I met someone who said:
βYou should probably focus more on Northern leaders keeping your region in poverty due to misrule, financial mismanagement and the overwhelming influence of Islam rather than trying to influence the sentiments and bias of Southerners.β
Then, when I told him he couldnβt tell me what to do with my own platform, he decided to play the βyouβre a ladyβ card.
In my mind, I found that fascinating.
Not because he disagreed with me. People are free to disagree.
But because some people seem to believe that if a Northern woman speaks about stereotypes, identity or culture, she must first seek permission from them on what topics she is allowed to discuss.
Apparently, there is an approved list of subjects they think I should focus on.
And if I choose something else, they become upset.
Hereβs the thing.
A person can talk about governance and talk about stereotypes.
A person can discuss poverty and discuss prejudice.
A person can criticise leaders and challenge misinformation.
These conversations are not mutually exclusive.
The assumption that Northern stereotypes should be left unchallenged until every political problem is solved is absurd.
Nobody tells people discussing anti Igbo stereotypes to stop until corruption ends.
Nobody tells people challenging stereotypes about the Niger Delta to remain silent until unemployment disappears.
Nobody tells people celebrating Yoruba culture to wait until every governance issue is fixed.
Yet somehow, when Northerners challenge misconceptions about the North, some people suddenly become gatekeepers of what is and isnβt an acceptable conversation.
And then came the βladyβ comment.
Which revealed something important.
For some people, the issue is not actually the argument.
The issue is that a woman refused to be instructed.
A woman disagreed.
A woman declined to accept that a stranger gets to dictate the purpose of her platform.
The irony is that many of the same people who claim to support free expression become uncomfortable the moment a Northern woman exercises hers.
My platform exists to discuss the things I choose to discuss.
Not the things strangers assign to me.
If someone wants to focus exclusively on governance, they are free to do so.
If I want to challenge stereotypes while also discussing broader issues, that is equally my right.
The beautiful thing about social media is that everyone gets a platform.
The unfortunate thing is that some people think they get yours too.
ImANorthernGirl