20/02/2026
🤔 I have been verbally bullied for being an girl.
I have been looked down and talked down on simply because of the state I come from.
There are many instances but let me share one instance..
One time we were at AG camp ground along Lagos-Ibadan expressway for a youth program.
While in the female hostel, you know those kinds of large hostels where up to 20 or more people share one space, while prepping for morning service, we were having a chit-chat, you know how ladies are when put together in a room, we were chatting and laughing out loud.
Suddenly, one lady interrupted the moment with a question.
"Sophia (the name they call me in church), where are you from?" She asked.
"I'm from Ebonyi State," I replied.
"Eyaaaaaaaaa...no wonder," she said with a pitiful and demeaning look.
"No wonder what? Is there a problem?" I asked.
"Nothing, never mind," she replied.
My mood changed immediately because I knew where that question was coming from, it came from a place of so you are even an Hausa Igbo.
Guess what, she is from Abia State, I was an Abia State girl too before the creation of Ebonyi State. I still remember during my childhood when Late Ogbonnaya Onu from Uburu was our state governor, one day, he was shown on NTA news and I heard my dad calling one of our neighbours to come see who our governor was.
That memory still remains one of the few memories I have of my late father who died even before the creation of Ebonyi State. In order words, my dad died an Abia man.
But here I am today, being looked down on by a lady with whom I once shared a state.
But this post is not even about the lady.
It is about us.
My dear people and leaders of Ebonyi, let's put emotions aside.
If we truly want the ridicule to stop, we must boldly confront the issues that fuel it.
I believe that if we join our hands together to tackle the issues that has brought these ridicules upon us, the narrative will change.
It's not just about coming online to rant about how we're being treated or trashtalked.
As a people/state...
What are we currently doing to take our kids off the streets?
What structures are we building to ensure that families birth the number of kids they can comfortably carter to?
What are we saying about young "struggling" men marrying multiple wives and birthing numerous kids that are left without proper education?
How accessible is education in our communities?
How enabling is our environment for dreams and visions to thrive?
Aside comedy and political praise-singing, are there other careers that our youths can venture into in this land and be at least 75% assured of success due to an enabling environment?
.
If we do nothing, the mockery will continue and even get worse.
Though I am pained by these ridicules, however, I see it as a wake-up call.
Rather than just ranting and reacting to insults, let's come together and build a state strong enough to change the narrative permanently.
Let's move from emotion to responsibility.
No state has ever been built by emotion.
Even if we cry blood, most of these people are not ready to stop with the insults.
We are the ones to stop it with the right actions, not with emotions.
Think.
We can do it.
Yeah we can, really 🤔❤️
