For eight days, the poignant story of the Niger Delta was told and re-told by the characters in Professor Ahmed Yerima’s “Little Drops.” From the nation’s capital in Abuja to the Garden City in Port Harcourt; from the ancient Benin City to the Canaan City, Calabar, the story of the unscripted victims of the conflicts in the Niger Delta was etched in bold relief.
The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, used the stage drama as a platform to reach out to the women. The drama looks at the Niger Delta from the perspective of women – the neglected innocent victims of the war of contradictions in the region. One of the characters in the play puts it succinctly: “They fight their wars, yet we and our children are left with the scars…”
Conscious of its role as a facilitator of all-round development of the Niger Delta and its people, the NDDC used this year’s International Women’s Day to put the spotlight on the plight of women and children in the region. It was an opportunity to inspire and celebrate the achievements of women in the Niger Delta region.
Although, the International Women’s Day, launched by United Nations in 1914, to reflect on progress made, pursue change and commemorate acts of courage by women globally every March 8, this year’s celebration was taken a notch higher by the NDDC. Thanks to Professor Yerima’s “Little Drops.” The message was kept alive for over one week, as men and women of diverse callings converged to watch and empathise with the story of Niger Delta women.
The NDDC also used the celebrations to offer men an opportunity to sign on to gender equity. At all the venues of the stage play, in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Benin and Calabar, huge boards were mounted for all invited guests to endorse the gender parity campaign in furtherance of the theme for this year’s Women’s Day celebration, which is: “Pledge for Parity, Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”.
According to the United Nations, this year’s commemoration reflects on how to accelerate the 2030 agenda, building momentum for the effective implementation of the new sustainable development goals, as well as focuses on new commitments under the UN Women’s Step It Up Initiative.
At the final command performance of “Little Drops” in Calabar, on Monday, March 14, 2016, several women of substance were in attendance. The wife of the state governor, Dr Linda Ayade was there, so was the wife of the deputy governor, Mrs. Evara Esu. The deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Florence Obi attended, so did the Vice Chairman of Odukpani Local Government Area, Dr. (Mrs.) James Okon. Without doubt, the women of Cross River State led the way in boosting the campaign for gender parity.
The popular Efik dance, “monikem” set the stage for the grand finale, which was also spiced with a poetry rendition by Iquo Dianaabasi, an online magazine editor based in Lagos. Iquo moved the audience to tears with Nnimmo Bassey’s poem: “I thought it was oil.”
The haunting poignancy of that poem had a sobering effect on the audience and more or less created the right ambience for the command performance of the night.
The NDDC Acting Managing Director, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, provided the justification for inviting the crème de la crème of the society to watch the “Little Drops.” She said that the stage play “is as much entertainment and drama, as it is a campaign to bring once more, to national conscience, the anguish and travails of the women, children and people of the Niger Delta. It is part of programmes which we have lined up to raise awareness, encourage industry among the people and improve human capacity.”
Mrs. Semenitari said the play “provides us with startling and brilliant metaphor, a most enchanting pathway through which we can begin to resolve the twin inequities of gender and development, both infrastructural and human, which the Niger Delta has suffered for far too long. Told from the perspective of four women, caught in the crossfire of the armed conflict in the region, we come face to face with the tragedy of our beloved Niger Delta.”
“The Niger Delta torment, her needs, her sores and bruised spirit, some aspects which are so brilliantly captured in this play, must continue to remain an item in the national agenda, a constant narrative in national and international discourse, demanding and requiring healing. In doing that, we must also begin to think more on helping to rebuild the lives of women and children who are unscripted victims of the conflicts in the Niger Delta.”
She said the Federal Government had indentified important stakeholders that must work together, as development partners, to move the region forward. “These partners, working with the NDDC, under the new standards of probity, due process, proper application of funds, clarity of vision and engagement, which President Muhammadu Buhari has ushered in, will help ensure greater synergy and accelerated growth.”
Semenitari decried the challenges confronting the Niger Delta region, especially the environmental, political, social and economic challenges, noting that women and children have suffered for too long, the consequences of the conflicts in the region, one that is scarcely highlighted in all intervention strategies to address regional challenges and the attendant agitation for resolution.
As part of the response to this challenge, Semenitari said the NDDC had started the Girls in Engineering, Mathematics and Science (GEMS) programme, as well as instituted the Queen Kambasa Awards for Excellence. She explained: “GEMS aims to encourage young girls in the region to embrace science and technology, as well as to provide quality manpower that will enable them participate in the predominant oil and gas sector of the region, while the Queen Kambasa Awards recognize the first known queen of the Niger Delta. In her honour, NDDC aims to recognize and reward achievement of Niger Delta women in different spheres and, in doing so, inspire women to excel in whatever they do. It is important to create role models for our young women and girls by showing them the path to excellence.
For Dr. Linda Ayade, the wife of the Cross River State governor, women should not allow themselves to be made to feel inferior, as that could only happen when they permit it. “It is what you permit that comes to you. Our women have been permissive for a very long time,” she said.
She charged women not to be deterred by retarding traditions that tended to hold them down. “We must resist the negative forces and forge ahead to be at par with the opposite gender. Whatever inspiration you get that will lead you to your purpose must be followed without distraction. You may fail, but failure is not a limitation. What matters is what you do to overcome your challenges,” she said.
Speaking in a similar vein, Mrs Aisha Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, urged stakeholders to strive to bridge the gender gap to make for a balance in leadership roles. She spoke at the International Conference Centre in Abuja through Mrs. Pauline Tallen, the former Deputy Governor of Plateau.
According to her, the world is in an era when women were making impressive contributions to social, economic, cultural and political achievements. She said: “I urge you, through your imagination, influence and decisions, to create a world where the weak and vulnerable, as well as the strong and gifted will have room to excel. I also urge you to take a concrete step to help achieve gender parity more quickly, so as to create gender balanced leadership, respect and value difference.”
At the Port Harcourt event, the wife of the Rivers State government, Hon. Justice Eberechi Wike, said apart from the issues of eradicating poverty among women and gender parity, attention should also be paid to the health of women. She explained: “I thought they should have also said something about health of women. When I say health I am not talking about only the physical health of women, the mental health should also be considered. Mental health should not be ignored when we are talking about the rights of women.”
Mrs. Wike advised women to learn to love and support each other, noting that women were very important in building a nation.
In Benin, Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Women Affairs, Lady Belinda Ogiefa, urged both men and women to support the campaign for gender parity.
Lady Ogiefa, who represented the wife of the Edo State governor, Mrs. Lara Oshiomhole, said that women should be empowered in various ways to enable them realise their full potentials.