Nollywood
actor and member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Desmond Elliot
has teamed up with another actress, Mercy Aigbe to headline a national
campaign initiated to draw attention to the plight of widows in Nigeria
with a view to ameliorating their suffering.
At
a press unveiling organized in Lagos, Friday by the Felix King Charity
Foundation, Elliot and Aigbe spoke strongly against many cultural and
behavioural practices in many communities in Nigeria that tend to limit
the rights of widows, disinherit them and treat them following the
demise of their husbands and vowed to continue speaking out until there
is a social movement towards the direction of not just protecting widows
but creating an environment of economic and social inclusion that would
enable them deal with the pains of their losses much more easily.
Speaking
on the plight of widows in many communities in Nigeria, Elliot wondered
why it is usually convenient for men to blame women for the deaths of
their wives and spoke of the need for government and all layers of
society to work towards a total change of attitude towards these
vulnerable members of the society.
“We
live in a society where women are blamed each time a man dies. But no
one ever thinks of the pains they have to bear in bringing up the
children left behind,” Desmond said and called for legislations across
the states of the federation that will criminalise maltreatment and
disinheritance of widows.
He
also called on men to prepare for the eventualities of their death by
writing their wills as a means of protecting the future of their
children and the comfort of the women they very likely will leave
behind.
Adding
her voice to the challenge, Mercy Aigbe also called for a general
change in attitude by society towards widows while also not leaving out
the cultural practices that form the foundations of the dehumanization
of widows in Nigeria.
“We
need to deal with some of these cultural issues that are generally
skewed against women. We need to abrogate them and ensure that the
rights of these widows are protected. We live in a society where
economic power still rests with the men. This is why we need to talk to
community leaders, especially in the rural communities where these
victims, most of whom are poor and uneducated, are found so that the
change can be effective, starting from the grassroots upwards,” Aigbe
said.
Earlier in
his address, Founder of Felix King Charity Foundation, Mr Felix King,
expressed sadness over the continued maltreatment of widows in many
societies in Nigeria and spoke of the commitment of his Foundation to
end it in all its forms and manifestations in all parts of Africa.
He
said the Foundation, founded in 2016, organized the first ever
International Summit for Widows in Nigeria and has since then, made
several interventions in the quest to ease the suffering of widows.
“Our
interventions to make life easier for widows have been designed to
create an environment of inclusion for these suffering women, empower
them to be financially independent, enable them feel and experience the
love of society one more time and create a healthy environment for their
equally deprived children to be integrated into society through
education and other enabling welfare interventions,” he stated.
While
appreciating the support being provided my Desmond Elliot and Mercy
AIgbe on the projects, My King revealed that his Foundation will host an
International Widows Summit in Benin, capital of Edo State, during the
International Widows Day of June 23, 2017 to further highlight the need
to protect the rights of widows in Nigeria.
He
said the Foundation is already on the quest to raise one million
signatures across Nigeria in support of the need to abolish all negative
widowhood practices in Nigeria and Africa.
“We
intend to collect at least one million signatures of Nigerians and
Africans in support of the abolition of these negative practices. We are
also hoping to forward these signatures and a Bill to the Edo State
House of Assembly for a law that will criminalise the maltreatment of
widows in the State. We are hoping that after this first step, same
effort will be replicated across the other 35 states of the Federation
and Abuja and by so doing, make this needed change happen.
Admitting
the task is onerous and cannot be successfully undertaken by one
person, he expressed the belief that with the two popular Nollywood
actors joining voices with one million signatories to the petition,
Nigeria will be rid of prejudices and other negative practices against
widows in a very short time.
L-R:
Member, Lagos State House of Assembly & liberty project ambassador,
Hon. Desmond Elliot, Founder, Felix King Foundation, Mr. Felix King and
Nollywood Actress & Liberty Project Ambassador, Mercy Aigbe, during
the media announcement of the first Africa Widows’ Summit in Edo State
and unveiling of Libert Widows’; project ambassadors in commemoration of
the 2017 International widows’ Day celebration in Lagos.
L-R:
Founder, Felix King Foundation, Felix King, former Housemate Big
Brother Naija, Uriel Oputa, Solicitor, Felix King Foundation, John
Osighala and Nollywood Actress & Liberty Project Ambassador, Mercy
Aigbe, during the media announcement of the first Africa Widows’ Summit
in Edo State and unveiling of Libert Widows’; project ambassadors in
commemoration of the 2017 International widows’ Day celebration in
Lagos.
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