitical zone.
It is the month they set aside to come together from far and wide on their various communities to brainstorm on the positive things they could do to move their communities forward.
Through this, they had embarked on different development projects like building of markets stores, church houses, pipe borne water and a lot more to mention.
Though every community fix their August meeting date subject to their convenience, the August usually ends in the month of August.
However, this year’s outing was low key unlike in previous years as most women did not return due to the prevailing insecurity in the region and harsh economic situation precipitated by fuel subsidy removal.
In many communities in Enugu state, the usual hustle and bustle and long deliberations in community halls, churches or schools that hitherto characterized the annual August meeting was no where to be seen.
Many women group living in various states like Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and other long distant states couldn’t make it to their marital hometown due to high level of insecurity coupled with high cost of petrol in recent time.
Insecurity in Nigeria/South East zone
Following the alarming rate of kidnapping and killing in Nigeria in general and South East zone in particular, it goes without saying that the 2023 Women August meeting across the zone was a shadow of its former self.
In Enugu state for instance, many women group who were supposed to attend the meeting stayed off due to increasing rate of insecurity in the zone.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that some of them rather sent a delegation to the meeting while many did not even have delegation at all. They rather transfered their own fund to the dedicated bank account number provided by these women in their various communities.
In Ibagwa community, Igbo-Eze South local government area of Enugu state, one of the women leaders in the community, Mrs Regina Eze told WITHIN NIGERIA that there has never been poor turnout of the August meeting in their community like that of this year.
” We have never witnessed this kind of poor attendance in our annual August meeting since over two decades the meeting came into existence.”
According to Mrs Eze, “we had our August meeting from August 10-13. Let me say more than half of the women group did not attend the meeting. This is because of insecurity in the land. Many of them especially those of them living in Lagos, Abuja and other far places rather sent in their money and stayed away.”
However, at Ogrute, Amachalla and other communities in Igbo-Eze North local government area of Enugu state, there was no sign of this year’s August meeting going in those communities at the time of filing this report.
One of the women group leader, Mrs Jacinta Ayogu told our reporter that they were still contemplating on how to hold the meeting.
“We are still on how to handle this year’s August meeting. Initially, we fixed on the second week of August. But unfortunately, IPOB fixed their two weeks sit-at-home from August 1-15. You know Igbo-Eze North is a hot bed for Biafra agitators. So, we automatically cancelled the meeting because like you were aware, nobody came out that time. ”
Narrating further, Mrs Ayogu said that ” right now, we don’t know when it will be if at all we are going to hold it in our community. The insecurity is too much in our community and we don’t want to expose any of our members to such ugly situation.”
Harsh economy/High cost of transport fare
The sudden removal of fuel subsidy directly affected the transportation across the country. From N185/litre to N617/litre, transportation fare skyrocketed to more than three hundred percent increase.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that this development impacted negatively on the life Nigerians who were hitherto finding it difficult to feed.
It also contributed immensely to the poor turn out of this year’s annual women August meeting as reported by our reporter. Many preferred staying away to spending their fortune on transportation to the meeting.
August meeting in Anambra state
In Anambra state there was low turnout of women in this year’s August meeting.
However, despite this ugly development, politicians in the state have continued to use the August meeting as a fertile ground for their political activities.
Nevertheless, the Woman Leader Of Soludo Support Group (SSG) in Anambra Central, Hon. Mrs. Chimdindu Orakwe took health campaign to Catholic Women Organization (CWO) of Maryland Catholic Church, Umuoji in Idemili North LGA of the State during their annual August Meeting.
The meeting which took place on Friday 4th August, 2023 being the first day of 2023 August Meeting at the Church premises had all the Women of the Church both home and diaspora in attendance.
Mrs. Chimdindu who represented Anambra First Lady, Mrs. Nonye Soludo educated the women on how best to live a healthy life.
Mrs. Nonye Soludo had earlier instructed Women Leaders of various groups to take Healthy Living campaign to different localities and communities around their neighborhood.
By and large, in carrying out the assignment, Mrs. Chimdindu joined the women of Maryland Catholic Church Umuoji in their annual August Meeting.
At the meeting, Mrs Chimdindu explained how good personal hygiene can protect one from getting gastro or infectious diseases such as COVID-19, colds and flu. She advised the women to regularly wash their hands with soap because it removes germs that can make them ill. She said that maintaining good personal hygiene will also help prevent spreading infectious diseases to other people.
On Personal hygiene, she charged the women to wash their hands with soap after using the toilet, brush their teeth twice a day, cover mouth and nose with a tissue (or sleeve) when sneezing or coughing, washing of hands after handling pets and other animals, etc.
Talking about Environmental problems that affect healthy living, she explained the challenges Nigeria is facing such as air pollution, water pollution, lead exposures, poor waste management, deforestation, desertification and flooding.
She cautioned the women on Drugs and alcohol misuse. Advising them to maintain a healthy home, she spoke extensively on issues of domestic violence, bullying or other abuse as an adult.
Abia: Gov. Otti pays tribute to women
Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, OFR, on Wednesday August 16 assured Abia women of government support in their quest to enjoy better life.
Governor Otti gave the assurance while speaking at the flag off of this year’s Abia Women August Delegate Conference (AWADEC), held at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia.
Dr. Otti praised the women for their important roles in nation-building and emphatically stated how key they are to the success of his administration, having assigned them the responsibility of masterminding the Government’s efforts in areas that his government had declared emergency. These areas include Health, Education and Agriculture.
“We will like to assure you of all the support that is possible from this Government. We have started by giving very serious appointments to women. The areas we have declared emergency – Education, Health – are under women. It is because we know that women will always deliver,” the Governor declared.
He thanked women across the 17 local government areas of the state for giving him total support during the past election, noting that without them he would not have become the Governor.
The Governor congratulated the women on the occasion of the 2023 Women August Delegates’ Conference and wished them fruitful deliberations as they return to their various communities.
Wife of the Governor, Mrs Priscilla Otti, while delivering a keynote address tagged: “A New Dawn For Abia Women”, thanked God for sparing the lives of Abians, bringing Abians together and changing the political direction of the state for good.
She drew the attention of the women to the commitment and strategic decision of the present administration of Governor Otti to put women at the helm of affairs, citing the commissioners of Agriculture, Education and Health, and other female appointees of the government, who are working directly or indirectly with the Governor, as typical example of Governor Otti’s firm resolution to give women equal representation.
The Abia First Lady, who described the administration of Dr. Otti as the most women friendly government since the creation of Abia, said Governor Otti believes in women because, “We are dependable and trustworthy”, adding, “Onye ji nwanyi, ji ihe (With a woman, you have a dependable ally).”
She used the opportunity to announce her plan to support some of the vulnerable groups in the state, especially single mothers, widows, infants and children with special needs. She highlighted some of the programmes to include fighting the menace of gender- based violence, creating structures to support education of brilliant girls from economically-challanged backgrounds, girls with interest in skill aquisition, women farmers and entrepreneurs.
Mrs. Otti distributed some palliatives and monetary gifts to 34 physically challenged women, 34 Elderly women and 34 widows across the 17 local governments of the state.
In his speech, the Senator representing Abia Central, Senator Darlington Nwokocha thanked the wife of the Governor for organising this year’s women August meeting and expressed the hope that important decisions that would impact positively on women will be arrived at.
He described women as a positive force in the society and assured them that things are changing for the better in Abia State. He promised that the National Assembly will work collaboratively with the Governor to achieve set goals, adding that there would be nothing like Abuja and Abia politicians.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Ngozi Felix, who said the theme of this year’s event is “Abia Women: Dare to Dream”, noted that the August Delegates’ Conference is gradually becoming a movement of sort for women’s welfare and active participation in governance.
She said that the platform recognises the value for gender equality, women empowerment, and response to gender-based violence and potential that lies within every individual.
Some of the guests and speakers who attended the event were: the wife of the deputy governor, Mrs. Adaeze Chidera Emetu; wife of the Speaker, Abia House of Assembly, Mrs. Uchechi Emeruwa; the commissioners of Education, Prof. Uche Eme-Uche and Health, Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo, among other top government functionaries.
Ebonyi: Deputy governor charges women on culture and development
At Ebonyi state, it was the same story of low turnout of Diaspora members.
In any case, His Excellency, Rt.Hon.Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru represented by his deputy, Her Excellency Princess Patricia Onyemaechi Obila charged women to be development-minded.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered this year Women August meeting was held at Pa Ngele Oruta stadium,
Abakiliki.
The governor equally charged the women to respect the culture background of the land and have the fear of God.
She also advised them to make use of these great opportunity to take decision that will helped their homes and the present administration of His Excellency, Rt.Hon.Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru to move forward.
Finally, she cautioned the women of Ebonyi State to desist from things that will reduced their values in the society.
In any case, despite low turnout in their respective states and communities, South East women did not focus on their development initiatives even as some of them embarked on empowerment programs to alleviate the suffering of the needy and less privileged in the society.