Young people in underrepresented communities and IDP camps across Abuja have completed a transformative gender justice project that empowered them to speak out through storytelling and creative advocacy.
The initiative, titled “Our Voice, Our Power,” engaged adolescent girls and boys from Durumi and the New Kuchingoro IDP camp, demonstrating how imagination, dialogue, and media can drive community change.
The Organizers
Implemented by Ogri Caro-Ann Aricha, Opeyemi Adenikan, Elizabeth Kedonojo Umoru, and Priye Diri, Fellows of the Nigerian Green Academy, the project combined film education, creative writing, and feminist mentorship, with funding from Heinrich Böll Stiftung.
According to the organizers, the goal was clear: “to give young people the knowledge and confidence to identify inequalities and speak against them.” The program focused on feminism, allyship, bodily autonomy, gender rights, and ethical leadership.
Twenty adolescents aged 13 to 18 were selected through a reflective writing exercise titled “My Dream of a Gender Equal World,” which introduced them to key themes while encouraging personal expression.
As the project progressed, participants began to see themselves differently, shifting from passive observers to active community members capable of influence and leadership.
A major highlight was the screening of documentaries on African women changemakers and positive masculinity, which opened conversations on barriers faced by girls and the pressures shaping boys.
In reflection circles, girls spoke about safety, early marriage, and silencing, while boys confronted ideas around dominance and accountability, supported by facilitators and feminist leaders including Dorothy Njemanze, Nafisa Atiku, and Kenneth Kamah.
Through structured workshops, participants moved from journaling to scripting short advocacy pieces, later producing videos that addressed issues such as girls’ education, menstrual hygiene, fairness in decision-making, empathy, and inclusion.
The advocacy videos were launched online under the hashtag #HerVoiceHerPower, spotlighting girls while positioning boys as visible allies, and inviting wider public engagement on youth-led gender justice.
Beyond workshops, participants gained skills in teamwork, public speaking, leadership, and responsible social media use, with each encouraged to share lessons within homes, schools, youth groups, and the IDP camp.
The project also produced a book titled “My Dream of a Gender Equal World,” featuring the adolescents’ essays, alongside seven advocacy videos, all created between August and November.
The Book
Supported by FEMBUDNG and Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Our Voice, Our Power stands as a significant contribution to feminist education, reaffirming that “when young voices are amplified, communities reflect—and change begins.”
A month after the mass abduction of 46 Oyo schoolchildren and teachers by terrorists on May 15 and the decapitation of a teacher, the captives remain in the forest despite military claims and political promises from President Bola Tinubu and Governor Seyi Makinde.
The terrorists kidnapped the students and staffers after invading schools in the Esienle and Yawota communities in Orire local council in Oyo state.
Days after the abduction, one of the teachers, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded by the terrorists, pressuring the government to meet their demands for the release of the abductees.
On May 19, four days after the abduction, the Defence Headquarters, in a statement by its spokesperson, Michael Onoja, said, “Troops are currently deployed and actively operating within the forest in pursuit of the perpetrators and in search of the abducted victims.”
“Troops made contact with the criminal elements two days ago, have since reorganised, and are continuing the search and pursuit operations with full determination.”
The military and the government cited collateral damage as a reason for not taking out the terrorists.
While the schoolchildren and their teachers languish in captivity, Messrs Tinubu and Makinde have been engaging in electioneering as they chase their presidential dreams, both emerging as their party’s candidates for the 2027 election.
On May 31, Mr Makinde visited the hostages’ communities, promising their families the safe return of those abducted.
“This is not the time to start trading blame on who should be responsible for the release of these children between the state and federal government. This is just the time to come together to rescue our children and their teachers, Mr Makinde told the families of abductees. “All I need is your cooperation. Please trust us. I cannot speak much because it has security implications. I know your hearts are bleeding. My heart is also bleeding. Please trust us. We will secure their release.”
Similarly, a delegation representing Mr Tinubu, led by his chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, visited the families and made a similar promise.
In a video released by the terrorists, Rachael Alamu, one of the hostages and the principal of Community High School Esinele, begged Messrs Tinubu and Makinde to negotiate with the terrorists to secure their release.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State House of Assembly has opposed negotiating with the terrorists.
Debo Ogundoyin, the speaker of the assembly, said the state would not pay ransom, give weapons to terrorists or change laws to accommodate the kidnappers.
Several protests have followed the government’s failure to rescue the hostages.
Amid public outrage and discontent, many Nigerians protested across several states, including Oyo, Lagos, Ogun, Bayelsa, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory, demanding the immediate rescue of the hostages.
In his Democracy Day speech on June 12, Mr Tinubu said, “Though this year’s mood is dampened by the abduction of our children in Oyo and Borno, we remain hopeful for their safe return. Democracy without security is not solid enough.”
The president urged terrorists and bandits across the country to lay down their arms or face the wrath of his administration.
The Plateau State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has joined its counterparts across the country in protesting the abduction of pupils and teachers from a primary school in Oyo State.
Hundreds of teachers staged a demonstration in Jos, the Plateau State capital, carrying placards and banners to express their anger over the continued captivity of the victims several weeks after the incident.
The protesters called on the Federal Government and security agencies to intensify efforts to secure the immediate and safe release of the abducted pupils and teachers, stressing that schools must remain safe spaces for learning.
They also expressed concern over the growing trend of school-related abductions in parts of the country, warning that such incidents could discourage parents from sending their children to school if not urgently addressed.
The union urged authorities to strengthen security around educational institutions and ensure the safe return of all victims still in captivity.
