By Olufemi Ojo
IBADAN – As the world marks International Women’s Day 2026, gender advocates and stakeholders are calling for a fundamental shift in how society perceives women, identifying systemic educational neglect and a widespread “ignorance of rights” as major roadblocks to Nigeria’s national development.
Speaking yesterday at the Sango Police Barracks in Ibadan, during an outreach program organised by Girlchild Total Care Foundation in collaboration with Love World Incorporated a platform under Christ embassyDeaconess Tinuola Kehinde,described women’s empowerment as a “divine mandate” rather than a social preference.
Mrs. Kehinde criticized the persistent societal bias that prioritizes male education over the girl-child, noting that women possess a unique, inherent capacity for resource multiplication.
However, she warned that internal barriers are just as damaging as external ones, hence called for an urgent need for a mindset shift in order to recognize their values and be truly useful to themselves and their communities. “
We want to change their mindset. That their ultimate is not to end up in kitchens. They have to be useful for themselves and for the community.
And what are the things you think government can do to change the narrative at the moment? All the time we are looking at government to do everything for us. But there is little that the government can do. It is what we do for ourselves.” she said
In the same vien , she urged women to resist stomach infrastructure and instead vote based on conviction and long-term vision With the 2027 general elections approachin.
“Elections are coming. And women are always used as a tool for politicians. Women should see themselves as agents of change, number one.
Number two, they should not allow anybody to come and rob them of their future with 1,000 Naira, 10,000 Naira, with rice. They have this slogan, they will give them what they will eat for one day. And they will collect what they can eat for forever.
They will collect it from them. They buy their conscience with that money the money is given to them, with the rice given to them. And that is not what we need here.“she said
Legal practitioner Barrister Joan Kehinde-James present at the event reiterates the need for women, generally, to understand how important they are and their role in society.
While she expressed her displeasure at the patriarchal system which she claimed has dimmed the light of so many women in Nigeria, she opined that women can actually do more and also be more than what the environment has turned them into. “So this programme is one way to see that women can actually do more. Women can be more than what the world, what the environment has turned them to be. A woman is not supposed to be confined to the four walls of a home.” she said.
She charged the women’s population to be politically proactive, urging them to stop acting as mere tools for politicians and to start engaging as informed stakeholders.
Dr. Ayobami Akin-Desmond, founder of the Girl Child Total Care Foundation, Foundation, explained that the location was chosen intentionally to empower women within the barracks with both spiritual and economic support through hands-on vocational skills.
While she disclosed that there are no limits to what a woman can achieve once she sets her mind to it, She encouraged the participants to reach their full potential and “de-stigmatize” the act of seeking help, urging them to stop “manning up” in the face of overwhelming challenges.
The outreach concluded with practical training sessions, where women were taught to produce soap, air fresheners, and disinfectants—low-overhead ventures designed to provide financial independence from the comfort of their homes.
