‘Alhassan’s victory in Taraba raises hope of a female president’
WITH last week’s declaration by the
Taraba State Election Petition Tribunal
of Senator Aisha Alhassan as the duly
elected governor of the state, raising the
hopes that, barring any insurmountable
legal hurdle, Nigeria is about to have the
first female governor, a new wave of
optimism is spreading among female
politicians that at last, their time has
come to dictate the tune of politics.
One of the leading female politicians in
the country and a chieftain of the All
Progressive Congress (APC), Princess
Hadiza Ibrahim, while speaking with The
Guardian immediately after the victory
of Alhassan was announced, said, “Very
soon, a woman would occupy the exalted
seat of the President of Nigeria.”
The constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, which of course is the
reference point for social co-existence
amongst groups and persons, has not by
any means discriminated against
anyone, man or woman in the socio-
political scheme of things. It is therefore
unjustifiable for men to want to
dominate the Nigerian political scene
and hence, box women to a
corner. Available statistics however show
that since the inception of democratic
governance in 1999, women have been
scantily represented in public offices
either as President, Senate, and members
of Houses of Representatives and
Assembly at the level of states.
According to Ibrahim, who lost the Kogi
APC governorship ticket to Prince
Abubakar Audu, “Yes, a woman can
emerge as the president of Nigeria. It
might take some time considering the
political barriers that the feminine
gender faces here ranging from financial
support to educational abilities and as
many as they are.
“The good thing is we now have female
prime ministers and presidents all over
the world. We have Hillary Clinton
gunning for the United States presidency
for the second time, Sarah Jubril who
contested at the presidential primaries
ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), Tarja Halonen who was the
president of Finland for 12 years, and a
host of other female leaders in the
international community.”
Expressing dissatisfaction with the level
of participation of women in politics, she
identified reasons why women find it
difficult to compete favourably with men
on the political terrain.
She said, “The constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, which of course is
the reference point for social co-
existence amongst groups and persons,
has not by any means discriminated
against anyone, man or woman in the
socio-political scheme of things. It is
therefore unjustifiable for men to want
to dominate the Nigerian political scene
and hence, box women to a corner.
Available statistics however show that
since the inception of democratic
governance in 1999, women have been
scantily represented in public offices
either as President, Senate, and members
of Houses of Representatives and
Assembly at the level of states.
The fact is that out there politics is very
expensive and 70 percent of people that
are poor in Nigeria are women. The
violent nature of politics, the cultural
and social norm and the general attitude
that the woman’s place is at home and
not in the public space are all
contributing factors to the low
representation of women in politics.
The dominant philosophy in Nigerian
politics is money. The money factor
plays very vital role in the conception,
mobilization and winning of political
offices either at the presidential,
governorship, senatorial, local council
elections and even age grade meetings.
Money is very critical in the shaping,
making and unmaking of public office,
which is supposed to be on trust.
“Thus, the higher and larger one’s
financial muscle is in Nigeria, the
greater one’s chances of wining public
office. The system of corruption that has
infiltrated the Nigerian system has
practically put women on edge and
everything seems to be working against
them in favour of men.”
While proffering solutions to the
myriads of problems facing women
successful participation in politics, She
said, “There should be equality in the
sharing of political offices on the basis of
quota system between competing
candidates. This will enable both men
and women have equal chances of
control in such public offices.
Money politics should be discouraged
and women who want to take active part
in politics should be encouraged to do so
without any fear or favour. The doctrine
of the Affirmative Action and CEDAW
should be strengthened so that they could
have considerable impacts on the
political landscape thereby curtailing
any form of discrimination against
women. Structures like legal funds should
be put in place to enable women
politicians challenge any form of
electoral malpractice at minimal cost.
Speaking on women empowerment,
which she described as the process of
political and financial freedom for the
womenfolk, Ibrahim said, “The strategies
related to women empowerment are all
inter-related. In order to empower
women to enable them to play their
rightful roles in development, six
important factors are very vital, they
are: education, micro-credit financing,
campaign, net-working, media, research
and development.
Education is an essential means of
empowering women with the knowledge,
skills and self-confidence necessary to
fully participate in the development
process. Sustainable development is only
possible when women and men enjoy
equal opportunities to reach their
potentials. Education is important for
everyone, but it is a critical area of
empowerment for girls and women. This
is not only because education is an entry
point to opportunity but also because
women’s educational achievements have
positive ripple effects within the family
and across generations.
Microfinance targets those in the most
need, and generally those who do not
have access to financial services. In
many cases, Micro finance Institutions
focus on women. For women, micro
finance helped them tremendously in
their empowerment. In developing
countries, women are frequently
confronted with a feeling of insecurity
and a lack of autonomy. Financial
responsibilities help them regain their
self-confidence, and building a better
future for their family. These are
possible means that can be done to
encourage and ensure female
participation in politics.”
On whether her aspiration to govern
Kogi State is still alive, she said, “I have
never been the kind of person who gives
up on a dream simply because I lost the
opportunity to fulfill that dream, like Mr.
President, I will continue to pursue my
goal to the state till I achieve it. If at
first we don’t succeed, we must dust
ourselves up with the necessary arsenal,
learning from our past errors and forge
ahead with the greatest momentum until
we attain our goal, and this is my exact
strategy to attain the governorship seat
in Kogi State.
Education is an essential means of
empowering women with the knowledge,
skills and self-confidence necessary to
fully participate in the development
process. Sustainable development is only
possible when women and men enjoy
equal opportunities to reach their
potentials. Education is important for
everyone, but it is a critical area of
empowerment for girls and women. This
is not only because education is an entry
point to opportunity but also because
women’s educational achievements have
positive ripple effects within the family
and across generations.
Each government in Kogi has tried to
maintain a minimal balance financially,
economically and educationally, and that
is why the state which used to be the
headquarters of commerce has now lost
her past glory. I can say with all positive
convictions that I will bring a positive
dramatic and continuing change where
we can foster peace amongst our
different tribes, where we can enforce
the law, where we can generate revenue
instead of relying on the federal
government for sustenance, where we
can foster true democracy, this is the
change I will bring to Kogi.
On what she expects of President
Muhammadu Buhari’ administration, she
said, “I expect a corrupt-free
administration, which we can all see that
he is working towards, based on the
calibre of ministers he has nominated. I
also expect that the Nigerian women will
be adequately represented in this
administration as promised by the
President on March 19, 2015, at the
Harbour Point Hall, Lagos, where he met
with women professionals and
specifically vowed to implement the 2005
National Gender Policy, which makes
provision for women to occupy 35 per
cent appointive positions.”
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