“According to Mr Cletus Opukeme view over the poor state of Bayelsa state women”
Looking at poor educational and economic status of Bayelsa State women is critical because the Bayelsa State is the ancestral headquarters of the Ijaw ethnic nationality—spread across Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Ondo, and Akwa Ibom States—sits at the heart of Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta.
Therefore, this report represents all the Ijaw women cut across the Ethnic nationalities, using Bayelsa State as a case study.
Ijaws, despite the enormous oil wealth extracted from their ancestral lands and creeks, Ijaw women remain among the most educationally and economically disadvantaged groups in southern Nigeria. Their struggles are shaped by a complex intersection of geography, history, cultural realities, environmental degradation, and governmental neglect.
Low Educational Attainment
For many Ijaw communities, formal education is still a luxury rather than a right.
Geographic isolation: Most Ijaw communities are riverine, requiring boats and costly transport to reach schools. Many villages have no secondary schools, and some don’t even have functioning primary schools.
High dropout rate among girls: Due to economic hardship, many parents prioritize boys’ education. Girls are often withdrawn to support fishing, trading, caregiving, or early marriage.
Poor learning facilities: Where schools exist, they often suffer from dilapidated buildings, lack of teachers, no laboratories, and no libraries. Flooding frequently destroys school infrastructure.
Cultural factors: Traditional gender roles reinforce the belief that women should focus on domestic labor rather than pursue higher learning. This contributes to the very low number of Ijaw female graduates, especially in STEM or technical fields.
Economic Marginalization
Despite living on top of Nigeria’s oil wealth, Ijaw women face deep economic vulnerability.
Limited employment opportunities: The oil companies operating in their region rarely employ local women in skilled positions. Opportunities in the oil sector—logistics, diving, welding, dredging, catering, surveillance—are heavily male-dominated.
Petty trading as the main occupation: Most Ijaw women depend on small-scale fish trading, garri processing, fish smoking, and harvesting periwinkles. These activities yield very low income, making poverty almost generational.
Environmental degradation: Oil spills, gas flaring, and pollution have devastated the fishing grounds that once sustained Ijaw women’s livelihood. The destruction of mangroves means fewer fish, fewer oysters, and failing small businesses.
Climate change impact: Increasing floods, saltwater intrusion, and erosion have wiped out farmlands and destroyed hundreds of women-owned fishing huts across the creeks.
Weak access to credit: Most Ijaw women cannot access loans due to lack of collateral, poor financial literacy training, and absence of functional microfinance institutions in riverine communities.
Structural and Social Barriers
The economic and educational disadvantages are worsened by deeper systemic issues:
Patriarchal community structures: Leadership positions—traditional councils, community development committees (CDCs), youth associations—are predominantly male. Women seldom have a voice in decisions about community funds or development priorities.
Healthcare issues: Poor maternal healthcare affects productivity and educational advancement. Long distances to hospitals increase maternal and child mortality.
Insecurity: Militancy, piracy, and community conflicts often disrupt women’s businesses and limit their mobility.
Lack of government intervention: Despite being a unique terrain, government development plans rarely address the specific needs of riverine women—such as transport subsidies, water transport safety, floating schools, or special empowerment schemes,Consequences
Intergenerational poverty: Many Ijaw girls grow up to repeat the same cycle—limited schooling, early marriage, and subsistence trading.
Low political representation: Few Ijaw women occupy legislative or executive roles due to low educational background and lack of support structures.
Economic dependence: Lack of skills and capital leaves women economically dependent on spouses or male relatives.
Vulnerability to exploitation: Young women seeking better life in urban centers often end up in unsafe jobs or exploitation due to poor education.
Emerging Voices and Signs of Hope
Despite the structural disadvantages, a new wave of Ijaw women is rising.
NGOs and women groups are pushing for girl-child education, scholarship schemes, vocational training, and micro-credit programs.
Some Ijaw states now have female commissioners and local women Champions advocating for digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and STEM inclusion.
Communities are beginning to understand that empowering women leads to better community stability and development.
The poor educational and economic status of Ijaw women is not due to lack of intelligence or willingness to progress, but rather the result of decades of neglect, environmental injustice, cultural barriers, weak infrastructure, and exclusion from the oil wealth extracted from their land. Addressing these issues requires a targeted, gender-sensitive, and riverine-specific approach from government, oil companies, and development partners.
