NYSC Opened My Eyes
16 days Campaign on Violence Against Women
I always say my NYSC year remains one of the most impactful seasons of my entire life. Every time I think about it, I feel this mix of gratitude, shock, and wonder because that one year shaped the person I have become today.
When I finished my three weeks in Iseyin camp in Oyo State and received my PPA letter, I was posted to a public secondary school in Ibadan. Honestly, I didn’t feel any way because at least they didn’t post me to one bush inside Ibadan where network doesn’t reach.
But when I got to the school the following week, full of hope and ready to settle in… they rejected me.
They said they didn’t need a corper.
Please, how will a whole public school say they don’t need Corper? Someone that the Federal Government is paying for you? Someone who came with good intentions? I was confused and I was stressed, but mostly worried. It felt like my service year was about to scatter on top something I didn’t even cause.
I went back and explained everything to my LGI. She looked at me and said something I’ll never forget:
“I know a place where you can work, but you have to be smart and active.”
I didn’t even think too deeply about it at the time, but that statement was the doorway into a completely different life.
Ladies and gentlemen, that was the moment my journey into advocating for women and girls truly began.
I was posted to AfriWomen, an NGO dedicated to the welfare of women and the girl child and I mean, from day one, I knew I was somewhere important. Somewhere meaningful. I wasn’t just working, I was becoming my true self
AfriWomen runs some of the most life-changing programs I have ever seen. Adult Literacy for women and teenage mothers who cannot read or write, vocational skills for secondary school girls, enrollment and retention of the girl child in school, empowerment projects for grassroots women, seminars and sensitization programmes for Women and girls etc.
And guess what? I was part of everything. I didn’t just like it, I fell in love with it.
One thing that shaped me the most was our approach is that before any project, we would research. We needed to understand the depth of the problems we were trying to solve. During my time there, we organized a 16 Days Activism Campaign on violence against women and girls and honestly, that period opened my eyes to things I had never imagined, things that shook me, things that made me cry, things that made me angry, things I was genuinely ignorant about before.
Every year, from November 25th to December 10th, the world raises its voice against gender-based violence. It is a global tradition and a collective cry. A reminder that until every girl child is safe, we cannot keep quiet.
Let me be clear, I know boys and men experience abuse too. I’m not dismissing anybody’s pain. But I speak from what I know, from the experiences I’ve been exposed to, from the lens of the gender whose suffering I’ve seen firsthand.
For those who don’t know, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is when someone is harmed because of their gender. It is violence rooted in power, control, fear, patriarchy, and entitlement.
GBV shows up in different forms like:
Femicide
Rape
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
Domestic violence
Forced/child marriage
Sexual exploitation
Emotional and psychological manipulation
Coercion, intimidation, and threats
And these are not faraway issues. They are happening around us, every single day.
A male friend of mine was shocked when I told him that there are men in their late 30s and 40s who boldly ask 12-year-old girls out. Imagine being double somebody’s age and still seeing them as prey. Imagine being old enough to be a girl’s father or even grandfather, and still making sexual advances.
It sounds unbelievable to some people because they are privileged not to see these things. But the truth is that they happen, every day, everywhere and way too much.
In 2024 alone, Nigeria recorded 133 reported cases of femicide. Reported o. In a country where culture, shame, and fear silence people, imagine how many are hidden, buried, dismissed, or never even acknowledged.
Some men do not even understand what consent means. They think a woman’s body is something they can simply take when they want. They think silence means yes. They think being in a relationship means ownership. They think you cannot say no to someone you once said yes to.
In 2022, 65% of rape cases in Nigeria were reported by women and girls (NBS, NHRC).
In February 2025 alone, there were already 341 rape cases.
By June 2025, Nigeria had recorded 1,471 cases of sexual violence.
And again, all these are just the ones brave enough to be reported.
Imagine the ones hidden by shame.
Imagine the ones buried by culture.
Imagine the ones dismissed by family.
Imagine the ones society never believed.
This is why we should create awareness in situation like this because awareness saves lives and silence is a comfortable place for abusers.
Culture should never be more important than safety. Every woman deserves to live. Every girl deserves to grow. Every child deserves innocence.
If we don’t speak, who will?
For the next 16 days, I’ll be talking about these issues slowly in detail for everyone who doesn’t know, or thinks these things are “normal,” or has been blinded by culture, or simply hasn’t been exposed to the truth.
This is not to scare anyone. It is to enlighten. It is to hold space for victims. It is to educate. It is to break harmful patterns. It is to remind us that change begins with awareness. And together, we can raise a society that protects instead of destroys.
This is me speaking for the next 16 days and I hope you walk this journey with me.
❤️❤️❤️
I love this. ✨💜