….as Kuku charges IWC leaders on stronger alliances, others

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – Environmentalist and human rights activist, Annkio Briggs, yesterday, made fresh demands to emancipate Niger Delta women and drive inclusion in the affairs of the region and Nigeria.

Some of the demands she made include; inclusion in structural decision; economic and educational sovereignty; environmental and legal protection while speaking on ‘Policy Advocacy for Ijaw Nation’ at a four-day Ijaw Women Connect World 2026 Leadership Conference Abuja with the theme ‘Strengthening Women in Leadership for Good Governance & Nation Development’ held in Abuja, organized by the Ijaw Women Connect Worldwide.

She also lamented that in Nigeria none Ijaw and Niger Delta women are players in the oil and gas sectors yet “Ijaw and other Niger Delta women are purposefully cut off, suffering and dying from contaminate air, water, and food harvested from contaminated land.

“First, we must be in structural decision. We are ready to take our legislative instrument of 35% of all decision and get more -making seats in the Ijaw National Congress (INC), State executive and Legislature, and Local Government Councils for women.

“Not advisory roles only. Not ‘Women’s Wing’ positions, but Decisive seats. When the OguBolo women stood at that collation center in 2019, that contributed and claimed the votes they gave to the Gov of Rivers State in 2019 they did not stand as figureheads, Ogu Bolo women stood as generals. Ogu Bolo women generals contributed over 35% of the 2019 election wins by their fearless stand. Ijaw nation is not minority of minorities in Niger Delta not to talk of in Rivers State.

“In Rivers State Ijaws are the largest nationalities. Any dispute ought to be settled by a census. Our governance and any future governance must reflect that reality.

“Second, we demand economic and educational sovereignty. We advocate for the institutionalization of the “TechHer” model across all Ijaw communities. Policy must mandate that every oil company operating in our land funds a Digital Skill Trustfund for Ijaw girls. An educated Ijaw woman cannot be subjugated. When she knows the law and knows the keyboard, she negotiates from a position of strength, not servitude.

“We further call for the establishment of Women’s Cooperative Empowerment Funds, accessible, low-interest credit schemes that enable our market women, fishmongers, and small-scale traders to build economic independence. Economic power is political power.

“Third, we demand environmental and legal protection. We demand that no Community Development Agreement (CDA) , no pipeline contract, and no exploration license is signed without a mandatory female signatory representing the host community.

“We are the ones who drink the water; we are the ones who can no longer fish or farm, we must be amongst the ones who approve the terms.

“Furthermore, we call for immediate legal codification protecting women activists.

“We must be protected by law, not just shielded by our own bravery.
We demand that environmental cleanup efforts especially in oil-impacted communities include women in decision-making, monitoring, and implementation roles.

“Fourth, we demand Justice in Customary Law. We advocate for policy reforms that dismantle inheritance laws that dispossess Ijaw widows, and we demand that female traditional chiefs (where they exist) be given the same voting rights as their male counterparts in the Council of Chiefs. If Woyingi is the Supreme Creator, then Ijaw women hold the blueprint of the universe.

“Fifth, we demand Recognition and Celebration of Ijaw Women’s History. We call for the inclusion of Ijaw women’s history—from the pre-colonial era to the Gallant 5 of Ogu/Bolo—into the educational curriculum of our communities. Our daughters must grow up knowing that they are descendants of warriors, not victims.

“Policy must mandate the documentation and preservation of oral histories, songs, and protest narratives of Ijaw women.”

She also called Niger Delta women to rise up to take their rightful place, saying, “My sisters, the time for fear and silence is over. Let us take a page from the Kaiama Declaration where our youths stood up to say, “We own our resources.” Today, we declare: We Ijaw women own our today, destiny, future and respect.

“When Ijaw women lead, we bring a style of governance that is consultative, inclusive, and community-centered. Our cultural upbringing teaches us to manage households, imagine that skill applied to managing state resources.

“Our traditional roles as peacemakers and mediators—imagine that applied to conflict resolution in Ijaw Nation and Niger Delta. Our resilience in the face of environmental devastation imagine that applied to policy-making on climate justice.

“During the years Ijaw Nation brought Nigeria to her knees women played frontal roles, l should know l was there with several other women, we sheilded our sons and fathers, if our sons and fathers choose to ignore that truth we will remind.

“Our sons and fathers and traditional Rulers did not play roles alone women played critical roles too.

“National development is impossible without the full participation of Ijaw women.

“You cannot develop a nation while keeping half of its most resilient population shackled.

“You cannot talk about Ijaw and the Niger Delta’s progress while silencing the voices of those who know the creeks, the forests, and the rivers intimately.

“I call on every Ijaw woman to hold your leaders accountable. Ask them: “Where is the 35% representation you promised?”

“I call on our mothers to train our daughters differently not to be timid, but to be bold; not to wait for permission, but to seize their place.

“I call on our brothers to recognize that empowering a woman is not a threat to Ijaw masculinity—it is the resurrection of Ijaw strength. A house divided cannot stand against the multinationals and FG.”

However, she urged leaders and people in the region to be united and speak with one voice, because “A house divided cannot negotiate peace. When our women rise, our nation rises.

“I call on our traditional institutions; our kings, our chiefs, our council of elders—to open the doors of decision-making. The Ijaw man who seats with a woman beside him in council is not weak; he is wise.

“He understands that two heads—both the masculine and the feminine—are better than one.

“I call on the Ijaw National Congress to institutionalize gender equity, not as a token, but as a foundational principle of our national existence.”

She also called on the Federal Government not to look at the Ijaw nation as ‘minority of minorities’. We demand respect. “We demand inclusion. We demand justice.

“We are not a footnote. We are not a minority of minorities. We are the Ijaw Nation.”

“I call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to recognize the Ijaw Nation as a critical stakeholder—not a “minority of minorities.” We demand respect. We demand inclusion. We demand justice.”

Meanwhile, in a keynote address titled ‘delivered by Hon Kingsley Kemebradigha Kuku, Former Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs & Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme, leaders of IWCWW were called to rise up and establish the “Eagle Eyes” political mentorship and mentee network, which young, competent Ijaw women and trained in public speaking, policy design, and campaign strategy, and establish a dedicated Political Campaign Fund to financially support credible female candidates running for local government chairmanships, state assemblies, and federal seats.

Kuku represented by Lawrence Pepple, also tasked IWCWW on expanding its sensitization programmes across the remote riverine areas, combining basic literacy campaigns with digital skills training, financial literacy, and civic education to empower rural women as independent economic and political actors.

Meanwhile, the former Presidential Amnesty boss called on the leadership of IWCWW to establish an economic development and agribusiness fund to drive micro-investment and cooperative funds targeted at scaling women-led transport services, agricultural value-addition facilities, and communication and security device retail ventures.

He said IWCWW cannot do it alone, they should form strong and sustainable alliances with progressive male leaders, traditional rulers, and youth organizations across the Ijaw nation.

“You must frame women’s leadership not as a threat to patriarchal traditions, but as a vital partner for collective community survival and growth”, he added.

Earlier, in an address of welcome, the Founder/Pioneer President, Ijaw Women Connect Women Worldwide, IWCWW, and Chief Host/Convener, 2026 Leadership Conference Abuja, Princess Rosemary John-Oduone, said the conference is to cause a paradigm shift in Ijaw women’s inclusion in the affairs of the Niger Delta region and Nigeria at large.

“Today marks more than the opening of a conference. It marks the gathering of a movement. Ijaw Women Connect Worldwide was founded over 13 years ago, on one simple, unshakable belief, that when Ijaw women are united, educated, and empowered, the Ijaw Nation rises.

“We are here from Lagos, Bayelsa, Rivers State, Port Harcourt, Delta State, Ondo State, London, Houston, Canada, and beyond”, John-Oduone added.