The United Nations gender equality agency, UN Women, has said funding cuts are dismantling the frontline organisations working to end violence against women and girls.

UN Women, in a report published on Monday, warned that aid cuts, shutdown or suspension of one in three women’s anti-violence programmes.

A  report, At Risk and Underfunded, based on a global survey of 428 women’s rights and civil society groups, finds that one in three have suspended or shut down programmes aimed at ending gender-based violence.

More than 40 per cent have scaled back or closed essential services such as shelters, legal aid, psychosocial and healthcare support due to immediate funding shortfalls.

Nearly 80 per cent reported reduced access to services for survivors, while 59 per cent said impunity and the normalisation of violence were increasing.

“Women’s rights organisations are the backbone of progress on violence against women, yet they are being pushed to the brink,” Kalliopi Mingeirou, head of UN Women’s Ending Violence Against Women and Girls section, said.

“We cannot allow funding cuts to erase decades of hard-won gains.

“We call on governments and donors to ringfence, expand and make funding more flexible. Without sustained investment, violence against women and girls will only rise,” it added.

It noted that violence against women remains one of the world’s most pervasive human rights violations.

Around 736 million women – nearly one in three – have experienced physical or sexual violence, most often by an intimate partner, according to UN Women data.

The agency had already warned earlier this year that many women-led organisations in crisis settings were on the brink of closure – a concern now reinforced by At Risk and Underfunded.

Only five per cent of surveyed organisations said they could sustain operations for more than two years, and 85 per cent predicted severe setbacks to laws and protections for women and girls.

Over half also voiced serious concern about rising threats to women human rights defenders.

The report warns that these financial shortfalls are unfolding amid a wider backlash against women’s rights, now evident in one in four countries. As funding dries up, many groups are forced to prioritise emergency services over the long-term advocacy that drives systemic change.

At Risk and Underfunded comes as the world marks 30 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a landmark blueprint for gender equality that placed ending violence against women at its core.

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Both leaders spoke separately at events in Abuja on Monday, urging sub-national governments to translate higher statutory allocations into tangible development, improved livelihoods, and job creation.

Speaking at the public presentation of “Vicious Red Circle,” a book on human trafficking authored by Alex Oriaku, Prof. Yilwatda said Nigerians must begin to demand people-oriented projects from their state and local governments, given the huge fiscal inflows now accruing to them.

Yilwatda said, “No governor in Nigeria collects less than three times, up to four times what they used to collect before — none. Who knows that two years ago, there was a sharing of about N400bn per month—but today, the last sharing they did was N2.2tn.

“So, they can do more for their people. No governor collects less than three times— none. They are focusing now on bigger projects. And to me, this is a turnaround that we need in governors. I would say, talk to your governors. Talk to your local government chairmen. Let them do more.”

Yilwatda, who assumed leadership of the APC amid mounting criticism of government economic policies, maintained that the administration of President Bola Tinubu was on the right track.

He expressed optimism that the party would drive the country towards economic recovery.

On his part, Akpabio, while speaking at the joint graduation ceremony of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and the University of Benin, also urged State Houses of Assembly to hold governors accountable for how they deploy the increased allocations.

Akpabio said the National Assembly’s enhanced oversight and legal reforms had significantly boosted revenue inflows to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

This, according to him, in turn leads to higher allocations for both federal and state governments.

He said, “We have no other country to call our own and so, we must invest for the overall good of our country. As members of the 10th Senate, we will continue to do our part to strengthen existing legal frameworks and enhance our oversight responsibilities of public institutions to ensure that they deliver effective public service.

“Our efforts in this direction have contributed tremendously to increasing the revenue that accrues to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, hence, it has translated to higher revenue allocation to states and the federal government.

“Therefore, as the 10th National Assembly is using its instrument of oversight to ensure that the Federal Government delivers effectively on public services, I also call on state legislatures to ensure that the increased revenue to their governors and states translates to improved livelihood and job creation for citizens.”

Also speaking at the event, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, reaffirmed the National Assembly’s commitment to reforming Nigeria’s budget process to ensure fiscal discipline and accountability.

“The reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration are yielding results. Though we may have different experiences to tell, what is clear is that our economy is on a better growth trajectory today than it would have been under a business-as-usual scenario,” Abbas said.

He noted that inflation had declined below 20 per cent and the naira was appreciating against major global currencies, adding:

“Though it is not yet uhuru, the country is racing closer to a single-digit inflation rate and healthier exchange rate position.

“Just as the President has led the way with the Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, the 10th House of Representatives is also committed to reforming the budget process to ensure commitment to budget timelines as it applies to budget preparation, enactment, implementation, and oversight.”

On his part, the Director-General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, called on both federal and state governments to increase funding for tertiary education in the 2026 budget, warning that low investment could further weaken human capital development.

“The funding of higher institutions has a direct relationship with human capacity development.

“Invariably, low funding would translate to poor quality graduates,” he said, urging authorities to find a lasting solution to the incessant ASUU strikes disrupting the university system.

Meanwhile, at the book presentation, discussions also touched on the menace of human trafficking, with the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed, describing it as one of the world’s most dangerous transnational crimes, comparable to drug and arms trafficking.

“Human trafficking has eroded our social fabric and robbed some of our people of their dignity and future,” he said, stressing that the NIA continues to support the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons with intelligence and operational backing.

Reviewer of the 198-page book, Dr. Ike Neliaku, President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, examined the link between corruption, manipulation, and exploitation, urging Nigerians to reject the “culture of silence” that sustains such evils.

In his remarks, author Alex Oriaku said “Vicious Red Circle” seeks to expose the cycle of exploitation and silence fueling human trafficking. “It’s a circle that preys on the desperate, the vulnerable, and the unseen,” he said.

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When Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters and activist, announced a protest in Abuja for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, few expected it to draw such a heavy-handed response from the Nigerian government. Yet, on October 20, when the protest was scheduled to be held, the police descended on the protesters as if they were enemies of the state. The sight of armed officers arresting citizens who were simply exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest sent a disturbing message: Nigeria’s space for free expression is shrinking fast.

That this happened under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s watch makes the event even more disappointing. For decades, Tinubu stood as one of Nigeria’s most vocal opposition figures. He fought military dictatorship, demanded democracy, and benefited immensely from the freedoms that civil society and the media struggled to secure. Even as a governor, he opposed the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo and gained the sympathy of most Nigerians. As an opposition leader of the APC, he led protests against the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. To see his government now turning against those who dare to speak or march peacefully is both ironic and painful.

The use of excessive force against peaceful protesters is not new in Nigeria. From the #EndSARS movement in 2020 to other smaller demonstrations, the APC administration has increasingly treated dissent as a crime. In the case of Muhammadu Buhari, his background as a military person and a dictator made it easier to understand. But for Tinubu, who has never been a military person and was a vocal opposition leader for decades, it has been disappointing.

What stands out in this case is the hypocrisy of those in power. The ruling All Progressives Congress rode to power on promises of freedom, reform, and respect for citizens’ rights. Many of its leaders, like Tinubu, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, participated in protests and spoke passionately about the importance of free speech and accountability.

Now, when ordinary citizens use the same democratic tools, the state responds with intimidation and arrests. This is not the democracy Nigerians were promised.

Every democracy recognises the right to protest as a key pillar of freedom. It is not a favour granted by the government. In Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly are clearly protected. Citizens do not need permission to voice their concerns.

I don’t need to agree with Sowore’s views. But it is his right to organise a protest. It is the right of Nigerians to choose whether to join the protest or not. The duty of the police is to be present to monitor the protest and ensure that hoodlums don’t hijack it.

When people like Sowore and others gather to demand justice or call attention to issues, they are not committing a crime. They are simply practising democracy by holding leaders accountable. A confident government that truly believes in its legitimacy should not feel uncomfortable with peaceful protests. Instead, it should listen, engage and respond with maturity. Using threats and excessive force against unarmed, peaceful protesters is the hallmark of a dictatorship. If a government spokesperson had addressed the protesters, that would have taken the wind out of the sails of the protest.

Tinubu’s rise to prominence came through his activism and opposition to military rule. As a member of the National Democratic Coalition in the 1990s, he fought for democracy and free expression. Those were noble struggles, and history rightly remembers Tinubu and his colleagues as heroes of democracy.

But history also judges what leaders do when they gain power. The measure of a true democrat is not how loudly he demands freedom when he is out of power, but how much of that freedom he protects when he is in power. By that measure, the Tinubu government’s record so far is worrying.

It is noteworthy that Sowore’s protest went beyond Nnamdi Kanu; it also highlighted the government’s double standards. On one hand, the government negotiates with bandits who come to meetings with guns and rocket launchers; on the other hand, the government arrests and detains those who protest with no weapons.

Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, has been detained since June 2021. He is facing trial on charges of treasonable felony and terrorism-related offences. Many Nigerians disagree with his methods and his vitriol. However, they believe he deserves a fair and speedy trial. Keeping him in detention indefinitely and refusing to obey court orders on him only deepens resentment and fuels division.

Sowore has positioned himself as a symbol of resistance against government excesses. The government has played into his hands by displaying intolerance. He has been arrested multiple times since 2019 for leading protests, yet he continues to speak up. Whether one agrees with his politics or not, his courage in the face of repression reflects the stubborn spirit of Nigerians who refuse to be silenced.

A government that hates dissent or crushes it loses moral authority. It portrays the government as insecure. The strength of any democracy does not lie in how it treats those who agree with it, but in how it treats those who disagree. When the government sees every critic as an enemy, it creates fear rather than loyalty.

Nigeria is already facing enormous challenges, which include economic hardship, insecurity, youth unemployment, and declining trust in public institutions. Silencing dissent will not solve these problems. On the contrary, it will worsen them. Citizens who cannot speak will find other, less peaceful ways to express their anger.

When the APC came to power in 2015, many Nigerians hoped for a new era of accountability and freedom. The party’s leaders criticised the previous government for corruption and intolerance. Yet, after over a decade in power, the APC has become worse than what it once opposed.

Under Tinubu, there was hope for renewal, given his history as a pro-democracy activist. But the early signs suggest a continuation of the same authoritarian tendencies that marked the Buhari years. The clampdown on protests, the arrests of journalists, the disregard for the Constitution in the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, and the rising fear among citizens to speak freely point to a democracy that is losing its soul. Today, the separation of powers that should exist among the legislature, executive and judiciary has vanished.

Although President Tinubu seems focused on securing a second term by all means necessary, there is still time to change his attitude toward dissent. Nigerians are easy to satisfy. Saying the right words and carrying out the right actions will easily see millions of opponents move to his side. Umaru Yar’Adua achieved it by acknowledging that the election that brought him in was faulty and showing the people that he was on their side. Tinubu can start by instructing security agencies to respect the rights of protesters and journalists. It is also crucial to release those detained for peaceful demonstrations and allow citizens to express themselves without fear.

Nigeria suffered for decades under a dictatorship. In 1999, it celebrated its return to civilian rule. This is not the type of democracy Nigerians fought for. Nigeria deserves a government that listens and not one that fears its people. True democracy is not about silencing the crowd and pressuring every opponent to become a supporter. It is about hearing the cry of the people and taking steps to stop the cry.

X: @BrandAzuka