Unless you have not been paying attention lately, you must have come across the recent spike in nuggets of ancient ‘wisdom’ shared by Nollywood veteran, Pete Edochie.

Whether in the form of crudely recorded bits of conversation off set where he is advising the boys on the proper way to propose to their fiancés, or in a contrived interview where he is asked his two cents on feminism. As is to be expected, not all of that bit of wisdom is quite wise. Most certainly not the bit of interview he did with BBC Igbo where he blamed feminism for being the root cause of domestic violence nowadays, but he might be onto something.

On 26 March 2021, 20-year-old Lawali Danladi was arrested by the Niger State Police Command for beating his wife to death. The reason for the beating that led to her death is that she made him pap not to his liking, whereupon an argument ensued that escalated to her death. She was not a feminist, her only offence if any must be recorded was being a woman in a patriarchal society that grants women little to no protection.

One of the noteworthy conversations that feminists ignited on Twitter and were met with scorn from mostly men who considered it too trivial a matter, is on cooking and why the idea that women have some inbuilt feature that makes cooking theirs to do by right is flawed.

The fact that cooking is a life skill needed by all human beings for sustenance has been expounded since to the point that even hardcore sexists, men or women, now hesitate to imply that women are obligated to cook because that’s a gender role of theirs that must be upheld.

Discussions continue to evolve, and more and more cis-heterosexual couples are finding what works for them and running with it.

What feminism does is lay out the options that exist – options that have always existed, for women but were denied them often by omission.

As more and more women see the options that exist for them and go for easier lives, unburdened by cumbersome expectations of gender roles, it is likely that dangerous men who would violate women whether or not they ask for what’s their due will become increasingly dangerous.

Anyone who has been in an abusive relationship can testify to how abusive spouses tend to get worse the closer the walls close in, and they feel their hold over their victim slacken.

Perhaps if Chief Edochie had been asked questions on film making and the formula to making blockbuster movies, there would have been actual wisdom to benefit from.

His take on this other subject is not just tragic but dangerous to the point that it gives a jail-break card in perpetuity for abusive spouses.

Ado Aminu

Ado Aminu writes to expand human stories. When not reading, writing or arguing about how the patriarchy has and continues to ruin everything, you’ll find him daydreaming about his next cup of coffee. You can follow him on Twitter @PettyMuse.