The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has once again disrupted another public event in Abuja, this time claiming it was organised without her permission.
The incident occurred just 22 days after a similar disruption on August 8, 2024, where she had intervened in an event titled “Unveiling the Power of Women and Food Security,” which she stated was held without the Ministry’s approval.
In a video shared on her X page after the August 8 incident, Kennedy-Ohanenye declared, “There is an impersonating thing going on here. The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs did not plan this. The lady, I have arrested her. Right now, she is with the DSS.” She further explained that despite a directive to cancel the event, the organizer proceeded with it. “After we wrote that we were cancelling, the president approved that we should cancel until further notice; she still went ahead to print this thing,” she added.
In the most recent disruption, a video that has since gone viral on social media shows Kennedy-Ohanenye expressing strong opposition to events like workshops and seminars that, in her view, do not directly empower women. “Let this be the last time Women Affairs will organise anything that I am not aware of. You try next time, I will come here and get you people disgraced,” she warned.
The minister criticised such programmes for their lack of tangible impact, saying, “For a while, this is what we keep on organising. 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.”
Kennedy-Ohanenye emphasised that she was prepared to face backlash for her stance. “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 programme without empowerment,” she stated.
Addressing the broader issues of peace, security, and poverty, the minister questioned the effectiveness of current approaches. “When talking about peace and security with poverty, how can you solve it? You keep talking, doing workshops. With poverty, where are we heading to? How do we solve that poverty? By directing money to the wrong channels that don’t make an impact on humans?” she argued.
Reaffirming her commitment to a new direction for the Ministry, Kennedy-Ohanenye declared, “I said do not do any programme without empowerment. They give monies in the Ministries and it is used for travel and programmes. Nothing that will impact the nation.”
She concluded with a call for accountability, questioning the current use of government funds, “If you hear the monies the government gives out to ministries, you will be shocked. Why should it continue like that? Why should we fold our hands and these things will continue? Who do you think will save you? It’s you that will save yourself. Let them call me names, troublemaker’, ‘mad woman’, I am ready to take it.”