Inside Nigeria’s political terrain where women’s participation remains low
By Abimbola Abatta
Twenty-three years ago, Nigeria transitioned to democracy following Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s emergence as the elected president under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). However, despite the fact that political equality is one of the cardinal points of democracy, only a handful of women have occupied elective positions in the country since 1999.
Low participation of women in politics remains a lingering issue which requires urgent intervention in Nigeria. While the country has never produced a female President, female Vice-President or female Governor in the democratic administrations since 1999, the national average for women’s political participation for other elective and appointive offices is around six per cent.
The total number of women in the country according to Nigeria Population clock is 49.4 per cent. Although women constitute almost half of Nigeria’s population, it is sad to note that the country has one of the lowest numbers of female representation.
In 1999, three women were elected in the 109-member Senate and twelve in the House of Representatives. In 2007, the percentage of women represented in the Senate and House of Representatives included 8.3 per cent and 6.94 per cent respectively.
6.4 per cent of the members of the Senate were women, while 7.22 per cent of the Reps’ members were women in 2011. In 2015, seven women won seats in the Senate (6.4 per cent) and 22 (6.11 per cent) were elected to the House of Representatives. Five years later, the number of women in the Senate was 8 at 7.3 per cent while the number in the lower chamber was 11 at 3.05 per cent.
From the breakdown above, nothing has really changed. The political terrain is highly dominated by men despite clamours, from various quarters, for gender equality in the political space.
On political empowerment, the 2021 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report ranked Nigeria 149th out of 155 countries on political empowerment. The report revealed that last year January, a meagre 10.3 per cent of women were represented in ministerial positions while only 5.8 per cent were represented in the parliament.
Lawmakers’ rejection of gender bills hindering struggle for parity.
When the gender and equal opportunities (GEO) bill was first presented in 2016, the Nigerian Senate rejected the bill, stating that the constitution had already made provisions for women’s rights. But the bill sought to enhance the rights of women and girls in the country as well as boost the chances of women’s representation in politics.
On the first day of this year’s women history month (March 1st), the lawmakers again rejected five gender equality bills, and many stakeholders, especially gender equality activists and women organisations, kicked against the unwelcome development.
The five rejected bills include, Bill to provide special seats for women at National Assembly, Affirmative action for women in political party administration, Bill to grant citizenship to foreign-born husbands of a Nigerian woman, Bill to allocate 35 per cent of political positions based on appointment to women and creation of additional 111 seats in National Assembly as well as at the state constituent assemblies, and Inclusion of at least ten percent affirmative action in favour of women in Ministerial appointments.
While Experts have revealed that the bills may not swiftly enforce gender equality, they opined that the bills are the first step in the right direction to build a solid foundation for gender equality.
Consequently, aggrieved women gathered at the National Assembly to protest the development. The rejection, though not a surprise, reinforces the glaring reality that it might take more deliberate efforts to achieve gender parity law in Nigeria.
Following the rejection, the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the House of Representatives may revisit three of the five gender-related bills that were earlier rejected.
The Bills to be reconsidered are the Indigeneship Bill, Citizenship Bill and the 35 per cent affirmative action on Political Parties’ bill.
Affirmative action receives Court’s backing, to hold FG responsibility over compliance
On April 6, an Abuja Federal High Court rule a judgment in favour of some women groups asking the Federal Government to implement the 35 per cent affirmative action.
Justice Donatus Okorowo, who said the Federal Government is obliged to implement the affirmative action, insisted that the policy must be backed with requisite action on the part of the government.
Reacting to the development, the President of Women in Politics Forum (WiPF), Barrister Ebere Ifendu, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, saying, it was a good opportunity for the him to make an indelible mark in making the 35 per cent affirmative action court ruling a reality.
In her words, “The President as a matter of urgency must enforce the law as women groups will hold him accountable. The Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) will give the protocol assistance to ensure implementation and assist in case there is a breach,” she stated.
Also reacting to the court’s judgement, Founder/Chairperson, Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), Amina Oyagbola, said it was important to task stakeholders to ensure that the law is enforced.
She lamented the poor statistics of women in appointive positions noting that, “We should ensure that the 35 per cent representation of women is put into place and if otherwise we challenge them.”
“It is important that women must be careful not to take this ruling primarily as legal backing. The message should be more of advocacy, we need to encourage the media to keep it in the news and to keep reminding the actors present to commit to enforcing this law,” she added.
For Special Adviser to the Chairman, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) on ICT/Civil Societies and Donor Agencies, Abiodun Essiet, who is also a Gender Advocate, appointive positions serve as entry points for women in politics.
The female politician said this in an interview earlier this year as she noted that she is aware of how difficult it is for women to emerge as candidates of political parties and to be included on decision making platforms.
“For people in the political space, aspiring for office automatically makes you a stakeholder within the party structure. As a gender activist, what I’ve come to notice is that women being appointed into advisory positions is an entry point for women to get into governance and politics and it also gives the opportunity for people to see what women can do when in positions of authority.”
On the barriers to female leadership, she cited the patriarchy system which, according to her, “Is rooted within our work spaces, both in private and public organisations.”
“Most of our leaders are men and for a woman who assumes a leadership position, her first thought is to work like the men do even when we know that we cannot be the same. The pressure women leaders go through is because of low participation of women in that position.
“There are not enough success stories to encourage other women. Also, because everything is set up in a way to favour the men, trying to change things as a woman will be that you are challenging the status quo and many are not ready to accept that change.”
In addition to the barriers highlighted by Essiet, some other factors responsible for low political participation of women include lack of education, absence of enabling environment, ignorance, bullying and intimidation, financial constraints, high cost of running elections, as well as religious and cultural barriers.
As contained in the National Gender Policy 2006, sections 42, 147 (3) and 14 (3) of the 1999 constitution as amended, and Articles 2, 13 (2) and (3) and Article 19 of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in 2006, states that 35 per cent of public offices should be reserved for women.
The NGP aims to ensure that more women are involved in all governance processes. But the reverse is the case as the NGP is best described as an audio policy since 2006. However, there seems to be a silver lining as the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ordered the Federal Government to comply with the affirmative action policy.
Increasing chances of women in 2023 to encourage women to contest for elective positions, political parties across the gave women aspirants an avenue to purchase nomination and expression of interest forms at discounted rates. While this is a welcome development, is it enough to encourage gender equality?
In the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), over 250 female aspirants across the country are vying for different elective positions — Presidency, Governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly — in the 2023 general elections.
Under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), over 700 females are contesting for different offices.
Out of the aspirants, those eyeing the presidential seat include Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Uju Ohanenye, first female presidential aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC), Carol Nwosu of the African Action Congress (AAC), Ibinabo Joy Dokubo (APC), Patience Key of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Olivia Diana Teriela, of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Angela Johnson of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
The question is, will any of these aspirants beat their male counterparts in 2023?
In the history of elections in Nigeria, 2003 witnessed the highest number of votes any woman has ever got in a presidential election as Mrs Sarah Jubril of the Progressive Action Congress (PAC) polled a total of 157,560 votes. It should be noted here that she had earlier in 1992 contested the position but lost during the primaries.
The number has taken a downward turn ever since. In the 2019 general election, the votes polled by the six women who aspired for the presidential seat totalled 25,594, with Maina Maimuna Kyari of Northern People’s Congress (NPC) clinching the highest votes at 10,081.
As the 2023 general elections draw closer, the question is, what are the chances of women attaining equal representation in politics? If the barriers noted earlier are successfully removed, can this strengthen the chances of women? If yes, how long will it take to tackle the barriers?
Furthermore, considering the peculiarities of elections in Nigeria, especially for women aspirants, stakeholders must take time to answer the salient question which borders on the possibility of having a higher level of women participation in politics.
