Women advocate, veteran actress and politician, Hilda Dokubo, has condemned the perceived ignoring of notable Nigerian women whenever it gets to conferment of national honours.
Speaking to Nigeria Info, the actress says the fact that the federal government has, over the years, ignored women when immortalising notable Nigerians shows a lack of respect for Nigerian women.
Dokubo noted that Nigerian women have done a lot to deserve to be honoured like their male counterparts.
“People honour who they respect, people react according to their state of mind,” Dokubo says: adding, “It just tells you that whoever is in charge has no respect for women and does not even believe or have any kind of faith in women.
“Otherwise, is anybody trying to say that women haven’t done anything for and in this country to have earned them that immortalising?”
“There are too many women to name airports after, name streets after, name institutions after. But this is where we are, it’s a masculine nation we have,” the famous actress added.
It may be recalled that on June 26, a memo from the Federal Ministry of Aviation said President Bola Tinubu had renamed the Port Harcourt international Airport after the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
The memo dated 1st June 2023 and signed by the Director of Airport Operations, Joke Olatunji, also listed other federal airports which were renamed after some prominent Nigerians.
They include, the Maiduguri Airport, renamed after former president, Muhammadu Buhari; Nasarawa Airport was renamed after the late Usman Dan Fodio; the Benin Airport was renamed after the late Oba of Benin – Oba Akenzua II; Ebonyi State Airport after the late Senate President Chuba Okadigbo; and the Ibadan airport was renamed after Ladoke Akintola.
Recall that a day before leaving office, former President Muhammadu Buhari had also approved the renaming of the airports after some prominent Nigerians, including himself, in honour of their significant contributions to the development of the country.