ACCOMPLISH MAGAZINE DEC 2023

INTERVIEW
Accomplish: Do you
think enough has been
said and done to give
women a true sense of
belonging in Nigeria?
Dr. Emem Okon: Enough
has not been done. That
is why the campaign
is on. There has been a
lot of campaigns, but
there is also some level
of resistance. If you
remember last March,
there were some genderresponsive
or sensitive
bills that the National
Assembly did not want to
pass. That means there
is still that resistance
to issues of women
empowerment. Women
are part of the society.
And if women are not
represented in decision
making processes
and bodies, there is a
problem. There are some
peculiar issues about
women that men cannot
discuss adequately.
When you’re making laws
and policies, you need to
look at how that law will
address the problems
of men, the problems of
youth, the problems of
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women, the problems of children and the problems of
persons with disabilities.
Accomplish: How have you funded your projects?
Dr. Emem Okon: We have funders. Some of our good
governance programmes are funded by Oxfam. Ford
Foundation is one of our critical funders. We partner with
Global Fund for Women, Grassroots International and so
on. For the leadership development school, lectures are
free according to the requirements of Centre LSD. So,
we attract highly qualified, truly reputable lecturers
who offer their services as volunteers.
Accomplish: Are there projects your NGO is
working on?
Dr. Emem Okon: There are a lot of projects. We
are advocating for local governments to adopt the
Gender and Climate Change Framework. We are
also creating awareness on climate change and
encouraging community members to be more
sensitive to what is happening in their community.
In fact, we have invited the National Council on
Climate Change to come to Rivers State and train
us and other NGOs on what our government is doing
at the national level on climate change and how
local authorities can link up to what is happening
A cross section of women activists and
campaigners at the 2023 African Women
Climate Assembly in Lagos, Nigeria
at the national and
international levels.
We also have the
Good Governance
Project, specifically
campaigning for
the adoption of the
National Gender
Policy at the state
and local government
levels.
Women participants discussing
community-led solutions to the
climate crisis in the Niger Delta
DIIYI
WILLIAM-WEST
AUTHOR’S BIO
More fondly known
as DDWEST, he
has several years
of media practice
experience spanning
magazines,
newspapers,
television and radio;
laying emphasis
on maintaining
standards in
media practice.
He practised and
lectured Public
Relations for
nearly a decade
before going
into leadership
consulting and real
estate consultancy.