UNICAL: I was once a victim of sexual harassment –Women Affairs minister

The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohaneny, disclosed that she had experienced sexual harassment during her university days.

She mentioned that her Constitutional Law lecturer, during her time in school, had nefarious intentions, and nearly jeopardised her pursuit of law by deliberately failing her multiple times because she rejected his demand for payment of a hotel room.

She explained that her situation improved when she sought legal assistance and requested a reevaluation of her exam paper at a different institution.

According to her, this action prompted the school to initiate a panel, leading to the discovery that she had actually scored 80 percent, contrary to the failing grade the lecturer had wrongly posted on the notice board.

The minister made this known in Abuja on Monday, September 25, during an interaction with members of the media and leaders of Nigerian universities on the issues of sexual harassment in Nigerian universities.

Speaking on the issue of the University of Calabar’s sexual harassment case, Kennedy-Ohaneny promised that the Department of State Security (DSS) would be invited to investigate the lecturer.

The minister also said that her ministry is making plans to support women in the country by ensuring they form cooperatives which would be supported by the ministry in the aspect of production.

She said: “So there are ways these things are investigated. So it was one of the reasons I stood firmly on the Calabar case and asked for justice. That was all I asked for. I can’t support anyone because I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t there. All I asked is let a thorough investigation be carried out.

“On the University of Calabar case, I made those calls personally, if a child can come out and carry placards on the streets, is it to speak to a mother like me that will be a problem? Now, all I asked for was justice to be done.

“We all went to the University and we know how some students go for more marks and that some lectures victimise students. I was also a victim, while in the University, I also wrote a letter for a particular course on Constitutional Law, for my paper to be remarked on because a lecturer had been failing me and asking me to pay for a place and invite him to come, I wrote a letter after others left for law school without me, I wrote a letter and requested for a remark of my paper in another school and refused to compromise to him.

“When a panel was set up and my paper was brought, they realised he wrote 80 percent but pasted fail on the list. So for the UniCalabar case, I spoke with the students, the Vice Chancellor, and the Professor asked us to write him a letter. Now we are getting more people involved including the DSS for investigations to be carried out because there are talks that show that there is more going on besides sexual harassment and without investigations, we won’t know and we would not allow emotions to be involved to ensure we get justice.

“So no matter what anyone says or thinks, I will follow the right thing with no emotions involved, I will ensure justice is done and the Calabar case is used to put an end to sexual harassment in our societies.

“If we empower the women by setting up production materials, those that are farming rice, we get these new rice seeds that yield more. Then we empower them with machines that remove stones and are people that are coming to pick these things to sell.”

The director of press and public relations of the ministry, Olujimi Oyetomi said the ministry has come up with changes they intend to introduce.

He said: “We intend to set up sanitary pad production ventures because we realised giving students sanitary towels all the time is not sustainable.

“On the aspect of gas cylinders distribution to women in rural areas which is not sustainable, the ministry is concerned with who refills the gas stoves for the rural woman after the first refill is finished. The gasoline gas therefore is going to be changed to Charcoal burners and biogas.

“The ministry has also opted to encourage all women groups to now form women cooperatives and register with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs. The ministry by so doing can empower the women’s cooperative societies with production machines to boost Nigeria’s economy as well as the livelihoods of the women and for the development of the nation.

“The ministry has also resolved to help the women production cooperatives to distribute their products in collaboration with the Federal Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, as well as traders Association and other international organisations, which are partners of the ministry.

“In collaboration with the Federal Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation, our current Minister of Justice the governor’s forum, the Chief Justice of the Federation, and civil society organisations, the Ministry has decided on an innovative way to enforce the violence against persons Prohibition Act gender-based violence, sexual and gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, violence against children. So justice by having mobile courts for quick dispensation of justice for survivors.”