Margaret Ekpo played major roles as a grassroots and nationalist politician in the Eastern Nigerian city of Aba, in the era of a hierarchical and male-dominated movement towards independence.
15 Facts About Margaret Ekpo
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Margaret Ekpo was born in Creek Town, Cross River State, to the family of Okoroafor Obiasulor [who was originally from Aguluzigbo, a rural town in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State] and Inyang Eyo Aniemikwe.
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Margaret Ekpo reached standard six of the school leaving certificate in 1934.
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Margaret Ekpo then started working as a pupil-teacher in elementary schools.
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Margaret Ekpo married a doctor, John Udo Ekpo, in 1938.
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Margaret Ekpo was from the Ibibio ethnic group, while she was of Igbo and Efik heritage.
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Margaret Ekpo earned a diploma in domestic science and on her return to Nigeria she established a Domestic Science and Sewing Institute in Aba.
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Margaret Ekpo's husband was indignant with the colonial administrators' treatment of indigenous Nigerian doctors but as a civil servant, he could not attend meetings to discuss the matter.
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Margaret Ekpo then attended meetings in place of her husband, the meetings were organized to discuss the discriminatory practices of the colonial administration in the city and to fight cultural and racial imbalance in administrative promotions.
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Margaret Ekpo later attended a political rally and was the only woman at the rally, which saw fiery speeches from Mbonu Ojike, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Herbert Macaulay.
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Margaret Ekpo used the association to promote women's solidarity as a platform to fight for the economic rights of women, economic protections and expansionary political rights of women.
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Margaret Ekpo felt that women abroad including those in Britain, were already fighting for civil rights and had more voice in political and civil matters than their counterparts in Nigeria.
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Margaret Ekpo later joined the decolonization-leading National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, as a platform to represent a marginalized group.
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In 1953, Margaret Ekpo was nominated by the NCNC to the regional House of Chiefs, and in 1954 she established the Aba Township Women's Association.
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Margaret Ekpo won a seat in the Eastern Regional House of Assembly in 1961, a position that allowed her to fight for issues affecting women at the time.