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Opinion

Making Digital Skills Meaningful to Girls and Women: A Journey to a Difficult Handshake and Conversation

Published

2 years ago

on

Malam YZ Yau

 

By Y. Z. Ya’u, CITAD

While discussing with participants of the Digital Livelihood for rural women and girls conducted by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) and supported by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) in Itas, Itas-Gadau Local Government of Bauchi State. I was taken aback by the repeated celebration of digital systems as capable of providing jobs at home for women.

The aspect was that the potential for women to work from home is culturally non-disruptive and should be welcome. Most of the girls were happy with this. The training of film and video editing as well as digital photography in particular seemed to excite the girls more than anything. Some of them opined that with the cultural practice of having men celebrating weddings for example outside the house and women inside the country, women or girls who are skilled on film and video editing as well as photography could find ready-made market,
I can understand this as the girls live in the context in which the horizon of most girls is clouded by the ABU syndrome and all that all aspire to quickly get married and raise children. Independent means of livelihood comes a distant priority. The first time I came across the ABU was angry, why should all the girls want to go to ABU and not Bayero University, Kano. the university I was lecturing. My ignorance was revealed when one of them explained that ABU did not stand for Ahmadu Bello University but Aure Bautar Ubangiji (Hausa, loosely meaning “Marriage is a Worship of Allah”). For many of these girls, the first instinctive gut was that digital skills will enhance their marriage. Which is good in itself.

However, as the training continued to unfold, they began to imagine a different way of using their skills. Some see it as a means to improve their education, update and move to higher institution of learning. Some saw a window of venturing out into professions that they ordinarily consider outside their reach. For example, 22-year old Bilkisu Gambo Idris of Itas Local Government Area of Bauchi State explained that having learn a number different aspects of digital skills including website design, Coreldraw and Online Marketing, plans starts that her dream is to start an online business but due to the lack of capital is yet to start but the training encouraged and inspired her to further her education to the advanced level.

Hauwa Baffa Sulaiman of Itas community, aged 20 years described the training as an eye opener and the essence of her life because now she has started advertising her make-up business on the Internet especially Facebook and Instagram pages. Fauziyya Yakubu age 23, from Jamaare is now using social media platforms to advertise her digital skills to train other women at home. She has found an add up way of addressing the gender digital divide by driving digital skill lessons into the homes that were initially a block against further learning.
In the end, they came to accept digital skills not just as something that will make them better wives but also make them better human beings and living a meaningful and productive life. However, it will seem that in this logic, the emancipatory aspect of digital skill is undermined and subverted and re-directed by a patriarchal conditioning, making the question pertinent: is digital skills enough to address the economic and political marginality of women?

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Clearly, women are politically excluded in the country. But more than even patriarchal control, the main factor for this is the economic marginalization of the women.

Women are relatively poorer than men and constitute the largest number of those living under the poverty line. It is for this reason that some researchers have referred to poverty as having a feminine face in Nigeria.

If the economic status of women can be improved, they will be able to engage as equal actors in the political realm and thus be in a position to address some of policies and practices that continue to hold them down. The poor economic condition of women has meant that they have a low affordability index for digital access.

Addressing the economic marginality is important to addressing the gender digital divide in the country. However, while it is a necessary condition, it is not a sufficient one.

The digital divide is not just about access and empowering women economically while important will not in itself solve the digital marginalization of women. And while skill is an important enabler, it too is not enough.

To deal with the gender digital divide in a subversive manner, we need to deconstruct cultural norms that inhibit the effective use of the digital technology by women. Surprisingly, the experience from the digital livelihood program shows a less controversial path in which two things worked out well.

First, men did not feel threatened by their daughters and spouses learning digital skills that will make them better partners to their husbands. In other words, seeing the seeming digital skills compatibility with cultural norms of the society makes it easy to break resistance and barriers to learning.

Second, once the learners get emersed, they get their horizon broadened. In this sense, there seem to be a double subversive appropriation of digital technology: first, patriarchy subverted the libertarian impulse of technology to drive it to domesticity.

Having accepted this, the girls then re-subverted this to go beyond domesticity and begin to make effective use of digital technology in ways that go to seed and enhance personal livelihoods for them, thus opening the way for independent means of livelihood and being active economic agents of their own.

Drawing from the above is the inescapable conclusion that bridging the gender digital divide is beyond addressing the four conventional pillars of awareness, availability, accessibility, and affordability. No doubt, we all need to be aware about what digital technology can do in transforming our lives and society before we can make the efforts to embrace it. Embracing it of course requires its availability, which is beyond individual choices or effort we make.

Government in particular has greater role in making digital technology available to the citizens, and particularly, to girls and women. What policies and programmes a government deploys to address availability will invariably play role in addressing affordability, though affordability is also beyond just technology policies because it is signposted by the economic status of the people. Finally, accessibility would include making digital education not just in the privilege colonial language of higher education but also in local languages that citizens speak and engage with so that they can see technology not as something external but as part of daily lived social being and a necessity. That means teaching digital skill in our first languages.

But more than anything, addressing gender digital divide will require an honest handshake across genders. This is because gender digital divide is part of the wider gender development divide and cannot be addressed in isolation of this wider issue. The exclusion of women in the policy spaces and other digital space spaces is not accidental. It is the construction and imagining of these spaces as masculine by patriarchy.

Addressing these requires understanding masculine fear of the internet.

Masculine fear about the internet is rooted in the reaction of men about the communication space that digital systems, particularly the internet have given to women. But it also seen in the fact while men think the internet will expose women to bad influence, they do not think that they too could be exposed to the same bad influence. Within the realms of power discourse, women who engage with the internet are demonized as wayward, of easy virtue and generally as “prostitute”, etc.
The handshake has to bring both men and women into a mutual dialogue on technology. Men and women should work to deconstruct the myths around the internet. Men and women should work together to discuss how the internet is a tool that can help rather than subvert family structures. Ultimately, men and women have to work together to overcome the constraints that patriarchy has placed before women in the use of technology. The handshake is not an easy conversation.

On the part of males, it signals acceptance to give up on some privileges while for women, it requires rethinking of normalized ideas.

The digital livelihood is one example of a handshake, a conversation involving parents, spouses, daughters, and other community gatekeepers. It allowed the fears to be on the table and in an open conversation, not on combating any social norm but on opening spaces for learning for girls to seek self-actualization. We need more of these conversations and handshaking to make substantive progress in closing the gender digital divide and ending gender digital marginalization in the country.

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Opinion

Let President Tinubu Rename University of Lagos After Gowon, Not Abuja

Published

4 days ago

on

December 18, 2024

By

Adnan Mukhtar Tudun Wada

 

 

Adnan Mukhtar Tudun Wada

I was not happy when Northwest University Kano was renamed to Yusuf Maitama Sule University, as student leaders of that University then, we followed the interest of the students who were also not happy with the renaming at that time for one reason; the renaming was politically motivated, to hurt the founder of the institution Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso. I was busy mobilising students to protest, the next day I was invited to the DSS for questions where I spent hours and all the people we were mobilising the protest together ran and dissociated themselves from it. I have no option but to plead with the DSS to release me, assuring them that not a single student would protest the government’s action.

The renaming has affected many students who are seeking admission abroad; it’s Northwest University on my transcript and Yusuf Maitama Sule University on my certificate. This is kinda confusing and not good at all.

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Politicians should immortalise individuals in their new projects not existing ones. The renaming of the University of Abuja to Yakubu Gowon University is not good for the university’s alumni.

The President should have found a new project or built a new University by naming it after the former Head of State.

I don’t support the idea of playing politics by renaming our universities and this happens mostly in Nigeria.

Imagine waking up renaming the University of Maiduguri to Mohammed Goni University, Yobe State University to Ibrahim Geidam University, the University of Ibadan to Abiola Ajimobi University, the University of Lagos to Lateef Jakande University.

It will be bad for the alumni of the aforementioned universities to come across this.

Why is this only happening in Africa? Look at Makerere University in Uganda, it was established in 1920 but despite Yoweri Mosevenni’s long reign; he didn’t for once attempt to change it to even his name for selfish reasons.

He didn’t think of renaming the Entebbe International Airport after him but in Nigeria, we have this culture of renaming everything after individuals.

If you want to be immortalised, leave a lasting legacy as Gowon did in establishing NYSC. That enough is Okay and better than naming an institution after him.

President Tinubu should have renamed the University of Lagos after Gowon, not Abuja. I’m sure his people will reject this not for any reason but because of the large number of people that will be affected by it.

The University of Abuja Alumni were all crying over this painful decision.

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Opinion

Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya: Champion of Civil Society and Good Governance in Northern Nigeria

Published

5 days ago

on

December 16, 2024

By

 

Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya, is an influential Civil Society figure in Kano State and Northern Nigeria. He is currently serving as the Executive Director, Citizens for Development and Education (CDE), he has dedicated many years of his civil society activism as advocate for the promotion of democracy, good governance, anti-corruption, peace building and women empowerment

Amb. Waiya, holds number of academic qualifications, including a Higher National Diploma in Public Administration from Kano State Polytechnic, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, Master’s in Public International Law at Maryam Abacha, American University, Maradi, and he is currently pursuing a doctor of philosophy at Skyline University, Kano in International Relations

In the course of his career, he held several positions and managed a number of projects. He served as the Director, Alhilal Foundation, from 2003 to 2007, an organization which focused on women empowerment, through basic literacy and skills acquisition. He later coordinated the North West Zonal Office of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Foundation. Amb. Ibrahim Waiya, led and coordinated a number of Local Government Councils Elections Observation missions across 19 Northern states.

In 2011, Waiya managed the Campaign against Drug Abuse under the auspices of Northern Youth Assembly, a youth driven platform with leadership structures in the Nineteen Northern States. He served as Secretary, for both, Kano State Stakeholders Committee on Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign and Kano State Stakeholders Committee on Anti-Child Abuse, a project which was coordinated by the office of the Special Adviser, Child Welfare and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. His involvement in election observation coordination missions and various public engagements, highlights his commitment to civic engagement towards community development, democracy and good governance

Waiya’s extensive experience includes free consultancy support services to numerous Government Ministries and Agencies such as: Kano State Ministry for Women Affairs and Social Development, Kano State Ministry for Community and Rural Development, office of the Special Adviser to the Governor of Kano State on Child Welfare, Ministry for Special duties, office of the special adviser, joint security services. He has facilitated numerous training workshops and seminars, impacting his knowledge, skills, experience on the community, particularly for community based organizations

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In recognition of his contributions, he was appointed to several key positions, such as the President, of the Kano Civil Society Forum, Chairman of the Conference of Northern States Civil Society Networks, Convener, Nigeria for Peace Project, Managing partner, United Nigeria Project, Head of Secretariat, Kano Peace Committee, Secretary General, National Action for Women Agenda,(NAWA), chairman, Board of Trustees, Northern Youth Assembly, (Majalisar Matasan Arewa) Fellow, Institute of Security and Strategic Studies, Fellow, Institute of International Peace and Secure Society, Fellow, Institute of Business Diplomacy and Financial Management, member, Commission of Inquiry on Missing persons, member, Implementation Committee, on the Recommendations of the Report of the Commission of inquiry on missing persons, member, Commission of Inquiry to investigate, various political violence and cases of missing persons, that occurred in the State from 2015 – 2023, member, Commission of inquiry to investigate protest, arson and destruction of public and private properties that occurred from 1st – 10th August, 2024 Amb. Waiya, served as Consultant on various government projects, such as: Kano State Security Trust Fund, Safe Corridor, Campaign against Drug Abuse, across the 44 Local Government Council Areas. Amb. Waiya”s active participation in peace building, policy advocacy and legislative reform has continued to impact positive change in Kano State, the North and Nigeria at large.

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Opinion

“I Transition to PR and Digital Marketing to Transform Brands Globally” – Ibrahim Ayyuba Isah

Published

6 days ago

on

December 15, 2024

By

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As 2024 comes to a close, Ibrahim Ayyuba Isah reflects on his journey from journalism to public relations (PR) and digital marketing. With over a decade of experience in media and communications, Ibrahim’s transition was fueled by a desire to empower businesses—starting with Northern Nigeria but extending globally—to build impactful narratives and achieve sustainable growth.

“Every brand, regardless of location, deserves access to the tools and expertise needed to thrive in today’s fast-paced world,” Ibrahim says. “My goal has always been to bridge the gap in strategic communication, ensuring that no business is left behind.”

From Journalism to Strategic Communication

Ibrahim’s illustrious journalism career spans over a decade, during which he served as a Senior Reporter at TVC News, covering critical developments, including the Kano State Government House for three successive administrations. His work involved breaking major news stories, producing multimedia content, and engaging audiences through digital platforms.

“I’ve always been passionate about communication, but I realized I wanted to do more than report stories—I wanted to help brands craft their own,” Ibrahim shares. “That’s what led me to pivot into PR and digital marketing.”

To equip himself for this new journey, Ibrahim pursued advanced studies, earning a Master’s in Communication Studies and a Master’s in Public Relations from Bayero University, Kano. He further honed his expertise with a Professional Certificate in Digital Marketing from the London School of Business Administration and a Master Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Skills Institute. These credentials underscore his commitment to mastering the art of strategic communication.

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Empowering Brands Through Ayrah Media Concept

As the CEO of Ayrah Media Concept (AMC), Ibrahim leads a PR and creative agency that provides businesses with tailored solutions, including PR consulting, social media management, corporate campaigns, and digital marketing.

“My vision is to empower brands to connect with their audiences, tell compelling stories, and achieve global relevance,” Ibrahim explains. “Through AMC, we’re showing businesses—whether in Northern Nigeria or beyond—that they can reach new heights with the right strategies.”

In 2024, AMC worked on several impactful campaigns, including Ibrahim’s role as a Lead Consultant for the WOFAN-ICON2 project in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, where he developed and executed PR and communication strategies to amplify the project’s impact.

Changing Perceptions and Building Bridges

Transitioning into PR and digital marketing came with challenges, including shifting perceptions about its value.

“Many businesses see PR and digital marketing as optional rather than essential,” Ibrahim says. “But the results are transformative. Strategic communication is not just about visibility; it’s about building trust, credibility, and lasting connections with your audience.”

This philosophy drives Ibrahim’s approach, ensuring that businesses of all sizes—whether local startups or established corporations—can access high-quality PR and marketing services.

Looking Ahead

Ibrahim’s vision for the future extends far beyond regional boundaries. While his roots and passion lie in Northern Nigeria, his focus is on creating strategies that resonate globally.

“Brands in Kano, Lagos, Abuja, or even New York share a common goal: to connect with people and make an impact,” he says. “My mission is to ensure that every business, regardless of size or location, has the tools and strategies to achieve that.”

In 2025, Ibrahim plans to document his professional journey in a book that will explore his experiences as a journalist and PR expert, offering insights into the evolving landscape of communication and its role in business success.

A Message of Gratitude

As he reflects on the year, Ibrahim expresses his gratitude to those who have supported his journey. “I’m incredibly thankful to my mentors, collaborators, and clients who have believed in my vision. Together, we’ve shown that impactful communication has the power to transform lives and businesses.”

With a clear vision and an unwavering commitment to excellence, Ibrahim Ayyuba Isah is poised to lead the way in redefining PR and digital marketing, not just in Nigeria but across the globe.

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