BETWEEN WOMEN AND POLITICS IN NIGERIA
One of the reasons why democracy is generally believe to be the best form of governance in the world today, is because it carries people along in respective of their gender, ethnicity, and skin color. Ideally and practically, democracy is about Good governance, and good governance is about being responsible, and being responsible is about being accountable to the people for the purpose of bringing about positive societal development. As a system of governance it has also preaches for the accommodation of everybody in the process of bringing positive development.
One of the reasons why democracy is generally believe to be the best form of governance in the world today, is because it carries people along in respective of their gender, ethnicity, and skin color. Ideally and practically, democracy is about Good governance, and good governance is about being responsible, and being responsible is about being accountable to the people for the purpose of bringing about positive societal development. As a system of governance it has also preaches for the accommodation of everybody in the process of bringing positive development.
While some nation states have succeeded in accommodating their people in respective of their gender, to bring about more positive development, others are yet to, because of their inability to answer the call made by democracy as a global system of governance. Beside, Nigeria is also yet to answer the call. This is because as Gender Electoral and Reform Memoranda Committee (GEM), 2008 argued, though women constitute 49% of Nigeria’s population, but they only constitute 9% of the number of persons in the senate, 9.27% of the number in the House of Representatives, 16.6% of the Deputy Governorship positions, 5.45% of the State House of Assembly and 0% of Governorship and Presidential elective officers.
Furthermore, it is very clear from the above mentioned figures that Nigeria’s women have for long been marginalized by men in political process. The question now is, why? In my own opinion, men have succeeded in turning Nigeria ’s political atmosphere to a volatile one, which is characterized by thuggery, assassination, total absent of internal party democracy etc. finally I am convince that a step has already been taken by Gender Electoral and Reform Memoranda Committee (GEM), Coalition for Change (C4C), Women Right Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) and other Non-governmental Organizations across Nigeria, to make sure that these imbalances politically did not continue to prevail in Nigeria’s political process, by making submission at Abuja sitting of Nigeria’s Electoral Reform hearing on 24th of June 2008. Secondly, I think government itself has to make sure that the recommendations are been taken into consideration. Besides, I think is time for all of us to stand up and make sure that the voice of Nigerian women are heard in the Nigeria’s decision making process.
Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria
Long live Nigerian Women
Long live Women world over!!!
Nura Iro Maaji
Society for Youth Awareness and Health Development (SYAHD), Kano State, Nigeria
+2348025699001
nuramaaji@gmail.com
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