By Arthur Obi Opara
Lady Blessing Nwaoba, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Imo State Microfinance Bank LTD, has advised women to love one another and be united in their pursuit of socioeconomic and political goals for themselves, noting that in the absence of unity, nothing can be archieved by women in a patriarchal society like Nigeria.Nwaoba popularly known as “Lady B” stated this at the finale of the 2025 August Women’s Meeting of the Oganiru Women’s Association (OWA), Umuagu in Obowo local government area of Imo State.
She pointed out that “by promoting unity and strength, women can create a more supportive, inclusive,and empowering environment for themselves and others.” She averred that women apart from being home builders and managers, are also known to have initiated people – oriented projects like building of health centres, schools, civic centers, etc, in some communities, stressing that women in the communities where these laudable projects were facilitated and achieved by them were able to do so because of their unity of purpose and strength of character.
She told the women of Obowo community that evidences abound where women as a result of the prevalence of unity amongst them, have jointly fought against and won challenging situations in some communities such as insecurity, theft and oppression against the feminine gender. “Some time ago, women of my alma mater tasked ourselves to provide roof to a dilapidated college structure in Amainyi, my community in Ihitte Uboma local government area. By embarking on this type of project and engaging in other people oriented endeavours, we asserted ourselves as women and also enhanced our relevance in society,” she said.
Lady B reiterated that unity amongst women have certain advantages, which includes empowering women to enable them to make informed decisions, stand up for their rights,and break sociocultural and economic barriers against women. She averred that by demonstrating strength and unity, women can serve as role models and inspire others to achieve their goals and overcome challenges. “When women come together, they can create positive change in their communities, advocate for issues that matter to them, and promote equality and justice,” she stated.
She informed the enthusiastic women of the Oganiru Women’s Association that women should learn to take their destiny in their hands rather than waiting for the men folk to do that for them. According to her, women should also be conscious of their actions to avoid encouraging negative or wrong public perceptions about them.
Lady B outlined what she classified as “actions that can hinder strength and unity amongst women,” positing that “by being aware of these potential pitfalls, women can work to build stronger and more supportive relationships that promote unity and strength.” Some of these pitfalls highlighted by her include: unnecessary competition and comparison amongst women, gossiping and rumour mongering which erode trust and create conflicts, lack of empathy and understanding, selfishness and individualistic tendencies and behaviors, as well as formation of unnecessary cliques which creates a feeling of superiority and isolation. Others,she pointed out,are communication gap amongst women, distrust and sceptism as well as encouraging of unhealthy rivalries which creates tension and divisions.
Lady B, known for her women advocacy roles and initiatives, further proferred ways women can promote unity and strength amongst them. This, she said, must be intentional and sincerely implemented.
According to her, some of these measures are: building supportive networks where women can share experiences, offerring advice and support to one another, mentoring of younger women by the experienced women through sharing of their knowledge and experiences, acknowledging and celebrating one another’s success which fosters a sense of community and joy as well as sharing knowledge and resources which includes exchange of information, skills and resources to empower one another and promote collective growth.
She was emphatic that though women are indispensable integral part of the human society, they must however, take cognisance of the fact the world, especially developing countries like Nigeria, is patriarchal in nature which tends to relegate women to the background. “Unless as women, we realize this fact and come together as one to say no to certain patriarchal ideologies which breed oppression, suppression and injustice against womanhood, we will remain relegated to the background,” she cautioned.
Lady B explained that August Women’s Meeting in Igboland mainly aims to bring women together to inculcate spirit of unity and strength in them rather than being a tool for diviveness and a platform for women to intimidate fellow women. She made it clear to the women that “united we stand, divided we fall,” stressing that women should learn to love one another or be prepared to continue grumbling.
