Politics
Although Nigeria as a member of the United Nations signed and ratified the National Gender Policy formulated to promote a 35 percent affirmative action for women, the percentage of women that has occupied political offices is far from achieving this objective.
By Anthony Isibor.
THE political ecosystem of Nigeria reveals an abysmal scarcity of women participating in Nigeria politics. Women have for long been marginalized in Nigerian politics, a situation that has for long been of great concern to many concerned stakeholders, who have been clamouring for an increase in political representation and gender equality in the country.
The National Gender Policy, NGP, is one of the treaties that have been formulated by the United Nations, UN, to promote the interest of women in politics. The policy was formulated to promote a 35-percent affirmative action for women – a policy that demands 35 percent involvement of women in all governance processes.
The NGP has formulated a 35 percent Affirmative Action, AA, in Nigeria since 2006 and demands that at least 35% of women in Nigeria be involved in all governance processes.
Although Nigerian politicians since the signing of the treaty have continued to use it as a means to canvass for votes, especially from the women population, the percentage of women in Nigerian politics is still a far cry from reaching the 35% affirmative action.
In 2007, Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, who represented Ayedaade/Irewole/Isokan federal constituency of Osun state at the House of Representatives became the Speaker of the House. Although it was the first time a woman would occupy the highest political office in the country, her reign was short-lived as she was forced to resign less than one year into the office to save her from impeachment.
Reports published in the Guardian, October 16, 2015 revealed that the number of women in Nigerian politics has continued to decline instead of increasing.
“Whereas women were 9% of the National Assembly elected in 2007, this figure fell to 7% in 2011. It is at its lowest in the current Assembly, with only 5.6% of the members of the House of Representatives and 6.5% of the Senator.
“There is yet to have ever been a woman governor of any of the nation’s 36 states. Indeed, as of 2012, only 4% of councilors at the local government level were women,” it said.
To reflect a federal character system when making appointments, President Muhammadu Buhari had to ensure geographical balancing. The constitution requires ministerial appointments to be given to representatives from all 36 states.
As a result, the list of nominees has one person from every single state in the nation. Nigerians have continued to wonder why the constitution did not also require fair representation for Nigerian women?
A glance at the present cabinet of President Buharis’s administration for example will reveal that out of the 37 ministers, only seven women made the ministerial list; Sharon Ikeazu, minister of state for environment, Gbemisola Saraki, minister of state for transportation, Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, minister of state for FCT, Sadiya Umar Faruk , minister for humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, Pauline Tallen, minister of women affairs, Maryam Katagum, minister of state for industry, trade and investment, and Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, minister for finance, budget and national planning.
In the National Assembly it is a far cry from achieving the affirmative action of 35% representation of women in political and non-elective positions.
Presently, out of the 109 senators in Nigeria, only seven female senators are represented, a meagre 8%. They include, Stella Oduah from Anambra state, Rose Oko from Cross River state, Oluremi Tinubu from Lagos State, Uche Ekwenife from Anambra State, Aishatu Dahiru from Adamawa state, Betty Apiafi from Rivers state, and Akon Eykenyi from Akwa Ibom state.
It is not different in the House of Representative where from the 360 available seats, there are just 12 women, which is declined from the 14 women that were elected during the 8th Assembly.
Reacting to this ugly development, Taiwo Olukemi Oluga, a member representing Ayedaade/Irewole/Isokan federal constituency of Osun state, while speaking at a round-table dialogue on legal barriers that inhibit women’s political participation in Nigeria, said that it “was unacceptable that women constitute only 19 out of 469 seats of both chambers of the National Assembly.
She also expressed displeasure that there were only “44 women as members of state assemblies nationwide.
President Buhari’s patriarchic ideologies as regards the role of women may be one of the major reasons for the decline in the number of women represented in governance today.
In 2016 when the president was reacting to the first lady’s comment on the BBC pidgin interview, Buhari said that his wife belonged to ‘The other room’.
The Vanguard, reported that a number of members from the House of Representatives have urged the president to listen to his wife’s advice. The lawmakers praised Aisha for speaking out against a cabal, which has allegedly ‘hijacked’ the president.
Although Garba Shehu, Buhari’s spokesperson had sought to downplay the sexist comments as a joke, the president had held on to his word, telling DW reporter Phil Gayle that the first lady should stay out of politics.
Other reasons for this poor record may include the huge amount of money needed to run campaigns; money which women are less likely to have.
Another reason is the way women in politics are viewed and treated.
The perception that women sleep around to get positions is still rampant. Rumours circulate about the nature of the relationship between the former president and many of his female ministers.
Although some women politicians are respected, some people still claim that women have not done well as leaders. They point to those, like Diezani Alison-Madueke, the former minister of petroleum resources, who was arrested for corruption and bribery as an evidence which showed that women ministers are corrupt. They gloss over the fact that many men too have been incompetent and corrupt. ‘Indeed the corrupt and violent nature of political contest in the country puts off many women interested in politics. Women aspirants have been killed and threatened. They have been persuaded not to stand so that particular men can win’.
In addition, the difficulties of balancing political aspirations with family life and the masculine nature of political power is a depressingly familiar story in the majority of countries around the world.
“Although it stands at 133 out of 143 in the global league tables for women’s legislative representation, these barriers are not unique to Nigeria. Although the scope may differ, commonalities can be seen with countries like the UK where the prime minister purposefully surrounds himself with women to show he does not have a “woman problem” and the leader of the opposition, although choosing a majority female shadow cabinet, failed to appoint any women to its most senior positions.
‘The idea that there are only six women in Nigeria capable of being ministers and that only older men can govern a youthful nation is frankly ludicrous’.
Ebere Ifendu, president, Women in Politics Forum, has attributed the low representation of women in elective positions to lack of internal party democracy where only men decide who picks tickets for positions.
“The non-provision for independent candidacy in the country’s elections and the amount of fund that goes into campaigns and elections have continued to inhibit the chances of women taking the lead in elective positions.
“The advocacy will begin to go for independent candidacy and women groups will take it upon themselves to prop up women who are interested in politics and strengthen their parties.
“All other African countries that have achieved 35 percent affirmative action or more with strong legislation to back them up, but it is different in Nigeria.
“We have very few women in the National Assembly and this has made it difficult for us to achieve much in the changes we desire on issues concerning women.
“If we have the right number of women in the parliament and strong legislation on women issues, then we would not be where we are now,” she said.
For better and increased representation of women in Nigerian politics, there is need for increased access, participation, representation and transformation as recommended by the Global Journal of Political Science and Administration in a report published by the European Centre for Research Training and Development in the UK.
It insists that access to political institutions, participation (which includes control of power within such institutions), quantitative and qualitative representation will result in social and political transformation in the polity.
“Women’s political empowerment can be enhanced when these four conditions are fulfilled,” it added.
First published – June 27, 2021 @ 20:45 GMT|
A.I
Tags: Aishatu Dahiru Oluremi Tinubu Patricia Olubunmi Etteh Rose Oko Stella Oduah Taiwo Olukemi Oluga Uche Ekwenife Women in Politics: Can Nigeria attain 35 percent affirmative action?
