When You Vote, Remember Margaret Ekpo's Legacy
Margaret Ekpo was a prominent Nigerian women's rights activist and politician. She was born on July 27, 1914, and passed away on September 21, 2006. Ekpo was instrumental in championing women's rights and political participation in Nigeria during the mid-20th century.
She was a leading figure in the women's suffrage movement in Nigeria, advocating for women's rights to vote and hold political office. Ekpo played a significant role in the formation of the Aba Township Women's Association, which empowered women and addressed societal issues.
Ekpo's political activism extended beyond gender equality. She was involved in various political movements and was a member of the Eastern Nigerian Consultative Assembly in the 1950s. Ekpo's contributions to Nigerian politics and women's rights have left a lasting legacy, inspiring future generations of activists and politician.
Here's why we consider her a woman giant;
In 1945, Ms Ekpo was introduced directly into politics when she attended meetings in place of her husband, a doctor, to discuss the ill-treatment and discriminatory practices of indigenous doctors by the colonial administration. This led to attending a political rally spearheaded by the likes of Mbonu Ojike, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Herbert Macaulay, where she was the only woman present.
With the rise of civil rights movements, Ms Ekpo organised a market women association in Aba to unionise market women in the city to fight for the economic and political rights and protection of women in the city.
In her quest to represent the interests of women as a marginalised group, Ms Ekpo then joined the Nigerian Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), a platform that boosted her fight for Nigerian nationalism and Nigerian women's rights.
In 1949, 21 miners were killed while peacefully protesting at the Iva Valley Coal mine, Enugu state, where they were protesting the unfair payments, dismissals, equally unfair welfare treatments and poor working conditions they faced by the Colliery company owned by the colonial administration. Under the umbrella of the Nigerian Women's Union (NWU), Ms Ekpo joined forces with women like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti to protest the killings, visit the wives of the deceased and mobilise more women to join the union in the fight for nationalism and women's rights.
In 1953, Ms Ekpo was nominated by the NCNC into the regional house of chiefs. In 1954 she established the Aba Township Women's Association(ATWA). Her quest to get women to join in the fight for their rights led her to develop an outstanding strategy to mobilise the women in her community; Aba and its neighbouring towns. Following the shortage of essentials such as salt. Ms Ekpo purchased all the salt in Aba Market and controlled its sales to only members of ATWA; any other woman outside the association who needed to purchase salt had to join the association. Her mere strategy grew into a socio-political women's movement and not too long after, the political participation of women in Aba grew.
In 1957, she indicated an interest in contesting for the regional Eastern House of Assembly; the legislative arm of the Eastern region government at the time where she was firmly turned down. Finally, in 1961, she was given a chance to be elected to represent the Aba North constituency in the Eastern House of Assembly regional elections; she won.
In a book, Nigeria: The birth of Africa's Greatest country by Ottah March, he states that in an interview shortly before the country's independence in 1960, Chief told the press "my contribution towards independence will be to double my efforts to emancipate all women." A statement where she did not mince her words as her entire legislative term was women-centred until the coup in 1966.
Chief Margaret Ekpo continued to be a beacon of excellence and an iconic figure in the country until her death on September 21st 2006.
In 2001, the Calabar domestic airport was named after her, Margaret Ekpo International Airport
s.