- Says men are suffering
From Priscilla Ediare, Ado Ekiti
A Public Relations expert, Mr Toba Adaramola, has called on governments at all levels to create a ministry of men’s affairs, saying like the female gender, men and boys also have various issues they contend with.
Adaramola said the call was not unconnected to the neglect, lack of attention and care for men and the boy child.
The expert who noted that his advocacy was not based on rivalry but to ensure a gender balance, added that creating the ministry will go a long way in addressing the various issues affecting the men folk.
Adaramola made the call in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital at the 2nd Lecture series of Toba Adaramola Foundation with the theme: 21st Century Gender Challenges.
Papers were presented at the event by a Professor of Sociology at the Ekiti State University, (EKSU) Prof. Christopher Oluwadare, President of Ekiti State Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Monisade Abodunde and former EKSU Registrar, Dr. Omojola Awosusi.
According to Adaramola, “all government activities are geared towards girl child gender equality, nobody is talking about the men and they will say what you don’t value will eventually become a problem for you, they pay attention to the girl child, they ensure they are going to school, the boy child no attention is given to them. They are the ones that are into commercial motorcycling. How many of our ladies are seen doing Okada work in this place?
“After their education, these ladies come back looking for husbands, where will the husbands be when they are not educated? So these are some of the things that we are looking at and we say, let us arrange it. It is not as if the men are not having issues, there is nobody that you will call that will not tell you that he is having issues”.
The former local government and Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) chairman in Ekiti State, who stated that his recommendation was not a matter of rivalry but a necessity further said, “I advocated in my presentation that there is need for government at all levels to create the ministry of men and boys affairs to cater for men folk as they are doing for the ladies or for women affairs.
“How many ladies are doing yahoo-yahoo (internet fraud)? The majority of them are in school studying but boys are busy looking for money. So, these are some of the things that we need to address and then balance the equation and if they are not addressed, am afraid there is a problem.
“It is a general issue that affects everyone. We will continue to be doing this on issues that bother us and that may really affect us so that the government will come up with a policy through our recommendations at this gathering, this was exactly what people said, then we submit it to the governor”.
The convener of the lecture series revealed that a communique that will be issued at the end of the event will be forwarded to the governor, and the State House of Assembly too, saying “If we can get it to the National, Ekiti State can give light to the entire country”.
He stated that action plans have been put in place to ensure the effectiveness of the proposal, “the first thing is for us to keep the government informed. As a matter of fact, the office of the First Lady is aware of the gathering, which is why she sent the Gender Desk Officer. The police, Civil Defence, and DSS are all aware of it, and that is why their representatives are all here. We also collaborated with the National Human Rights Commission.”
He said if the state government buys into the recommendation, Ekiti can be the pilot state and could be replicated at the federal level.
“Today, men are suffering deprivation, neglect and depression. The general advocate is for women but nobody is raising their voice for men and they are the breadwinners, so these are some of the things the Ministry of Men’s Affairs is to look into. It is not a matter of competition but to balance so that Nigeria will move forward”.
Prof. Oluwadare in his lecture, titled: “On the Road to Maturity: Planting the Seed of social hypogamy”, called for specific public policies and programmes to address the peculiar medical, sexual and demographic needs of men.
Justice Abodunde in her presentation, “The Roles of Men in Women’s Development in the 21st Century”, outlined education, sound policies and legislation, being supportive, of women in leadership, and ending harmful practices among others as parts of what men should be doing to ensure women development.
Dr Awosusi who spoke on “21st-century Men: Challenges, Expectations and Prospects” said a lot has changed about men in the 21st century which should be a source of concern to present and coming generations.