Declining female participation in Nigerian politics

The 100 Women Group, a club of some of Nigeria’s foremost female activists, issued a statement in December 2014 on women political participation. The group considered the experiences of women who sought elective positions at the primaries of all the political parties ahead of the 2015 general elections and drew some conclusions.

Decrying the rate at which women were being excluded from political participation, the group observed that most of the women were cajoled out of their aspirations, alleging that this amounted to emotional violence against women during the party primaries. The instruments deployed to achieve this emotional violence included high financial intimidation with money being spent to influence the various delegates.

“The women in Nigeria have the right to vote and be voted for; it is also the responsibility of the government of Nigeria to ensure that these rights are not eroded even in a competitive arena,” the 100 Women Group insisted.

The lobby group proceeded to articulate the demands of Nigerian women. First, they asked that all the political parties make open positions of deputy governorship candidates to women where men are governorship candidates, and vice versa. Secondly, they appealed to the Nigerian electorate to support the Nigerian women in the 2015 general elections, irrespective of the party. Thirdly, the group reminded all political parties of the promises made during the lobby visits to them, including the visits to Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), to support women’s political participation in governance. Lastly, the 100 Women Group asked for the reduction of gender-based violence in elections.

Despite the eloquence of the 100 Women Lobby Group, it was evident several weeks before the National Assembly elections held on March 28, 2015, that the number of women who will be elected to the Senate and the House of Representatives was likely to fall relative to the situation in the 7th National Assembly. Indeed, BusinessDay (BDSunday) reported that the 8th National Assembly would showcase rising male dominance.

A statement last week by the Nigerian Women Trust Fund confirmed what many wished was not true. According to the Women Trust Fund, only 5.11 percent of federal legislators in the 8th National Assembly will be females, down from 9 percent in 2007 and 7 percent in 2011. This performance is well below both global and regional averages which stand at 22.1 percent and 22.4 percent, respectively.

We recall that Nigeria’s National Gender Policy issued in 2006 targets affirmative action of 35 percent of elected and appointive positions. Although outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan achieved the target in his cabinet composition early in his tenure, this feat could not be maintained towards the end of his presidency.

The Trust Fund called on the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to reflect his concern for women participation in governance through the appointments he will soon make. They also asked governors throughout the country to do the same.

We welcome the position of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund. We also support the call by the 100 Women Group on the federal and state governments to continue to promote inclusion of women in governance.

We note that the world has increasingly come to terms with the need to encourage nearly half of humanity represented by the womenfolk to participate actively in governance. The days when women were excluded from the process of decision-making are over for good. Nigerian women must not be left behind.