Legend 101 Award aimed at recognising women-NAWOJ president

National President of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Mrs. Ifeyinwa Omowole, has that the Legend 101 award being organised by the association was aimed at recognising women.

Speaking to Blueprint Weekend in Abuja, she said that award, which is slated for next year is part of activities to commemorate the 30th anniversary of NAWOJ.

According to her, “Every time you find The The Man of the Year Award and we have a lot of women doing so many things in their various fields, and nobody has deemed it fit to recognize them as women.

“We are doing this because a lot of women out there are doing a lot of things and they deserve to be encouraged and honoured. The fact is; there are many of them but what we are after is the most outstanding ones among them. That was what informed the name Legend 101.”

The national president, who said that the leadership of the association plans to make award work in such a way that it will outlive their tenure, noted that: “Nomination cuts across skills, whether educated or uneducated, as long as you are touching lives, or have done something for the society.

“We are talking about any woman who is doing well. A woman who is fryingakara (beans cake) and she is able to use that to send five children to the university is our ‘Woman of the Year.

“Any woman, who is doing anything, may be in her community, saving women who are pregnant from dying or a woman crusader doing some things differently is our Women of the Year.”

Speaking further she said that: “Voting which started mid-November and will last for 60 days gives opportunity for people to nominate via our website. As I speak to you the nomination is still on-going and it is mainly done by female journalists.

“The bottom line is that it is Nigerians who will vote and you can even nominate your mother if you think she is qualified, just as you are also permitted to galvanise people to vote for her to emerge as one of the 101 women.”

On the recent party primary elections the NAWOJ president said that: “Women have been unfairly treated by their counterparts in the political sphere. Even those ones who fared well and got tickets at the primaries, it has been taken from them.

“Some of the excuse adduced by the parties was that some of them would not be able to stand a general election; they even told some that the incumbents in certain positions were still interested.

“In a certain state, some women bought forms and their money was refunded; they did not even allow them to run or try their luck whether they win or lose. If they had allowed them it would be on record that they had tried and at least they would be encouraged.”

 

Leave a Reply