Hon. Olufunke Ehuwa is a former member of the Ondo State Executive Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and one of the women leaders of the party in the state. In this brief encounter with Yetunde Oladeinde, she recounted her experience in politics so far and what has motivated her to forge ahead in spite of the obstacles, threats and denials
Female politicians in Nigeria have encountered a number of problems. This is as a result of large scale marginalisation both in voting exercises and in allocation of political offices. Political violence and the social stigma that politics is a dirty game is a further stumbling block for women to become actively involved in the politics of this country. These are the major causes for the low representation of women in Nigeria’s political terrain.
More often than not, men constitute a larger percentage of the party membership and this tends to affect women when it comes to selecting or electing candidates for positions. Since men are usually in the majority in the political party setup, they tend to dominate the party hierarchy and are therefore at advantage in influencing the party’s internal politics.
In spite of the challenges, some women are determined to carve a niche for themselves in politics against the odds. In Ondo State, Mrs. Olufunke Ehuwa is one of such women forging ahead in spite of the obstacles she has encountered in politics. She has served in different capacities. Giving a summary of her socio-political profile so far, she told The Nation in a brief encounter, “I served as a member of the state executive council of the PDP. I have also served as the senatorial woman leader. I was once appointed on the board of Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC) as commissioner one and now I am a chieftain of the PDP and the state coordinator of the Country Women Association (COWAN).”
How did she get into politics you ask? “I got into politics through the encouragement of my late uncle, Chief Olusola Omonira, who being a philanthropist, has been coming to our area to advocate for people. I felt that by going into politics, I would be well placed in serving the interest of the people. I got into politics in year 2001 “.
What was she doing before politics? “I was a management consultant and was into property and estate development. It was a service-oriented company. The experience was really exciting but at a point, I thought I had to leave Lagos to serve my people. I did the property thing for about ten years.”
You want to ask what the transition from business to politics was like and she replied this way?”It was interesting, although it looked like leaving certainty for uncertainty; the interest of my people was very paramount and I was ready to venture into it, take the gamble and do some of the things that I did”.
What were some of the initial challenges? “When I got into politics, the rarity of women in decision making position was a challenge. Women were not given chances but I did not allow that to deter me and I was determined to forge ahead. In year 2004, I was elected the chairman of my local government but just like Chief Abiola’s election was annulled, my election was also annulled. I pursued it to the Supreme Court. I was the elected chairman but they just did not allow me to claim my mandate. This was the Ilaje Local Government in Ondo State”.
Ehuwa continues her story: “While I was at it, there were physical threats, violence and all that but I was determined to claim my mandate. I did not allow any of that to deter me. I pursued it through the legal source and we moved from the tribunal to the high court, from the high court to court of appeal and from the court of appeal to the Supreme Court. When we now got to the Supreme Court, they said it was a local government case. They said it was a one bus stop appeal and should not get to the Supreme Court. I was the elected chairman and the case was not decided up till last year.”
You remind her that a lot of women’s groups are complaining that the number of women in politics and positions are dwindling and you wake up something in her with this response. “We need to do things the way it is done in other parts of the world. They make use of legislation whereby women are given their slots and they would now work to get this slots filled. That is one and then women should also be encouraged by the community to come out. When women come out and they are not given the opportunity, it gives them setbacks and it is really an impediment. If you really look at it, you would find that women have a larger figure when it comes to voters. If the larger parts of the voters are not represented, how can their interest be taken care of? So this is a national challenge and we want our leaders to look at it”.
Getting funds for campaign is usually a big challenge for a lot of women in politics. Was it easy for Ehuwa? “It was not that easy for me. I used the money I saved from my property business and I got support from some uncles and the community.” After that experience in 2004, was it easy giving politics another trial? “I am somebody who believes in serving. I also contested for the nomination for the House of Representatives but there wasn’t enough money for me to scale through.”
Ask her to advice women politicians and she answers: “I would tell them to work together as women, if we actually work together and ask for our slots from our leaders, the president, and governors and if they see our large numbers, they would do something. Women are actually the ones that go out to do the voting. If we work together, we would have a formidable platform to make our point.
What are some of the memorable moments for Ehuwa in politics? Without thinking twice, she answers pointedly: “During the political victory and during the house-to-house campaign. Reaching out to people and they invite you to different events. It is also exciting working with people at the grassroots; you know their problems and challenges. This affords you the opportunity to really care for them when you get to office”.
Ehuwa studied business administration at the University of Benin, MBA at the University of Lagos. Explaining her specialty and what she has been doing, she said, “At the MBA level, I had a specialty in Corporate Management. I worked along that line and that was what took me to the property line later. The property venture, I learnt a lot of lessons like being proactive, knowing how to connect and render good and qualitative services to the client. The property sector is in dire need of development. Right now, I am working on this. I got into COWAN because of politics. While I was there, late Chief Mrs. Ogunleye knew about the election that was annulled and she took up the matter.”
Ehuwa adds; “She went straight to the secretariat of the PDP then with the documents, telling them that I was the elected chairman then. She helped me to pursue the case and I joined COWAN, ever since, she has helped and is a source of inspiration and motivation to me. Apart from this, I also have the Alabaster Community Development Foundation to help and grow the community along the state government policies. We give care and support in collaboration with Ondo State Agency for the support and care for AIDS.”