The loud silence of Nigerian women and feminist groups across the country over comments attributed to Ned Nwoko – that he is saving women from prostitution by marrying multiple wives is baffling. The idea that the only alternative available to the average woman in our society is prostitution is demeaning and wicked in every sense. More so, to think that this man is a lawyer and a candidate for the Nigerian Senate in the next election is beyond my imagination. Most misogynists make strenuous efforts to cloak their view of women, but Mr. Nwoko is brazen in his objectification of women in general and Nigerian women in particular. In his thinking, the highest value of the woman is that of a sex toy. This level of hate, sexism, and gender bias should not be left to slide. It is a wound on womanhood that Mr. Nwoko must be held to account for.

In a recent interview, Mr. Nwoko gave the sense that as a polygamist, he was doing a great service to the nation. He also compared his number of wives to that of the Ooni of Ife, Oba, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi – and reflected that both their grandfathers, as traditional rulers served the country in the past; but in this dispensation, they are taking prostitutes off the streets by marrying multiple wives. In his words: “My grandfather and the Ooni’s grandfather and the then Olowo of Owo took many photographs together. So, the Ooni and I have that kind of common background, because our grandfathers were kings and served Nigeria in that capacity. And we are now also serving Nigeria by having many wives.” “Many women are out there on their own without husbands, especially in the southern part of the country, and there is a high level of prostitution. What some of our girls do to make ends meet is regrettable and if our men emulate their northern counterparts by having more than one wife, that could probably change the situation.”

The words of Ned Nwoko, clearly define misogyny, a word that entered the English lexicon in the 17th century as a rejoinder to an anti-woman pamphlet written by Joseph Swetnam. In the pamphlet, Mr. Swetnam created a compendium of all possible sexist, coarse, and disparaging jokes about women. But the women of that era responded swiftly. In fact, a feminist play, arraigned and performed by women, with the title, ‘Swetnam the Woman Hater’ was written, and the character standing in for Swetnam was named Misogynos. Misogyny could be described as the “dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.” Misogynistic attitudes against women could range from catcalling, insults disguised as jokes, devaluing of a woman’s input, assumptions, underestimating, infantilising, denigrating, and much more.

The word fell out of use in the 18th, 19th, and a great part of the 20th century. However, it was resurrected by Andrea Dworkin in her 1974 book, with the title “Woman Hating.” Dwokin’s book was a critique of societal prejudice against women. She later wrote: “As women, we live in the midst of a society that regards us as contemptible. We are despised …..we are the victims of continuous malevolent, and sanctioned violence against us.” Essentially, Ned Nwoko, even though he has six wives, is a woman hater, in the sense that, on the one hand, he has reduced women to exotic toys, and himself a collector. But on the other hand, women are weak and unable to help themselves if left on their own. Both views are repugnant, not only to womanhood, but also to the society in general, because, it vitiates, and reduces women to nothing, negating in the first instance, that they are the glue that holds the fabric of society together.

It was a huge insult to Nigerian women. An insult that took no account of the struggles, and the battles they have fought and won from the pre-colonial era to the 21st century. Mr. Nwoko has no regard for our history, which clearly shows that the African woman, and particularly the Nigerian woman has always been a cultural and economic powerhouse from time immemorial. I fact, women have even ruled kingdoms; for example, Queen Kambasa, ruled the Bonny Kingdom from 1385 to 1420. Incidentally, the current Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area is a woman, Hon. Anengi C. Wilcox; from all accounts, she has done much better than all previous chairmen since 1999. Mr. Nwoko’s jaundiced view, even though he is of Igbo decent, or maybe, the fact of his ancestry as a Prince, and the silver spoon which he was born with denied him the capacity to make meaning of the industry of the average woman. He forgot, that almost a century ago, this fact was evidenced by an attempt by the British to tax women of old Eastern Nigeria – a monumental miscalculation that eventually triggered the Aba women riot of 1929. The Aba riot is quite instructive because a government can tax nothing.

Even though some women have been forced into early marriages, reduced to cows for plowing the farm by some, in some parts of the country, turned to slaves by others, and stereotyped, their contribution to what Nigerian is today is invaluable. Nigerian women have broken every barrier in every endearvour where they have been allowed to compete with grit and intellect. But in politics, men like Ned Nwoko are doing everything possible to retain the glass ceiling, even when they are beaten fair and square. Like the case in Adamawa State, where Senator Aihatu Dehiru Binani, a woman defeated the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, and former governor of the state, Jubrilla Bindow to win the May 26, 2022, primary election of the All Progressive Congress.

By: Raphael Pepple