Betty Abah | |
|---|---|
 Abah in 2020 | |
| Born | March 6, 1974 Otukpo, Benue State, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Occupations |
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Betty Abah (born March 6, 1974) is a Nigerian journalist, author and a women and children's rights activist. She is the founder and Executive director of CEE HOPE, a girl-child rights and development non-profit organization based in Lagos State [1] [2]
Abah was born in Otukpo, Benue State which is in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. She obtained a first degree in English and literary studies from the University of Calabar in 1999 and a master's degree in English literature from the University of Lagos in 2012. [3]
Abah first worked with The Voice Newspaper in Makurdi, Benue State, and then Newswatch and Tell Magazine , before she proceeded to work with the Rocky Mountain News , in Denver, Colorado, US, as a fellow of the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships. [4] She is the author of Sound of Broken Chains, Go Tell Our King and Mother of Multitudes. [5] [6] Abah worked with Environmental Rights Action; Friends of the Earth Nigeria before establishing CEE-HOPE in December 2013.
Abah has been involved in protesting several cases of human rights violations. Some of them include campaigns for the release of the Chibok girls abducted by the Boko Haram terrorist in North East Nigeria, campaigns for the environmental rights of Niger Delta women, the case of the torture involving three women in Ejigbo, Lagos by members of a vigilante group, the case of the kidnapping of Ese Oruru among others. [6] In 2019, on the Menstrual Hygiene Day event held at Lagos, Abah advocated for the free distribution of sanitary pads to women and girls, reasoning that since government gives free condoms for sex, sanitary pads should also be made available for the needy women and girls. [7]
In an interview with Daily Post in 2015, she was of the opinion that "the Chibok girls’ saga reveals so glaringly the progressive loss of our humanity as a nation and the many lives whose issues have become politicized. The Chibok girls saga remains a timeless indictment on our government, on their complete apathy to children's welfare, rights or safety a stab on the dignity of our women (just as the stunning response to the brutal killing of innocent young boys at the Buni Yadi school and the ensuring dance party)". [8]
| Year | Class | Category | Awarding body |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | State honours | Community service | National Youth Service Corps Nigeria |
| 2003 | Reporter of the Year | Journalism | National Media Merit Awards Nigeria |
| 2006 | Fellow | internships | Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships, USA |
| 2006 | Fellow | Journalism | The Knight Journalism Press Fellowship, USA |
| 2006 | Fellow | Journalism | The Kaiser Family HIV/AIDS Fellowship, USA |
| 2008 | Child-Friendly Reporter of the Year | Journalism | Media Excellence |
| 2010 | Participation | Leadership Program | Global Tobacco Control Leadership Program, Johns Hopkins University,USA. |
| 2012 | Honorary mention | Poetry Prize | Association of Nigerian Authors |
| 2014 | Honorary Mention | Journalism | Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting |
| 2016 | Print Journalist of the Year | Journalism | Nigeria Media Merit Award. [12] |
| 2019 | Visiting Fellowship | Human Rights | Human Rights Defenders Fellowship, University of York, England. [13] |
Human rights in Nigeria are protected under the current constitution of 1999. While Nigeria has made major improvements in human rights under this constitution, the American Human Rights Report of 2012 notes several areas where more improvement is needed, which includes: abuses by Boko Haram, killings by government forces, lack of social equality and issues with freedom of speech. The Human Rights Watch's 2015 World Report states that intensified violence by Boko Haram, restrictions of LGBTIQ rights and government corruption continue to undermine the status of human rights in Nigeria.
Obiageli "Oby" Ezekwesili is an economic policy expert, an advocate for transparency, accountability, good governance and human capital development, a humanitarian and an activist. She is a former vice president for the World Bank's Africa region, co-founder and founding director of Transparency International, co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement and has served twice as Federal Minister in Nigeria. She is also the founder of #FixPolitics Initiative, a research-based citizen-led initiative, the School of Politics Policy and Governance (SPPG), and Human Capital Africa.
Wole Oguntokun a Nigerian playwright, dramaturge and director is the artistic director of Theatre Planet Studios and Renegade Theatre as well as a member of the board of Theaturtle, a Canadian theatre company. He is also a theatre administrator and newspaper columnist.
On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. Prior to the raid, the school had been closed for four weeks due to deteriorating security conditions, but the girls were in attendance in order to take final exams in physics.
The following lists events from 2014 in Nigeria.
Patrick Abba Moro is a Nigerian educational administrator, politician and former Minister of the Federal Ministry Of Interior. He is currently the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi. In 2019, he was elected into the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria replacing David Mark, a two-term senate president and one of the longest serving Senators in Nigeria.
Aisha Halilu Buhari ; born 17 February 1971) is a Nigerian beauty therapist who served as the first lady of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023, as the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Amina Ali Nkeki is a Nigerian former hostage of Boko Haram. She was one of 276 female students the group kidnapped from Chibok in 2014. After 57 of the girls escaped in the first few months, the remaining 219 were held for several years. Of this larger group, Ali was the first freed. She was found on 17 May 2016 by Civilian Joint Task Force along with a four-month-old child and an alleged Boko Haram member, Mohammed Hayatu, who described himself as her husband. All three were severely malnourished.
Laila St. Matthew-Daniel is an executive coach, leadership trainer, speaker, author, women's rights activist and writer. She is the founder and President of ACTS Generation GBV, a non-governmental organization which combats domestic violence and child abuse in Nigeria. She has organized various protests for the rights of women and the girl-child, some of which are the Buni Yadi Massacre of February 2014 and part of initiating group who organized first protest against the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping by the Boko Haram sect. She has organized various sensitization seminars and workshops to empower women on the issues of self mastery, self awareness, and self actualization.
Centre for Children's Health Education, Orientation and Protection also known as CEE-HOPE is a non-governmental organization that focus on the right and welfare of vulnerable children. It was established by Betty Abah, a Nigerian journalist, author and women and children's right activist. One of CEE-HOPE's major center of operation is Makoko, an urban slum in Nigeria.
Saudatu Mahdi is a Nigerian Women's Right advocate. She is the Secretary General of Women's Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA). She has published over 20 books focusing on violence against women, women’s rights, Shari’a and women and women in education. Mahdi led the team that fought and won the acquittal for a Nigerian woman who was sentenced to death by hanging because she had a child out of wedlock.
Olaoluwa Abagun is a Nigerian lawyer and women's rights activist.
On February 19, 2018, at 5:30 pm, 110 schoolgirls aged 11–19 years old were kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group from the Government Girls' Science and Technical College (GGSTC). Dapchi is located in Bulabulin, Bursari Local Government area of Yobe State, in the northeast part of Nigeria. The federal government of Nigeria deployed the Nigerian Air Force and other security agencies to search for the missing schoolgirls and to hopefully enable their return. The governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Gaidam, blamed Nigerian Army soldiers for having removed a military checkpoint from the town. Dapchi lies approximately 275 km northwest of Chibok, where over 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.
Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi is a Nigerian lawyer and civil rights activist. She is the founding Director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center (WARDC), a non-governmental maternal and reproductive health advocacy organization which major objective is to promote women's rights, human rights, governance and rule of law.
Stephanie Busari is a Nigerian journalist notable for exclusively obtaining the "proof of life" video for the missing Chibok schoolgirls in the wake of the Bring Back Our Girls advocacy which led to negotiations with Boko Haram that resulted in the release of over 100 of the kidnapped schoolgirls.
Kidnapping is a major problem in Nigeria in the early 21st century. Kidnapping by bandits and insurgents is among the biggest organised or gang crime in Nigeria and is a national security challenge.
Titilope Gbemisola Akosa, popularly known as Titilope Akosa, is a Nigerian environmentalist, climate justice advocate, lawyer, gender and social inclusive expert, and human rights activist. She is the founder and executive director for the non-governmental sustainability organization Centre for 21st Century Issues (C21st). She heads the law firm Titi Akosa & Co Nigeria. In 2015, she was the spokesperson for women and gender non-governmental organizations at the 2015 Paris Climate Treaty on the topic 'Towards a Gender Responsive Green climate fund in Africa'.
Oludolapo Osinbajo, is a Nigerian lawyer who served as the second lady of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023, as the wife of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The 2023 Benue State gubernatorial election took place on 18 March 2023, to elect the Governor of Benue State, concurrent with elections to the Benue State House of Assembly as well as twenty-seven other gubernatorial elections and elections to all other state houses of assembly. The election — which was postponed from its original 11 March date — was held three weeks after the presidential election and National Assembly elections. Incumbent PDP Governor Samuel Ortom was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third term. Hyacinth Alia — a suspended Catholic priest — gained the office for the APC by a 33% margin over PDP nominee House of Assembly Speaker Titus Uba.
Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode is a Nigerian lawyer, entrepreneur, author, activist and philanthropist. She is currently the Group chief executive officer of Asset Management Group Limited and the chief executive officer of Murtala Muhammed Foundation.
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