The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) has called on men to take a more active role in challenging patriarchy and supporting women's leadership in Nigeria. According to Dr. Otive Igbuzor, Project Director of Male Feminists Network (MFN) and founding executive director of Centre LSD, men must use their voice, influence, and resources to challenge patriarchy while remaining accountable to women, girls, and feminist principles. This was stated at a two-day capacity-strengthening programme for Women's Rights Organisations (WROs) in Abuja.
Dr. Igbuzor warned that male participation must strengthen, rather than overshadow, women's leadership, voice, and agency. He cautioned against "performative allyship," where men participate in gender-equality platforms for visibility, status, or access to resources without confronting patriarchal practices in their own lives and institutions. Instead, he emphasized that genuine allyship must translate into measurable changes in behaviour, institutions, and power relations. Men should become more visible in challenging patriarchy, but they should not become more powerful within the women's rights movement.
The training programme, themed "From Principles to Practice: Institutionalising Accountable Male Allyship in Women's Rights Programming," brought together prominent Women's Rights Organisations (WROs) from across Nigeria. The programme used the Amandla Institute Strengthening Women's Movement in Nigeria Manual and aimed to equip participants with practical strategies for selecting and engaging male allies, preventing abuse of power, and measuring whether male participation strengthened or undermined feminist objectives.
Dr. Igbuzor identified seven principles of accountable male allyship, including keeping women's leadership central, addressing power, not just attitudes, and accepting accountability. He also stressed that success should be measured through behavioural changes, institutional reforms, gender-responsive workplace policies, redistribution of unpaid care responsibilities, and feedback from women and WROs on the conduct of male participants. The project has trained over 12,000 male feminists across the country and is using post-training action plans, mentoring, and feedback mechanisms to monitor behavioural changes.
Mrs. Victoria Oseyande Udoh, Project Lead of Male Feminist Project and Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning at Centre LSD, said the organisation deliberately brought men into the campaign against GBV because advocacy driven largely by women had not sufficiently engaged those who perpetrate violence. She added that involving male allies could make it easier to challenge harmful behaviour within male-dominated spaces. The project is working with traditional rulers to identify and address harmful practices in their communities.
Ejiro Sharon Okotie, a participant from Hope Inspired Foundation for Women and Youth with Disabilities (HIFWYD), urged WROs to ensure that women with disabilities and other marginalised groups are actively involved in decisions affecting them. She emphasized that inclusion should go beyond representation to meaningful participation and leadership. Okotie cited the disability rights principle, "Nothing about us without us," and stressed that rights organisations should not speak for excluded communities without involving them in designing and leading interventions.
The programme aims to promote accountable male allyship and prevent GBV in Nigeria. Centre LSD is working with various stakeholders, including traditional rulers, to address harmful practices and promote gender justice. The organisation's efforts are geared towards creating a society where women and girls experience greater voice, agency, safety, equality, and power over the decisions that shape their lives.
Key points
- Men must challenge patriarchy and support women's leadership to prevent GBV.
- Accountable male allyship requires men to use their voice, influence, and resources to challenge patriarchy while remaining accountable to women and feminist principles.
- Women's Rights Organisations must ensure that women with disabilities and other marginalised groups are actively involved in decisions affecting them.
