MY AWANI STORY
The current state of Nigeria constantly makes me wonder what our fate would have been if the colonial masters never decided to merge the regions into one. However, I am beginning to realize the need to start looking inwards, to start examining what we were before the colonists and what we have the potential to be after sixty years. We need to start understanding our own roots and cultures before foreigners encroached on our lands. The absence of our stories before the white man landed on our shores is the cause of our incomplete history. The total absence of the knowledge of our history plays an important role in the terrible state we are in. I just watched a short film called Awani and I urge everyone reading to do the same.
Watching the film for me was like tapping into the magnanimous history classes I never took. History should indeed be made compulsory for all students, at every level of education and taught in all homes. My point of view on this is through the lens of a misinformed Nigeria.
The realization that patriarchy was consolidated by the colonial masters was such an eye-opener. It makes a lot of sense that women had their ranks, niches, and accompanying respect in our pre-colonial culture. The Yoruba tribe I belong to certainly has special traditional offices occupied by women alone. We were not originally a people that excluded women from governance and commerce. I agree with Burna Boy’s condemnation of the history we inherited from the British people in his song titled Monsters. Now more than ever, a complete change in our history lessons is compulsory.
Learning about how Nigerian women revolted against oppression in the past and ruminating on the contributions of the Feminist Coalition during the END SARS protests made it clear that Nigerian women have always been phenomenal. From the solidarity during the Aba war, to the initiation of the riots against the Iva mine massacre and then the mobilization of the Abeokuta women’s revolt, Nigerian women have been mobilizing and demanding positive change for a very long time. This must be the proudest I have been as a young Nigerian woman. It gives me peace to know that my anger against gender inequality is valid and our mothers have been fighting these battles for a long time.
The highlight of the film for me was watching young girls speak about the same challenges I faced as a teenager. It reminded me of the importance of training girls and boys alike to be respectful and responsible.
In conclusion, it is evident that education remains key. We need to start teaching young girls and boys the right things. We must start telling our stories. Awani is a perfect example of effective ways to educate the populace. I believe it is only when we are educated on our problems, rights, and roots as women, that we can truly begin to effect the changes we deserve.
