Reality TV star and social commentator, Tacha Akide, has taken aim at the popular Nigerian saying “na man dey do man,” describing it as misleading and disconnected from the country’s social and economic realities.
In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter), Tacha argued that men advance and empower one another far more than women, pointing to the overwhelming dominance of men in leadership and funding roles across Nigeria’s major industries.
According to her, sectors such as politics, business, entertainment, technology, oil and gas, finance, and the creative economy remain largely male-controlled, with men occupying between 70 and 90 percent of influential positions.
“That’s not opinion, that’s structure,” Tacha wrote, stressing that power does not accumulate by accident but flows through systems deliberately designed to favour men.
Using her own career as an example, the former Big Brother Naija star said she firmly believes she would have achieved far greater success if she were a man with the same ideas, influence, work ethic, and drive.
“I would be much further in life, not by cheating or shortcuts, but by sheer access,” she stated, adding that women face stricter expectations and more obstacles when trying to scale professionally.
Tacha explained that while men often secure deals through informal interactions that end in handshakes, women are frequently subjected to conditions that blur professional boundaries.
“With men, deals end in handshakes. With women, deals come with conditions,” she said, noting that business conversations often shift toward personal or romantic undertones when women are involved.
She added that environments such as clubs, hotels, and social gatherings—often cited as spaces where deals are sealed—work seamlessly for men but present hidden barriers for women, who face unspoken expectations even when their ideas are commercially sound.
Tacha also challenged the notion that men are the most unsupported group in society, arguing that men fund men far more than they fund women, and that even women are sometimes more inclined to do business with men due to entrenched biases.
“So when people say men put women on more than men, it’s nonsense. Men put men on. The system puts men on,” she declared.
She concluded by urging women to adopt a relentless work ethic, warning against reliance on goodwill in a system she described as deeply patriarchal.
“Women succeed despite the system, not because of it,” Tacha said, adding that competence alone is rarely enough for women, who must constantly prove their worth to gain access to opportunities.
Her comments have since sparked widespread debate online, reigniting conversations around gender inequality, access to power, and the unspoken costs women pay to enter spaces dominated by men.