Nnedinso Ogaziechi
Make no mistake about it, politics is a 24/7 business. It is not for nothing that the mantra is that in politics, there are no permanent enemies or friends but permanent interests. The politicking that goes on in democracies is such that politicians continue to strategize, lobby and change tactics depending on what political expediencies can be assuaged by any action.
In Nigeria for instance, after inauguration of any administration, political leanings begin to change principally because the political party structure has no strictly identifiable ideologies. The fluidity of most of the politicians makes it possible for them to oscillate from one party to the other in ways that one individual politician may leave party D for party E, return to party D in a year or two and again leave to return to party E. In all the movements, the political interest of the politician is always paramount.
However, for female politicians the fight for political visibility and relevance has been a very though one since 1999 because the socio-cultural and religious influences have been huge. The lack of gender parity has been a big issue in Nigerian politics. If democracy is a game of numbers, it follows that the number of men in legislative houses has always been far above that of the women in some cases, there are no women at all in some state legislative houses.
The impact is therefore that the bills that can be of much value for women and youths if passed and signed into law often never get the needed numbers to sail through. It is in the light of this that various organizations, gender advocates and some global bodies are spending time and funds to create the needed awareness for more women to get out and let their voices be heard in politics. Are the Nigerian women in politics doing enough to encourage more women to join the political train?
The Roundtable Conversation sat with the APC National Women Leader in the caretaker Committee of the National Working Committee of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Hon. Stella Erhuvwuoghene Okotete. A professional with public and private sector experiences in Public Policy, Design and implementation amongst other qualifications, she started very early in life to long to represent her people in politics despite the obvious huddles faced by women and youths in politics in Nigeria.
She started off as a Councilor in her Ughelli North Local government and having worked with rural women both as an elected person and as an appointee of her state government , she is not ignorant of what it means to be a woman in Nigerian politics. She is at the forefront of working to influence some changes in the party constitution to include more women in politics at least at the party operational levels. They want to create room for more competent women to vie for elective positions in the party rather than being mere appointees.
Being the only woman amongst the 13 Member Working Committee, she has been pushing along with other state women leaders to get at least four out of the thirteen seats for women. They also want to push for more competent women to run for elective positions for federal constituencies and the Senate and thier efforts has paid off with the first female Senator from Plateau state that was recently sworn in.
They have also succeeded in getting an adoption of a situation where women get to deputize for male chairmen and currently have twenty one women in those roles in Kogi state and 63 councilors with three per local government too.
The women have also been able to lobby for one of the top legislative leadership seats in both the state and federal legislature to be occupied by a woman- the majority leader position.
In Bornu State for instance the APC women have been able to get one councilor per local government with the support and understanding of the governor of the state. Even when what has been achieved under her representation in under the 35% affirmative action, she believes that it is an encouraging start and can be improved upon. We are working with the state and zonal women leaders of the party to create more participation and visibility for women because visibility is key. If we are in politics and are not visible, we won’t have a platform to serve. Her own strategy is to enhance female visibility and empower the women with training, leadership skills, moral support and economic independence so they can compete favourably with the men.
The APC women leaders had about two weeks ago organized a workshop to give the women a better perspective about women mobilization and visibility and are hoping that by next June that the congresses would be held, more women would be in the political train. The APC Chairman in Delta state has also made the nomination and expression of interest forms free for all women, helping to give women at the local level able to vie for both councilors and local government chairmen.
The new registration and revalidation of old members would be starting in January and there is high hopes that this would be an advocacy period to encourage more women to join the party not just to wish to be given spaces but to create spaces for themselves just like the men. There would be more awareness created for women because that can now enable more women to access party positions like chairpersons at ward, senatorial or even national levels, they can become secretaries and welfare officers hitherto exclusively held by men.
The women can have better opportunities when their numbers increase because democracy is about numbers and so even if there are posts to be filled and the women do not have the numbers, nothing can be achieved. To achieve set goals and targets, women must reach out and join parties and play along with the men because power is never given on a platter.
Hon. Okotete however feels proud of how much she has achieved but reiterates one of the challenges of female political participation in the country being the fact that older female politicians often do not mentor the younger ones and the idea that some women play the crab and the idiomatic pulling each other down from climbing the political ladder does not help women in any way.
She cites a personal example of going the right route when she encouraged and helped campaign for one of the women that tried to scuttle her efforts at some point in her political career. She believes mentoring is a compulsory ingredient in increasing female participation because most women do not know the routes to follow even when they are competent and ready to serve.
Again, she believes that for more women to succeed in politics, the values the African holds dear, like respect and dignity must be maintained by the women in politics so that they do not fit into the wrong stereotypes that can be blocked off by men who might accuse the women of being rude and antagonistic. The women would, like the snail realize that to pass through the thorns needs extra care and deft strategy.
To defeat crass patriarchy would take time but the key is maintaining those values that are endearing not because the women cannot fight but because the patient dog they say eats the fattest bone. Integrity on the political field would get the women what they want and that should be the watchword. What drives the process must be the adherence to our African values not by being slavish but when we are more united and more firm when given the opportunity then doors are not closed for other women.
Diligence and commitment in carrying out duties even outside the political arena can always help women win their space in politics because when you come with those two, the men have no choice but to give you what you deserve. The advocacy for more female inclusion must always go with caution and focus because that is the only way women can win. Sitting back and complaining without the requisite hard work cannot move women into the core political space.
As it is, there is serious global attention on women as good leaders whose sense of duty and patriotism help develop economies. However, the power to do that must come with a sense of togetherness and stronger strategic alliances from every woman in or out of politics. The idea of the older female politicians staying aloof and ignoring mentorship and advocacy programmes for more women is akin to dropping the baton in a relay race, you might have run well but if your baton drops and is not picked, the race cannot be completed.
It is gratifying to note that some women in politics are realizing the value of lifting others and collaborating with men even if faced with some skepticism. The men too are realizing that leadership of the twenty first century is no longer a viable mono action. The collaborative efforts of the genders and the youth are the needed fillip to develop any economy.
The era of women being in political parties for the fun of organizing women to vote for men and to dance at campaigns must be a thing of the past if development must happen. The advocacy for gender parity can never be too much because given the population of the country and the poverty capital tag, the more competent and ready to serve women in politics, the better for the country. Women must be ready to go the whole hog because the men can never voluntarily give up power.
The dialogue continues…
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