In 2004, the FCT Secondary Education Board was established by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to enhance the management of senior secondary schools across the territory. The Board is tasked with guiding FCT’s youth aged 15 to 18 through a critical stage of life, focusing on providing quality education that prepares them for higher learning and a purposeful future.

In the organogram of the FCT-Secondary Education Board, Gender is one of the units under the Special Services Division. In 2020, the Board’s head of Gender was nominated for Accountability Lab’s Integrity Icon campaign that aims to encourage people to tell positive stories of exemplary public servants rather than emphasise the negative information about corruption which is quite prevalent in Nigeria’s public sector.

At the time of her nomination, Dr. Laraba Grace Okah was a Deputy Director at the FCT-Secondary Education Board and had served in the civil service for 25 years. Through her positions, she worked closely with non-governmental organisations including Mercy Corps and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) which both support efforts around inclusion, good governance, and basic rights. 

Dr. Okah was nominated to become an Integrity Icon by a colleague, Olanike Timipa-Uge. 

“I have been working with the board since 2018 and her support for initiatives that promote girls’ education has been phenomenal with no financial return in view,” explained Timipa-Uge. “She has been a strong advocate for gender-responsive education initiatives within the board even while serving with different directors.”

The core responsibility of a gender officer is gender mainstreaming which, according to the Council of Europe, is “The (re)organisation, improvement, development and evaluation of policy processes, so that a gender equality perspective is incorporated in all policies at all levels and at all stages, by the actors normally involved in policy making.” This approach to policymaking considers both women’s and men’s interests and concerns. The concept was first introduced at the 1985 Nairobi World Conference on Women and subsequently adopted as a tool to promote gender equality at all levels.

Although Nigeria has signed and ratified all international and regional instruments designed to guarantee the human rights of every citizen and developed the National Gender Policy, traditions, customs, and gender stereotyping of social roles prevent the enjoyment of rights and full participation of women on an equal basis with men in Nigeria; hence, the need for gender mainstreaming. 

Mrs. Okah says that in the line of duty, she has met students who suffer from fear of speaking out about the issues they face and that she has had to become a voice for them to their school management. 

“I have had cases of students having problems, particularly girls who wouldn’t speak up, and I have also gone to these schools to talk about these issues with the staff. Some of these girls have to live with molestation. In the workplace, I always document everything that happens when out in the field. I always make sure that any surplus funds from projects are returned, especially when I was a classroom teacher,” she states. 

Unfortunately, integrity in the public service comes with a downside. Ostracisation is an unfortunate byproduct of being a stickler for the rules and this weighs heavily on those who try, against the odds, to maintain integrity in their communities. A 2020 Integrity Icon, Mrs Oyeronke Suebat-Izobo, faced pushback while working at the blood screening centre in Lagos. On multiple occasions, she was accosted on her way home and threatened for refusing to play ball.

Dr. Okah also faced pushback for advocating for girls’ rights in a patriarchal society and for ensuring proper accounting of funds allocated to projects.  

“There was an instance where I was given money for an Independence Day March for the students and N400,000 was remaining from the funds and my colleagues insisted that I keep the money for myself and did not remit it. However, I didn’t adhere to their persuasion; I went ahead and remitted the money immediately,” she says. 

Such decisions signal to people who see her as a threat to their corrupt practices, leading them to sideline her. This could result in her being denied recommendations or job promotions. 

“There was a vacancy that I was supposed to fill but I was denied that position for years because my superiors at the time wanted to hire a person who would be willing to make unethical compromises and probably lack personal integrity,” she states. 

When she eventually got promoted, things didn’t get easier. “It was a bad and difficult time in my career,” she recalls, adding that it was “simply because I didn’t compromise my stand or beliefs”.

 Years after making the nomination, Timipa-Uge still holds Dr. Okah in high regard. “To this day, my opinion of Dr. Okah has not changed,” she says.

In a country where rights are constantly abused, we all need a beacon of hope, one who will always fight for marginalised persons and do so with honesty and truthfulness. While the Nigerian Constitution provides for gender equality and non-discrimination, women continue to suffer injustices and marginalisation. This is often because of discriminatory laws, amongst other issues. 

With people like Dr. Okah, the Head of Special Services Division FCT-SEB, advocating for marginalised groups such as women and youth, there is hope that our education system in Nigeria can improve. Her example demonstrates the positive impact of commitment to justice and equality, inspiring progress in the sector.

This report is championed by Accountability Lab Nigeria and sponsored by The John D. and Catherine D. MacArthur Foundation and Luminate.