The 'Conscientising Male Adolescents' (CMA) project is presented as both a critique of current societal issues and a blueprint for future progress. The initiative was born from a deep-seated concern for the welfare and untapped potential of male adolescents, and its profound impact on gender dynamics.
In the context of societal discourse on democracy, human rights, and justice, any discussion that overlooks or downplays injustices disproportionately affecting women remains incomplete and unattainable. The CMA project places particular emphasis on anti-sexist education tailored for young men. This focus is critical because adolescence, the period when males transition into manhood, is a highly impressionable stage where ingrained societal prejudices against women are most readily absorbed. Consequently, the project deliberately targets adolescent males.
On Saturday, March 21st, which marked the 79th birthday of Comrade Bene Madunagu, a prominent feminist, educator, and advocate for justice, a public forum on "Conscientising Nigerian Male Adolescents" (CMA) was held. Known affectionately as "Mumsy B," Madunagu spent her life challenging patriarchy and championing the dignity of women and girls through her work in education and various youth empowerment initiatives like the Girls' Power Initiative (GPI). The forum, organized by the Socialist Library and Archives (SOLAR) in Calabar in collaboration with MILID Foundation, served as a platform for current CMA participants, their guardians, teachers, and past graduates to present the program's progress, offer critiques, and suggest improvements.
The CMA project, developed with a strong focus on the well-being and potential of young Nigerian males and its influence on gender relations, has consistently promoted values of equality, critical thinking, and responsible citizenship. For over three decades, it has successfully empowered more than 13,500 young men, equipping them with the principles of anti-sexism, anti- patriarchy, and critical consciousness to challenge the prevailing norms of Nigeria's patriarchal society.
Significantly, during the same week the CMA forum took place, reports emerged concerning alleged rape and assault of young women at a festival in Ozoro, Delta State. The brazenness and celebration of sexual violence in the 21st century are not only deeply regrettable but also underscore the substantial work required by Nigerian society to safeguard its female population. The media plays a crucial role in this endeavor, with media and information literacy (MIL) serving as an indispensable tool.
The forum also served as an occasion to honor Comrade Biodun Jeyifo, also known as Comrade BJ, a distinguished intellectual and revolutionary who passed away on February 11th. His life and legacy continue to inspire the struggle for social change and offer hope. Both Bene and BJ, as members of the Board of Advisers for SOLAR, played a vital role in establishing a space dedicated to preserving the ideas, history, and memory of progressive movements. These dedicated scholars, public intellectuals, and revolutionaries remained steadfast in their commitment to socialist transformation, reminding us that scholarship must actively confront injustice and knowledge must be a catalyst for liberation.
Together, they embody a tradition of intellectual bravery and social engagement, demonstrating the profound power of ideas when utilized to challenge oppression and effect societal change. This philosophy is at the core of conscientisation.
Conscientisation transcends mere education; it is the cultivation of critical consciousness. It is a process that enables individuals to perceive the inherent contradictions within society and recognize the systems of domination that are often normalized but are fundamentally unjust. Once this awareness is achieved, individuals are empowered to initiate change.
Contemporary Nigerian society is rife with these contradictions. The Ozoro incident exemplifies this, as do pervasive issues of sexism, patriarchy, human rights violations, and social structures that limit individuals' autonomy over their lives and futures. These challenges are compounded by inadequate healthcare, a scarcity of reliable information on sexual and reproductive rights, and the persistence of harmful cultural practices.
Simultaneously, the nation grapples with widespread unemployment, poverty, drug abuse, and violent crime. These issues are not isolated but are symptomatic of deeper social and economic inequalities.
The CMA program directly addresses these realities through critical education, tackling subjects like sexism, violence against women, cultural impediments to gender equality, and the historical roots of social injustice. Its objective is straightforward yet impactful: to foster critical thinking among young people regarding society and their potential to transform it.
However, conscientisation must extend beyond mere awareness, as awareness without action yields no tangible results.
The envisioned society must reject what Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci termed "internal colonialism"—economic subjugation and cultural dominance perpetuated through hegemony, ethnic hierarchy, and class exploitation. It must be a Nigeria where no single religion dictates state affairs and where freedom of thought, conscience, and belief is universally protected. It must be a society that genuinely upholds human rights and democratic freedoms across political, economic, social, and cultural spheres.
Furthermore, it must be a society that unequivocally condemns violence against women and vulnerable groups. Gender-based violence, whether online or offline, sexual harassment, female genital mutilation, and other degrading practices must be confronted and eradicated, not concealed behind cultural traditions.
Ultimately, it must be a society populated by educated, well-informed, and critically conscious citizens—individuals who refuse to accept injustice as normal and who ensure a secure, inclusive, and empowering digital environment where all citizens, particularly women and marginalized communities, can thrive without fear of harassment or discrimination.
The lives of Comrades Bene Madunagu and Biodun Jeyifo serve as a profound reminder that this struggle is both intellectual and practical, demanding courage, clarity, and unwavering commitment. Therefore, the work they dedicated their lives to—educating, organizing, and challenging all forms of oppression—must continue.
Over the past 30 years, the CMA program has proudly graduated more than 13,500 young men, each equipped with anti-sexist principles and critical consciousness to challenge the prevailing norms of our patriarchal society. The overarching goal is to cultivate anti-sexist and critical awareness in an increasing number of male adolescents and young boys, fostering a consciousness that can serve as a powerful tool in the collective fight against sexism and patriarchy, and in the broader struggle for the humanization and democratization of Nigeria.
SOLAR embraces conscientisation as a pedagogical approach that, through dialogue rather than dictation, gradually guides learners to perceive the contradictions and oppressive elements within their social reality. It defines a Nigerian male adolescent as an individual between the ages of 14 and 20. To be anti-sexist means shedding all prejudices against women, while being critical involves questioning information and reality rather than passively accepting them.
SOLAR posits that the link it cultivates between anti-sexism and critical consciousness in Nigerian male adolescents through the CMA program stems from the conviction that a sufficiently critical consciousness makes it easier to eradicate sexism, as sexism itself represents an extreme form of uncritical thinking.
It is our firm belief that all issues pertinent to adolescent girls, including reproductive and sexual health and rights, fundamental human rights (especially those specific to women), ignorance, poverty, powerlessness, alienation, exploitation, oppression, violence, and indignity, should be of equal concern to adolescent males and their elders. More broadly, we assert that educating men on issues that uniquely affect women constitutes a vital, even critical, contribution to the universal struggle against discrimination and injustice, which are largely perpetrated by men (or in their interest) in both private and public life.
SOLAR highlights the significant injustices within the institution of the family. Because both culture and law paradoxically categorize the family as a private domain, such injustices are often underreported and unaddressed, while perpetrators of domestic wrongdoing may present themselves as champions of public freedom and democracy. Children and adolescents are primary victims of, and sometimes unwitting participants in, the injustices occurring within families, including exploitation, oppression, discrimination, servitude, dehumanization, and violence. The CMA program is designed to educate and empower Nigerian male adolescents to recognize and confront these realities.
Ultimately, any discourse on democracy, human rights, and universal justice is incomplete and futile if the specific injustices faced by half of humanity are ignored or minimized. In the realm of anti-sexist education for men, adolescent males are particularly significant. During their formative years, as they mature into manhood, they are highly susceptible to internalizing deeply ingrained societal prejudices against women. Therefore, our focus is precisely on this demographic.
We are convinced that the future of society resides within this group, as a more equitable and just society will not materialize spontaneously. It requires conscious individuals to envision, strive for, and construct it.
Chido Onumah and Chiamaka Okafor-Onumah are the co-founders of the Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue (MILID) Foundation.
This essay is adapted from presentations delivered at the public forum on "Conscientising Nigerian Male Adolescents," jointly organized by the Socialist Library and Archives (SOLAR) and MILID Foundation in Calabar, Cross River State, on Saturday, March 21st.
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