Women are the salt of the earth. They deserve to be celebrated, applauded, encouraged, and uplifted.
Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day, a day set aside annually to celebrate amazons.
Below are 10 Nigerians who have pushed for or achieved social change, political reforms, sporting excellence, and economic development as compiled by Legit.ng
1) Senator Ireti Kingibe
Kingibe, 69, from the Labour Party made history in the federal capital territory (FCT) by defeating the three-term incumbent Senator Phillip Aduda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, breaking the dominance of men in the FCT political landscape.
In the 2023 polls, the returning officer (RO) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Sanni Saka, announced that Ireti secured 202,175 votes, securing her victory, while Aduda of the PDP trailed behind with 100,544 votes.
Angulu Dobi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) secured the third position with 78,905 votes.
The self-declared idealist was “profoundly disappointed” with how Africa’s most populous country was being run.
In a move practically unheard of in Nigeria, Kingibe pledged to donate her salary to an “emergency” fund to support her policies, which are focused on redistributing wealth in the city and its poor rural environs.
As a federal lawmaker, her plans include providing water to poorer parts of Abuja, accessing federal funds for health and education and supporting farmers, of which many in the capital territory make up her constituency.
2) Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan
Natasha emerged as a prominent figure for women in the 2023 general election, participating in a competitive race for the Kogi Central senatorial seat under the banner of the PDP.
Despite the initial declaration by INEC naming Abubakar Ohere as the APC winner of the seat, the appellate court in Abuja overturned this decision on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, nullifying Ohere’s victory and confirming Natasha as the rightful winner.
Recognising her significant accomplishments, Natasha was honoured with the “2023 Politician of the Year Award” at the Leadership Excellence Awards.
Her resilience and determination were highlighted as critical factors in this recognition.
3) Mercy Abang
Abang is the CEO of Hostwriter. She is also an editor with Unbias the News. She is a recipient of the 2017 Dag Hammarskjöld Journalism Fellowships.
She is the founder and ex-CEO of NewsWireNGR, an independent newsroom that reports underreported or mostly ignored stories by mainstream media organisations in Nigeria and Africa.
In 2021, Abang was announced as one of the most powerful women in journalism in Nigeria by Women in Journalism Africa.
In 2022, the media entrepreneur was appointed as the chairperson of the Emerging Political Leaders Fellowship (EPFL), Technical Advisory Council (TAC).
In 2023, she anchored an important engagement on the European Union (EU)-Africa relations at the ESMT Berlin, a leading global business school.
There, she directly engaged senior officials at the German foreign office, the European Parliament, business leaders investing in Africa as well as senior officials from the African side about the shared vision between the two continents and what is at stake for EU-Africa relations.
4) Tobi Amusan
Amusan is the current world record holder in the 100 metres hurdles with a time of 12.12 seconds which she set at the 2022 women’s 100 metres hurdles semi-final in Eugene Oregon.
26-year-old Amusan is the current Commonwealth and African champion in the 100m hurdles, as well as the meet record holder in those two competitions.
5) Hon Rukayat Motunrayo Shittu
At the age of 26, Shittu, a graduate of the National Open University (NOUN), courageously entered the political arena by vying for the Owode/Onire constituency in the Asa local government area (LGA) of the Kwara state house of assembly.
Despite the challenges, Shittu threw her hat into the ring to pursue a seat as a lawmaker in the Kwara state parliament, running under the APC.
Following a closely contested election, INEC declared Shittu victorious with 7,521 votes, surpassing Abdullah Magaji of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 6,957 votes.
Upon her inauguration on Monday, May 29, 2023, Shittu made history as the youngest parliamentarian in the northcentral state.
6) Asisat Oshoala
Oshoala is widely regarded as one of the greatest African female footballers of all time and one of the best in the world.
She is one of the most celebrated African female footballers of all time, having won African Women’s Footballer of the Year a record six times.
7) Aisha Yesufu Aisha Somtochukwu
Yesufu is an activist, politician, and businesswoman. She co-founded the #BringBackOurGirls movement, which brought attention to the abduction of over 200 girls from a secondary school in Chibok, Nigeria on April 14, 2014, by the terrorist group Boko Haram.
She has also been prominently involved in the End SARS movement against police brutality in Nigeria.
Also, she is one of the champions of ‘a new Nigeria’.
8) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Adichie is a Nigerian writer whose second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), gained international acclaim for its depiction of the devastation caused by the Nigerian civil war.
Her novels, short stories, and nonfiction explore the intersections of identity.
9) Amina Mohammed
Mohammed is the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations (UN) and chairperson of the UN Sustainable Development Group.
Before her appointment, Mohammed served as minister of environment of Nigeria where she steered the country’s efforts on climate action and efforts to protect the natural environment.
10) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is an economist who has been serving as the director-general (DG) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since March 2021.
Notably, she is the first woman and first African to lead the WTO as DG.
