Former Education Minister Chinwe Obaji warns of a moral crisis in Nigeria, calling for renewed values at the Aba women’s revolt commemoration

Former Minister of Education, Professor Chinwe Obaji, has warned that Nigeria is facing a dangerous moral crisis in Nigeria, marked by declining values, weak character, and eroding conscience.

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Professor Obaji spoke on Thursday in Owerri, the Imo State capital, at the commemoration of the 96th anniversary of the Aba women’s revolt of 1929, organised by the OFO Educational Foundation.

She said the country was witnessing the collapse of moral courage, discipline, and communal responsibility in the pursuit of wealth, a trend she described as a serious threat to national stability.

Drawing lessons from the 1929 revolt, Obaji said the women, though largely uneducated, organised across communities in Eastern Nigeria to challenge injustice under the colonial warrant chief system and permanently reshaped the country’s political and moral history.

She noted that the women’s actions were rooted in the defence of values and community welfare, contrasting that legacy with what she described as today’s internal decay.

According to Obaji, Nigeria now grapples with insecurity, drug abuse, human trafficking, moral confusion, and the commodification of relationships, problems she said stem from failures within homes, communities, and leadership structures.

She argued that the present challenges demand a new form of resistance, not against external domination but against internal moral breakdown.

Obaji called on Nigerians, particularly women and parents, to reclaim their role as custodians of values and conscience, stressing that national renewal must begin at the grassroots.

She also urged investment in education that respects indigenous knowledge, stronger support for women’s entrepreneurship, and collective resistance to unaccountable leadership at all levels.

Earlier, the convener of the conference and former Imo State Commissioner for Homeland Security, Dr Ugorji Ugorji, said the gathering aimed to celebrate the values of the women who led the revolt and project them as enduring role models.

Ugorji said the Aba women’s revolt demonstrated the power of women’s participation and called for greater inclusion in governance, politics, and professional life.

The conference resolved to advocate equal gender representation in executive and legislative offices, an annual celebration of the Aba women’s revolt, and the declaration of the first Friday in November as a public holiday to commemorate the uprising.

Participants also called on South East and South South governments to establish memorials honouring the historic revolt.