The First Lady of Imo State, Chioma Uzodimma, has stirred a fresh conversation on domestic gender roles, saying there is nothing wrong with a husband cooking for his family and urging parents to teach both sons and daughters how to cook.

Uzodimma, a lawyer and the wife of Governor Hope Uzodimma, made the remarks in a statement that has since gone viral on social media, drawing hundreds of reactions from Nigerians divided on the question of who should own the kitchen in a Nigerian home.

“There is nothing wrong with a husband cooking for the family,” she said. “Women should also teach both their sons and daughters how to cook. No rule says only women should cook for the family.”

The First Lady tied the point to a broader argument about raising children with practical life skills regardless of gender, saying cooking should be treated as a basic competence rather than a role assigned by sex. She has made similar appeals in recent public engagements, including a town hall in Owerri this week, where she called on traditional and religious leaders to help dismantle harmful cultural practices that hold women back.

Reactions online have been mixed. Some users praised the comment as a modern and practical position, arguing that a man who can cook is not doing his family a favour but simply sharing a household responsibility. Others were less convinced, with some asking pointedly whether the governor himself does any cooking at home. Several commentators distinguished necessity and habit, suggesting that a husband cooking occasionally is unremarkable, but that a wife might see it differently if it became a constant arrangement in her presence.

The comment lands just a day after another widely shared statement attributed to the First Lady, in which she urged men to take good care of their wives once they attain financial success, arguing that women who feel valued are more likely to remain supportive through difficult times. That remark also split opinion, with critics arguing that marriage support should not be conditional on wealth or good treatment.

Uzodimma has built a public profile around advocacy for women and children since becoming First Lady, chairing initiatives including the GoodHope Women Flourish Initiative and serving as secretary of the Renewed Hope Initiative. She has previously spoken about her own domestic life in more traditional terms, describing the care of her husband and children as central to her role as an African woman.

Whether her latest comment shifts attitudes in Nigerian homes or simply adds to an already lively conversation on shared domestic labour remains to be seen. What is clear is that the subject of who cooks, and why, still touches a nerve. (The Guardian, excluding headline)

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