A female occupant of an over 800-year-old traditional institution, the Omu of Anioma, Obi Martha Dunkwu, has dedicated a portion of her palace for the education of the girl-child.
She made the donation at Okpanam in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State when she received a Global Icon award from a delegation from the Diaspora.
The Omu said the gesture was motivated by her desire to arm the girl-child with education to enable the vulnerable group surmount societal challenges like marginalization, victimization and abuse.
“The number one thing that will get women where they want to be is education. Number two is education,” she said.
On the need for more constitutional powers to traditional rulers, the Omu of Anioma urged the Federal Government to initiate the process of formalizing an active role for traditional rulers in the constitution.
She also urged businessmen and women of Igbo descent to locate a portion of their investments at home for the development of the motherland.
The leader of the delegation from the Diaspora, Mr. Kenneth Igbani, noted that the Omu title was one of the oldest African cultures and Obi Martha Dunkwu had been a good ambassador of the traditional institution, thus the recognition.
The member representing Oshimili South constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Bridget Anyafulu, reflected on some of the issues raised by Her Royal Majesty.
‘It is important that even as political people, we look into those words and see what we can do to make a change,” she said.
Other guests, including the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State Council, Comrade Churchill Oyowe, described the Global Icon Award on the Omu as an honour well deserved.
