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The 1990s in Nigeria can be described as the decade of nongovernmental organization (NGO) activism due to a surge of activity in that sector. This was a direct response to changes in the political and economic landscape of the country. At the political level, the widespread violation of human rights by various military regimes since 1984 coupled with political repression, extrajudicial killings, disregard for the rule of law, arbitrary arrests and detention of critics, and, finally, the annulment of the results of the 1993 presidential election, which would have ushered in a civilian government, forced Nigerians to organize to put an end to political authoritarianism and militarism. At the economic level, the negative effects of the International Monetary Fund–and World Bank–sponsored structural adjustment programs that affected incomes, market prices, employment, and social services resulted in protests against such policies and the formation of organizations to cushion the effects of the adjustments. In addition, women’s NGO activism in Nigeria, as elsewhere, was ignited by the opportunities created by the UN Decade for Women, the various international conferences organized by the UN in the 1990s, and the emergence and growth of a global feminist movement. The activities of women’s NGOs in the 1990s can be traced to the UN’s declaration of 1975 as the International Women’s Year and the years 1975–1985 as the Decade for Women. These historic pronouncements were followed up with a UN statement that all member governments should establish ministries and commissions to aid women’s integration into the development process. The …