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Women’s activism within the various tribal groups that make up Nigeria goes back centuries and many groups have legends of heroic female leaders like Amina of Zaria, Moremi of lfe, Emotan of Benin, Omu Okwel of Ossomari and Nana Asma’u of the Sokoto Caliphate (1793–1864). Nigeria was cobbled together by the British into an administrative colony a little over a 100 years ago. When the British left  a little over a half century later the fierce women of the various tribal groups arbitrarily caught in the borders of this new nation had been homogenized in the image and likeness of the Victorian era white female: a submissive weak dependent mother and housewife. 

In 1914 women may have been less educated but they weren’t the meek financially dependent housewives they are portrayed as today. They knew how to kick up a fuss when their political or economic interests were threatened by power and they knew how to mobilize and get results. The contemporary Nigerian woman can’t seem to muster more than one vote at her party primaries. She’s become the perpetual beggar, begging for one form of privilege or the other from the men she also calls her oppressor.

Pre-colonial Nigerian women used to be financially independent and they protected that independence. During colonial rule Nigerian men passively accepted taxation and even taxed their women to pay their own taxes, but attempts by the colonial government  to tax women led to one of the most iconic resistance struggles of the period. When the colonial administrators needed more money they were told the women had more money than the men and it was decided to tax them. The outraged women declared a war on the colonial administration and their corrupt stooges the warrant chiefs. 

The first confrontation happened in Calabar in 1925 and by 1929 women all over south east Nigeria had mobilized and were confronting the colonial administration in what they called the ‘Women’s War’ over taxes on women and corrupt warrant cheifs.  The British didn’t understand the significance of the women’s war regalia or the distribution of palm fronds so it seemed like a spontaneous uprising and they misnamed it the Aba Women’s Riot. Their war came to an abrupt halt when colonial officers – terrified at the sight of thousands of half naked, chanting and angry Black Women wearing grass skirts – shot and killed twelve at point blank range. Still, the women did succeed in getting at least one warrant chief to hand over his red cap.

The warrior women likened themselves to ‘vultures of the market place’ and insisted on their right to be there. They had no intention of paying tax especially since they couldn’t vote, be voted for or be represented on colonial councils. The Women’s War halted plans to tax women and changed the system of indirect rule through warrant chiefs practiced by the British in Igbo-Nigeria. Despite brutal reprisals in 1929 the women of south east Nigeria continued to protest attempts to tax them and exclude them from participating in the local economy throughout the colonial period. There were protests in Okigwe and Bende in 1938, and in Aba and Onitsha in 1956. 

In Lagos Alimotu Pelewura, a prosperous trader, frequently led market women to protest tax policies and demand representation for women in the 1920’s through the 1940’s. From the mid 1920s through to the late 1940s, Alimotu Pelewura held sway as Iya Ologe, mother of the market women. She commanded the various market women associations like a general controlling battalions even though she couldn’t read or write. The Lagos colonial government was afraid of her. They even tried to bribe her once, but she wouldn’t concede any of her demands. 

In Abeokuta Funmilayo Ransome Kuti led the market women to depose the corrupt Oba Oyekan in 1944. In Aba Margeret Ekpo cornered the salt supplies in Aba and used it to leverage the political support of the market women in 1948. Nigerian women historically controlled the markets in the south. In the years since amalgamation women have been systematically excluded from the markets and economic opportunity first by an ignorant colonial government and then by an opportunistic male population. 

Lady Oyikan Abayomi started the Nigerian Women’s Party in 1944.  Elizabeth Adekogbe started the Women’s Movement in Ibadan in 1952. Funmilayo started the Abeokuta Women’s Union in 1949.  Margeret Ekpo unionised market women in Aba in 1950. Hajiya Gambo Sawaba supported Aminu Kanu’s NEPU, opposing the more conservative NPC. Mrs Wurola Esan elected first female member of federal parliament in 1960. Janet Mokelu in eastern Nigeria house. Margeret Ekpo also elected. The National Council of Women’s Societies NCWS founded in 1958 to act as an umbrella organisation for a growing number of women’s led initiatives.

At independence in 1960 Nigerian women stepped back to play an increasingly supplementary role in governance. They were assured that they would hence forth be taken care of like white or Muslim women, all they had to do was stay at home and be feminine, like white women. They were no longer a ‘beast of burden’. Instead of toiling on the farm under the sun like their mothers and grandmothers, they were allowed to toil away genteelly in offices. The British were gone, the revolution was over, there was nothing left for real Nigeria women to fight for. They receded into genteel home-making and charity and were not heard from again for over two decades. In the north of the country women weren’t given vote till 1979. 

The combative women’s organizations of the colonial era were assimilated by male dominated political parties post Independence and turned into ‘women’s wings’ where they were relegated to cooking, campaigning, singing and dancing while a few elite women were given token positions in the new independent government. Only educated females qualified for governance at Independence in 1960 and there was little room for ‘vulgar market women’ in the shiny new ballrooms of power. They were trotted out tamely during political campaigns and elections. 

Even fewer women participated in the 2nd democratic experiment so it wasn’t a surprise it didn’t last very long. Then in 1984, a new phenomenon appeared on the Nigerian political stage – The First Lady. Nigeria had never had a First Lady before, at least not officially. This was new, this was big and this was exciting. Maryam Babangida, the charismatic and savvy  wife of then president Ibrahim Babangida quickly established herself as The First Lady of Nigerian Women. Maryam Babangida, seeing how women had been routinely neglected and impoverished by successive governments and policies over the years, reached out to them with the Better Life For Rural Women programme and promised them an economic lifeline and female solidarity. 

At last, a powerful woman that seemed understood the needs of women – their need for recognition, for popular participation, for attention and for patronage. Maryam Babangida used Better Life For Rural Women to give Nigerian women a spotlight to dance in after years of hibernation, and made them feel a part of their nation again. She even made community organising and helping seem really cool. Women, especially the growing numbers of educated women who were being systematically excluded from the formal employment sector, rushed in with a plethora of community-based and non-governmental organizations, to fill the gaps created by government inability to provide basic social and public services. Quite a few elite women became very rich and well connected. Some of them ran for elective office in 1999. 

One of the features of pre-colonial and colonial gendered power dynamics was the support that women gave to each other. Men and women were segregated and insular. Alimotu Pelewura, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, Margaret Ekpo and Gambo Sawaba supported women through micro loans, capacity building, apprenticeship and market credit that created both a loyal followership that ensured political support and a new and growing base of entrepreneurs. The market women also paid dues that provided a pool of funds for petition writing, mass action and court action when called for. The funds of the market women provided the means to carry out much of the actions they took against the colonial administration.

More recently the power of market women’s associations was coopted by male power and the position of Iya Oge in Lagos state made a hereditary heirloom. Today, the powerful market women’s associations found in southern Nigeria are mostly absent from the Nigerian women’s movement. During the 1984 Women In Nigeria conference in Ibadan they disagreed with the more radical feminist organisers over polygamy, a patriarchal practice they insisted empowered them as traders and entrepreneurs. 

Despite the efforts of every First Lady since the first one findings in the 2012 Gender report show that 43% of Nigeria’s women are economically inactive.  More than half of Nigeria’s female population of 81million lives in the rural areas where they eke out a living as subsistence farmers. Today the ‘vultures of the market place’ own only 20% of enterprises in the formal sector, comprise 14% of Nigeria’s entrepreneurs, 25% of sole proprietorships and represent only 29% of the informal sector, the lowest figures in sub Saharan Africa. According to the World Bank women run 48% of small and medium enterprises in Africa as a whole.  In Nigeria women hold 20% of formal sector jobs and less than 13% of top positions. Of the six million young men and women that enter the job market every year in Nigeria, only 10% get a job and only one third of these jobs (200,000) go to women.  Sixty eight per cent of the population live in poverty and more than 70% of those are women. 

A few Nigerian women won elections into the House of Representatives in 1979. During the same period, only two women were appointed Federal Ministers. They were Chief (Mrs) Janet Akinrinade and Mrs Adenike Ebun Oyagbola, Minister for Internal Affairs and Minister for National Planning respectively. Mrs. Francesca Yetunde Emmanuel was the only female Permanent Secretary (first in the Federal Ministry of Establishment and later Federal Ministry of Health). A number of women were appointed Commissioners in the states also. In 1983, Ms Franca Afegbua became the only woman to be elected into the Senate. 

There has been some progress in the number of women that have been appointed and elected to public office since the democratization of 1999 but many of these women reject that women are their constituency often insisting they attained their status without female support and that they represent their entire geopolitical base , male and female. They refuse to actively take a pro-woman stance or to give strong support to pro-woman policies that would benefit women generally. Indeed their support base usually comes through the men they have access to and that invariably  support their campaigns and their loyalty is to the god-fathers that anoint them.

In 2006 the government introduced a national gender policy featuring an affirmative action target of 35% female participation in political parties, appointments and elective positions. The policy expired in 2010 and has not been renewed but continues to be cited as the basis for increasing women’s participation in decision making and politics. In 2011 the Federal government for the first time met this target in its executive cabinet appointments. These gains have been lost significantly since 2015. However, the legislature, the judiciary, the parastatals, political parties, the state and local governments continue to insist that there are not enough qualified women available to fill the quota and continue to fill available positions with unqualified men instead.  

Since the 80’s women have increasingly congregated towards social work and the non-profit, civil society sector. Women especially educated women who were being systematically excluded from the formal sector rushed in to fill the gaps created by the government’s inability to provide basic social and  public services with a plethora of community based  and non-governmental organizations which they funded out of meagre personal incomes, savings and capital raised from husbands, boyfriend and sugar daddies. A few successfully built populist support bases that they leveraged to win political participation rights but they were the exception and their appointments and elections smacked of tokenism. 

In 1999 and 2003 out of 130 federal boards of public corporations only 7 (5.6 per cent) were women. During the period, out of 47 cabinet ministers appointed only 7 were women which represent 14.89 per cent. One woman was appointed as Director-General of a government regulatory agency. Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistance were 2 women respectively. Six (6) women were appointed as Special Assistant, 8 women as permanent secretaries and one woman as special assistant to the Vice President. In 2011 more women were given political appointment, 12 women were appointed as Ministers out of 42 which represent 30 per cent and 4 women out of 20 as Special Advisers. Currently only 6 women were appointed as Ministers out of 30 ministerial appointees.

The Nigerian women’s movement goes back to the 1928 Women’s War in south east Nigeria and work and activism of Funmi Kuti, Margaret Ekpo, Oyinkansola Abayomi, Janet Mokelu, and Gambo Sawaba throughout the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Feminism as an organised political platform for the emancipation of Nigeria women emerged in 1982 after the first Women in Nigeria Conference in Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. Women In Nigeria WIN was established in 1983 as one of its outcomes.

WIN was decidedly socialist and theoretical in sharp contrast to the populist state funded Better Life for Rural Women BLP set up by Maryam Babangida in 1987. WIN criticised BLP for being elitist and not representative or helpful to rural women.  Nevertheless, BLP put women’s issues in the spotlight at all levels of the national discourse and had more popular grassroots support than WIN. 

Since the emergence of WIN, feminism and the Nigerian women’s movement have continued to develop side by side, frequently over lapping and working together to achieve legislative, political and policy objectives but never merging. The Nigerian women’s movement includes gender and women’s rights activists, religious, political, professional and cultural women’s groups that provide protection, services and support to women and girls (as well as a good dose of indoctrination), women focused and women led NGOs, CBOs and  

The problem of peace in Nigeria is too large a problem for any one group of women or stakeholders to undertake. Yet women continue to bear the brunt of the escalating insecurity in the country and the worsening economic situation. Women are the majority in the poorly administered and provisioned IDP camps. Women are increasingly victims of rape and violence as the situation deteriorates. Conversely women remain one of the most underrepresented groups in decision making, leadership and peace and security architecture in the country. 

This coalition is both an opportunity for more women leaders to emerge in the run up to the 2019 elections and an opportunity to build a grand alliance of women as a political pressure group in the country without the contentious issues that have kept women as a political group divided since Independence. Issues such as polygamy and the rights of LGBT have ensured that elite women activists and grassroots women have been unable to agree and come together to form and advance a political front and agenda that all women can rally behind and support. This has led to women remaining either as tribal/ethnic or religious jingoists. 

With the very real and imminent threat of blood shed, killings and war  an opportunity for Nigerian women as mothers ands caregivers emerged to come together to insist that their children will not continue to be used as fodder in male led and championed war tactics. It was also an opportunity for increasing women’s participation in peace building, peace keeping, conflict resolution and management contributing to the implementation of UNSCRs resolution 1325.

It was agreed to hold a consultation meeting to develop and adopt strategies and activities and assign roles with four women leaders and mobilisers from each zone that may include a nation-wide sit at home warning protest by women that will effectively shut down markets and workplaces, a media campaign with a strong social media component. This campaign will be a preliminary demand for peace and conflict resolution and will give a time bound deadline for all parties to respond after which women will call for an indefinite nation wide sit in if the desired results are not achieved or if the dealings are not met. 

The criteria for selection of the consultation meeting participants covered age (youth to older women), ethnic and tribal affiliation, sexual orientation, the physically challenged, vulnerable groups such as the IDP’s and women in conflict situations (women form the northeast and the south south) women from each of the six geopolitical zones of the country, religions routs, market women’s associations, and religious associations. 

Objectives for the meeting were – 

1. Identification of strategic partners and allies from the Women’s movement to ensure equal representation and  inclusive participation of sister’s from the six geo political zones. These are partners that also works around peace and conflict resolutions;

2. Identification of women’s organisations already working on peace conflict resolutions in order to give it a wider coverage and also create more grounds for a rooted sustainable plan;

3. Identification of women from the Academic Profession, Media Practitioners, Civil Society Organisation, Community / Women grass root Mobilizers, Market women Chairpersons etc. who can bring on board their rich experience and skills on table for during the deliberation;

The timing of the meeting was timely and critical, Nigerians were patiently waiting for Nigeria women to speak out with one voice considering the fact that in conflict crises women, children and the elderly are most affected. It was recognised that the difficult economic and security challenges Nigeria was facing were a direct product of the failure of successive governments. It was decided that the women’s agenda would not address the national calls for restructuring and secession but to focus on peace and women’s inclusion and allow the various ethnic nationalities decide the question through accepted channels with the women acting as referees and as participants at the negotiations instead of making a blanket demand that might not have the acceptance of the coalition. Women’s part in the dialogue would focus on peaceful dialogue whatever the outcome and ensuring that the women’s group which was supposed to be diverse could adequately represent that diversity without going into a debate about the pros and cons of restructuring.

Nigerian women as a political demographic group have the authority and the capacity to build bridges across political, religious, tribal, economic and social divisions. Security and the threat of possible ethnic violence are something that have a direct impact on all women’s lives and had the potential to  provide a common cause for all women to support a single cause without the divisions that have characterised past efforts by women to come together. The movement thought to differentiate itself from the Bring BackOur Girls movement which was a successful women’s led campaign but heavily criticised for its apparent elitist participation and top down approach. While most women in the country were sympathetic to the BBOG movement, their activities failed to mobilise the full support of grassroots and market women. 

Market women are an important and large pressure group that has failed to collaborate with the ideological groups of the organised civil sector. Nevertheless, these two groups working together can make a difference in the country that either group working alone cannot. An alliance of these two groups that represent the socio-economic divisions of women and transcends religious, tribal and political divisions could be the most powerful group in Nigeria and can have long term and far reaching impact on the governance of the country and make significant impact on women’s political and decision making participation. 

PREPARATORY CONSULTATIONS 

As the situation in Nigeria continued to deteriorate and the hate speech escalated a group of feminist women met in July 2017 and agreed it was time for women as a political pressure group to mobilise and intervene to halt the situation. In order to avoid the dissension that frequently categorises feminist activism it was decided that a broad coalition of women’s groups that encompassed both the elite and the grassroots woman would be built to form a pressure group against the violent rhetoric and the threats of war and bloodshed. Despite the ideological, religious and socioeconomic differences most women had a stake in ensuring that a war was averted. 

Informal consultations started with a series of meetings to discuss the emerging situation in Nigeria, identify collation members and consider possible actions. During the meetings which were with a number of women from across the country it became evident that each state in the federation was facing a peculiar crisis of governance and harboured increasing dissatisfaction with the male dominated leadership.  

The first meeting was held between Lesley Agams, Olufunke Baruwa and Chika Oduah who agreed in principle to the general plan for the meeting and contributed to a list of women to participate in the first consultation meeting. Adaora Ikenze who was with the Australian High Commission was invited to join the coalition and once she was contacted and immediately informed the Australian High Commissioner who then offered to host the meeting at his residence. Iheoma Obibi was contacted as the country director of the Nigerian Feminist Forum and it was agreed that the meeting would be held under the aegis of Alliances for Africa due to their strong record in working in conflict resolution, peace building and their mature networks and experience working in the field not only in Nigeria but across West Africa.

AfA worked in peace building and conflict resolution for over a decade and implemented a number of projects under the thematic area Conflict and Peace program called the Community Leaders Peace Initiative (CLPI) in Sierra Leone and Nigeria. This involved partnership with the Federation of African Women’s Peace Networks.  Presently, AfA is the Zonal Coordinator of the Women Situation Room Nigeria (WSRN), a non partisan loose network focused on promoting Women’s participation in peace building process. 

The WSRN is key in popularizing the UN s Security Council resolution 1325 which is currently being  implemented by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs through the Nigeria Action Plan (NAP). AfA is currently engaging women, youths/young adults  the wider community in understanding these resolutions and how it can be utilized in resolving conflicts at a family and community level. It was on this basis that AfA were chosen to lead this initiative to mobilise Nigerian women in the 36 states in Nigeria and make concrete demands on the insurgency confronting the country.

Pamela Braide, a development consultant from Cross River state was contacted and spoke about her state governors squandering spree and insisted that impunity and leadership must be one of the issues women demand be addressed. Impunity is rife in all states in various modes. She suggested we partner with Girls Power Initiative who is well positioned to provide us with the sort of support that we need in the south south. She also introduced Esther Eshiet a young female activist that has been popular and active in Cross River state. 

Viola Okolie, a social media and political analyst provided valuable information and background on Nnamdi Kanu and political events in the south east. She suggested that Nnamdi does not have an exit strategy and may be in over his head. She further said that he may appreciate a face saving way to back down from his current position and that if women were to give him an ultimatum it may be just the exit strategy he needs.

Viola suggested Hajiya Mariam Abdulahi who is from Idoma/Kaduna and runs the Women for Peace in Nigeria as a possible partner. Mariam has done a door to door peace campaign before and has national networks. She also suggested reaching out to Rita Anigbogu of the Movement of Biafra in Nigeria. Our action should at least be able to buy us time till 2019. Viola was of the opinion that a change in president will also help to calm the rhetoric. She pointed out that none of what we can ask for right now can be delivered overnight and much of it will require constitutional change. However we noted that the derivation formulae (which is a key issue) can be changed without constitutional change. 

Consultations with Ayi Osori, a development professional and a one time political candidate  who suggested a sit at home protest instead of street protests. Considering the security situation in the country that suggestion seemed definitely better and cheaper to organise considering the very short time available. During the sit in pundits would take to the air waves, after issuing a press release and social media buffs  would run an online campaign. We also discussed a three point agenda that would include 1. peace and conflict resolution 2. restructuring or decentralisation and 3. leadership which will include good governance and address the reasons why we are at this impasse in the first place. Ayi Osori further recommended partnering with FOMWAN, NAFSAT, Wumi Asubiaro- Dada and Felicia Sani.

It was originally proposed to hold the first consultative meeting in August 2017, however, in order to ensure that women from all over the country were represented at the meeting the original promoters after consultation decided to apply for funding to sponsor participants to the consultative meeting. The date for the meeting was deferred will funds has been secured and a new date was set for 7 September 2017 with 24 participants, four from each geopolitical zone of the country. 

The Meeting was to consider the following – 

The key issues the meeting participants were expected to consider were –

1. Insecurity –  terrorism, militancy, vigilante justice, kidnapping, herders and farmers clashes and killings, lawlessness
2. Good governance – power struggles between various arms of government, corruption, Impunity by government functionaries at all levels, local government elections  
3. Leadership – including women’s leadership and access to leadership positions, failure of male dominated leadership  
4. The corporate structure of Nigeria – restructuring, decentralisation or by whatever name described 
5. Constitutional review and women’s inclusion and participation in the process over and beyond the mere inclusion of the few women that hold elective and appointive positions. 

Objectives of the meeting were – 

1. That IPOB rescind its calls for succession immediately and engage productively with national elected leaders in negotiations
2. That AREWA Youths rescind its calls for Igbo’s to leave northern parts of Nigeria immediately and engage productively with national elected leaders in negotiations 
3. That MEND rescind its call for Nigerians from the north to vacate oil blocks immediately and engage productively with national elected leaders
4. That more women be included in the negotiations as decision makers, as observers and as referees to ensure that consensus is reached and that concrete and achievable  targets are set for affirmative action for women’s political participation.  

Expected Outcomes of the proposed meeting were – 

1. The various parties and groups in Nigeria are pressured revoke all hate speech and negotiate a way out of the current impasses and agree on specific, time bound and achievable goals for ending all crisis that currently  threaten the security, rights and democratic institutions in Nigeria
2. More women are included in the governance processes through appointments,  elections, conflict resolution engagements and consultations.
3. A grand alliance of women’s groups from around the country engaging governance processes and institutions and empowered for collective political activism.  

Activities the participants at the meeting were expected to consider were – 

1. Media Campaign 
2. Electronic Media – talking heads on various TV and web platforms articulating and explaining the women’s position
3. Social Media campaign coordinated online that creates trending hash tag e.g. #WeAreNigerianWomen #NigerianWomenDemandPeace&Resolution
4. International press conference of all partners detailing women’s demands and expected outcomes from the campaign
5. National Sit In of All Women and Women’s Groups in the country on a work day that effectively demonstrates the power of women to impact national economic and government activities. We are opting for a sit in campaign for logistics and security reasons. Campaign will be mobilised by grassroots organisations at the zonal and state levels and will include religious groups, market women, civil servants and private sector workers. 

REPORT OF THE FIRST CONSULTATIVE MEETING 7 SEPTEMBER 2017 

Criteria for participation were very rigorously set and followed to ensure that representation came form each of the geopolitical zones of the country and in recognition of the fact that each zone had peculiar security challenges that could not have been adequately addressed by any other participant. 

OBJECTIVES OF THE MEETING 

1. To provide a platform for the voices of women across Nigeria to be heard with regards to the key issues which negatively impact the lives of millions of Nigerians and their children and families
2. To ensure that the views and opinions of women are not left out of the discussions about the unity and progress of Nigeria and are taken into consideration
3. To give women a stronger sense of ownership and belonging in the country with the confidence of knowing that women can organise effectively and make a difference to the trajectory of our country

The meeting was chaired by Ms Iheoma Obibi, the Executive Director for Alliances for Africa (AfA).

MINUTES OF THE MEETING 

The Nigerian Women Unite for Peace Consultative Meeting; Integrating Nigerian Women into the Peace Process; was held to provide a platform for the voices of women across Nigeria to be heard with regards to key issues negatively affecting the lives of Nigerians and their families generally and to ensure that the views and opinions of women in discussions on the issues of the Unity and Progress of Nigeria are not sidelined.

Ms. Lesley Agams, giving the introduction and background to the rationale for the consultative meeting, began by firstly appreciating the participants for turning up irrespective of taut schedules. She traced how the women have severally been taken to the brink by the men, who continuously make decisions that affect the women without consulting the women, who on the one hand, have adopted, accepted and normalized the situation. She urged the women to rise up and resist the men from going to war, with the blood of their children. “How long would it be, before the women can no longer return from the brink?” she asked.

She further stated that women in power rarely display the courage necessary to represent women generally, thus she challenged the women not to give in to imposed powerlessness, and told the participants that they had been selected for their  capacity of each to mobilise large numbers of women. She summed her speech by reiterating that actions decided in the meeting MUST include All Women in Nigeria; the under appreciated Civil Servants, the House Wives (through exercise of her personal choices), the market women, the Religious Woman and every Nigerian woman irrespective of status, class or association.

After opening remarks each participants introduced themselves and the networks that they represented. Natasha Akpoti, after introducing herself, took the liberty to remind women that their duties as mothers was not limited to the doors of their homes. She further mentioned that women, as mothers, should not be too busy to pay attention to the children out there as the consequences were prejudicial to the course of women’s participation and national cohesion.

Participants were asked to state their expectation of the meeting; 

1. women should be able to stay hopeful as a consequence of the decisions reached in the meeting.
2. a change in the status quo
3. greater Nigerian women’s involvement in decision making in the Nation and a reduction in hate speech.
4. clear road maps on action plan and time frames for implementation
5. increased unity among Nigerian women
6. inclusion of the National Council for Women Societies 
7. Minimum number of SMART Goals for sort, medium and long term action; the 3Ps; Peace, Political Representation and Prosperity was suggested.
8. Television and Radio sensitisation in the various local languages for the women at the grass roots.
9. plans to educate the woman, renew national values in children, and listen to the needs of the destitute children.
10. change in the use of language and an end to hate speech 
11. target the young girls at early age on peace and security.
12. building courage and eliminating fear of the man in the Nigerian women.
13. a unified hashtag to signify the Nigerian Women’s voice of/for peace and involvement in the society
14. a workable action plan. 
15. strategic, acceptable and precise decisions that are attainable and agreeable to all classes of women.
16.  form a formidable force for political representation.
17. demand an audit of the resources sent to the Northeast
18. a safe space to lay the women’s emotions on the table.
19. substantial representation of women in areas of decision making.

After expectations were expressed, the question, “How?” was raised. Ms. Obibi reminded the participants that the problem was a short term problem and needed a distinct road map, a doable game plan and specific action. She emphasised that it was essential the women change the narratives for themselves, and called for specific, workable actions to be implemented on or before the 29th of September, 2017. 

Participants came up with the following suggestions ;

1. Peace talks; all agitating factions to be invited for negotiations to reach a peaceful compromise,
2. Women to demand and communicate peace.
3. Women to wear plain clothes for two days to raise curiosity and on the third day wear crested vests embezzled with ‘PEACE!’
4. Press statement to be released summarising the decisions reached by the meeting.
5. Hashtags to be adopted and used across the globe; 
6. Social Media Pundits to be be engaged to spread the message and canvass women’s support
7. meet Nigerian women’s basic economic needs in order to get their buy in 
8. that each geo-political zone should formulate and address zonal peculiarities.
9. ask women to cook without salt for and draw the attention of the men and the general society.
10. engage the media and use jingles in local dialects to lobby broad based support 
11. release a communiqué that presented what women want from the process.
12. use coloured scarves and or blouses to create awareness of the women’s demands.
13. Create sub committees and assign participants accordingly to facilitate decisions reached in the meeting. 

The participants debated and ultimately rejected the original proposal for a sit in or street protests. It was decided that in view of the lack of funds, the short turn around time between the meeting and the 1st of October and the logistics of organising a national sit in that the focus be on media, both traditional and new media, press conferences and   strong messaging and statements that represented the women’s position and point of view till such a time as funds became available for more elaborate means of protest. 

OUTCOMES OF THE CONSULTATIVE MEETING

GENERAL (short/long terms):

1. Political participation in decision making positions at all levels of offices.
2. This group in every state by 2019-fielding presidential candidate.
3. To have our women peace position in Nigeria.
4. To have/get a sit at the table for peace/conflict resolution.
5. Audit resources at the Northeast, Northwest and take strategic decisions on arm conflicts.
6. Update media on issues of UNSCR 1325-Nigeria is a signatory
7. Sustained fight against violence.

PRIORITIES:

1. Massive media campaigns, facebook, TV/Radio programme.
2. What Women Want (WWW)- Peace prints on scarf and T-shirts.
3. #NGWomen4 Peace
4. #NGWomen4 Hope
5. Recognize women moulders at all levels, elites, grassroots etc
6. Strong message to Nigerian public
7. Reach out to many women groups/networks as possible.
8. Leave no woman behind

Participants were eventually grouped into Geopolitical zones to map out zonal strategies  that agreed with the national objectives and action plan but also addressed specific zonal  characteristics and the capacities of the participants. Each zone came up with workable, specific, time bound action plans to be executed by their zones. Decisions reached by various zones include:

 NORTHWEST:

1. Bring in market women.
2. Radio and TV programme
3. Get Arewa youths on various programme to have them recant on the Hate speech.

 NORTHEAST:

1. Use of media, jingle-Unimaid radio fm
2. Involve various women groups, including traders.
3. People to translate 4 (four) languages
4. Identify influential people and involve them.

NORTH CENTRAL:

1. To wait for the messaging
2. Use network and groups within the same locations
3. Engage with the market women
4. Work with church groups
5. Write to different churches/mosques
6. Women in CAN/C.W.O
7. Media campaign especially F.C.T
8. Work with program by Embelembe
9. White scarf and purple
10. All messages – Social media pass across

SOUTH SOUTH:

1. Identify group network to work with
2. Work with social media
3. Option of white scarf on a fixed date

SOUTHEAST:

1. Work with media, Students Union Government, etc.
2. Radio discussion; phone in programme via my Radio, Heartland FM, Zander, etc. from the 13th to the 14th of September, 2017.
3. A-3-day awareness scarf wear, 
4. Day one, 27th September: White scarf
5. Day two, 28th September: Purple Scarf
6. Day three, 29th September: White scarf. 
7. Have a formal advocacy visits to Christian groups; CAN, PFN, CWO, etc, Rotary Groups, Local Women groups and Market women to ensure the dissemination of information. 

SOUTHWEST:

1. Use media especially radio Unilag.
2. TV continental, AIT channels.
3. Market women and men who are influencers
4. Talk to Obas, Meali group(Herdsmen), NASFAS (moslem groups) CWOs(Catholic faith)
5. Write to the General overseer/do a reminder.
6. Women of Nigeria(WON) asking for peace
7. Repeat action through October 6
8. Talk to NANS
9. Engage CSO groups, DSS in case of a need for a rally, police DIG
10. Engage all paramilitary,FRSC(Peace/Security), Peace Corps
11. Strategize in wearing white scarf signifying peace
12. To get 3 women representatives to talk to the media- phone in discussion programme

Four committees were inaugurated at the meeting and given specific terms of reference  – 

1. Messaging Committee
2. Digital Content Committee
3. Media Committee and 
4. Alliance Building Committee

It was also agreed that the participants from each zone make up a working committee for their zones and act as contact persons and coordinators reporting back to Alliances for Africa as the lead organisation and taking guidance from  them. At the end of the meeting a communique was drafted and signed by all the participants present and shared through various media channels national and state level. It was picked up by Leadership a major national print daily and four different online state media channels. 

Press conferences were proposed immediately proposed as the next step in order to reach a wider audience and a date, 28 September 2017, was agreed in order not to compete for band width and attention and to feed into traditional messages delivered on Independence Day 1st October.