Women Journalists Urged to Lead Post-Conflict Rebuilding in the North East region

The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists says amplifying the voices of women, conflict survivors, and vulnerable communities is essential to rebuilding North East Nigeria, with focus on maternal health, girls’ education, and gender-based violence.
They have also been urged to take a leading role in shaping the region’s recovery from years of conflict by amplifying the voices of women and vulnerable groups whose stories remain largely untold.
The call formed the crux of discussions at the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) North East Summit themed “From Conflict to Recovery: The Role of Women Journalists in Advancing the Plight of Women in North East Nigeria,” held in Bauchi state.
In her welcome address at the opening ceremony, NAWOJ Vice President, North East, Dorcas Philemon, appreciated state governments across the region for their continued support to journalists, particularly in Bauchi.
She commended the commitment of women journalists to their profession and charged them to be proactive in recovery efforts in a region that has suffered prolonged conflict.
She also sympathised with journalists recently involved in an accident in the state, describing their safety and welfare as paramount to the profession.
Declaring the Summit open, Bauchi state governor, Bala Mohammed, represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Communication, Abdulwahab Mohammed, reiterated the vital role of journalists in strengthening democracy and pledged continued support for NAWOJ’s advocacy programmes.
In a keynote paper delivered by former National Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chief Shuaibu Leman, he declared that “the story of the North East is incomplete if women are excluded,” stressing that women are not merely victims of conflict but architects of national recovery.
He identified maternal health, girls’ education, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and the growing burden of female-headed households as critical issues demanding sustained media attention.
According to him, female reporters possess a unique power to mediate peace and influence regional recovery through empathetic and conflict-sensitive reporting.
Also speaking, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Usman Shehu, represented by the Managing Director of Bauchi State Television Mrs, Fibi Kafi charged female journalists to beam more light on improving maternal and child health, promoting hospital births, encouraging girls’ education, and tackling gender-based violence and insecurity through their reports.
National Chairperson of NAWOJ, Aisha Ibrahim, represented by Board of Trustees member Ruth Absolom, noted that the theme of the summit speaks directly to the lived realities of women and girls across the North East, many of whom are widowed, displaced, or survivors of violence whose stories are often told without their voices.
She also acknowledged barriers confronting female journalists, including trauma exposure, discrimination, and limited access to editorial leadership, and reaffirmed her resolve to advance the cause of female journalists as key drivers of peace, justice, and democratic accountability.
Other speakers urged NAWOJ to remain the voice of the vulnerable and continue to advance the cause of women and children in society.