Nigerian Women In Politics

Nigerian women have been able to carve a niche for themselves in the Nigerian political terrain. Nigeria has had women vying for the highest position in the country and two names which stand out in this category are Professor Vivian Mottohmigan who was presidential candidate of the defunct NPC and Mama Sarah Jubril who actually went to the polls as a presidential candidate.
Besides these two Amazons are thousands of other Nigerian woman who have impacted greatly on the country’s political terrain.
Historical evidence is available to prove that Nigerian women have for long been playing crucial role in political life of the country, and this has contributed in no small measure in shaping the political system of the nation. For development of any kind to be successful, a vantage position should be accorded the women, as they constitute a larger proportion of the population. In this regard, they should not be left out in the issues of decision making that bothers on their lives as a people. The post-colonial period, Nigerian women began to play very active roles in various aspects of the nation’s development.
Significantly, five years after independence, only about seven per cent of the salaried workforce were women. However, the role of women in Nigeria’s post1960 politics was not appropriately situated in terms of appointments to policy making positions. This was in spite of the massive support given to various political parties by women, women organisations, market women movements etc. Until recently, few women benefited from political patronage.
In the aborted second Republic (1979 -1983), there was further progress as few Nigerian women won elections into the House of Representatives. Of particular note was Mrs. J. C. Eze of the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) who represented Uzo-Uwani federal constituency in former Anambra State, Mrs V.O. Nnaji, also of the NPP who represented lsu and Mrs Abiola Babatope of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) who represented Mushin Central II of Lagos State. Pointedly, few women won elections into the State Houses of Assembly during the Second Republic.
During the same period, only two women were appointed Federal Ministers by the Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s administration. They were Chief (Mrs.) Janet Akinrinade as Minister of Internal Affairs and Mrs. Adenike Ebun Oyagbola as Minister of National Planning, while Mrs. Francesca Yetunde Emmanuel was the only female Permanent Secretary (first in the Federal Ministry of Establishment and later Health).
Specifically, in 1983, Ms Franca Afegbua became the only woman to be elected into the Senate. This was in addition to the few women, who contested and won elections into the Local Government Councils in the second Republic. But a number of women were appointed Commissioners in the states.
In the Fourth Republic which started on May 29, 1999, the Nigerian political terrain witnessed an increase in the number of women political appointees, even though women did not perform well at the elections. In the elections held before May 29, 1999, only few women emerged as Chairpersons of local government councils.
Significantly, there has been no woman Governor in any state of the federation except for a deputy governor in Lagos state, Senator Bucknor Akerele since the commencement of the fourth Republic in 1999.
Similarly, in the National Assembly, there were only three women in the Senate, namely; Florence Ita Giwa representing Cross River State South Senatorial District, Stella Omu from Delta State and Hajiya Khairat Abdul-Razaq (now Hajiya Gwadabe) representing the Federal Capital Territory, just as there were only 12 women in the House of Representatives of the 360 members.
President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed a number of women into the Federal Executive Council. They included Dr. (Mrs) Kema Chikwe (Minister of Transport), Mrs. Dupe Adelaja (Minister of State Defence), Dr. (Mrs) Bekky Ketebu-Igwe (Minister of State, Ministry of Solid Minerals), Dr. (Mrs) Amina Ndalolo (Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Health), Mrs Pauline Tallen (Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology), and Hajia Aishatu Ismaila (Minister of Women Affairs). Chief (Mrs) Titilayo Ajanaku is the Special Adviser to the President on Women Affairs.
For more on the great achievements of Nigerian woman in politics, please tune in to THE AMAZONS, today Friday at 7.pm on AIT.