Former ALGON Chairman Calls for Establishment of Ministry of Men Affairs

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

Government at all levels in Nigeria have been called upon to create a Ministry of Men and Boys Affairs that would address the various issues affecting the male population.

This call was made by a public relations expert and former Ekiti State ALGON Chairman, Mr. Toba Daramola, who said that this is necessary because men and boys in the country are being neglected without proper attention and care.

Daramola was speaking in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, at the 2nd Lecture series of Toba Adaramola Foundation with the theme “21st Century Gender Challenges.”

Papers were presented at the event by a Professor of Sociology at the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Prof. Christopher Oluwadare; the President of Ekiti State Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Monisade Abodunde and former EKSU Registrar, Dr. Omojola Awosusi.

Daramola said:  “All government activities are geared towards girl child gender equality, nobody is talking about the men and  they will say what you don’t value will eventually become a problem for you. Okay their attention to the girl child going to school but no attention is given to the boy child.

“They are the ones that are into commercial motorcycling. How many of our ladies are seen doing ‘Okada’ work in this place?

“After their education, these ladies come back looking for husband, where will the husband be when they are not educated?

“So these are some of the things that we are looking at and we say, let us arrange it. It is not as if the men are not having issues, there is nobody that you will call that will not tell you that he is having issues.”

The former local government and ALGON chairman in the state who stated that his recommendation was not a matter of rivalry but a necessity, further said: “I advocated in my presentation that there is need for government at all levels to create the Ministry of Men and Boys affairs to cater for men folk as they are doing for the ladies in the women affairs.

“How many ladies are doing ‘yahoo-yahoo’ (internet fraud)? Majority of them are in school studying but boys are busy looking for money. So these are some of the things that we need to address and then balance the equation and if they are not addressed, I am afraid that there will be problems.

“It is a general issue that affects everyone,  we will continue to be doing this on issues that bother on us and that may really affect us, so that the government will come up with a policy through our

recommendations at this gathering, that this was exactly what people said; then we submit it to the governor.”

The convener of the lecture series revealed that a communique that would be issued at end of the event would be forwarded to the governor, the State House of Assembly.

He said:  “If we can get it to the national, Ekiti State can give light to the entire country.”

He stated that action plans have been put in place to ensure the effectiveness of the proposal. “The first thing is for us to keep government informed. As a matter of fact, the office of the first lady is aware of this gathering that is why she sent the gender desk officer.

“The police, civil defence, DSS are all aware of it, that is why their representatives are all here. We also collaborated with the National Human Right Commission.”

He said that if the state government bought into the recommendation, Ekiti could be the pilot state and it could be replicated at the federal level.

“Today, men are suffering deprivation, neglect and depression. The people always advocate for women but nobody is raising voice for men and they are the bread winners, so these are some of the things the Ministry of Men Affairs are to look into.

It is not a matter of competition but to balance the situation so that Nigeria will move forward,” he said.

Oluwadare, in his lecture titled “On the Road to Marity: Planting the Seed of Social Hypo Gamy,” called for specify public policy and programmes to address the peculiar medical, sexual and demographic needs of men.

Justice Abodunde, in her presentation “The Roles of Men in Women Development in the 21st Century,” outlined education, sound policies and legislation, being supportive, women in leadership, ending harmful practices among other as parts of what men should be doing to ensure women development.

Similarly, Dr. Awosusi, who spoke on “21st Century Men: Challenges, Expectations and Prospects,” said that a lot have changed about men in the 21st which should be a source of concern to present and incoming generations.