OF MONEY WIVES AND WIFE LAUNDERING

It is therefore no surprise that at a political gathering, professionally accomplished women were told to stand XS DQG VHUYH SXͿ SXͿ SUREDEO\ E\ PHQ EHORZ WKHLU VWDtions in life. After all, we live in a society where male drivers have been known to rudely tell their female bosses, “I have your type at home.”

2Q WKH VSHFLÀF FKDOOHQJH DPRQJ WKH %HFKHYH SHRSOH WKH IDFW WKDW FKLOG VODYHU\ DQG VH[XDO H[SORLWDWLRQ DUH ÀQGLQJ MXVWLÀFDWLRQ LQ FXOWXUH UHÁHFWV VRFLDO QRUPV WKDW SHUSHWXDWH discrimination against the female gender in Nigeria. This is the challenge all stakeholders must join to address. In the January report by Asishana, she shared several pathetLF VWRULHV 2QH ZDV WKDW RI %HDWULFH 2NXPR ZKR ZDV used as collateral for the money her father borrowed when VKH ZDV ÀYH DQG LV QRZ ZLIH WR WKH \HDU ROG FUHGLWRU 0HDQZKLOH WKH ORDQ WKDW HQVODYHG KHU \HDUV DJR ZDV taken to settle both the hospital bill and cost of her mother’s burial after dying during childbirth. This is a woman whose life was stolen by the men around her.

Yesterday, I spoke with the former First Lady of Cross River State, Mrs Onari Duke whom I understand has been LQYROYHG LQ WKH ÀJKW WR HQG WKH FXOWXUH LQ D ELG WR HPSRZer the girl-child and people of the communities. I asked why she didn’t confront the problem when her husband was governor, and she explained a lack of awareness at the time. “People often forget that I am not originally from Cross River and even then, these practices were a wellkept secret from many because I only got to know about it D OLWWOH RYHU ÀYH \HDUV DJR $QG IURP WKDW SRLQW WLOO QRZ ZH have done a lot in putting an end to the barbaric practice GHVSLWH VWLͿ UHVLVWDQFH µ VKH WROG PH

According to Mrs Duke who lauded the support of American diplomats in Nigeria on the issue, some of the ‘husbands’ are already being prosecuted after securing freedom for their captive girls. “We have also done a census of all the young girls within these communities as well as their status to ensure a structured and evaluated intervention that can be monitored and measured,” she said, while highlighting programmes instituted to address what she also believes are socio-economic problems. “I

KDYH WDSSHG LQWR DQ 81&7$' 8QLWHG 1DWLRQV &RQIHUence for Trade and Development) entrepreneurship capacLW\ EXLOGLQJ SURJUDPPH FXUUHQWO\ RSHUDWLRQDO LQ FRXQtries and of which I am the Country Director in Nigeria. We are also establishing a honey factory so that we can have an enduring solution to what is slavery combined with child marriage. The idea is to inspire generational change and stability in the region as well as provide scholarships for all under-age money wives and girls within the communities.”

I commend Mrs Duke and all the people who are working to end this culture that enslaves young girls who are WUHDWHG DV FKDWWHOV %XW WKH XOWLPDWH UHVSRQVLELOLW\ OLHV ZLWK the government of Cross River State. For our society to develop and thrive, we must jettison archaic and oppressive practices that circumscribe the rights of our women/girls and prevent them from leading productive lives that contribute to our development. Olusegun Adeniyi, Abuja