Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has faced criticism after listing only one woman in the renaming of railway stations. On Monday, Mr Buhari named 23 train stations after “deserving Nigerians” seen to have contributed to the progress and development of their communities and the country. Among those named were former Nigerian leaders, serving ministers and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka.
But Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, a feminist and activist who was also mother of late Afrobeat music legend Fela Kuti, was the only woman honoured. Some on social media have likened this announcement to the president’s previous appointments – like in 2019 when only seven women, out of the 43, were appointed as ministers.
They have suggested that women who deserved to be honoured include Stella Adadevoh, the medical doctor who died preventing Ebola from spreading in Nigeria, and Dora Akunyili, who spearheaded the crusade against fake drugs before her death in 2014.
Former lawmaker Shehu Sani has asked the president to name a station in Kaduna after the female combat helicopter pilot, Tolulope Arotile, who died two weeks ago in an accident.
BBC
