Her name graces the Ekpo Refectory at the University of Nigeria, Nsukkaand various other buildings and structures across the nation. For example, government hospitals were built for the colonial officers and medical services were only accessible by Europeans and, later on, their Nigerian employees. She took risks that many politicians today might not take. Doctors trained in Nigeria, for instance, were discriminated against and denied promotions and paid lower wages than European doctors or those with overseas training. The association promoted female solidarity as a way to fight for economic rights of women and expand their rights to politics. As an interest group, African feminism set off in the early twentieth century with women like Adelaide Casely-Hayford, the Sierra Leonian women's rights activist referred to as the " African Victorian Feminist " who contributed widely to both pan-African and feminist goals . Sylvia Leith-Ross, African Women (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1939), 22. Margaret’s contributions to the constitutional and political development of Nigeria made her a trail blazer. 3. Many have called for the case to be revisited and for those who mured him to be brought to book. She won. She was responsible for the formation of the NCNC women’s wing along with the wife of the leader of the party, Flora Nnamdi Azikiwe, who became its first president with Ekpo as vice-president. She therefore fought against all forms of discrimination against women. Her ability to connect with both lower and upper echelons of society was demonstrated when she won election to the Eastern House of Assembly to represent Aba Urban, beating the men who ran against her. By 1955, women in Aba had outnumbered men voters in a city-wide election. The school where she studied is today known as the Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin Ireland. She was outspoken. I feel 100 percent stronger,” she told her. She told them to “smash” the opposition at the forthcoming elections. That meeting marked her entrance into partisan politics and the Nigerian political landscape. See for instance Kaneme Okonjo, “The Dual-Sex Political System in Operation,” in Igbo Women and Community Politics in Mid-Western Nigeria, Women in Africa: Studies in Social and Economic Change, eds. Margaret Ekpo (July 27, 1914 - September 21, 2006) was a Nigerian women's rights activist and a social mobilizer who was a pioneering female politician in the country's First Republic and a leading member of a class of traditional Nigerian women activists, many of whom rallied women beyond notions of ethnic solidarity. The motion was passed. The Nigerian women's rights. See Effah-Attoe and Jaja, Margaret Ekpo: Lioness in Nigerian Politics, 27. Her birth in the year the southern and northern protectorates were amalgamated to become Nigeria is symbolic in a way. In 1946, she had the opportunity to study abroad at what is now Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin Ireland. After the killing of 20 protesters during a mining strike in Nigeria, Ekpo made her name as a feminist and activist. That is, it represents unity in diversity. According to the book, The Feminisation of Development Processes in Africa, by Valentine Udoh James and James S Etim, Ransome-Kuti travelled with Ekpo to the Enugu Colliery during the crisis at the coal mine in 1949 and also visited the widows of the deceased. Hajiya Gambo Sawaba was a women’s rights activist and politician from northern Nigeria; she was the leader of the women’s wing of the Northern Element Progressive Union (NEPU) led by Aminu Kano, a first-generation politician from northern Nigeria. She then moved to Hope Waddell Institute where she did her Standard Six examination. 45. However, unfortunately for the men, there was a general salt scarcity after the World War II and Margaret used this as an opportunity to get her way. Margaret’s position therefore is germane in the context of the outcome of the 1962 national census results, where it was feared that inaccurate figures were allocated to the north. Women emancipation remained a priority for Margaret throughout her lifetime. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe . Each institution had the power to nominate Special Members as representatives of particular interests. He was from the Ibibio ethnic group who are predominant in Akwa Ibom State, while she was of Igbo and Efik heritage. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Feminism is an important part of African women's "herstory". Ekpo's growing awareness of civil rights movements for women around the world spurred her to develop the same for the women in her country and to fight the discriminatory and oppressive political and civil role colonialism played in the subjugation of women. Detailed materials on Margaret Ekpo remain relatively limited in scholarly works on women and political participation in Nigeria. 27. National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries. She married a doctor, John Udo Ekpo, in 1938. or Resident? She had to wait. It is part of DW's special series "African Roots", dedicated to African history, a cooperation with the Gerda Henkel Foundation. Do you know that if you join hands with us in the current political activities, your children could one day live in European quarters? [14] She died 5 years later in 2006. Margaret Ekpo was born on July 27, 1914, at Adiabo Okurikang in Creek Town, one of the Efik communities of the present-day Cross River State of southern Nigeria. Imhotep: The Real Father of Medicine is from Africa, Ancient Egypt: From Roman Rule (30 B.C) to Arab Conquest (639…, The 1649 Execution of King Charles I of England, How Argentina Had Five Presidents in 12 Days in December 2001, Marie Curie: The Woman Who Changed Science, Werner Forssmann: The Nobel Prize winner who “touched his own heart”, Ignaz Semmelweis: The Hungarian Doctor beaten to death for promoting Handwashing, How Jabir Ibn Hayyan became the Father of Modern Chemistry, How Napoleon Bonaparte lost 550,000 men in the 1812 Invasion of…, After a military coup ended the First Republic in January 1966, Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on social media, Iwe Irohin: Nigeria’s First Newspaper (1859-1867), Obafemi Awolowo: The Best President Nigeria Never Had. The female political icon died in 2006 at the age of 92. She left a legacy that is impossible to exclude in the annals of women’s participation in politics in Nigeria. Margaret Ekpo was born in Creek Town, Calabar, Cross River State, on July 27, 1914, into the family of Inyang Eyo Aniemewue from the Royal stock of King Eyo Honesty II and Okoroafor Obiasulor native of Agulu-Uzo-Igbo near Awka in Anambra State. Born on the 27th July 27, 1914, Ekpo was born in Creek Town, Cross River State, to the family of Okoroafor Obiasulor. Margaret loved ballroom dance but never liked Efik traditional dances. See Victor C. Uchendu, The Igbo of Southeast Nigeria (London: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965), 87. Women, such as Mary Iquo Ededem, fondly called “Ma May,” joined the NCNC, and “was in the vanguard of the women wing of the party.” Other women in this group included Chief Abo Bassey Ndem, Councillor; Hannah Otudor, Councillor; and Ekpo Young, Councillor; and later Asi Okoi Arikpo (a sister of Ekpo Young) and Nkoyo Orok Ironbar (also known as Jack). Incidents such as the 1945 Labour Union General Strike and then the 1949 Enugu Colliery killings, fuelled these tensions. Indeed, such adaptation to changing circumstances is necessary if indigenous women groups are to remain relevant in a changing world. During an interview with the Nigerian singer and actress, Onyeka Onwenu, in 2004, a 90-year-old Ekpo said: “Without the help of women, the men could not have effectively executed the fight for Nigeria’s Independence from the British.”. Margaret Ekpo, a pioneer female politician, a women's rights activist and a social mobiliser; that's an introduction to the woman, more so, at its basest. Margaret Ekpo was born in Creek Town, Cross River State, to the family of Okoroafor Obiasulor and Inyang Eyo Aniemewue. She then started working as a pupil teacher in elementary schools. This is despite the fact that research work on women participation in politics in Nigeria remains incomplete without a mention of her name. 21. She was awarded National Officer of the Order of Niger (NOON) and Commander of the Order of Federal Republic (OFR). Ekpo died aged 92 in 2006 in Calabar, Cross River State. Do you know that your husband can be a District Officer (D.O.) As a human rights activist and an advocate of continuing education for married women, Margaret criticized the attempt to stop married women from teaching, and argued that it was a violation of their fundamental human rights. By the end of the decade she had organized a Market Women Association in Aba to unionize market women in the city. (11.04.2018). This social environment contributed to exposing the people of the area to Western education earlier than most communities in the district. At times you find one, at times you find none. The authorities covered up the murder to avoid controversy, but Ekpo and the Aba women stormed the Enugu Prisons Department demanding to see where the deceased was buried. As an elected legislator in the Eastern House of Assembly, Ekpo continued to focus on women’s issues – drawing attention, among other things, to the concerns of female farmers, the need for more women on corporate boards. Ekpo was born in 1914 in Creek Town, Cross River State Okoroafor Obiasulor, a native of Agulu-Uzo-Igbo near Awka in Anambra State and Inyang Eyo Aniemewue, who was from the family of King . She therefore, temporarily, put her education on hold, and took up teaching. Photo: Nigeria Galleria. Margaret died on Thursday, September 21, 2006, at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, at the age of ninety-two. Margaret Ekpo played a crucial role in the women emancipatory movement in the colonial era and during Nigeria first republic. By Tayo Agunbiade As her plane touched down in Lagos, Nigeria on Saturday, February 2, 1959, there was only one thing on the mind of the celebrated Nigerian politician and activist, Margaret Ekpo: the upcoming federal elections in December and how she could further her fight for . Margaret seized the opportunity of this crisis to mobilize women against the colonial administration. Margaret Ekpo (1914 - 2006) is a remarkable Nigerian political legend and women's rights activist. She maintained that though there were regional plans in place, there should also be a national economic plan to complement the regional plans to ensure that the entire country was moving in the same direction. Margaret Ekpo was one of the first female politicians in Nigeria and she made it her life's mission to fight for women in power movement. For a woman to attend meetings with prominent traditional rulers was unimaginable. She won a seat to the Eastern Regional House of Assembly in 1961, a position that allowed her to fight for issues affecting women at the time. Margaret Ekpo. During that time, most of the women did not take to politics but she urged them. See Effah-Attoe and Jaja, Margaret Ekpo: Lioness in Nigerian Politics, 49. Her husband was indignant with the colonial administrators treatment of indigenous Nigerian doctors but as a civil servant, he could not attend meetings to discuss the matter. By 1955, women in Aba outnumbered male voters in a city-wide election because of her work. She passed her Standard Six examination in 1931. To remember the great woman, Nigeria named the International Airport in Calabar, Cross River state after her. In 1950, she stormed Enugu prison with the women of Aba to seek justice for the murder of a female prison officer who was killed for rejecting the advances of a male colleague. See Ndem, “Women in Constitutional and Political Development,” 32. Now returning to her base in Aba, eastern Nigeria, she was about to deliver another speech from her political armoury. Lines and paragraphs break automatically. She made demands for women’s education and criticized the Minister of Education for neglecting women education. Paul Mamza, Nigeria’s Unsung Heroes (10). Margaret was an industrialist. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe woke up early in life to discover that the black race had a problem. Indeed, Kuti influenced many women of colonial Nigeria including Margaret. Born July 27, 1914, in Creek Town in the present-day Cross River State, Ekpo's education was temporarily halted after her father Okoroafor . She deployed different strategies to build political consciousness among women in Eastern Region of Nigeria. See Ndem, “Women in Constitutional and Political Development,” 35. See Bolade Omonijo, Nigeria: Tribute—Margaret Ekpo - And the Woman Died, Vanguard Newspapers, (Lagos), October 2, 2006. Chief Margaret remains a reference point in any research on the early feminist movement in colonial Nigeria, and in Nigeria first republic. So I am asking that when scholarships are to be distributed, they must be distributed equally to boys and girls.”. She was a women's right activist, social mobilizer and a pioneer in women politics in Nigeria. She utilized every available opportunity to add her voice to anything she believed would better the lives of Nigerians, particularly women and workers. Death In 2001, Calabar Airport was named after her. I used to tell them these things every time and so they became interested.17. Her political career nosedived with the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War which saw her being arrested and kept in jail. Both women invested their time raising political awareness about universal adult suffrage, women’s education and independence from oppressive colonial rule. Margaret Ekpo's awareness of growing movements for civil rights for women around the world prodded her into demanding the same for the women in her country and to fight the discriminatory and oppressive political and civil role colonialism played in the subjugation of women. She can leave her husband at will, abandon him if he becomes a thief, and summon him to a tribunal where she will get a fair hearing. According to Ndem, Ekpo’s dynamism combined with an extraordinary political gumption, and not without a touch femininity endeared her to the entire Eastern Region which was her constituency. She was actively involved in the struggle for Nigerian independence, and agitations for women's inclusion in policies and programs of . Accessed from July, 2019. In 2001, Calabar Airport was renamed Margaret Ekpo International Airport. 4. She was strong. Her name has remained a buzzword in the discourse and documentation of women and political participation in modern Nigeria. She reached standard six of the school leaving certificate in 1934. Margaret Ekpo. We will not want to take your feathers or your crowns or your caps; and we will only cooperate with you.”, In keeping with her political shrewdness, during the debates on April 28, 1960, to critique the speech of the Governor of Eastern Region, Sir Robert de Stapledon, she opened her submission by first paying direct tribute to the leader of her party, the NCNC, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe: “It is his, Azikiwe’s, belief that whatever he is doing, wherever he is, he will always remember that human beings come from the womb of women, and that without women in any part of the world, things will not be smooth-sailing. Get the hottest stories from the largest news site in Nigeria, Aborted strike: 7 key agreements Tinubu’s govt sealed with NLC, TUC, 25% of FCT votes: Court Gives verdict on Abuja residents' suit against President Tinubu, "I pay N600k yearly": Man rents 3-bedroom flat in Lagos, furnishes it, put nice curtains & flat screen TV, BREAKING: Obasa re-elected as Lagos Assembly speaker for the 3rd term, Report: Statistics of killings, kidnap in Tinubu’s first week revealed, "She is a future model": Photographer captures the image of beautiful village girl, video goes viral on TikTok, "I cannot help but love you": Lady in bumshort dances and whines waist in a sweet way, video goes viral, "I feel whole again": After 20 years, adopted man finds out birth mother works In same hospital, Actress Iyabo Ojo shares evidence of tax payment, explodes at Lagos government: "This one na pure witch-hunt", "I feel guilty": Girl, 9, writes letter to Nigerian woman through her mum, warns her not to open it, Former PDP governor went into hiding because of EFCC? When the 1959 federal elections approached, Ekpo’s electoral value for the NCNC was once again highlighted. It was only the Eastern and Western Regional Premiers who invited a few women to be a part of their delegations. What Were Africans Doing During the Life of Jesus Christ? When Flora Azikiwe became the First Lady in 1960, Margaret Ekpo assumed the presidential post of the women’s wing. The Aba Women’s War therefore triggered unprecedented resistance to colonialism that shook the foundation of British occupation of colonial Nigeria. She went around shops and deposited money for all available bags of salt which gave her total control on sales. He later married Inyang Eyo Aniemewue from the royal family of King Eyo Honesty II of Creek Town. Sustain independent journalism in Nigeria – contribute to Legit.ng. During the Nigerian civil war (1966–1970) she maintained that the Nigerian State must remain undivided.

Goldbeck Ansprechpartner, Oceanhorn 2 Criminal Hunt, Was William Hamleigh A Real Person, Articles M