Today is International Women’s Day, a day when we get to slap Beyonce lyrics on our selfies -thank you Snapchat-, and talk about the importance of gender equality and women’s right.
But before today, these Nigerian celebrities have been dedicating a large chunk of their lives to the fight for human rights and equality.
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde
“Omo sexy”is more popular for being a movie star and having a banging hot body. However what most people don’t know is that she is also a humanitarian and philanthropist. Omotola was made a UN World Food Programmes ambassador in 2005, a post that took her on missions to Sierra Leone and Liberia. She has an NGO called the “Omotola Youth Empowerment Programme.” In 2013 she was named one of the most influential people in the world alongside the likes of Kate Middleton and Beyonce by TIME magazine.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A brilliant writer who made giant strides for Nigerian literature with her written works, Adichie is regarded as “Aunty feminist”, a title she is unashamed to bear. Her brilliance can not be denied and she continues to lend her voice wholeheartedly to the fight for equality.
Parts of the TEDx talk she gave in 2013 titled “We should all be feminists” was sampled on Beyonce’s Flawless single, an opportunity that helped Chimamanda’s very valid views on feminism, reach an audience of millions.
Waje
Everyone knows Waje for her beautiful voice and her larger-than-life personality. She rose to fame after featuring on a P-Square’s hit song but apart from being an amazing artiste, Waje also has an amazing soul. She started an organization called “Waje’s Safe House”, which teams up with other NGOs to fight for the cause of youth in her community.
Onyeka Onwenu
When you hear her name, you immediately think of Onyeka the artiste and legend. You think of evergreen songs (One Love), and hit movies (Conspiracy). But Onyeka Onwenu is so much more than that, she is also an activist and politician.In 1984, she wrote and presented a documentary titled “Nigeria, A Squandering of Riches”. The documentary became the definitive film on corruption at the time, and stirred people to raise their voices against it.
We recognize that there is an endless list of women lending their voices to these causes who are unrecognised and unappreciated and to all those women we say thank you.
