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Misanet.com / IPS, 13 February - Political parties, both the old and those mushrooming every day, in Nigeria are already gearing up for the general elections scheduled for 2003, but they still have not outlined a role for women in the next government. So far women have been relegated to the background in politics. Very few women are in the national assembly, state assemblies or even occupying high positions in government. Women constitute more than 50 percent of the electorate, but because of their economic and cultural situation, especially in the predominantly Muslim north, they do not count. However, women's organisations are rising to the challenge and have mapped out plans to sensitise women to ensure that they become well placed politically by the time of the next election. Toro Oladapo, National Co-ordinator of Women In Nigeria (WIN) challenges the view that women are apolitical. "It is only few women out there that you see, those are the ones that have capital base. But a lot of women at the grassroots are politically minded and are only waiting for promised funds," she said. - When we (WIN) reviewed women's political position last year, she told IPS in Lagos, "it was discovered that women performed woefully compared to our performance even under the military, so we decided to embark on a concerted effort to ensure that more women are placed in positions of power." - We made sure that women were given a certain percentage of position at all levels, she added, not giving specific percentage. "We thank God; President [Olusegun] Obasanjo's administration has been doing this, while some states have also ensured such a representation." There are six female ministers and six Permanent Secretaries in federal ministries. The 1995 Beijing conference recommended 30 percent women's representation in governance but Oladapo is happy that the national government in Nigeria has reached not less than 20 percent, which she described as encouraging. WIN, a non-governmental, non-profit organisation based in Lagos, comprises mostly of elite women, and has branches in 24 of the 36 states of Nigeria. At its meeting, it was agreed that NGOs should form a network and fund interested women not monetarily, but by promoting them, placing them in the limelight, and helping them to draft and produce manifestos. It will also compile a list of women already in political parties nation-wide for the purposes of horse-trading. "We will use the list to trade with existing political parties. This time around, it will not be the political parties that will decide how many women they can accommodate; we will tell them that this is the number of women in your party and this is the number we want you to field," Oladapo said. She added: "WIN has embarked on sensitisation programmes to encourage women to come out and belong to organisations whether political or non-governmental bodies. We encourage them to get registered because this is the only way they can be nominated to represent others." Other NGOs working at raising the political profile of Nigerian women include Agenda 20 and Leadership Watch. Oladapo said individually, women are still on the margins also because of the hostile political environment and the role of money in politics. - Before the next election, we will ensure a significant number of women (politicians) are produced, she said. On whether a woman will run for president in 2003, she says: "It is not feasible but we should commend a woman who says she wants to contest the presidency, for her confidence. But it is not feasible under the current political structure." - Women also do not vote for women not because the women seeking political positions are not as good as the men or that they don't want women to be there, she said, "but because of lack of funds at the disposal of women and because of the hostile political arena." - I believe that with the measures NGOs have put in, we will make significant impact in the next political dispensation, she said. "It is obvious men have failed us. There is lots of unemployment, crime and other vices, all of which are attributable to bad governance." Reverend Martins Iwuanyawu, president of Leadership Watch, says the NGO will work at sensitising the electorate on their rights. "They have been made to believe especially by the military regimes, that leaders have a right to steal and get rich without any question asked by the supporters," Iwuanyawu said. At a forum workshop on Gender Violence and Family Poverty recently, Senator Stella Omu, first woman Chief Whip of the Upper Legislative House in Abuja, called on all women to come out and compete for positions and try to excel in any field they found themselves in. Omu said: "Women can through dedication to duty, discipline and devotion to God, achieve their aim of reaching the top." Omu, one of the three female Senators in the 109-seat Upper House, noted that like freedom, it was not always easy to get to the top except through hard work, adding that "even men do not find it easy to get to the top." Political parties have already started their election campaigns, but there has been no discussion on bringing women to the political centre-stage. "The debate by the political parties gives the impression that the present administration was elected for two years rather than for four years," says Professor Jadesola Akande. Akande, who is Executive Director, Women Law and Development Centre, Nigeria, said the current situation of Nigerian women is that their concerns and welfare "remain 'Any Other Business' rather than an item on the Nigerian agenda for good governance." She argued that the Upper House has done little to legislate to better the lot of women in Nigeria. "They probably think they will not need women come 2003, but they should not bet on their accumulated millions," she warned recently at a workshop in Lagos. By Toye Olori, IPS
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