By Adeyinka Adeniran
Some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have advocated increased participation of women in politics and leadership positions, decrying the underrepresentation of women in politics in the country.
The NGOs, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, made this known during a regional strategic workshop on “Women’s Full and Meaningful Participation in Public and Political Life in Southwest Nigeria”, held in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.
Speaking during the workshop, the NDI representative, Dr Roselynn Musa, explained that the convening has been regionalised because Nigeria is a diverse country and no one cap fits all can be used for all the states, noting that the Southwest zone convening is the first leg as the meeting will be held in all the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
Musa stated: “It’s very good to hear from the women what the issues are and what the solutions to those issues will be before we now bring them all together in a plan that everybody will be able to relate to. Everybody’s issues will be identified within that plan that will serve as a blueprint for people who are interested in inclusion in political participation and leadership.”
Similarly, the Executive Director, BAOBAB, Bunmi Dipo-Salami, disclosed that the convening is aimed at developing strategies that can feed into a national action plan to improve women’s political participation in Nigeria, saying an early start is imperative to mitigating the barriers faced by women, as the women present at the workshop are very enthusiastic and optimistic.
Dipo-Salami noted: “The women are from different states, and different political parties, but they are all united that what is really important, what binds us is that we are women and we are marginalised and this has to stop, it is very embarrassing. It is in the interest of Nigeria for women to be at the table because it is when we hold hands, that Nigeria can make progress and prosper.”
As a way of addressing the challenges, BAOBAB, in partnership with NDI, designed a programme: ‘She Persists’, a project to improve women’s political participation at the local, sub-regional and national levels in Nigeria, to ensure a higher uptake of women participation and getting elected into political positions.
The Programme Director, BAOBAB, Anne Lawal, revealed that She Persists is a 2-year project that is supposed to come up with a national action plan, a concrete document, that everybody can have as a guide on women in politics across Nigeria, by bringing women politicians in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria together.
Lawal said: “We expect that all the regions will share what their challenges, opportunities and best practices are, and it will help us develop the national action plan at the end of the day, that women can have as a living document that they can work with when it comes to women’s increased political participation in Nigeria.
“Another aspect of the project is advocacy to young women in politics, and other female politicians who are not even taking it beyond 2027. That is why we are coming up with the national action plan, which will be a living document that everyone can refer to even beyond 2027,” she noted
The participants agreed that the workshop will influence women’s participation in the forthcoming election, saying there were enough brainstorming sessions on issues that can enhance the participation of women in the forthcoming elections.
One of the participants from Ekiti State, Mrs Aderonke Okusanya, argued that although women participation in politics is declining, but her state has made appreciable improvement as it is the only state that has six women in the House of Assembly.
Okusanya stated: “It’s declining but in Ekiti State we currently have a female deputy governor, female deputy speaker, and more than 10 women in the State Executive Council. Not only that, for appointments there are over 300 women appointed into the state government. So, we want every other state in Nigeria to follow our example in Ekiti State.”
For Alhaja Nurat Babs-Olorunkemi, another participant from Lagos State, women should be determined to be involved in politics, form a coalition of like minds so as to exchange ideas and correct their mistakes as necessary, and also stand up to support one another.
She noted: “With all the support we give to women, we comb the nooks and crannies looking for them, but at the end of the day we are dumped. We don’t want that situation again, we want to support ourselves, and that is why it has become a good gesture on the part of BAOBAB to organise such a programme.”
The workshop, themed: From Margins to Mainstream: Improving Women’s Political Participation in Nigeria, brought together female politicians from the six states of Southwest Nigeria including Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti, to strategize and compare notes in order to see an improvement in the participation of women in politics and leadership in Nigeria.
