Nigerian women have made giant strides in many sectors but their political representation remains poor. Stakeholders say that despite discussions on gender equality, the government has failed to take concrete steps towards integrating women into political leadership.
With little progress made in recent years, many experts have called for gender quotas in the National Assembly and greater political will to push for women’s inclusion ahead of the 2027 general election.
However, many male politicians across the country have disagreed on the need to give women special privileges, especially in Northern Nigeria.
Political analysts have said such a proposal for quota for women in parliament would need an amendment of the country’s constitution and could only see the light of day if it was backed by the president.
“I don’t believe the situation would change even in 2027; the way politics is played here is very challenging for women. From money to violence; where do you start from? Kunle Okunade, political analyst, said.
“Maybe, reserving some quota for women in the parliament is the way forward, because they can’t compete with the men with this electoral system.”
Remi Sonaiya, a former presidential candidate, said that Nigeria needed to focus more on education campaigns for stakeholders to see more women in politics and through legislative actions, including gender quotas in the National Assembly.
She lamented that the rise in money politics and violence has hindered women’s political participation in Nigeria.
“Nothing can change until we do the right thing,” Sonaiya said.
But unlike Nigeria, other African countries are making giant strides in gender inclusion.
One of such historic occasions for African politics which is also a plus for the quest for gender equality was when Namibia made history last week by becoming the first country on the continent to have both a female president and vice president. The country elected Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, as her president.
The Southern Africa country with a population of about 2.963 million (2023) stunned countries on the continent when President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, shortly after assuming office as the nation’s first female president, appointed Lucia Witbooi as her vice president.
The swearing-in ceremony was held in Windhoek, the country’s capital, last weekend. She also appointed 14 ministers, eight of whom are women, and seven deputy ministers.
Analysts say the composition of her cabinet reflects a deliberate effort to ensure that women are well-represented in key government positions, challenging traditional gender norms in political leadership.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah, known for her commitment to gender equality and inclusive governance, has underscored her administration’s focus on empowering women in leadership roles.
Lucia Witbooi, a seasoned politician and advocate for social justice, brings a wealth of experience to her new role.
Her appointment as vice president is not only a testament to her capabilities but also a milestone in Africa’s journey toward greater gender inclusivity in governance.
Witbooi is the first woman to hold the vice presidency in Namibia, marking a significant step forward for gender equality in the country.
While Namibia is the first African nation to achieve this milestone, it is not the first globally. However, this achievement is a beacon of hope for gender parity and serves as a powerful example for other African countries to follow.
Namibia’s contradiction from Nigeria
The situation in Namibia is a contradiction to what is happening in Nigeria. It comes at a period when the number of women elected into public office in Nigeria is declining and an all-time low in the last one decade, with little hope the situation would improve in future polls.
This is despite forming a significant proportion of the voting population, the country’s political landscape has historically been male dominated.
Currently, in the 10th Assembly Nigeria women is occupying three out of 109 seats (2.7%) in the Senate and 17 out of 360 seats in the House of Representatives (4.7%), which represents 4.2% of the 469-member Assembly.
In the 9th National Assembly, there were eight female senators (7.3%) and 13 female members of the House of Representatives (3.6%), which represented 4.5% of the entire Assembly.
After seven general election cycles since 1999, the number of women in the Senate has dropped to what it was at Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
There is no female governor, only six females were elected deputy governors after the 2023 general election across the 36 states.
The situation in Nigeria has raised serious concerns among stakeholders and female politicians, and comes amid clamour for constitutional-backed quota for elective positions by rights campaigners ahead of the 2027 general election.
There are also calls for increased sensitisation campaigns to change the status-quo in recent years.
Figures from the electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) shows 93,469,008 registered voters, comprising 49,054,162 males and 44,414,846 females were eligible to vote in the 2023 general election.
A breakdown of the figure showed that the males constituted 52.5 percent, while the females made up 47.5 percent of the total figure.
Similarly, women made up roughly 47.1% of the 84 million registered voters in the 2019 general election.
Perhaps, the last two general elections in Nigeria have seen reduction in terms of the number of women winning elections and elected into public office.
Although the signing into law of the #NotTooYoungToRun bill by Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has aided and given more women, especially young people, opportunity to emerge candidates in small political parties, that has not translated into winning real elections.
Lesson for Nigeria
Many analysts believe that Nandi-Ndaitwah’s rise reflects the changing political landscape in Africa of which Nigeria must not lag behind.
They also said that the Namibia story shows that with a free and fair election anybody could emerge victorious in any election irrespective of gender.
Experts however, said that Nigeria cannot achieve gender balance without deliberate action being taken to sanitise the country’s electoral process.
“Despite the clamour for some time now we still see the number of women in Nigeria’s National Assembly being abysmally low, and women’s representation in executive offices remains limited to a few deputy governor positions.
“We have to be deliberate. I mean, for me, the quota system is part of it. Make election count, a lot of the times women are popular but because they can’t do all the things men do, they just pull out of the race.
“In Namibia, the President was given free hand to choose a deputy to work with,” Nse Okon, political sociologist, said.
Thus, as the country continues to grapple with gender inequality in politics, it can draw inspiration from Namibia’s progressive steps toward inclusive governance.
Ene Oshaba, political analyst, said that the country must create a more equitable political space for women, Nigeria has the opportunity to foster a more just and representative society.
She added that Namibia has shown the world that when women lead, the benefits extend beyond gender equality to inclusive development and social justice.
“Gender quotas and women’s empowerment policies must be implemented to ensure that women are not just participants but leaders in the political sphere,” she said.
