Risikat Dupeola, program beneficiary with grinding machine received from program grant in Odo_Aro community, Osun State, Nigeria. Photo by Nuratu Omobolanle Onilogbo, IFPRI-Nigeria, used with permission.

By Nuratu Omobolanle Onilogbo

Women in rural Oyo, Ogun, and Osun, Nigeria, used to see their lives beginning and ending in the kitchen.

They were cut off from leadership opportunities and community engagement, and their unique ideas about local needs and issues often went unrecognized. Historically in Nigeria, women, particularly those in rural communities, have been sidelined from leadership and community engagement due to cultural norms, traditional gender roles, and societal expectations. Many women are conditioned to believe that their primary responsibilities lie solely within the home and that they do not deserve to participate in decision-making processes.

Training and community grant program

Now a new collaborative training and community grants program is bringing together local women to give them the tools, skills, and a seat at the leadership table.

The training gathered women in a semi-formal classroom setting for 10 weeks in their local dialects, ensuring every woman could follow along. The training covered everything from the basics of coming together as a community to carrying out collective projects, identifying community challenges, and advocating for change.

The women learned how to better budget and manage money, resolve conflicts, and handle disagreements diplomatically. They responded by proposing new projects that would benefit their communities, like solar street lights, drilling boreholes, and buying farm implements.

Following a selection criterion jointly developed by the community heads and the project team, fifteen projects that demonstrated strong potential for community impact, sustainability, and inclusivity were funded.

A similar training for men was part of the program, focusing on the need to support their wives and the best ways to do this.

Feedback from the participants

Badiru Raimot Omolola is a trader from Ajetunmobi LGA in Ibadan, Oyo state, who participated in the program. Since joining the program, she has taken an active role in her community to improve access to clean water by developing a central community borehole.

Central community borehole and water tank were developed by program beneficiaries in the Ajetunmobi community, Osun State, Nigeria. Photo by Nuratu Omobolanle Onilogbo, IFPRI-Nigeria, used with permission.

“People of the community are very happy about it,” Omolola shares. “So we as women came together to do such a thing for the community. The site we chose for the borehole is the center for Isemile. When people want to farm, they can tap water from here to the farm.” The program has sparked a quiet revolution as women step into roles in their communities that were once out of reach. Beyond the classroom, women have applied their new skills in practical ways, such as by forming groups and cooperatives that support each other and the community.

As part of the training, Omolola and the other women in the  Ajetunmobi community would regularly meet in a quiet room, sometimes used for church services, for about three hours. Each session, run by trained facilitators, was a mix of lively discussions, role-playing, and brainstorming.

The facilitators often began with an icebreaker, like a song composed for the program, which set an energizing tone for the day. This was a similar structure in the other communities. When there were no meeting rooms available, the participants met outside under a big, shady tree. Omolola shared:

Badiru Omolola, program beneficiary from the Ajetunmobi LGA, Osun, Nigeria. Photo by Nuratu Omobolanle Onilogbo, IFPRI-Nigeria, used with permission.

“The project helped me to improve my capabilities and my self-esteem. It helped me a lot, even in my marriage. This is the first time that my husband and I have truly partnered on something beyond the home.”

Her husband played a supportive role during the program, cheering her on and even lending a hand when needed. Their marriage has grown stronger ever since.

Omolola shared that this program gave her the confidence to voice her ideas. “The project helped me to improve my capabilities and my self-esteem,” she said. “It helped me a lot even in my marriage.”

Other communities, like Odo-Aro, had women come together to install solar street lights. Baale Tijani Ajegbe, head of the community, said residents can now safely walk home from the market at night, and children can read and play outdoors in the evenings.

“There is nowhere it doesn't brighten, and now there are no hidden places for criminals in the community,” Baale Tijani Ajegbe noted.

Why the training program was introduced

The training program was spearheaded by researchers from CGIAR in partnership with ActionAid Nigeria, UC Berkeley, and UC San Diego.

The organizers aimed to empower rural Nigerian women with leadership and advocacy skills and backed up this training with funding for women to carry out community development projects.

Augustine Iraoya, a research analyst from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Nigeria, one of the researchers who worked on this initiative, said, “I feel delighted and inspired to see women taking active roles in community development in the selected states and communities.

“Their engagement not only fosters a sense of empowerment but also leads to meaningful improvements in the lives of residents. It’s rewarding to witness the positive impact of their leadership and collaboration.”

Impact

The initiative has brought women together in ways that have transformed their communities. For example, groups of women in the Ajetunmobi and Kumapayi communities have collectively funded and executed projects like constructing boreholes. These initiatives have provided increased access to water and fostered stronger community ties.

The program’s success is evident as these women now aspire to represent their communities in local governance, with some actively planning to run for local council positions to ensure their communities’ needs are met. And many of the men in the community are in full support.

Collaboration and mutual support such as this were crucial. The program’s success depended on community leaders, spouses, and participants aligning to break cultural barriers and support women’s increased participation in the community.

Training sessions for the men in the community played a pivotal role, as Opeyemi Olanrewaju, a research analyst from IFPRI-Nigeria, explains:

When men see the benefits of their wives’ participation, they become advocates, which helps build a supportive environment for women’s leadership.

Community support systems and regular group meetings help these women stay committed, creating a foundation for sustainable change. Women are now inspired to share their insights, plan initiatives, and take ownership of projects that directly impact their communities.

With the support of their spouses, they often meet with their community leaders to nominate female representatives for the Ward Councillorship Elections and to discuss ways to raise funds for community projects.