‘Seminars without empowerment waste’ – Nigerian Minister of Women disrupts another event in Abuja

Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has once again disrupted an event in Abuja that was organized without her consent and lacked a people-centered purpose.

The incident occurred nearly a month after a similar action by the minister on August 8, 2024, in Abuja.

During the previous event, titled “Unveiling the Power of Women and Food Security,” which was held without the ministry’s approval, the minister stated that the organizer had been taken into custody by the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly impersonating the ministry.

“There is an impersonation going on here. The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs did not plan this. The lady has been arrested. Right now, she is with the DSS.

“After we wrote that we were canceling, the president approved that we should cancel until further notice; she still went ahead to print this thing,” she said in a video posted on her X page.

In the latest video, which has now gone viral on social media, the minister was heard expressing her opposition to workshops and seminars, emphasizing that seminars without empowerment are a waste of the government’s scarce resources.

“Let this be the last time Women Affairs will organize anything that I am not aware of. If you try next time, I will come here and disgrace you. I know what I am going through in this country. For a while, this is what we keep organizing. A few weeks ago, there was a hunger protest, and they talked about peace and security. Women are not empowered. Children are suffering. Nigerians are suffering, but we waste money all the time on frivolous things.

“I am sorry. Many people may misunderstand me, but I am ready to be misunderstood. I am ready to be tortured. I am ready. I have changed the narrative; I said no program without empowerment,” she added.

The minister further stated, “Talking about peace and security amidst poverty—how can you solve it? You keep talking and holding workshops. With poverty, where are we heading? How do we solve that poverty? By directing money to the wrong channels that don’t make an impact on humans? On those people you want to change and give you peace?”

Mrs. Uju said she had changed the narrative. “I said do not do any program without empowerment. They give money to the ministries, and it is used for travel and programs—nothing that will impact the nation.

“If you hear the amount of money the government gives to ministries, you will be shocked. Why should it continue like this? Why should we fold our hands and allow these things to continue? Who do you think will save you? It’s you who will save yourself. Let them call me names—‘troublemaker,’ ‘mad woman’—I am ready to take it,” she said.