In Nigeria, women do not only form the bulk of the population, they also make up a large percentage of the voting population, which means they cannot possibly be ignored in the scheme of things.
The history of Nigeria and its political emancipation cannot be complete without the mention of significant roles of the womenfolk.
From the pre-independence era, the Second and Third Republics up to the present dispensation, women have continued to make great contributions in the political space in the country and indeed on the African continent as a whole.
It is often said that they are hardworking and less corrupt. They defy the oddsand take huge risks in order to thrive in all spheres of life.
Women such as MargaretEkpo, Elizabeth Wangari Maathai, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, just to mention a few, are examples of women who have made history in Africa, and also have made the continent proud.
Since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999, a number of women have held elective and non-elective positions in the country. Patricia OlubunmiEtteh, the late Dora Akunyili, Obiageli Ezekwesili, Virginia Ngozi Etiaba, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Florence Ita-Giwa, Abike Dabiri-Erewa are just a few examples of such women politicians who have distinguished themselves and proven that if there was equal opportunity they could compete favourably with the men in political governance of the country.
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It must be noted that after the Beijing World Conference on women in 1995, the United Nation (UN) specifically prescribed 35 percentage of elective positions for women across the globe.
Subsequently, the Olusegun Obasanjo administration made significant progress toward fulfilling that quota. The Goodluck Jonathan administration also did not do badly in that regard. It appointed a lot of women into key positions.
Record by the Women Advocate Research and documentation Centre (WARDC), after the 2011 general election, estimated that about 9percent of women were in elective position in Nigeria.
However, this progress seems to have been short-lived.In recent years; there has been increasing concern among stakeholders about the declining number of women in elective positions in the country.
Over the years, aspiration to the post of the president of Nigeria has always, largely been males’ affair; females have sparingly shown interest. The case is not different this time around. Since 1999, no woman has won election in Nigeria as governor of any state, and there are many other positions that are no-go-areas for women, so to speak.
This is however, coming at a period when women are taking increasing dominant leadership roles across the globe.
Norway perhaps offers a good example to the rest of the world; with the recent appointment of; Ine Eriksen Soveide as the country’s Defence Minister, she joinsPrime Minister, Erna Solberg, Finance Minister, Siv Jensen who are equally women.
After the 2015 general election, there was significant reduction in number of women in elective positions in Nigeria. WARDC estimated that the number of women in elective positions had reduced to 4percent in the current administration
Stakeholders had argued that part of the reasons was that the leadership structures of the major political parties in the country were male-dominated and they canvass for reservation of certain quota for women in the major political parties.
With few months to the 2019 general election, the figures after primaries of political parties in the country equally paint a gloomy picture for women next year; this is just as number of women who emerged as presidential candidates of major political parties in the country does not seem encouraging.
For instance, of the over 56 presidential candidates for the presidential election in February 2019, only four are females. They are Angela Johnson of the Alliance for a United Nigeria (AUN); Obiageli Ezekwesili, Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN); Mercy Adesanya-Davies, Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA) and Eunice Atuejide, National Interest Party (NIP).
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mahmood Yakubu, acknowledged this concern when he recently pleaded with political parties in the country to give more women opportunity when selecting their candidates for elective position, stressing that the reduction of women in elective positions had become worrisome.
“As the 2019 elections approach, the Commission wants to encourage the political parties to do all within their powers to reduce the declining number of women in elective positions.
“I therefore, urge you to use this forum to discuss and find ways of complementing the Commission’s efforts in improving women’s political representation in elective and appointive positions of authority and leadership in Nigeria,”
According to him, “We will continue to engage with critical stakeholders at various levels to secure support to interrogate gender issues in politics and political processes in Nigeria.”
Zainab Marwa Abubakar, a female politician and candidate of the APC for House of Representatives in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), recently raised concern about the declining number of women in elective positions, urging the country to learn from the rest of the world.
“It is a statement of fact that where there is no woman, there is no nation, because for you to progress, you need women. So, the importance of women to governance can never be over emphasized,” she said.
“Hence, there is need to, as a nation, bring women on board. Only 4 percent of our elective posts are held by women. Zero percent governorship. How can we move on like this as a nation without mainstreaming women in governance? The whole world is now focused on gender sensitive governance. So, we need to follow through”, she stated.
However, analysts are of the view that the situation may continue to grow worse in the coming years, as the number of women venturing into politics hascontinued to decline because of the negative societal perception toward female politicians and unfavourable political atmosphere which is schemed to favour the men.
This view was supported by Dotun Aderibigbe, a chieftain of the APC in Lagos State, who argued that the problem was about societal perception toward female in politics, adding that a lot of men are not always comfortable seeing their wives involved in politics.
“When you say politics is dirty and people are not coming out that is the problem; we need to change the perception we have in the country: that all women who go into politics are promiscuous.The issue is the perception.
A lot of Nigerian men would never allow their wives to go into politics, thinking that whenever she goes for a meeting, all the men will sleep with her,” he said.
According to Aderibigbe, “In the just concluded local government election in Lagos State, they said women should not buy form, that it was free for women, but how many women are there now as chairmen?
“It is not about the affirmative action bill, Nigerians need to change their mentality.”
As the 2019 general election approaches, there have been divergent views by stakeholders on what should be done to guarantee more level-playing field for women”.
Presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Saidat Odofin, advocated for certain quota for women in the major political parties in the country, stressing that women are often discriminated against by the leadership of political parties in the country which is often controlled by them.
“I think we made much progress during the Jonathan and Obasanjo administrations in terms of number of women in elective positions. But I think the enthusiasm that the two administrations had for women is not the same with the current Buhari administration.
“Part of the problem to me is in the parties, apart from the huge amount of money they demanded for expression of interest and nomination forms, the parties are controlled by men; so, when it comes to choosing the candidates, women are often discriminated against”.
“I don’t see any change soon, what I would advocate is that certain number of positions should be reserved for women; this would help because a lot of us can’t compete with the men.”
Remi Sonaiya, a professor of French Language and Applied Linguistics, Obafemi Awolowo University, who was the presidential candidate of KOWA Party in 2015, also decried the monetisation of political positions in the country, saying that such a dangerous trend has put women at a serious disadvantage.
Sonaiya noted that lack of money to sponsor elaborate campaigns has always been the greatest limiting factor to women’s participation in elective offices in the country.
Speaking with BDSUNDAY on this challenge, she said, there is the need to de-emphasise money in elections in Nigeria.
Sonaiya urged the media as stakeholders to begin to question the involvement of too much money in election. She said that the media must let Nigerians know that “they have options; credible ones.”
“It is not only now; it has been the case in every election in this country. When I contested the last time, people continued asking me for money. But I said I had no money to give, but good governance, if I am voted in. I tried to make them understand that if they collect money from politicians, they are mortgaging their future and the future of their children,” she said.
Iniobong Iwok
