Liyel Imoke's view about women

 

After the victory of the Super Eagles over their Liberian counterparts which guaranteed them a place in next year’s African Nations Cup in South Africa a fortnight ago, The Guardian of October 16, 2012, quoted the Governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke, who hosted the members of the national team and their coaching crew to a dinner after the match, as saying “I had my initial fear for the players the moment the Nigerian Football Federation picked Calabar as venue for the Super Eagles matches. As you are aware, Calabar is home for good food as pounded yam, edikang ikon and afang soup. We also have the best of tourism sites in the country and above all, Calabar is well-known for its beautiful women. My biggest fear initially was that the players might not do well on the pitch after enjoying all those special ‘delicacies’ [The emphasis is mine].”

Imoke brandishes women as his state’s tourism asset. According to him, women are special delicacies. Indeed, sexism has different tones. It is men like Imoke who think of women as nothing more than an object of sexual gratification. 

To them women are a gadget. Yet, not when it comes to their own wives, mothers or daughters.In a world that has been increasingly moving for women empowerment and gender equality, it is unfortunate that there are still those who are taking us back to the dark ages. Happily though, President Goodluck Jonathan knows that women, in their position as mothers, play vital roles in nation-building. That is why he has accorded them a special role in his government. Out of the 42 members of the Federal Executive Council, 13 are women. Today we have the first female Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission. There are female cadets in the Nigerian Defence Academy, and for the first time, the Chief Justice of Nigeria is a woman.

There are only two people in the world: a man and woman. Fifty percent of the time, men are dealing with women. Men, in their words and actions with women, should be tactful. They should treat women with dignity and respect. Protective paternalism should be the ideal.

Source: PN