IWD 2023: Nigeria Not Yet Ready For Women Leaders

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a day to celebrate women’s achievements and highlight the ongoing struggle for gender equality. One of the most pressing issues in this fight is the low participation of women in politics, but despite the progress in recent years, women remain significantly underrepresented in political leadership positions, especially in Nigeria.

Although the annual celebration proposed the need to ‘#EmbraceEquity’ as a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world, the participation of women as well as their representation in political positions declined in 2023.

Data by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and analysed by THE WHISTLER showed that women are yet to attain 10 per cent representation in politically elected positions since the inception of democracy.

According to INEC, out of the total number of 93,469,009 voters, women accounted for 44,414,846, representing 47.5 per cent of the registered population.

Checks by THE WHISTLER showed that only one female candidate, Ojei Princess Chichi from the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) party contested for the Presidential position among 18 aspirants.

However, there is an increase in women’s participation in the yet-to-be-conducted governorship election scheduled for March 18. Data by INEC showed that out of 418 governorship aspirants and 419 deputy aspirants, only 26 women contested for the former and 102 for the latter.

A further breakdown showed that women constituted 6.22 per cent of the total number of governorship aspirants, whereas 392 men represented 93.78 per cent of the total number.

Also, women constituted 24.34 per cent of the total number of deputy governorship aspirants whereas 316 of their male counterparts represented 75.66 per cent of the total number.

In the just concluded senatorial election, a total of 1,101 aspirants battled for the 109 seats of the National Assembly with 101 elected positions announced as of press time and eight seats are yet to be contested.

Recall that INEC declared a rerun for some senatorial positions following the gruesome killing of the Labour Party’s candidate representing Enugu, two days before the general poll. Other places are yet to conclude preparation.

However, only 92 females (8.36 per cent) contested against 1,009 males (91.64 per cent) of which two females emerged as winners signifying 1.83 per cent against the 99 male winners (90. 83 per cent).

The two female winners include Kingibe Ireti Heebah, Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the Labour Party, and Banigo Ipalibo Harry representing River State West, under the People Democratic Party (PDP).

The disparity further showed a decline compared to the 2019 election where seven females were elected into the senate with 253 competing during the poll.

Meanwhile, at the HOR level, only 283 women contested against 2,831 men for the 360 green chamber seats at the just concluded general election.

The INEC had announced the emergence of 327 successful aspirants as of press time, of which only 13 women (3.61 per cent) and 314 (87.2 per cent) men emerged as winners.

Anambra had the highest number of elected female HOR members with a total of three successfully elected.

For the State House of Assembly also scheduled for March 18, data by INEC showed that out of the 10,231 candidates, only 1,019 women (9.96 per cent) and 9,212 men (90.04 per cent) are competing for a slot in the 966 seats of the Assembly.

Similarly, based on the statistics of females and males that contested versus those that have emerged winners so far at the just concluded general election, barely two per cent of women won the seat at the National Assembly while their counterpart has over 90 per cent representation.

Also, only 3. 61 per cent of women will be participating in decision-making in the House of Representatives while 87 per cent of men are to do the same for the next four years.

This development has further shown the nation’s failure to meet the 1995 Beijing Declaration on the 35 per cent affirmative action, which allows women to take active roles in the scheme of nation-building against the present patriarchal domination.

THE WHISTLER had reported how hundreds of Nigerian women stormed the National Assembly to protest the rejection of the bill on women’s inclusiveness.

The women, under the aegis of Nigerian Women Groups and led by the Executive Director, of the Center for Democracy and Development, Idayat Hassan, had called for more rights for women in politics.

“For Nigeria to move forward, we must include women in governance, we must give them equal opportunity in government,” she said.