Women activists from Nigeria

"In much of precolonial Nigeria, and indeed Africa, ethnic nations organized people within communities into peer groups and trained them, from babyhood to old age, to serve their communities. When successful, this system provided all members of a community not only with a sense of belonging but also with a vehicle for helping to shape the community's direction and pace of change. In this system, people knew they were entitled to help resolve any issue that affected the community. This sense of entitlement grows out of a series of rituals that begin the day a child is born. When a baby is born, after the first few seconds, it lets out a yelp, which announces its arrival, and which is met by expressions of joy. Among the Yoruba, the arrival is acknowledged with a naming ceremony where parents give names that express rich meaning and hopes for the baby. When I arrived, my parents named me Hafsat Olaronke, which means the treasured one and honor is being cared for. For my parents, they saw in me one who would be cherished and who would bring honor to her community. Many in other parts of the world are impressed when they discover my name's meanings, but the truth is that most African names have beautiful meanings."

"Unlike the small community, where every person lives in the illusion of having the same ideals, beliefs, and values as everyone else, in the larger context of plural communities — be it in country, continent, or globe — we live in the illusion of absolute difference. So, fearing the possibility that the interaction will change us, we magnify the threat involved in engaging with that which differs from us. Change is stressful, and costly, because it requires learning to navigate the unfamiliar. In the end, you cannot work with anyone who is different, and problems that could be resolved if we allowed everyone to contribute the best of themselves begin to look intractable."

"Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are."

"I would always push women towards more of learning the datasets behind anything that they’re trying to build, get information on it and, if you don’t have it, let’s talk with partnership organisations to see what information they may have. And if they still don’t have it, this is where you come in to build a solution that incorporates some of that."

"The key. Is oering things that make that type of impact towards their careers. And the end result is seeing some of those girls and the things that they've accomplished within their chosen eld or their entrepreneurship journey. And then being able to mark that as well. This was impactful. This made a dierence. And I helped make that dierence, so my job is complete, because now I have essence of self gratication. And that feels really good."

"Be your own hero.” — From a statement featured as her personal motto on her Twitter cover photo, reflecting her philosophy toward personal drive and achievement"

"Technology makes you have to think outside of the box.” On how tech drives innovation and problem-solving in business and society"

"One of them had pushed me and the raised hand might be what some saw as a slap. No, I wasn’t slapped and I refused to cower and I turned and gave them a piece of what I thought of their pathetic selves and if I am going to die, it would be with my fist high up and my mouth open."

"I would never give up on Nigeria no matter what it throws at me. I owe it to unborn generations on their way to Nigeria and I will continue to fight for Nigeria just as I wished others had fought for me before I came to be Nigerian."

"Herdsmen who are criminals have to be criminalized. Those who aren't shouldn't. No one has monopoly to cause trouble and no one is safe from what trouble can cause."

"Politics affect lives and we all have to be politicians. You can be the one being voted for or the one voting for or the one volunteering in someone's campaign or helping to raise money or donating or giving governance or making demands."

"It is just unbelievable how we tend to reward incompetence and punish competence."

"One thing I have learnt, is that, sometimes you need your opponent to do so badly and make you a choice."

"“There is nothing to go into fighting mood over this nothing – so focus on your message and the results that you want is the most important.”"

"No rigging can happen without our support … INEC is not the problem. The people in INEC are the problem and they are among the 220 million people. There is no INEC Chairman that can rig election if the people working in INEC do not collude. … The police are not the problem, the people in the police are the problem.”"

""Educated Nigerians should realise that their education is not for them alone and they should be working towards changing the system; that is how you will have a bloodless revolution. If you don’t do that, the hungry people are going to jump on the street one day …”"

""Your actions, not words will attract foreign investors … ‘In this 2023, travelling to woo investors is still being used?!’ … ‘Stop wasting tax payers money to go woo investors. Sit at home and do the needful.’”"

""People must resolve to not move on from issues. … Until good is more tenacious than evil, the evil ones even though smaller in number will continue to have the upper hand.”"

"You see this table full of older generation men cannot be the only ones allowed to make the decision as we go on! Women and Youth must be in the midst of decision-making and not as afterthoughts in the form of tokenism.”"

"“No country has the right to call itself civilized if it allows 219 of its citizens to be kidnapped with no repercussions.”"

""Women and Youth must be in the midst of decision-making and not as afterthoughts in the form of tokenism.”"

""You can now call me JOBLESS with a capital J! … My last born is done with university … I have a lot more time on my hands now, and I will be devoting it to NIGERIA! Welcome to a new dispensation.”"

""In this 2023, travelling to woo investors is still being used?! … Stop wasting tax payers money to go woo investors. Sit at home and do the needful.”"

""It is only when it comes to hypocritical morality that they will become actively present. Money they will beg for. Food they will beg for. Job they will beg for. Marks they will beg for. Merit they will beg to be exempted. Even advocacy they will beg for.”"

""Even though my parents or adults were angry at me for speaking up especially when it does not favour them … I have the gift to look at issues from both sides even when I am involved and when I am not.”"

""I am okay. I refused to run. I walked with my fist high up … One of them had pushed me and the raised hand might be what some saw as a slap. No, I wasn’t slapped and I refused to cower and I turned and gave them a piece of what I thought of their pathetic selves and if I am going to die, it would be with my fist high up and my mouth open.”"

"The right Bola Ahmed Tinubu had to call out government in 2014 is the right Aisha Yesufu has in 2024 to call out an illegitimate government … No Nigerian is more Nigerian than any Nigerian. This country belongs to all of us, and nobody can intimidate us in our own father land."

""No rigging can happen without our support … INEC is not the problem. The people in INEC are the problem … The police are not the problem … The people in the police are the problem.”"

""To Nigerian Politicians, 8 years is FOREVER! Little do they know!”"

""When asked on … what she thinks of the President’s assurance …: ‘We are used to a president whose words mean nothing. He says one thing, and another thing happens’ … ‘The body language of President … enables the terrorists.’”"

""I am a politician. All my life I have made choices. I am into Nigerian Politics and … I will ensure it is clean.”"

""I give it to the illegitimate administration of Mr Tinubu. He has gotten defeated people fighting themselves instead of fighting him … Imagine the fight is over who are being killed rather than that citizens are being killed.”"

""When we talk about International Women’s Day, I don’t want a day. I just want to be treated with respect, I want equality, equity and justice. That’s really what we want. Because at the end of the day, this whole International Women’s Day has been turned into some performative thing …”"

""There is no government in Nigeria. Terrorists have a field day!”"

""Peter Obi has more hope in 2027 than there was in 2023. … Nothing has been put in place. Nigerians must realise that the 2027 election is a fight for our lives.”"

""You can now call me JOBLESS with a capital J! … I have a lot more time on my hands now, and I will be devoting it to NIGERIA! Welcome To A New Dispensation.”"

"As for the charges against me, I am unconcerned. I am beyond their timid lying morality and so I am beyond caring."

"Literature is capable of being a subject that people want to catch up on or discuss, whether at a coffee shop or a water-cooler. It can become an intrinsic part of their dialogue."

"To be a good politician you must be wise like a snake, calm like a dove and kind like an angel."

"How beautiful would it be if our women could have the same opportunity as men."

"The true position of Nigerian women had to be judged from the women who carried babies on their backs and farmed from sunrise to sunset, not women who used tea, sugar, and flour for breakfast."

"We had equality till Britain came."

"My statuses are designed to read the Nigerian mind and mentality. I want to fix this country and being a politician is not the only way to do it."

"Stop dating people not interested in your personal development. This life is beyond sex, bone straight wigs, iPhone 13, Domino pizza, Coldstone, and KFC. Find a partner who is stress-free, willing to invest in you. Never been married but I see many of y’all divorced so soon."

"Why are most of my Facebook fans in Nigeria men? Could it be the women are jealous and intimidated?"

"Madam Governor Lifestyle: Yes, I carry guns around Ibadan. There are 5 of them and I owned them legally in the US"

"Today I made my debut as an actress. I will be acting in different films IJN. Nollywood is not an easy job. I want to really commend all the actors, actresses, extras, set designers, directors, and producers. It is HARD HARD WORK. I worked on a movie today with Director @toyin_abraham. She is dynamic”"

"That prison is a big newsroom, but Nigerian prisons need reform. I met ex-Biafrans and Niger Delta agitators in the prison"

"But, why are we commercializing religion and brainwashing the congregation? I will become a Woman of God very soon and use my prophetic abilities and bible story knowledge to apply wisdom to your lives. Prison always make all inmates spiritual…right"

"The girl child is just like an egg that can easily be damaged through teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse etc, hence, the need to protect them."

"Your dreams will come true."

"When the legendary Nelson Mandela made his famous quote ‘there can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children' he most likely had the humanity-indicting apartheid system in mind. Were he alive now and a Nigerian, he would have replaced the last strand of the sentence with ‘the way in which it allows the tobacco industry, merchants of death, to toy with the lives and destinies’ of its children."

"When you know your stand and stay consistently by it, eventually you will prevail."

"Most people who violate the right of others are cowards. Once you draw attention to their crimes, once you stand up to them they withdraw and people are safe"

"The poor also have rights to the city and there are more humane and inclusive ways of running ‘a mega city’ than the brutal and sledgehammer approach that currently obtains here."

"... A country is deemed great that truly cares about its children aka pikins, and the most vulnerable."

"We must stand up for equality, justice and human dignity because it is vital to each and every one of us all – woman, man and child"

"We are using this opportunity to remind them that it is the constitutional responsibility of the government under chapter two of the constitution to provide security for the people. It is as if they are helpless, let them resign and let us know that we don’t have a government"

"The need to end discrimination against women in Nigeria and close the existing gender gap also necessitated the birth of WELA to assist in efforts to stop the abuses against women and dismantle all the gender barriers that penalise women and girls in Nigeria"

"In times like this, we all must come together to educate ourselves and our youth in basic human rights. These rights were set forth by the United Nations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The purpose of the Human Rights walk is to unite all people in these rights and to make them a reality."

"You need to know your human rights because a population ignorant of its rights cannot demand or defend them. Yet, few in the world know even two or three of their 30 rights."

"The ideology underpinning the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR, is a simple yet, profound one which proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal with dignity and rights."

"We advocate for everyone to stand up for their rights and those of others. For this reason WELA stand for equality and Justice through human right education"

"My first introduction to the existence of haters was in rap music."

"Reason dictates that when you make a mistake, there’s always a bunch of people on the side-line who will get on your case and try as much as they can to put you in check."

"Now the word “hate” has gone beyond just a few neighbours who think little of you. With the help of social media and the revelation of everything under the sun, hate is the new middle name for anybody who breaks a sentence with the word."

"We are a growing generation of zombies, we find it hard to truly express how we feel about anything"

"So how do we improve as a people? How do we strive for excellence when, as a matter of fact, people get celebrated for being wack, uninspiring and unexceptional? How do we deliver?"

"The fear of being called a bloody hater hangs like a garrotte around our neck. We don’t want to be choked so we nod and agree: “yes, you are a fantastic actress!” When in reality she is nothing close to being fantastic."

"“The president does not know 45 out of 50, for example, of the people he appointed and I don’t know them either, despite being his wife of 27 years”."

"“We must say the truth”."

"“It is disheartening to note that some aspirants used their hard-earned money to purchase nomination forms, got screened, cleared, and campaigned vigorously yet found their names omitted on Election Day, these forms were bought at exorbitant prices”."

"“It is commendable that state governors have closed down schools; however, this could be counterproductive if parents are still going to work. We should not isolate students and expose their parents. Let us remember that they will meet at home”."

"“The establishment of the Future Assured College in Maiduguri, Borno State recently is to provide for the education of young girls affected by the insurgency”."

"“This intervention provides a lead way of what we can do together to support these young brains to attain a brighter future because of the challenges facing girl-child education”."

"“Prospect of promoting quality health and education of girl-child both at school and at home are seriously challenged”."

"“I am optimistic that our common interest in promoting girl-child education can expand beyond its present scope”."

""The regime might not have been a perfect one, but I want to seize this opportunity to seek forgiveness from the Ulamas and Nigerians in general. We all need to work together to achieve a better Nigeria.”"

"The powerful force that unite us is our human dignity... I beg you as we move on today and I urge you that we all have potential in us to ask ,to ask that we don't see the other person as the other but we are because they are,The concept of the other does not make us understand each other, so let's ask that we see the other person as we. That is one step that each of us can take, then we can seek peace but above all as the drum of war is now ringing let us knock at the door of peace"."

""It is the ability when we look at issues of international peace and justice and freedom that we remember that dialogue does not hurt, that we can engage that we don't have enemies, people can disagree with us, but they are not our enemies at all and that we can make allies"."

"“We celebrate today because there are women and men who have made it possible,”"

"Every immigrant have its purpose that it is, they fill some gaps to improve the situation in Europe and also get shelter and security in terms of war situations."

"stand up, shake it up, and keep going."

"At one point in life, we are migrants or refugees, if not us, our great grand-parents. What is important is that everyone is treated with the dignity of a human person."

"The future of human rights is optimistic. If I look back to fifty years ago, before the declaration of human rights, and look forward to what is happening now, it is true that we made progress. Humanity is dynamic and continuously changing, for example, the entertainment and advertising industry is totally changing our mindsets. I think that human rights laws are making a lot of work but the basic challenge should be NGOs, community-based organisations, inter-governmental agencies. We should not think about human rights in terms of what can we gain from them, but in terms of what we can give to them."

"The possibility of establishing a positive and constructive dialogue is that You do not fight ideology and extremists with weapons. We cannot defeat them with drones, I think we can do more than that. We have to get other strategies and tactics."

"I had a focus. What is your focus? ... You will be tested. What should you do? We don’t know. You are going into a new world order that you may be defining."

"Spread your wings. Soar like an eagle. May the wind be behind you. May the sun be in front of you on your face and may you fly."

"I hope every ladies see themselves as Great."

"One thing I want my girls to hold onto is, regardless of where they are coming from, they can make it..."

"I believe you can still find diamonds in these places"

"Technology is a space that's dominated by men. Why should we leave that to guys? I believe girls need opportunities."

"Most girls are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. Many of them are not thinking education, a plan for the future... They need to be shown another life"

"You can imagine the kind of brilliance we have in people, but you never discover or see them if you don't give them opportunities to shine."

"Makoko is a case study, isn't something you can fully understand. It took me a while to understand a lot of things about what goes on in that place."

"I know that I want to make sure that I do everything I can to get justice for those people, and it’s beyond justice now. I’m looking at a full-on reform if it’s the last thing I do."

"The same future that they say is in the hands of the leaders of tomorrow, but what we have tomorrow are recycled leaders of today who have failed to provide an enabling environment for young leaders to thrive and contribute. But they chose, instead to kill us all off one by one."

"Our leaders are afraid; it is as simple as that. They are afraid of a thinking, innovative, and collaborative working Nigeria. They are afraid of every young Nigerian who, against all odds, has made it for themselves."

"The Nigerian Minister for Information, our very own spin doctor, his first name is ‘Lie’."

"The Nigerian Army called the shooting fake and I had made the whole thing up with a green screen. Yes, I have plans of going to Hollywood after this speech."

"You and l are most likely to die before these our leaders. With all the money that they’ve stolen, these leaders have access to the best medical care, but what can you and l brag of?"

"What started as a protest against police brutality, especially the unit called SARS, unfortunately just degenerated into something I still find it hard to reconcile within my heart."

"The best thing we can do if people can't make it home, we will sit still, don't do anything, don't move, we will sit still and would sleep over till night. It was at the toll gate."

"We got information that the Governor wanted to see me and six other people. And I remember saying to them that we have no leader if the governor wanted to speak to us, he should kindly come to the tollgate and address Nigerians because we've been out for over 11 days."

"Another member that was standing behind me came up to me and said someone is taking out the cameras from the toll gate. And I said: do you recognize who, because we had, I think, the real heart of Nigerians there. We did not destroy anything. Except for Graffiti. We did not take anything, we did not take anything from the toll gate we cleaned up after ourselves. So we wanted to be sure it wasn't happening, it wasn't a protester that was doing that. And then we found out that it was one of their staff, you know, we have the LCC uniform. Those are the people that manage the toll gate. We took a picture just to keep and to sort of use as proof that we didn't destroy or take anything. And then we realized that the big billboard that is over the toll gate had been turned off. And so just before 7, it was like to 7, maybe a quarter to 7 not sure of the exact time but 7. We had gunshots coming from behind. At first, it was chaotic as we didn't know where the gunshots were coming from. We didn't know what the gunshots were about. And then the lights went off. I think the rest of that is just the most tragic thing."

"For years young Nigerians like myself with interesting hairstyles, ripped jeans, iPhones, nice cars have been harassed, extorted, illegally detained, tortured, raped, and killed by the Nigerian police. Specifically, a unit of the Nigerian police called SARS."

"SARS stands for Special Anti-Robbery Squad. Trust me, it's truly a special bunch. A special breed of armed robbers in uniform. A special group and gang of rapists in the badge. A special crowd of murderers with a license to carry a gun."

"I couldn't go home to where I lived because we got reports of strange men lurking around my apartment complex."

"I witnessed protesters collaborating and helping each other protesters, giving food and water to the same police who's been killing us off every day. Others provided security, another group provided funds that were donated to them I mean in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for legal and medical attention to protesters who needed it. This is the real Nigeria."

"Lia called the shooting 'a fabrication of a massacre without bodies'. He said I was a Purveyor of fake news with the intent of tarnishing the nation's image, that I'm a terrorist."

"Corruption, tyranny, abuse of power, do not go on a break."

"Fela likens the Nigerian military to mindless zombies following idiotic orders. It was relevant then. It is relevant today. And it most likely will be relevant tomorrow in the future."

"Nigeria is home to over 200 million brothers and sisters with different cultures and tribes and faiths and beliefs; things and differences that the government has used for the longest time to pit us against each other. But the ENDSARS movement swept that away even if it was just for time being."

"Had the first Covid-19 virus, the one first identified in China last year, originated in Africa it is clear the world would have locked us away and thrown away the key, there would have been no urgency to develop vaccines because we would have been expendable. Africa would have become known as the continent of Covid-19. What is going on is inevitable and is a result of the world’s failure to vaccinate in an equitable, urgent, and speedy manner."

"We knew this was a crossroads it was going to bring us to. It was going to bring us to a variant. It was going to bring us to more dangerous variants."

"Why are we acting surprised? Why are we locking away Africa when this virus is already on three continents? Nobody is locking away Belgium and Israel. Why are we locking away Africa? It is wrong and it is time our African leaders stand up and find their voice."

"Children who learnt bullying from home and their peers will eventually be shielded by their parents and where they cannot justify the actions of their wards, they will ferry them to safety."

"I would want to see women go actively into politics, and by politics, I do not mean by appointment alone. I will like to see women run for office so that they can be in a better position to effect more change as against just being appointed into political offices, which is good in itself."

"All these terrorist groups are walking around with the same agenda. They may believe differently, but it’s the same agenda. They’re anti-all of us."

"I’m disgusted when I hear some of our current public officials excuse their non-performance on Sabotage."

"I laugh again not in humour at the seeming punishment of the staffs who participated in the padding of our 2016 budget."

"As a religious person, you are subject to the commandment of God and as a Nigerian, you are subject to the laws of the land whether you like it."

"They’re not girls who have social status. Their parents are not economically well off, she said. “But I can tell you, if any one of those girls belonged to a government official, they’d be found."

"What got me really enraged was the fact our government hadn’t said a word because they didn’t believe the girls were taken,” she said. “They didn’t say anything until about 19 days after."

"What we fail to realize as humans is that our world may be large, but we’re all just in a small cup,” she said. “What affects one person affects every single one of us."

"Please do not push your luck in challenging the status quo or seeking to insist on your high ground, it is a proven means of soliciting for your middle name."

"I don’t think that the word leader has to do with a particular talent or a particular field.A leader is a leader, and this cuts across in different ways."

"We live in a world where women are abused daily and are unable to speak up. One out of four women experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. This crime can take place at anytime and can happen to anyone regardless of tribe, religion or social class. Sadly, the society’s response to this heinous crime has led victims to believe that silence is the best option. However, Speaking up is our greatest weapon in this fight against sexual violence."

"No child should be out of school or limited due to a disability."

"Disability is not the making of the person living with a disability... Disability is not taboo."

"I didn’t just want to document: I wanted to fully understand what I was documenting. I wanted to be very aware of how you take photographs in certain situations; not to expose people, and to try to present the narrative you want without making it into a spectacle of a human being in suffering. That is why I see myself as a visual scholar. I need to understand the aspects of what I am working with."

"The first thing I would say is to understand there is a history of activism, of the arts, and literature and to keep that in mind and not discard the past and what people did. It is important to learn about the past and build on it. That is quite important to understand. Ageism is still very prominent in how people speak, write, and create their ideas, particularly on social media. I would say the first thing is to look at the past and build on it and respect it, just as I respect what is happening now and what young people are doing."

"You can’t change anything if you don’t have imagination... Don’t let the oppressor dictate the narrative. I think we have the tendency to react to the oppressors’ narrative and really we should be dictating our own narrative. That is something I learned: sometimes we focus on them rather than what we ought to change in ourselves. They are there to distract us from what we need to do."

"People need to understand we are invested in the future and how that future will be."

"Caught between Western imperialism, African patriarchy and religious fascism, the continent’s gay community needs a strong, articulate set of voices. This is a work of African resistance that boldly states: We are here, and we are many!"

"I want to resist the “African homosexual” as an empirical figure waiting to be discovered or, through NGO and international interventions, to be created and saved"

"We cannot self-care our way out of a mentally unhealthy environment."

"Intentionally make time for activities that boost your mood."

"Women with mental health conditions like myself have something to say and we are being heard. It’s empowering!."

""If I do not speak up, one more person will have to live in shame and fear of stigma.”"

""What I hear the most is that people need understanding. … They want to know their stories were valid, their opinions mattered, and that is what gave me purpose.”"

""When my condition is not seen as something that is wrong with me but as a set of qualities that my environment is yet to adapt to, people with mental-health conditions are no longer seen as a problem that needs to be fixed.”"

""The best way for us to protect our mental space is to understand it, and know that mental health is not abstract. … When things are going on around you, within you, there are thoughts that fly through your mind and those thoughts trigger certain kind of emotions.”"

""Don’t wait till you have a mental breakdown before you seek help. … If you’re wondering whether or not you should seek help for something, that’s exactly the right time to seek help.”"

"I am not scared of lifting other women up. As long as I wear the crown, no one can take my throne."

"You can’t boldly say you have succeeded in life till you help someone who can never pay you back."

"I LOVE YOU: Even the toughest man will melt a bit when his partner professes their love for him. They love hearing we love them. Also, they like hugs, kisses and cuddling too. Even a nicely-worded email or text message will work"

"YOU ARE MY DAD: It’s less of an ego-boost as it is a verbalization of respect. It’s a testament to both our efforts and our priorities – which are the woman and her well-being."

"I APPRECIATE YOU AS A MAN: Men need to feel like men.. It has everything to do with knowing that their partner appreciates something about their character (honesty, integrity, selflessness, etc.) or something else."

"I RESPECT YOU: As men age, They have less of a need to be recognized for selfish reasons . This feeling is replaced by the need to feel respected out of love. They love feeling admired and respected from the people who love and care about them!."

"I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DO: Men need to feel like they are good providers for the people they love. If they believe anything less, they don’t perceive themselves as the man they should be. As such, when they are told that you’re thankful for their hard work, effort, and for providing, it means a tremendous deal to them."

"YOU LOOK GREAT: This one’s a no-brainer, right? After spending a significant amount in a relationship, they still love hearing that our partner finds them attractive. This is particularly the case if they’ve been putting in some time at the gym. Your compliments serve as a reward for their hard work and as motivation to keep them going."

"I TRUST YOU: There are fewer things more sacred than trusting someone with your life. When you’re in a relationship, this is an essential truth. Here’s a bit of advice from Georgianna Donadio, Ph.D., “The best time to share your feelings (is) just before or during close intimacy. At that time, levels of oxytocin, a hormone that enhances feelings of trust, love and intimacy, are elevated, making it the best moment to love talk with your partner."

"I'M LISTENING: Men and women communicate very differently. For example, in an argument, a woman is usually more willing to sit down and have a dialogue. The man often feels an inclination to seek solitude to think things over or distract himself. They do love hearing “I’m listening” or “I’m ready to listen when you’re ready to talk” in any case."

"THANK YOU: Similar to women, men appreciate recognition for efforts small and little. “Thank you” is a straightforward yet powerful phrase that shows them your appreciation for what they do. (Here’s a tip, ladies: if you say “Thank you” on a regular basis for something they do, they are much more likely to do it again.)"

"When men and women combine and form close bonds, we’re stronger and more effective, like a bundle of broomsticks connected together by a single cord."

"I am not saying we should disregard sex differences, i am only advocating that boys and girls be given equal opportunities to develop themselves as standing up straight to pee doesn’t necessarily make anybody smarter, or dumber."

"I don’t think we would have been so hard on the woman if we stopped tying acts of service to gender."

"I love my femininity and would always embrace and enhance as best I can, but I believe that shouldn’t box me or constrain me to a set of rules."

"I am all out for teaching young girls and inspiring women to break away from age-long societal norms, constructs, and stereotypes that have limited their progress by showing them that they can do anything and be whomever they choose to be regardless of society’s dictates."

"Being a gender advocate is definitely not for the faint hearted."

"The educational institution, as a citadel of learning, should not be a place where societal constructs are amplified or embraced."

"In 5 years I believe that we will be showcasing a lot of lucrative innovations that were created by Africans for Africa."

"We have a strategic role to play in breaking that financial and growth ceiling."

"Start wherever you are and just do your little bit and that little will match up with somebody else little bit. Before you know it we have a wide level of impact."

"we will get more funding and financing if we collaborate because we will prove that Africa is the place where people should invest."

"So many people struggle with where do I start from even when they want to make a difference."

"Women are way ahead of men in terms of wanting to be social change makers."

"If your voice is not part of shaping what black philanthropy is, we will be impacted by what other people develop."

"Despite the overwhelming pushback against gender equality, I encourage young women and girls to remain resilient and hopeful for the holistic change we are working to create."

"I anticipate a day in my lifetime when women and girls can thrive and take up space in all socioeconomic and political spheres of society without fear of violence."

"I call on governments, policymakers, and other key stakeholders to prioritize the rights and well-being of women and girls in COVID response plans."

"Despite the challenges to women’s and girls’ empowerment, young women and girls must remain resilient and hopeful for the holistic change we are working to create."

"I am a lawyer (in equity), vocal girls’ rights advocate, and an unapologetic feminist."

"My doting parents raised me to believe in Gender Equality."

"Feminism is the translucent lens through which I view all individuals – EQUAL, regardless of gender."

"I am a Woman of Rubies because of the passion I exude and my commitment to purposeful living"

"I strongly believe we have hope of properly tackling corruption in Nigeria."

"We need to stop tolerating and celebrating unexplained wealth."

"Our votes are our power, they are not for sale."

"One of the easiest ways to liberate women is also to come up with legal jurisprudence that can help in promoting the rights of women."

"We will not achieve anything as a group of women if we don’t have a strong movement."

"For Nigeria to be better, for Nigeria to be able to get its place in the world, Nigeria must address the gender question. If we don’t, we’ll remain where we are."

"The process of feminism is a process of learning, nobody was born a feminist, people grew up to learn feminism."

"Feminism should also allow people to make choices on areas they think they believe in while we try as much as possible to convince them on those other areas that we think are non-negotiable in conversations of feminism."

"Within a short period of time the reality of life would make people to understand that feminist solidarity is important, it’s key and it’s a solution to the global problem."

"People had been turning to witchcraft because of the mistaken belief that using their body parts in potions can bring good luck and wealth."

"While we have come very far in the fight against these heinous acts, the road ahead remains long and arduous."

"Women generally speak the same language – silence, and breaking this culture is what a few women have tried to do. A lot of women are not empowered and they allow themselves to be used by politicians as cheer leaders. They bring them to clap at political rallies."

"When there is justice, fairness and equity. When human rights are guaranteed and when the system works."

"This is unacceptable! Nigeria is a democratic country under the law and not a dictatorship or banana republic."

"Freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom of movement are some of the fundamental human rights granted to Nigerian citizens by the 1999 Constitution as amended... We, therefore, condemn the shooting of Sowore as barbaric and an infringement of his rights under the law."

"It is very, very important that in as much as we try to protect the rights of those who believe in same-sex marriage, we still have to let them understand the consequences in terms of the health hazards and all that, but, if it is their own choice, there is really nothing one can do about it."

"It is so obvious that the Nigerian society is not committed to the wellbeing of the girl child going by the spate of sexual violence on girl children in recent time and the high level of abandonment and threat to the education and health of the girl child."

"There is no country that can prosper if a quarter of its population is left behind. And the wellbeing of girls amounts to the wellbeing of the country."

"Education still remains the quickest way to liberate a mind and no amount of talk can do this if we fail to educate the girl child. I also believe that laws protecting the girl child must not only be enacted but must also be enforced. And we must ensure compliance."

"I believe there is power in the words that we say, and our words have enough creative power such that what we say and believe in our minds & hearts shape our reality."

"I believe in Nigeria’s potential to truly be a great nation; the giant of Africa and indeed, a giant in the world."

"Citizens who understand the power they have to elect and hold those in public office accountable can truly move mountains!"

"I believe very deeply that Nigeria should and will be great. I believe I deserve better."

"We must stop looking outside of ourselves for a messiah but look inward, making a conscious decision to play our parts in the puzzle."

"I love putting people on especially black people and especially black women."

"Telling engaging African Stories brings me joy."

"Everyone has a different experience in their various African countries and every one of those experiences is real."

"I absolutely love to see young people realize that their voices matter own that power and use their voices responsibly."

"We all matter and deserve to be treated with human dignity and respect regardless of age and other discriminating factors."

"A feminist leader is empathetic and understands the importance of intersectionality."

"Employ more women into leadership roles and pay women fairly; be willing to unlearn biases and listen to constructive feedback - then effect change; and be conscious of intersectionality."

"You need to define your voice, your community and what your brand represents before hiring a PR Firm."

"What are you using the opportunity to do? What have you done for your people? Now you have an opportunity, can’t you utilise and invest in the life of people, not just people only that are around you but those in the community and constituency on behalf of your husband."

"My husband Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the DG Campaign for the president is working tirelessly but I want you even when this programme is over to pray for him because of the too many eyes that are on him not by any fault of his but because Gods favour is upon him. That the will of God will be done in Nigeria and that no man will take his position or take away what belongs to him."

"That is one moment I really do not always like to remember, but in all, God is faithful. To be very honest, it was a fine moment because it just came suddenly and I could not believe that we were in that position."

"The foundation has established an entrepreneur school which has over 9 departments, so we have trained people in other departments like fashion design, making of soap and cream, mechanical engineering and business management."

"I would like to express our profound gratitude for the continuous cooperation of our sponsors. A combination of their vital support have remained the driving force behind the success of our training and other programmes. We need your support, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, with your support, the number of trainees can be over 100 instead of 100 that it is today. I will now focus all my energy towards building and expanding the empowerment coverage of the ESI."

"Beyond political power, let us allow the power of God to reign supreme in our lives for our children to have the right direction."

"This centre will be built under the platform of Rivers State Women Association of Nigeria (RIVWAN) and will provide the enabling infrastructure and support for developing local content of our women."

"No leader should forfeit the future of younger generation."

"As youths, we are a powerful force and our actions can make a huge difference."

"Wherever there are security issues arising from the environment, the women are always the default victims."

"I believe education is a powerful weapon that we can use to conquer climate change."

"If international representatives don’t recognize the current dangers of climate change in African countries, there will be global repercussions."

"I have to take action because it is about my future and the future of other young people like me. We have to demand for urgent action from them. It is our right; we deserve to live in a healthy and egalitarian planet"

"We have less than 12 years from now to take immediate action on the climate crisis. If we fail to do so by 2050, we are heading to a path of no return – our species are in danger, food production will decline and it can result in famine. Climate change is like a time-bomb"

"As youths, we are a powerful force and our actions can make a huge difference. Thus, I am calling on young people to come out en-masse and demand for [urgent] climate action from [African] leaders. It is happening all over the world, youths have the power to influence many things and make our leaders listen to us"

"I found that many people including university graduates didn’t know what climate change was about; after I engaged them they were able to understand that climate change was real and happening"

"Most African leaders have signed the Paris Climate Agreement; now it is time for our leaders to back up their commitments with urgent actions. Most times, our leaders don’t take immediate actions – not until things have gone beyond control. As the days pass by, we are approaching 2050 – a point of no return – and the elastic limit of climate action. We must act now"

"No one is immune to the climate crisis. The more we delay in acting on the climate crisis, the greater the loss and damage"

"They should not play politics with the climate crisis. Now that they are in power, they should do whatever they can to act on the climate crisis. They should put people over profit rather than postponing the climate crisis into the future"

"There were these terrible clashes and people on both sides were losing everything"

"But what struck me most was how few people connected the dots. They saw the conflict as purely ethnic or religious. When in reality, it was the climate, this invisible hand, that was squeezing the life out of our land and pitting communities against each other"

"I saw that there was a need for me to take action. I began by asking myself what I could do differently. How could I champion climate action in my community and also involve more young people to begin to take action"

"If you don’t understand the problem, you can’t solve it. That’s why we’re laser-focused on climate education for young people. We’ve taken our message to schools, community gatherings and anywhere else we can find an ear"

"It’s inspiring to see the growing number of people championing climate education in Nigeria and elsewhere"

"We succeeded in bringing more young people to the climate justice space. Now we have many young people who want to do something for their communities and countries as well"

"I know first-hand how it consumes our time, which is why I identify as an ecofeminist. The water crisis disproportionately impacts women, forcing them to trek for very long distances. This hinders our self-empowerment and steals opportunities"

"Women have a lot to give – we cannot solve the climate crisis without women"

"We’ve equipped over 10,000 women with the necessary resources – organic fertilisers, indigenous seedlings, and tools – to become game-changers, channelling their traditional knowledge towards environmental conservation"

"Keep striving, keep dreaming. We are all working together towards a more sustainable, equitable future. The future we envision is within reach, and each action, each voice, is important. That is my message"

"Start locally, find ways to raise your profile, and utilise social media to amplify your efforts. Remember, the real impact of your work is what truly resonates"

"As women, regardless of our class, geographical location or educational status, we should be aware that we do not operate in a vacuum. We function within a context of patriarchal norms and values, which have been firmly entrenched over time, and which continue to be validated through culture, traditions and religious beliefs."

"Ekiti State became the first State in the country to domesticate the National Gender Policy."

"It is about squandering the commonwealth of the people, ostensibly for the benefit of the people but ultimately for the good of only a select few."

"Sadly, the combination of poverty and ignorance is toxic and deadly."

"Ultimately, it is the fabric that binds us together as a community of people that will unravel, when we can no longer talk to one another in civility, when young people can abuse their elders at will in the anonymity of cyber space, and when reputations built over years of hard work and service get tarnished with one stroke of the keys."

"We need to keep mentoring young women in ways that nurture them and prepare them for the harsh world of business, politics and public life. In doing this, we need to be able to set an example for them because they will practice what they see and not what they hear from us."

"All of us here have a sphere of influence we can operate from. Let us use our spaces wisely and purposefully. Let us all rise and set our sights on all the great things we know we can accomplish. Let us stop being complacent. Let us move out of our comfort zones. Let us stop passing things on to the next person. You are the person. You are the change."

"I have always held the firm conviction that Africans has the most generous communities in the world, and our culture of local philanthropy is very strong. It is not what we acquire a result of influences from elsewhere.The very rich tradition of indigenous philanthropy therefore should be nurtured to enable us create lasting Institutions and structure for the sustainable growth and development of our communities."

"....The talent is here. The opportunities aren't. And it is the opportunities that foster growth."

"Poetry has been an instrument of change and revolution since it existed. It is protest and defiance and celebration and a love anthem. It is how we communicate so of course it is also how we enact change."

"It is the poets who tell the stories in a rhythm that forces the masses and the aristocracy to listen."

"Poetry, and art in general, allows us to take what is around us and set it on fire. It is the tool we use to enact and document change."

"I don’t profess to be any one religion, I think all religions are flawed because people are flawed. But we have the potential and capacity to be bigger than our flaws."

"There is a new discipline that is called Fundamental Studies and this is an area where you think deeply about the origin of things. You don’t deal with effects; you deal with causes."

"I am a humanist, and as a humanist, anything concerning the human condition, the progress of man, civilisation, the human thinking, knowledge especially, are some of the things that I take very personally."

"After the publication of the book, I was sponsored to visit the U.S. as part of the international visitors program. The USIS (United States Information Service) in Nigeria organised for me to travel to several U.S. universities to give lectures and do readings from my work."

"You have to plant all the seed, give them all the knowledge you have, and all the love you can give; make sure that they know love from you so that they can extend it to others in their life."

"I’m not a feminist, I’m a humanist. Being in Women studies and being in African Studies and being a woman, you often find this discussion coming to you."

"The thing is that any work of art that has something in it will always challenge people: Some, in one respect; the others, in another respect. But you will find out that people keep on going back to that work because there is always something challenging in it."

"Because thinkers are those people who are able to pierce into the future and catch glimpses of light and bring it down. Many people do not often see what you are seeing until years and years later."

"The new thing I want to add to knowledge is: I want to connect culture and education, science and technology. I have seen the link between culture and science, culture and education, culture and technology, and that’s what I think I can establish."

"Yes, the gods knew what they were doing. They always joined together in marriage people of opposing qualities and thus ensured harmony."

"We women leaders must rise up to the task of reshaping our country by providing our intuitive ideas to support the developmental ideals of Nigeria."

"We must endeavour to raise good children and of course inspire them to do the same to their children. Through this, we shall raise a generation of conscientious leaders who will have the fear of God in them to do all the needful to develop our dear Nation."

"..….let me point out that nothing can be achieved without the following: a clear vision, burning desire, an unquenchable passion and corresponding actions."

"When I started, so many people did not understand and asked questions like how can human beings be trafficked? Many people were taken aback and not until when the real thing started. The moment I started it, the Italian government were very impressed and they started repatriating our girls back to Nigeria. The first batch of girls that were repatriated were 70 and were accompanied by 140 Policemen because these children were very reluctant, they enjoyed the life out there and didn’t want to go back home and it was something else and since then we brought it to the front burner of the government and work started and that is how WOTCLEF came about."

""WOTCLEF is my fervent prayer, dream and aspiration to restore human dignity"."

""In WOTCLEF, we have strategies we use to accomplish our mission, through sensitization, we create awareness, and we assist the trafficked victims and the vulnerable persons, and we rehabilitate and we re-integrate them into the society and even with their parents or guardians, we bring them together all to re-integrate them back into society. Apart from advocacy, we do capacity building for these children, we partner with stakeholders, both national and international agencies and the work is very easy for us. Through this WOTCLEF has earned accolades in the United Nations (UN). We have a seat at the UN and if they are having any discussions or forum on women trafficking or child labour, we are invited to come and have a say in whatever they are doing"."

""So amazed, I asked if this is what these people do to these children so it hurt my feelings and I said to my God given self that one day, when I am in position, I will help these young vulnerable children"."

"It's just that climate change has become integrated into all the other aspects. There’s no way you will address the issues of environment, governance, or peace and conflict transformation without bringing in climate change."

"I might be in Abuja but I like to touch the lives of these women out there because when you touch the life of one woman, you have touched the lives of a whole family."

"You have to understand the terms gender, justice before you can talk about environmental justice."

"..Talking about environmental justice, we are looking at the root causes of these issues; we are looking at system change. If we can change the system, the climate will change naturally."

"Climate change does not know the face of a woman, man, rich, or even the poor. We need to take environmental issues seriously. We need to plant trees; we need to make policies that touch human beings; we need to stop burning our bushes. The issue of wildlife is very important because we need to coexist with our nature."

"When the young people are not placed strategically to address the challenges especially environmental and climate change, then that nation is doomed. Young people are the strength of this nation; it is also, therefore very, imperative that youth can be pivotal to building social collation, economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability."

"I would have become a prostitute, but I became restless and challenged destiny. Your life cannot change for the better if you don’t challenge destiny. Even God challenged destiny"

"It is not enough to say I have the passion and the talent. It’s not even enough to say I have been trained. It takes much more than these to be a grounded actor. And people need to stop some of the things they do, especially when at the end of one reality programme, every participant automatically becomes part of Nollywood. Values such as excellence seem not to matter anymore with awards and recognitions being handed out to just anybody. If we would take care of such things and reward excellence instead of mediocrity, then people would come around to say that we have grown. On the average, I really think we have grown"

"If I say I am satisfied, it means we should not do anything more. If I say I am not satisfied, it will look as if I am greedy. I don’t know where to stand but I think we can do better than we are doing right now. I think we need to discipline ourselves. It’s about commitment. We need to be more committed to serving the people we represent and serving the people who stick with us. I think we need to do more"

"Well, I am a very open person. My private life is my private life; it is what it is. Outside of that, I am not a scandalous person. I don’t like scandals. It’s not by luck, it’s about how I carry myself and how I do the things I do. If you respect yourself, others would respect you. I don’t know any other way that it’s done. I am the same way with everybody. I have too much love inside of me and I have enough to share."

"Once an artiste, always an artiste. I am not just one of the talented ones; I am also one of the skilled ones, having attended series of training while I have also garnered experience. It is easy to get back to what you have always loved. I guess that’s why and when people know that you have the capacity to do your work and do it well, you don’t have to ask for respect. Respect would find you."

"We all need support and if you can give it go ahead. Do it and be grateful to God that you have been presented an opportunity to be a blessing to another person. God will truly reward you for every gift you give to the poor…the yam sure will put food in their pots…but this is not acceptable, this is not giving! #stoptheabuse #stoptheabuseofwomen."

"enoughisenough. Justice is not just ice. Stop throwing the cases and the victims into the freezers until they become ice. We can’t keep burying our children because those who are supposed to be protecting us are busy questioning and blaming the victims."

"Sometimes when I think of what people that sit in committees come up with, I wonder what runs in their veins. Blood or water? Because they react like people who don’t feel the pain of others."

"Our silent environmentalists, as I like to call them, deserve to be integrated into a system where their economic and social security is enhanced to ensure no one is left behind and the furthest behind are reached first."

"Nigerian informal waste workers’ plight is quite pathetic and the job they do is an essential job because, without them, we will all be living on dumpsites"

"We need good governance that puts women at the centre of its policies, and is seen to defend and enforce these policies. We need an enabling environment that supports women at home, in the workplace and in public spheres."

"Many times, people will tell you it is impossible, it can’t be done, you are too small or too inconsequential to make change happen. Look them in the face and show them just how to do it."

"No one said it’s going to be easy, the only assurance is that the difficult times won’t last forever. Never give up on your passion, follow your dreams, keep lighting up the world."

"You and I, we have a role to play in that. We’re the ones who share the content. We’re the ones who share the stories online. In this day and age, we’re the publishers. And we have responsibilities. In my job as a journalist, I check and verify. I trust my gusts but I ask tough questions. Why is this person telling me this story? What do they have to gain by sharing this information? Do they have a hidden agenda? I really believe we must all begin to ask tougher questions of information we discover online. Research shows that some of us don’t even read beyond headlines but we share stories."

"What if we stop taking information that we discover as face value? What if we stop to think about the consequence of the information that we pass on and its potential to incite violence or hatred? What if we stop to think about the real-life consequences of the information that we share?"

"The Chibok girls are a symbol; a symbol of the women; of all the girls that have been stolen by Boko Haram."

"Every journalist has a story that defines them. For me, it’s one of the stories I would find very hard to let go as long as the girls are in Boko Haram captivity."

"Sitting in a developed country and complaining about Nigeria is not really going to make things happen. I have to be here do what I can, to help it develop, I feel my role is to highlight the story that needs to be told; shed light on things that needs to be exposed. These are things that drive me."

"My role is to say, there are problem here like everywhere in the world, we need to show a different tide, and we need to show people who are making impact, people who are making great things here."

"In the Uk, people wear jeans and top, sometimes, no make up, and off they go. But here, everybody pays attention to what you wear and how you look. Here, people take pride in how they dress. Here, it is dress how you want to be addressed but in the UK there is nothing like that."

"As a woman, you can’t limit yourself, the ages of limitations are definitely gone so, do it."

"Nigerian women rock! The can-do spirit and general tenacity in the face of adversity is something to be admired. From the market woman selling her wares to the women at the height of their careers, I am full of admiration of how Nigerian women manage to make things happen, sometimes with very little."

"There’s something about this place that just grabs you and sucks you in. The energy is off the charts and I think that is what attracts people here."

"Practice your craft daily. Watch those you admire, follow their steps, and emulate them. But you must start. Create your own opportunities."

"We want to engage with the audience where they are, on mobile, on social, and also for those who are not connected online, on television. So it’s a multi-faceted, multi-platform approach using digital storytelling tools to tell African stories in a new way."

"We are a news network and we report the news as it happens. We must tell the stories we find."

"I came to Nigeria determined to make the most of an amazing career opportunity in a place that is home in my heart. You have to roll with the punches."

"Everything is about the mindset, I find. I choose to remain positive, even in the face of challenges. It’s not easy but it’s an attitude I find gets me through tough times."

"People share things innocently believing that it is true but that is how fake news is spread, through inattention and lack of verifying. Check that it is from a credible news source before sharing something online."

"Your life journey will take you on many different paths but you will end up where you are supposed to in the end. Trust the process. Pray always and don’t lose your humanity or compromise who you are in a bid to get to the top."

"Parents have their own timeline for your life. You must create and embrace yours and BE HAPPY with your choices."

"The sadness of an unhappy marriage and home seeps into your soul. It is crushing and turns you into a shell of who you are."

"Some men have funny ideas of how you should act on a date."

"Even if you don’t feel like you belong, you have to keep going. Don’t let the feeling of insecurity hold you back."

"There’s no sliding scale of equality. We are all humans and deserve the same level of humanity."

"Every human being has autonomy, whether in a marriage or a single people. That you are married does not take out your human right."

"Just speak out. You owe it to yourself and to no one, whenever you are able to share your story or even to say I need help. There is absolutely freedom in asking for help. There is no shame and no self-guilt."

"The Nigerian policemen and women are a representation of our society. And until our society begins to push back, against their violence and saying no more will you disrespect our women and girls then, of course, our society’s silence emboldens the culture of abuse against women."

"What we need to do as individuals is to continue to educate people on the importance of respecting women’s rights. We need to hold people accountable."

"We live in a country that is wearing a veil of silence."

"...guarding yourself against partnerships that want to suck the life out of you not because they share the same value, but because they like the fame you’re getting. So you need to be discerning in terms of working with people."

"Take care of your own mental health and well being because that is very important."

".....there’s nothing impossible to do except you don’t just have the will to do it."

"Mental health is not for ‘mad people’. It is basically your psychological and emotional wellbeing."

"I would just ask them to go for it. It’s your space and your industry too, and we’re privileged and honoured to be paving the way for you, so do it. For so long, women have deferred to societal norms and practices that dictate that technology is for men. It’s not. Women are doing amazing in tech, maybe even better than men. So, please come on board, follow your dreams"

"When I started, I thought it was impossible, probably because there were not enough women just breaking down the barriers.I consider it an honour to be here, in tech, doing what I’m doing today; and I desperately want to see more women and girls just come into their own."

"Embrace failure and be ready for it: it will happen at some point, so it just depends on what you do with it."

"Why not empower people that make up half of the world’s population? They are human beings. But if we did need a reason, it would be that there are statistics that show that the empowerment of girls and women is always to the betterment of any economy. And there are social reasons. You empower a girl, she pays it forward, you empower anyone, they pay it forward. So why not?"

"I thought that it was interesting how young people were going to be able to contribute to the future of Nigeria… I can only say that I was taking a chance on being a viable part."

"It's a lot of work to start and grow a business in this climate. Some of the challenges include the regulations and a lack of adequate infrastructure, We know for sure that there is talent in Nigeria."

"move out of the way so we can work. I like rules and when they are clear, you know what is right and what is wrong. The problem we have is that a lot of the rules are grey, and innovation moves faster than regulations."

"I just feel a sense of duty in that I am one woman who’s had it relatively easy. I have a strong support system and I think that there's been a healthy amount of luck involved in where I am today. Where we started from, where the journey has gone—right place, right time, and all that."

"My co-founders are probably the best I could have met because they don't hold me back. They allow me to be the full expression of who I am and so did my parents, so did my siblings. So, I have gone through life surrounded by people who allowed me to be who I am. It doesn't seem like that for all women, but it should."

"For me, the mission is that all women should be included, and I feel I have a responsibility to bring more women in."

"Women need to stay steady, know who they are and where they are going."

"A feminist leader will recognize that all women and all men deserve equal opportunities to pursue fulfilling careers and lives, and put structures in place to help others live up to their potential and drive meaningful change."

"We put everything we had learned into starting up new projects like PiggyVest. So when you fail, don’t let it disturb you, instead you take all that knowledge into the next and the next, till you strike gold. I don’t want the narrative to be skewed to the positive because it is about learning from these failures, and not just assuming you can’t fail cause you probably can and you will, so don’t stop. I will fail, stumble but I will get up to find solutions. Keep moving forward because the successful ones are built on the ashes of those failed ones."

"“Aim very high. Work very hard. Care very deeply.**"

"Set ambitious goals, dedicate yourself to relentless effort and show genuine care in your endeavours. This combination of aspiration, hard work and heartfelt commitment is a recipe for meaningful achievement."

"Keep working hard, keep building. Eventually, the world will recognise your worth."

"Aim very high. Work very hard. Care very deeply.” This principle, inspired by her father, underscores her approach to entrepreneurship—setting bold goals, dedicating effort, and maintaining empathy and integrity"

"When you have a problem, the problem is there, and it’s not going to go away. You can cry, you can be sad, but the problem will still be there.”"

"We’re not just building tech. We’re building systems that allow people to dream again—women, young people, the underserved.”"

"You were born a woman, you don’t have any control over that so you have to make the best of it.”"

"I think that women hear a lot of ‘Don't quit’ or ‘Speak up’. Women have been working and pushing, so perhaps, it's time to speak to the other part of the table: Give Women Capital."

"“The biggest resource for you outside of school is Google.”"

"I invest in capital markets because I learnt it from Google, I invest financially because I learnt it from edX, open source technology and you being able to pick up digital skills are going to be key.”"

"I think it’s easier than most people think to get women talking about and interested in those kinds of topics. You just have to meet them at the point of their needs, figure out what they’d be interested in, and consider what angle we should approach this from. When I was studying, we had women who were willingly studying engineering, and at every stage in my life, I have been able to point to women in the sciences. So while there are cultural and societal pressures not to go into fields perceived to be dominated by men, I think that there are women who are there and are making great names for themselves—across banking, fintech, and many other fields. That’s the kind of representation we need."

"“Solve the problems you see around you.”"

"It is a great pleasure for me to be here this evening, and to share in the joy of this celebration of womanhood. I will like to thank the publishers of People State and Resource Magazine, not only for instituting these awards in honour of women, but also for nominating me for the PSR Woman of Merit Gold Award."

"I thank you for your thoughtfulness and courage, even in the face of relentless denial of the contribution of women to national development. I am encouraged that a specialized publication like the PSR has come out to make this bold statement. The role of women in development can no longer be considered as marginal or supplementary."

"Women constitute slightly more than half of the population of our country. This automatically means that more than 50 percent of Nigeria’s potential workforce is made up of women."

"I, therefore, will like to affirm that it would amount to foolishness of a rather high degree, to ignore this enormous resource base. In a developing economy such as ours, every national development plan or programme ought to be anchored on the improvement of the productive capacity of the workforce."

"At the micro-level, it is very evident today that one-income families are faring much worse than families in which both husband and wife are engaged in productive economic activities. Indeed, the harsh realities of objective economic circumstances have forced many to reconsider that infamous cliché that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. A great many men have become sufficiently humble, enough to ask their wives to come to their rescue so that the kitchen can remain functional."

"I want to charge you with the responsibility of championing the cause of peace in your state. You must do all in your power, individually and collectively to ensure that the recent reports of violence in your State are also the very last."

"Things will continue to deteriorate in the country unless more women were allowed to participate in governance."

"Youths are the future of the nation and only the foolish will neglect giving them attention."

"Even if you cannot relocate to Nigeria immediately, visit home to see in which way you can lend us a helping hand in rebuilding the country."

"Being a First Lady, I do not see it as an avenue to be arrogant. First Lady is just another form of public office … I see this opportunity as a call to service not for personal aggrandizement at all."

"Indeed, as you mourn her passing away, please also remember to celebrate her life. That is how she would like to be remembered."

"After the internment, I decided to look into the circumstances of her (Stella Obasanjo) death. I found that part of her 60th birthday anniversary, which was unknown to me, was her operation for her tummy and her shape."

"Before the verdict in Spain, I was unaware of what I came to hear later that I might have caused the death of my wife (Stella Obasanjo) to sacrifice her for success in my job. That is how wicked and satanic some Nigerians can be in their rumours and mischief."

"Don’t Ever Look Down On Anyone"

"There is a certain standard that women are placed on, much higher than men. Why is it that when it’s a woman it’s like so much more dramatic and quite frankly irritating?"

"Social media has been helpful because you can use social media to get information for stories and can use social media to gather data."

"The world is constantly changing and you have to find the best way to tell your story, sometimes you might find that text is perfectly fine but other times you might need to make it into a podcast or an audio version, it really depends on what the story needs"

"Podcasting is still a concept that people are getting used to, especially in Africa. Podcasting is difficult because people still think it’s radio and you need an internet connection to listen to an episode."

"You need to be open-minded, when you start you will start off doing work that you don’t really enjoy because you need to grab as many skills as possible."

"If you claim to be telling the stories of African women and you don’t document the bad experiences, then you won’t be honest in your coverage of women, because those bad and terrible experiences are the realities of many women."

"Generally, the media business not just in Nigeria, but in Africa is hard. The media has not yet hacked how to make money."

"Remi was a strong woman for us all. Her voice still echoes. She, as woman and a wife, was a binding force. She was a true team player both within the family and in her professional life. I’m sure your colleagues would tell you who she was, a team player, I repeat and the most wonderful wife any man could desire."

"She was a pillar to Nigerian journalism and the Guild. She transformed the Guild and will always be remembered."

"She was an accomplished journalist and a very serious-minded administrator. She was one journalist who got to the peak of her profession. Journalists will always remember her passion for the profession and her emphasis on ethics and professionalism."

"Mrs. Oyo was an outstanding woman, journalist and professional. She scored a lot of firsts as a journalist. She was the first female president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors(NGE)."

"She was a consummate professional and when she was working, it was a joy to watch her. The words just seemed to magically appear on the page and reading her stories gave me my first taste of real journalism."

"She was always big on giving people opportunities regardless of their gender, background or circumstances. If you truly needed help and were ready to work, she would move heaven and earth to help you."

"It was also not always about money; if she felt you were worth it, she would give you access to her network in furtherance of your goals."

"She always had a way with words and they were pretty effective. That didn’t mean she didn’t deal with us when the need arose, but once she was done, you knew that you deserved it."

"Better life for rural women."

"Everything is achievable if you put your mind to it, no matter how difficult it appears at first."

"The most important thing is where your passion lies and what your motivation is."

"qualities a young person needs, is to believe in self, develop entrepreneurial skills and learn to be assertive."

"As a young person who wants to go into development work you must not be afraid of taking risk, but calculated risk not suicidal ones."

"You don’t see problems, you see challenges, because with challenges you are ready to work around it."

"when you look at things as problems it means that nothing can be done about a situation."

"love is greater than sex, marriage is a place of peace, we must pray to have that peace."

"Undoubtedly, the education and welfare of children, who are the bedrock of the society, is key to the overall development of any nation. Nigeria not exempted. It, therefore, behooves on everyone in the private and public sector to join hands in ensuring that their children are provided the necessary education to arm them for their future development."

"It is time for women to add their voices to climate finance, not just that but for them to wake up and begin to benefit from climate finance."

"I’m grateful for being this consistent. It has been an amazing lockdown for me, I committed to a portrait a day, somedays I’m uninspired but the purpose has been the best thing for me."

"It takes time to develop a name, to develop reputation and to develop acceptance."

"Step up to the podium, embrace the light, keep your eyes steady and choose to challenge."

"When information is sent to you, it only exists if you respond or forward it to others. The more it is circulated, the more dangerous it becomes."

"Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity. It eliminates class biases and attracts and maintains favourable attention."

"Trying to be like anyone else is a recipe for failure because it is not possible. Even identical twins are different. So, keep improving your knowledge and keep practising your craft so that you can be your authentic self."

"You have to be on top of your game all the time. You have to be current, you have to consistently read and keep on practicing your pronunciation because it’s very easy to slip within an environment."

"You need to keep your mind active to know what’s happening all around you."

"We do not have to speak like the Queen, but let us aim for educated English language where the consonants and vowels sounds are well pronounced."

"You need to keep learning, read new materials all the time and learn different things, especially when you are in a situation where you are interacting with people who also want to learn from you."

"There is a process that you have to go through as a broadcaster or broadcast journalist. You have to understand that you’re a messenger and the purveyor of a message and the message is more important than the messenger."

"There is a lot of mug justice in the streets. You can walk down the road and be harassed as a gay person."

"You are not privileged and living in a safe area, you can get mugged or you can lose your life."

"If you are young and living with your parents, you need to consider that they might kick you out."

"Africa is so richly blessed with a population that is dynamic, vibrant, educated; that has energy and drive."

"Pidgin language is a language that brings people together; a language of unity; a language that cuts across divides and barriers."

"The media has a big role in people’s lives."

"Resources are always limited. It’s just about how judiciously you use them. Use them smartly, and in the best way possible, where they will have the greatest impact."

"Pidgin is a real language of opportunity across the region, spoken by millions across the West and Central African region."

"Africa is blessed with a young population, It is a young continent with many people full of energy."

"I would like to see journalism in some countries on the conticontinentnent and embrace the full potentials of new technology. There’s so much we can be doing with things like virtual reality and data – though for us to really explore the full potential of data journalism, we need more open data, and better application of the Freedom of Information Act."

"I have had instances where men try to help but end up being patronizing. The sad reality especially as a female entrepreneur is that people are less willing to invest in you because you are a woman. But it should not stop you. I try to show my daughters that they should grow up not letting their gender be an obstacle to what they really want to do."

"A natural extension of our work is to contribute to journalism training in Africa, so we will also be introducing online training materials covering a variety of areas relevant to online journalism,"

"An explicit call to the global media, especially African ones, to cover global issues without bias or discrimination, such as gender equality, culture and gender, as well as issues of the environment and global peace."

"I think there is a question of reviewing how we do journalism, for example, the focus on balance and simply presenting the facts has not really helped the current political environment. It is not just enough to present both sides anymore.So trust is not necessarily always about not trusting the facts. But more on not trusting what each media represents."

"In the wake of campaigns like the #MeToo movement, and gender pay gap scandals, networks like the African Women in the Media are important, not just so we women in the media can connect and support each other, but so we can initiate change"

"The Pitch Zone for us at AWiM is our way of putting words into action. Our research shows that allocation of resources to produce stories are often gendered in newsrooms. The reporting grant is our way of ensuring that women in media have the opportunity to produce the kind of stories that will give them the visibility and recognition they deserve"

"That hard work is great, but it’s not always appreciated, nor do you always get what you deserve as a result of it. That others won’t always appreciate you insisting on standards and what you deserve, and not being a pushover, especially as a woman."

"I wish Nigeria would copy Tanzania’s top-notch customer service and dedication to tourism. It is one area that Nigeria still hasn’t gotten right"

"Rituals serve as mechanisms for sustaining familial bonds through shared meanings and experiences, and reinforced value systems. Holidays and rituals can therefore help foster national integration by building and cementing social bonds, reinforcing common values, promoting and communicating moral and social order."

"There is no controversial journalist; every journalist puts a story out that might be too hard for some people’s ears"

"It is very common for Nigerian men to think that all a woman wants is good sex but we don’t need that to get what we want out of life."

"There are 84 million registered voters in Nigeria. 60% of them are under 30 and they don't have these biases that you're thinking. They're young and that's my power base.Those are the people that are taking me to the presidency."

"Men and women who rule us are greedy with an overwhelming degree of selfishness. They go into government simply to chop their portion of the national cake. They are into government to pay lip-service to the manifestos they give the electorate to get them voted into power."

"I am a lawyer with vast experience in legislative drafting and policy implementation. I am also a people organizer with experience leading political groups, one of which includes the formation and leadership of the now defunct political party, National Interest Party (NIP), the party upon which I stood to run for the office of President in 2019. All of these are factors I feel make me a great candidate for the position I seek."

"We must learn to state our opinions clearly, & stand by them no matter whose oxes are gored! How else do you assure the electorates that your word is your bond?!"

"If it is APC, never; I'm not going to work with them. Forget it. However, if it is PDP, AAC or absolutely any of the other parties, I'm willing to go in there and see what I can do to help us create a better Nigeria."

"We have to start making the men, women, children, the imams, the pastors and priests etc... understand that men and women are equal in the eyes of God. That is a challenge that I will have to deal with -- in terms of getting the average Nigerian to cast their vote for me."

"To me, we need contributions & views from all sides (masculine & feminine) in designing the future Nigeria."

"We need men and women from every corner of the country bound by a common objective to create a Nigeria which works for every Nigerian."

"“I believe there will be respect for human life, less nepotism, tribalism, religious fanaticism, insensitivity and outright disregard for the wishes of the Nigerian people."

"It has never been easy to reorganise or resist social norms and beliefs, but among the most difficult ones to reject are those at the root of the social system known as patriarchy. This system relies on a few core ideas to perpetuate itself, two of which are that gender is a fixed binary, and women are the inferior parties within it."

"Transgender and gender non-conforming people know things about gender that most cisgender folks are light years away from realising. To survive unequal realities, marginalised folks often cultivate deep knowledge of how these realities actually function."

"Unfortunately, hierarchies of human value also create hierarchies of knowledge. The people most likely to be marginalised by unjust social systems – and thus best placed to really understand them – are also those least likely to be considered credible “experts” on the subject. This is particularly true because the knowledge gleaned from marginalisation is invariably threatening to the system that produces it."

"To create hierarchies of humanity, we must distort people. Dehumanisation thrives by making it difficult for those considered less than human to know themselves, or be properly known by others. The systems that produce racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and classism are built on such distortions. They are then maintained by ensuring that the distorted version of the dehumanised group is framed as “who they really are”. This type of misinformation is necessary for maintaining injustice. As long as we remain wilfully ignorant of who marginalised people are, we can claim legitimacy in denying their rights, dignity, and humanity. It’s the perfect vanishing spell."

"Luckily, we don’t have to know everything about everyone’s realities to respect them, not tell lies about them, or believe that they know best what their needs are. We just need to do our bit to ensure they are able to lead dignified, free and safe lives, even when that bit is simply getting the hell out of their way. The root of respect is not the full understanding of other people; it is the recognition of people’s non-negotiable humanity. Regardless of our identities or how we navigate our different worlds, we all have the same rights to self-determine, live in community with others, enjoy access to the opportunities we need to survive, and write our own (magical) narratives. It can never be anyone’s place to tell another person or group of people that yielding space for their needs to be met is a danger to others. Only unrepentant bigotry results in such claims. By making respectful space for one another and learning from those who have the kinds of knowledge that we could never gain on our own, we become able to see all the different worlds that exist in this one that we share. And isn’t that the strongest magic of all?"

"Money is good. Imagination is better. Giving yourself permission to create a life that sustains you *no matter what others think* is best."

"Freedom is the many faced god and queerness is its first born."

"So, we thought it is good to bring the lawyers here and refresh their minds on how to present electronic evidence in their cases. We want to enhance their capability so that they do better in court"

"I will say that rape has become endemic in our society and all over the country and unfortunately there is societal stigma to rape victims. For this reason, it is not a crime that a lot of people admit has happened to them. But the thing about rape is that if you keep quiet, the perpetrator continues committing the crime unchallenged or unrestrained. So, what I was trying to say at the event is that, yes it is a thing of shame, especially in our society but people need to report these rapists and rape cases to enable us drastically reduce these crimes. And another thing that we have noticed is that there is a lot of pressure on victims and their families, to cover it up and it has a very adverse effect on the society. So, people need to report these cases so that perpetrators can get punished. if they know that they will tried and convicted for rape, it will be a deterrent to people who are even contemplating it."

"Rulings and orders that were secured against the Federal Government do not have any bearing against the Kaduna State government which was not a party to those proceedings and against whom no orders were made. Any issues regarding compliance or non-compliance with a court order by the DSS or the Federal Government cannot be used to vitiate the judicial proceedings the Kaduna State government has commenced against the El-Zakzakys."

"The case management system has been adopted for use in the Ministry to improve service provision and make it easier to categorise cases for good archival purposes. The ministry has provided lawyers with necessary operating skills which was done through series of trainings to enable them to work anytime from anywhere."

"I know that if the Federal Government of Nigeria had given sufficient and reasonable time for the naira redesign policy, all the current hardship and loss being experienced by the Plaintiffs’ State Governments as well as people in the various states would have been avoided.I know that the 10-day extension by the Federal Government is still insufficient to address the challenges bedevilling the policy. I also understand that the Federal Government cannot bar Nigerians from redeeming their old naira notes at any time, even though the senior notes are no longer legal tender."

"A government that goes to court as the proper arena for deciding cases cannot be reasonably accused of not respecting the rule of law. Those who assert the contrary have the burden of showing how the rule of law can be advanced without the courts and whether society is better served by permitting license, or confusing incitement with freedom of speech."

"In the bid to restore the competency of the teaching profession and improve the standard of education in schools across the state, a competency test was conducted for public primary school teachers in the state, on 3rd June, 2017."

"I joined the race for the sole purpose of pulling more of my people out of poverty as you already know, youth and women empowerment is critical to achieving this. Also critical to reducing the level of poverty among our people will be my attracting infrastructural projects in the education and health sectors as well as basic infrastructure and even in the area of rural electrification."

"Nigeria is ripe for a female president. Nigerian women are making indelible footprints everywhere; a recent example is the appointment of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO. I am sure as we move closer to 2023, interested women will join the race."

"we cannot do without ICT in this dispensation, so, that is why we adopted this convention of training women with disability since Dec. 13, 2006, seeing the world has gone digital."

"I have confidence that I will win, that I will get justice, that is why I came to court and as a lawyer, I know how the system works, I am not seeing any foul play bearing in mind the administrative bottlenecks. I know I will get justice."

"It has been very rewarding and fulfilling in the sense that as a woman myself and one who has always been at the forefront of ensuring the welfare of women, it was not a new terrain for me to listen and proffer solutions to the myriad of issues bedevilling Nigerian women, using the instruments of government. Looking back, I would say we were able to make remarkable progress and I am satisfied with what the government has been able to achieve under my watch."

"We have empowered many women in Cross River. We are going to the North East then the other geo-political zones with our empowerment programmes. We will train the women on poultry, fishing, tailoring, soap-making, among other vocations."

"Through hard work, dedication and perseverance Nigerian women have achieved milestones, broken barriers and charted new paths in the last 25 years. We have so much to present to the world, as stakeholders take stock of the progress made by women after the famous conference. I congratulate Nigerian women on this special day and state my confidence that even with so much we have achieved, the best days of Nigerian women are still ahead."

"The workshop is to re-position women to take advantage of the numerous generous financial policies of the present administration, in its next bid and agenda to lift up over 100 million Nigerians out of poverty"

"The role of women in any election is very crucial. Apart from being great and efficient mobilizers, women have proven themselves to be pacesetters in terms of carrying out the leadership roles. So, as we move towards the 2023 elections, I expect Nigerian women to break all barriers, offer themselves and put themselves forward for the various political offices in the land. Gone are the days when women would sit back, fold their arms and allow men to dictate their political path. A lot of women have made their marks and I expect more active and robust participation in the coming elections."

"Through advocacy, we encourage as a corporate social organisation from other agencies and private sector, to ensure that every organisation will buy a certain quantity of pads available to schools and send to rural areas as their own CSR"

"I will never and cannot withdraw from the race"

"Nigerian women have worked their ways to the top in various sectors. Women are now major players in business, politics, the academics and just about any area endeavor. We may not have reached our goal of having 35 representation in government, but women have broken the glass ceiling in the public and private sector. We have a large pool of female entrepreneurs, academicians, sports stars, investors and leaders, who are contributing to the development of the country. Today, you can say we have a lot to show for years of advocacy for gender equality, judging by the success millions of women have recorded in their chosen fields”,"

"Nigerian women are hardworking and self-motivated, they create opportunities for themselves and also take opportunities as they come. Our women have always managed to triumph over challenges and cultural disadvantages. Nigerian women have excelled both in the public and private sectors. All we need is the enabling environment to excel in our chosen fields."

"“In addressing the issue of ICT, the centre runs a girls’ coding programme to connect young girls and women to the information super highway and enable them to explore opportunities available in the sector."

"The failure of Nigerian authorities to release the report of the Presidential Panel that purportedly investigated compliance of armed forces with human rights obligations and rules of engagement, three years after the report was submitted to the President is a gross display of contempt for victims."

"It is the duty of authorities to ensure that people can freely express critical opinions, without fear of reprisals."

"The representatives have security operatives allocated to them; they would consider the risk of targeting such a high profile person compared to the villagers who they can easily overwhelm. So, it is really about letting the leadership know that it is not about personal interest, but public interest. And when the people are crying, you have a responsibility to address it. We have had situations when officials heard about a crisis and simply hired more security officials instead of tackling the issue so you don’t need to spend more money on your personal security. It is that awareness about public security that we really need to get the lawmakers, governors, and President to pay attention to."

"Education is under attack in northern Nigeria. Schools should be places of safety, and no child should have to choose between their education and their life. Other children have had to abandon their education after being displaced by frequent violent attacks on their communities, and many teachers have been forced to flee to other states. The Nigerian authorities must act immediately to prevent attacks on schools, to protect children’s lives and their right to education."

"I haven’t looked back in terms of using not only my legal skills but my knowledge as a civil society actor in order to ensure that people use these institutions in order to pursue justice, but also to bring the voices of women and girls to these conversations. Oftentimes when peace or security is being discussed, or when people are talking about justice, women and girls are not decision-makers, and I thought that by adding my voice and my expertise, I can raise the visibility of the issues of women and girls as well."

"Working with local civil society organizations and the human rights community, Amnesty International Nigeria will campaign for accountability and safeguards for victims of human rights violations. Protecting human rights in Nigeria is crucial and will have wider impact across the continent."

"Amnesty International is an impartial organisation. We are non-political and do not support any particular regulatory arm. We do our report without fear and favour. What that means is that whatever position we take is based on human rights principles. We recognise the work we do and that some people might disagree with our approach, but we always explain the methodology of the research that we do and also how we carry out those activities"

"I will say that access to justice in Nigeria is still crawling, especially for women victims of violence. There are a lot of cultural taboos around women’s bodily integrity which is already a barrier to accessing the services they need."

"“Unfortunately, the majority of Nigerians, especially the youths who fought with patriotism to reset their country through the ballot box, are now wondering if elections have not become the tool for legitimizing the corrupt takeover of Nigeria. This dark cloud of angst arising from a terribly mismanaged 2023 general elections has jolted the confidence and hope of many Nigerians, thus propelling us as Citizens of Conscience to take the bold step of beginning to resist and mitigate the intended and unintended crisis looming over our dear country.Therefore, we condemn the outright manipulation of the electoral process and abdication of responsibility by INEC as it has not only destroyed trust in the democratic process, but has rewarded wrongdoing, making it possible for persons of stupendous wealth, who lack legitimacy, to become the real beneficiaries of our electoral process."

"I am a member of the National Assembly inclined to make changes happen in the National Assembly but I will not succeed, I know it, I regret it, I sympathise with myself that I will not succeed. Why? Because I do not form a critical mass.I will remain an obedient participant without necessarily doing what they are doing. That is the reality. In politics you have to belong somewhere and that is why you have to stand on the platform of the party, you don’t (stand) outside of it and you have to represent it somehow."

"The number of poor people have rather increased. Nigerians should run away from APC because they have compounded the socio-economic woes of Nigerians. Vote them out of power"

"There is no wholesome condemnation or commendation because there is no society that is wholly good or wholly bad, If you want to change that situation, you have to come in there and change it, If we do not have a dominant counter force in the system, the system will continue to support its own, it will continue to define itself in the way it is defined. The beneficiaries of the system will continue to benefit from the system."

"The other reason you can read into things like this is some level of hostility over something. I am not suggesting I know of any problem between both countries but it’s not unusual for countries to harden their stance towards each other, to draw attention to something that is probably hurting one party at another level. I think we may have to look beyond the surface."

"There are inhibitors which make it difficult for women to come out. The first thing you are told when you come into politics is to go and bring your money, you this prostitute! So the whole engagement with women takes more than ordinary courage to come out and become part of what is happening in governance. It is not an easy journey for women and society is not making it easier. So these bills are attempting to make it easier for women to come out. We are asking the National Assembly to step back, take a deep breath, reflect again on the five clauses that we wanted."

"So, when you’re voting, you’re not voting the individual but the party, which will in turn ensure women comprise 35% of the list created for position. In every country where an increase in governance has happened for women, the party list was used. Now, it is left for voters to look at the party list and decide to vote for a party based on their likeness for whoever catches their fancy on the party list. So, the seats won by each party will now be proportionally distributed to candidates, but ensuring by law that 35% of the distribution goes to women."

"Often times in Nigeria we say we have a lot of educated graduates but we haven’t looked at the content of these graduates in terms of the know-how. If you go today and say look I’m having a problem with my maize. This year something is eating up the leaves of my maize, caterpillars or worms or something… And you say you’re looking for people who know what to do in Nigeria, it will amaze you that with all the graduates in agriculture you wouldn’t find someone who knows what to do."

"We have a prebendal politics, we reward people producing little based on loyalty which is rewarded , and this produces a dysfunctional system where people for instance in the Civil Service are rewarded not on the bases of work done but it is based on those who you favour and nobody is held responsible for things like leakages because everything goes"

"We need to give every body an equal opportunity, we need to give a level playing field for women, they are just like us, just vulnerable because of circumstance , it could be anyone of us. It is inherent in every society that midwives are present and in abundance and in Ogun we have a rapid decline."

"As important as education is to a child, our focus should not only be on the academic aspects alone but on their social, athletic, emotional, psychological development and much more. These are equally important and necessary for all-round development."

"You are our fathers, our brothers and sons. Yet most of the violent sexual crimes committed against women are being perpetrated by boys and men. We need to educate our young boys and encourage them to be protectors and not perpetrators"

"SDG 4 is all children are given the opportunity of receiving quality education and my dear husband the governor, Dapo Abiodun’s administration is actively working to reform the educational system in the state."

"I know the deputy Governor better than most people seated here today because we went to primary and secondary schools together but, I never influenced her emergence as deputy governor, but, I was very happy when she emerged. I am sure she will be a fantastic deputy governor because I am confident of her intelligence."

"It is therefore, imperative to bridge the skills gap in employment opportunities and sell social-economic transformation and reduce poverty."

"I don’t want you to give up when you have problems, problems are bound to happen in any business, things will happen that will discourage you, but make yourself better, render a service better than what others do."

"Having built over 3,000 vibrant young women who are making waves on different fronts around the world, it is only ideal to build for these geniuses a place they all can call a home; a befitting edifice where the generations of Bemore girls would freely meet, interact and make things happen."

"My husband being a governor should not affect my aspiration to become a senator. You know that the mistake that people make is that they are saying that after being First Lady, she wants to be senator. Look at our people’s mentality. I am saying that Emeabiam is a forgotten community and somebody is telling me that I am a First Lady. Because I feel that’s not how governance should be. Governance is about people caring for the well-being of people without exception."

"Today, the world is recognising the enormous role of women in the society. Women’s involvement has been identified as the panacea to achieving food security, ending malnutrition and ensuring social security."

"I believe in free and fair elections, equity and a level playing ground. The circumstances that have shrouded events preceding this primaries have proven to be far from these ideals which I hold so dearly. It is expedient therefore for me to withdraw from this race which I believe is also in the interest of the party in the state"

"I want to quickly emphasis something at this juncture; it is part of awareness campaign. When a woman notices a lump, she doesn’t know what that lump is until she sees a doctor and he recommends a test; it is after that test she knows whether what she has is breast cancer or not. We have two types of cancer: the benign or the cancerous one, you never can tell the cancerous one until a test is conducted"

"I have a right to contest for any position in a place where I was born and I do not think that the constitution is against that. And if you look at things critically, as a married woman, looking at the time I got married, I was already a made young woman. My husband did not train me. I was trained by my parents who were teachers; they valued education for all their children irrespective of gender. They had no preference for the males, as it was the order of the day at that time. I do not know if things have really changed now. So, I did not see any discrimination against my gender when I was growing up. My parents trained me to be whatever I want to be. They invested in me very much. So, obviously, I am very much attached to where I come from. When I got married, I also understood what the challenges were as a girl child. I also understood that I needed to demonstrate that my parents’ investment in me wasn’t a loss."

"Her Excellency is blessed with the rarely combined qualities of resilience and grit. She also undying faith in her enlightenment message of early detection and management of breast and cervical cancers. Also, Mrs Akeredolu has over the years developed a project in a strategic manner to address various challenges facing the family system within Ondo State. She has also deployed her time and resources for adequate empowerment of the girl child within and outside of Ondo State"

"Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu has been working for the development of the community for a very long time. She deserves it and the entire Ezes in the Owerri West Federal Constituency have affirmed this. This is not a title anyone could have bought. It was given in recognition of her sterling qualities."

"Success has a way of distorting your view. Keep winning, don't wallow in yesterday's success."

"We cannot keep doing something the same way and expect a different result."

"Tomorrow will come with its color but what we want is that people should see the goodness in our vision and nothing more or less."

"To achieve that change we envisage, we need to stop being passive."

"To achieve that dream society, we need to leave the comfortable corner of our room."

"every woman needs a voice to speak where she cannot speak and I made myself available."

"In life we all have that tinge of what we actually are on the inside."

"Passion for humanity and getting things done right and standing up to the ills of the society and speaking about them."

"Human beings are curious about other human beings. Form and shape of [documentaries], of course, is going to change, and yes, it was wonderful when the streamers got involved. But documentaries have only been increasing. Look at the last 50 years: you look at all of the surveys, you look at all the quantitative data, all audiences love documentaries across gender, across race, whatever it is, there is a tremendous curiosity"

"I left the broadcast news chair altogether and reliving this has been painful. Yet I am hopeful things can change. I speak up now for the women and women of color and people of color who are doing incredible work in public radio. They deserve to be treated fairly. They deserve for meritocracy to be more than a buzzword."

"I don’t claim to have an answer for how to resolve this, what actions should be taken or how to prevent something like this from happening again. I do know, while I can go back to work in my peaceful place, the girls cannot; at least not this minute.I do know this atrocity is devastating. I hope the international community continues to condemn these acts and do all within international law to rescue these girls and disband the group apparently responsible; whose name I refuse to give ink to on my pages. I fervently hope that Nigerians will unite, step up and increase again the pressure on the government to crack down hard. And I can pray, foremost for the girl’s safe rescue. But I also pray for Nigeria."

"I think for me, I was running more toward than away from something. And a year ago, it sounded like such a great idea to get my ass up at 1 a.m. to do morning radio"

"I am thrilled to welcome Adaora to the PBS team. Her expertise in emerging technologies, paired with her award-winning reporting and filmmaking experience, makes her particularly qualified to help guide our General Audience programming strategy. With her guidance, we will continue to build on PBS’s mission to develop and distribute content that meets the needs of audiences from diverse backgrounds."

"Some people still believe that a woman is less intelligent, less competent and less skilful in carrying out certain tasks. But this is an office environment; I do not need brutal force to carry out my assignment. What I need basically is competence. I need computer literacy and sound education, which in my view, I have acquired from some of the world’s most renowned academic institutions. I am qualified and can adapt and fit into anywhere and deliver on my mandate in the most professional manner"

"One of my key concerns in broadcasting to a country as complex and sensitive as Nigeria, is making sure the BBC gets it right and our editorial checks have to be rigorous. With over 20 million Nigerians listening to the BBC on a regular basis, I feel pretty motivated to get the checks right. One final thought: this is not the first time BBC Hausa has had cause to get to the heart of the story surrounding President Yar'Adua. In 2007 BBC Hausa service was the first to get an interview with Yar'Adua while he was receiving medical attention in Germany - again dispelling the rumours."

"Of course it has not been all gloom. Some Northern women have and are still doing remarkable work in journalism whose recognition go beyond the shores of Nigeria. The Hauwa Baba Ahmeds who graced our TV screens in the ’80s and early ’90s casting the NTA Network News and Bilkisu Yusuf quickly come to mind. Others include Hauwa Funtua, Fatima Abass, Aisha Bello Katung all of the NTA fame. We also had the likes of Kadaria Ahmed, Jamila Tangaza, Delu Mohammed, Grace Alkheri and Bilkisu Labaran who were practising on the international scene. These northern journalists were at various times with either the BBC or the VOA. Here the likes of Christian Amanpour of CNN and our own Nigerian born CNN Zain Asher."

"Growing up, I knew education was important and from an early age, I knew I had to do a profession, so that shaped how I ended up choosing what I chose."

"Then you are always advised not to decide what you want to do as a profession until you have done your house job, and ‘house job’ means you have to go through all the different departments in medicine. You do surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology. I enjoyed it and it occurred to me that this is where my calling was. And that was how I decided to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology. The rest is history"

"Women who shouldn’t die because of childbirth are dying simply because they have not had the care that they desire"

"We have the rich culture of the Nupe people, we have our beautiful dancers and when you see the way they make their cultural clothes, very beautiful to behold. We have a rich history."

"We need to differentiate between religion and our health. We cannot go to Church or Mosque for our pastors and imams to treat us for cancer. Yes, we can pray because it is only God that can cure us, but God has given us the tools that we need to use to get that cure."

"But with my mum, I got everything I needed. I got the father’s love, the mother’s love and the sister’s love. I remember my younger days, when it rains, my mum will say, "what are you people doing in school? Just sit down/""

"Where am I even going? It’s already wet, outside is wet. Just sit down and rest, another day, you can always pick it up."

"Everybody letting you be yourself. There wasn’t any air around us and not that we had everything we wanted, but we were contented. We never lacked anything when we were growing up. It was all very peaceful and there was no cause for complaints from the parents’ side."

"I am not so sure that’s what God has called you for, but we’ll put it in prayers. I’ll keep praying and when I return, we’ll revisit it."

"As we reflect with gratitude over the illustrious life of service led by Mrs. Hilda Joanne Adefarasin as she parented her children, doted over her husband, and impacted generations and communities, we are reminded of her unwavering love for our LORD Jesus Christ."

"Today, my siblings, my family and I pause for a moment and join everyone who knows and loves you to celebrate a true heroine on her 98th birthday."

"We are critical on a number of fronts. Looking at it first from an institutional standpoint, when the Malian people rejected the old regime, they wanted the existing set-up to be changed into a democratic one."

"With pleasure. Before the 26 March revolution, there was a general consensus that, in the process of privatisation, the state sector should be managed in a way that benefited the Malian economy. But the reality is that privatisation methods have not changed."

"Naturally, MPs have seen what happened in Niger and elsewhere, but fear is tempered here because officers in Mali's forces have also given a great deal of thought to the effects of military dictatorship."

"Let me put it this way. The military dictatorship went through three different stages. During the first stage, just after the coup on November 19 1968, the junta chose Mao Tse Tung as a model, hammering home the idea that power could be won by force of arms-and it was carried away by the popular acclaim it initially received."

"Improving Women's Participation in Higher Education."

"We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you would threaten the man. Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors not for jobs or accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are."

"The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our true individual selves, if we didn’t have the weight of gender expectations."

"forget about likability. If you start out, thinking about being likable, you are not going to tell your story honestly."

"My attention has been drawn to an article regarding my endorsement of a certain political party and its presidential candidate ahead of the 2023 general elections,” the statement reads."

"Becoming a woman with disability opened my eyes to the challenges persons with disabilities face."

"They should pray to God to give them the right husband. It is good to respect your husband and men should reciprocate that gesture. It will be a great mistake to be married to somebody who’s not God fearing."

"We should also make our children better off in terms of moral and religious training. In the 50s, 60s, people were not well educated about Islam but things are better now."

"It was my mother’s baby; it started with Egbe Ifelodun. Then, most schools were Christian schools. One of my sisters wanted to get to St. Annes’s school but could not, she advised her friends to start a Muslim school and God helped through Isabatudeen in Ojoo."

"The rich and those in position of power should fear God, help people and be ready to account for everything. I could remember that my mother was always eager to render all accounts no matter how small the amount might be. She loved giving detailed account about every spending. She won’t lie and she hate liars."

"In those days, they played politics with love, now it is money and power. That does not mean women cannot be better politicians; they should do it with honesty. For instance, the likes of my mother and Madam Funmilayo Ransome Kuti used the opportunity they had to help a lot of people; but now, we can’t get close to them. You must know what you want to do before going into politics. Our men should stop holding meetings late at nights. In other parts of the world, no political meetings at night. Going into politics does not mean there shouldn’t be time for the family. Many women are brilliant and will deliver if given the opportunity."

"Child education starts from the beginning. I am in support of decent dressing and early training with regard to the use of Hijab by female Muslims because every girl-child should be well-protected. We should train the female Muslims how to dress well. Tight fitting clothes can be tempting, but that is not the way."

"Women should have contentment, no matter the little they have with God’s blessing. It’s unfair for a woman to be outside her home anything after 7pm. We need to be there for these children. But when you are not at home, so many things can happen."

"Her concern for education was further demonstrated by the construction of the Sango Mosque in Ibadan, during the 1960’s. In this Mosque she personally paid a group of teachers to provide a free or cheap Muslim education for children.Being initially a unifying figure between the AG and the market-sellers, she became an intermediator between women’s organisations and market women, together with Mama Humuani Alade, another wealthy trader.Her stature and contribution were recognised by the British who awarded her, in June 1961, the prestigious title of Member of the British Empire."From a political point of view, she was one of the founders of the AG women’s wing in 1953. For merchants, she was the veritable AG voice in the market : she organized market women for party campaigns, she taught them songs and gave gifts to thank them for their affiliation to the party.""Her wealth and trade abilities, coupled with her charisma, a strong religious commitment – attested by her pilgrimage to Mecca in 1954 – and a particular concern for merchants’ rights, led her to become a rallying figure for merchants, a personality able to mobilise a great number of people, for economic and socio-political goals.""

"We decided that in order to shift the power and to put resources in the hands of young feminists, we would need to turn the traditional funding model on its head. This meant that we would need to make space for feminist perspectives, methodologies, ideas and demands—as well as for our physical selves—in the philanthropic world."

"Solidarity as a strategy of resistance reminds us that we are the sum of many parts and, as bell hooks reminds us, “Solidarity is different than support.” Solidarity is about showing up and sticking with things for the long-run. It is about being committed and making bonds with each other in real and deeply personal ways. It is about standing at the intersections and bringing everyone along."

"A feminist foreign policy must be radical, innovative and intersectional. It moves beyond the notion of “add women and stir” and seeks to be transformative. It challenges power by paying attention to and challenging the systems and institutions, such as governments and corporations, that benefit from the oppression of women. A feminist foreign policy is one that moves beyond limiting language, and centers women and all marginalized voices, including trans and intersex folks"

"We must move in these spaces to encourage increased support to young women and girls not simply because it is ‘smart economics’ but because gender equality is a right"

"I truly believe that art (and I use this term loosely here to refer to all forms of creative expression) provides an incredible opportunity for people to bring their full selves to their activism. We are not one-dimensional beings and thus we are affected and influenced by all of the things around us. I see art as an opportunity to take some of the very complex concepts and issues that we face on a daily basis and break them down in ways that are more palatable and easily digestible by young people."

"Amina Doherty, Changing Lives,https://wadadlipen.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/amina-doherty-changing-lives/"

"I am she who is called Pelewura…. . I will not starve in the country I was born in."

"Alimotu initiated that market women reduce the prices of goods sold in the markets to support the striking workers"

"She also strongly protested a market price control plan, named the Pullen scheme popularly after a British officer, Captain A.P. Pullen, who initiated and directed it"

"She rose to more prominence in 1910 when she became a titled chief by the order and conferment of the Oba of Lagos, Eshugbayi Eleko"

"she led protests against taxation and price control, issues she strongly believed would negatively impact the livelihood of women."

"work on every genre of literature from fiction to poetry, non-fiction and drama. I do work more on some than the others. My dominant focus, for instance, is mostly fiction and poetry. Recently though, I compiled a non-fiction anthology called Blessed Body: The Secret Lives of LGBT Nigerians. Of all the genres, I enjoy poetry the most. It gives me a space to condense my words and say a lot in a very limited space. It challenges me to utilize figures of speech, imagery and mood to capture my thought and ideas. I also like non-fiction because there is urgency about it. It almost feels as if I am documenting narratives live, as they happen. At the moment, I am working on a critical paper about how films/documentaries can be used as an effective tool of activism for the African LGBTQ activist. Additionally, I am editing and polishing my second collection of poetry collection entitled Brutal Bliss."

"For me, even if we don't have a lot of women in the panels, what we are sure of and what we can take over is that we have more women traders who actually trade although we need more representation of female voices on the table but then they can tell their stories, they can speak up there perspectives as women on how their policies and the regulations and complains affect the women from their own perspectives. So I say this is what we are clamoring for. In Nigeria we started developing the shift rate, women in trainings initiatives to support more women, to support our inclusiveness. These are some of the things that we should be looking at to adopt in these kind of conferences. We have to make that effort to reach out to more women. We have them coming with the spirit."

"Oh yes, yes. Anything in terms of global policies we start with baby steps. So, there is phase implementation for everything. There's a strong advocacing for women inclusion because actually, women are important. They represent the.. I won't say they are the same, but they are under-represented. And so, there is a strong push for women inclusivity and we will see that happen."

"We also encourage for citizen engagement. There is particular category of assessment deliverables; is about having citizens engagement, be it a town-hall, a meeting, civil society engagement, it could be a twitter space engagement virtually. But that citizen engagement is important because the president is keen for citizens to be aware of what his ministries are doing"

"Hello welcome to One-on-One. My name is Cyril Stobber. My guest today, is educated at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and the University of Leeds at the United Kingdom. She holds a Barchelors Degree in Business Administration and Masters Degree in Development Studies. Her career actually started at the private sector, but over the years, she has stints in the public sector.."

"I'll just go about and just give you a brief background of my guest today:"