Her Royal Highness, HRH, Etieka Henrieta Efa Akpera, is an influential personality, the traditional of Akai Efa community, in Calabar Municipality Local Government Area and one of the most powerful female traditional rulers in Cross River State. In this interview with NSAN NDOMA-NEJI, she speaks about the unfair treatment and injustice meted out to female monarchs in comparison to the kind of good treatment given to their males counterparts and other sundry issues she said are dampening the morale of women monarchs and other issues making the job cumbersome. Excerpts:
How important are women traditional rulers?
The Bible in Proverbs chapter 14, verses 1 through 25 say every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands, meaning that women are very important in building the society and the nation.
Can women really make any difference in Cross River State or in NIgeria?
When it comes to making a difference, women under any circumstance are always a challenge to their male counterparts. When women are given the opportunity to lead in the traditional institution, they approach leadership with the mission to bring peace. Women traditional rulers are very important in the society. If you look at the various professions, for instance the civil service, women play a very vital role. Without women, the society would not be complete. Women are important in the traditional institution because with them there is always a difference, be it in governance or family level, they stand the chance of making a difference probably because of the way they were created by God.
Perhaps this account for the reasons why woman are better treated by the government at all levels than their males counterparts?
No they are not!
Are you saying that women traditional rulers are not better and properly treated in Nigeria?
Exactly!
It is true that women traditional rulers are being neglected. It has been like that for a long time; it is not only in the traditional set up, it is also applicable in the political and religious spheres, and indeed in other aspects of human endeavors. It is global thing and more than an African thing.
Can you be specific about Cross River State scenario?
It is worst in Cross River State, because women traditional leaders had been neglected in so many ways. Have you ever seen any car distributed to any of the women traditional ruler or cash shared to any female traditional ruler? No. Everything is shared among the men monarchs, as if we don’t exist. This injustice had been there. It is repeated again and again by different administrations which come into power and go. But we do the same job of preserving our domains for society to be peaceful, but unfortunately with no iota of recognition given to us female traditional rulers.
What I mean is that I don’t know if it is from the government or our male counterparts engineering this recurring decimal. What I am saying is that even if the government say yes when they are sharing items like cars, have you ever heard that they have given any woman traditional ruler any cars? Never! It’s only our male counterparts who benefit. It is all about the men; leaving us to live in squalor, trekking and jumping on tricycle during meetings.
Some say women are good politicians, while others say women are more corrupt than the men, and should not be given opportunity to lead in high places of authority. Do you agree?
That is not true. Women can do well if given the opportunity to lead, be it politics or other areas of human endeavor.
Nigerian political system cannot make good progress until women are given ample opportunity to take part in politics. They should be allowed to take part in policy making and political leadership.
The same women you are eulogizing and advocating for are said to be more corrupt than their male counterparts, having been given the opportunity to lead in politics and disappoint?
It is not true that women are more corrupt than men. Research proved that women are more honest with great minds than men when it comes to management of public office.
Women are not even close to the kind of havoc done to the society by their male counterparts. It is all about gender discrimination to label women as corrupt.
They will try every means to make sure that women name are not heard, they want to put women under. There are so many things that men do and women have not done one third of what the men had done because of the cabal they have and the only thing I have to tell women is that they should come together, be united.
What is your advice to the girl-child?
My advice to girl-child is that they should build capacities for themselves. First, let them get good and timely education or learn a trade to make themselves useful. They must know that they are not inferior; they have to start from somewhere. In the society now, there is no man, no matter how beautiful a woman is, who will look twice at a woman, unless she is educated, or has something doing, because gone are the days when only men bring food to the table and provide for the family. The situation in the country does not permit that. The woman and the man will bring, but if she does not go to school, or have a trade can she provide? No!
Marriage will come and that is why we are trying to discourage these early marriages, because it’s the main reason why a lot of women are backward. If a woman is educated and you have your money, men will come for you because everybody needs a helper, who can support him.
What’s your advice to the girl-child in this age of information technology, where they have access to everything, including the good and the bad?
What I can say is that we mothers should try and advise our children because there are two ways – they can either take it or not, but we should try as much as possible, even with the government; that is why you see gender desk, they are trying so much about girl-child. If a man assaults a child, no matter how high ranking you are, you go to jail. Young girls should try to live within the means of their incomes.
I remember when we were in secondary school once we enter the house, we were asked by our parents to empty our boxes and our parents will search our boxes to see if we have anything inside of our boxes that were not bought by them. Unfortunately, this is hardly happening nowadays.
What are the challenges you are facing as a female traditional ruler?
The challenge is that the men are not carrying us along. Sometimes, something will happen and they say it’s only the men that are facing the challenge. Once somebody told me that when you are on that stool, you are not a woman, but a man but the way they are doing it in Cross River State is that they don’t carry women along and they discriminate against us a lot! All the things will be about the men, I told you of the car, you will see the governor, like during Ben Ayade tenure, he bought cars, have you ever heard that they have given a female traditional ruler even a wheel barrow talk less of bicycle? It’s only the men and if you look at all these things, the women work a lot, but unfortunately, with no encouragement.
Is it possible to have gender balancing in our traditional institutions?
Yes. If this is done, it will be perfect and a lot of things I see in this country will go straight, because women have no one to speak for them, and they always want to bring women down, it’s not right, women should be carried along.
How would you rate the current administration in the state?
I think he is trying, because he just came in. I see a lot of potentials in him. I see a lot of improvement in the state, especially the aesthetics which the state uses to be known for coming back to the state.
What advice do you have for the state government?
Please carry the female traditional rulers and indeed the entire traditional institution along, for we are partners in this business of governance.
