Women Representation In Government: Expecting More In The New Dispensation

By Blossom Chukwu

Women deserve at least 25% political appointments in Tinubu’s government. This is according to Oluyemisi Adesina, a female entrepreneur, a politician and an advocate for Women in Government. The statement mirrors the mindset of several Nigerians about women representation in Government, wondering why the actual statistics is still very low.

Among the first set of eight Special Advisers President Tinubu appointed after assuming office, were two females, who are also experts in their various fields. They are Olu Verheijen (SA, Energy) and Salma Ibrahim Anas (SA, Health). This, many believe are indicators that Tinubu will meet up with the minimum number of women in government, that will be expected from him, in the full course of his administration.

Politically, the minimal influence of women in Nigeria’s politics, and by extension, other spheres of national life, is glaring. In 2023, 378 women ran for Senate and House of Representatives seats, but only 17 were successful. While all the current female senators did not return, seven of the current 13 female members of the House in the Ninth National Assembly also lost their re-election bids.

While some democracies and emerging economies are making strides with greater female visibility in public affairs, Nigeria appears to be going backward. In the Ninth NASS, only seven of the 109 senators were women; aside from two – Oluremi Tinubu, who is the wife of the President, Bola Tinubu, and Aisha Dahiru, who ran for the Adamawa State governorship, – the others lost their bids to return.

Barring changes by court decisions, only three women will be in the Senate and 14 in the 360-member House. Seven women won seats for the first time in the House. The figure of 17 women only, out of the 469 federal lawmakers in the 10th NASS, is still a far cry from what is expected.

In the United Nations, Women emphasises the importance of representation for every part of the population and of involving women in decision-making. It declared, “Women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life, are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”

Nigeria’s National Gender Policy recommended an affirmative action and sought a more inclusive representation of women with at least 35 percent of both elective political and appointive public service positions respectively. In 2022, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Federal Government to comply with the 35 per cent stipulation, which allows women to occupy 35 per cent of all appointments.

Delivering judgement in a suit filed by Women in Politics Forum, an NGO, the judge, Donatus Okorowo, said the Government had the obligation to implement the 35 per cent rule, accusing past governments of acting in breach of international treaties on women participation in Government. He stressed that the intention is not merely a policy statement, but one that must be backed with requisite action by the Government.

The Nigerian female representation challenge is still very low in Government. In addition to this, the Judgement has not been obeyed. Despite efforts by women to ensure greater inclusion in political leadership, they are at the mercy of elected Presidents and Governors for appointments, and of Party chiefs for nominations to contest elective offices.

Recently, the Association of Corporate Governance Professionals of Nigeria (ACGPN) had a meeting on July 13, and stated that women are still being marginalised in the new administration’s appointments by both Federal and State Governments.

Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, the PDP Presidential Aspirant in the 2023 Presidential elections, made this known at the Women in Governance (Conference 2023) organised by the association in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the programme themed: “Inspiring Visionary Governance: The Role of Women”, was all out to adopt effective policies to attract more women into decision-making at all levels in public and private affairs.

In his address, Mazi Ohuabunwa who is also the Chairman of the association, lamented that Nigerian women were still not at par in terms of political appointments so far given out by both the Federal and State governments in the country. The former Presidential aspirant noted that the world was perpetually changing and favouring greater women representation and Nigeria could not afford to be different.

He said “As a continent, Africa is rising and striving to give women a better deal than ever before, a clear indication that Africa is interested in good governance. Nigerian women want change and progress. For a long time in our nation’s history, Nigerian women have been marginalised and kept behind the scene. They have been discriminated against and prevented from taking centre stage.

“The first administration to ever give Nigerian women a good chance was that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Former President Jonathan came and surpassed what Obasanjo did by giving women about 35 per cent representation in elective positions.

“I want to believe that President Bola Tinubu’s administration will give the good representation that women are yearning for, which means 50 per cent representation at all levels of their national life,” he said. Ohuabunwa believed that the President was taking his time to appoint credible, intelligent and hardworking Nigerian women, who would give responsible leadership and deliver the goods.

According to him, there is a growing body of knowledge that suggests that women can provide exceptional visionary leadership that translates into excellent corporate and organisational governance. In her paper presentation, the Managing Director of Avery Nigeria Limited, Mrs Ebisan Onyema, said removing the marginalisation would involve overcoming the barriers and discriminatory norms that limit their potentials.

Delivering her speech, the Conference Chairperson, Mrs Gloria Akobundun, said women must take their rightful place as change agents in governance. Akobundun said women’s participation in politics has helped to advance gender equality and affected both the range of policy issues that get considered and the types of solutions that were proposed. She said women must do their part to break the glass ceilings and open the doors of opportunities, adding that she was honoured and proud to add her voice and full support to this vital cause.

Speaking, Mrs Elemanya Ebilah, the Managing Director/CEO at Euglobin International Travel & Tours, said the challenge before Tinubu was for him to increase the tempo of greater involvement of women in strategic cabinet level positions. Ebilah said appointing more quality and corrupt-free women into the Federal and State appointments, would ensure gender parity and proper gender mainstreaming into the governance of Nigeria at the highest levels.

It is a fact that historically, Nigeria’s political system has been dominated by men, even though women constitute a large part of the population. This is with 6.2 million, from the 12.2 million newly registered voters for the 2023 elections as females, and almost 50% of the nation’s overall population being females. Since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, one key trend has been women’s under-representation in politics. Across the globe, Nigeria ranks extremely low in gender equality index ratings and this has been attributed by many, to the inherent culture, lack of internal party democracy, and the patriarchal practice across the country.

The country also has one of the lowest rates of female parliamentary representation in Africa, ranking 181 of 195 countries, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union/United Nations Women map, which presents global rankings for women in executive and Government positions. The low representation of women in Nigeria’s political space is despite the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted in 1995, and the 35% affirmative action for women enshrined in Nigeria’s National Gender Policy.

According to the United Nations, the theme is aligned with the priority theme that characterised 67th Session of the Commission, on the Status of Women which was, “Innovation and Technological Change, and Education in the Digital Age for Achieving Gender Equality and the Empowerment of all Women and Girls”.

The current experience in Nigeria, is also due to the fact that apart from the United Nations and a few other women Individual Groups advocating for increased women representation in Government, nothing much has been done to make this happen. The Nigerian National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has raised concerns over the disparity of the male-female percentage in all spheres of governance and career.

The Commission has therefore urged the National Assembly to accelerate the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill, which will aid affirmative action in the country. If well enacted, this will definitely go a long way in increasing the Women in Government representation index.