The European Union (EU) has said Nigeria is capable of playing leadership role in advancing the cause of women participation in democratic governance, especially in Africa.
Head of the European Union (EU) delegation to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot said that Nigeria was supposed to be leading and serving as a model for other countries in Africa and around the world.
The envoy who made this observation in Abuja during a media parley by the House Committee on Constitution Review organised by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Center (PLAC) in Abuja said some African countries like Luanda and Kenya have achieved equality in women and men representation in politics.
His words: “When I arrived here in Nigeria last September, really surprised me to see that Nigeria is really lagging behind.
“But look at countries like Rwanda or Kenya in Africa. Look at Mexico, which was a country I was posted in before, which has perfect equality in women and men representation in politics.
“And I believe that Nigeria’s vocation is not to lag behind. Nigeria’s vocation is to lead and serve as a model and as an example for others in Africa and around the world.”
On his part, the Executive Director Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) Clement Nwankwo expressed dissatisfaction over what he described as low level of women representation in government both at the state and national level.
He regretted that Nigeria is fast becoming the worst in terms of low women representation in the African continent.
According to Nwankwo, the situation is further compounded by the people’s cultural beliefs and religion, lamenting that the Nigeria is losing votes on global stage due to low representation of women.
“As we speak, there are only 14 women or 15 women in the House of Representatives, out of a total of 360 there are six. In fact, there are entire geopolitical zones that do not have a woman, perhaps one woman in the North East.
“But beyond that, not a lot of women are represented at the administrative level. And what we have seen is that Nigerian legislators travel abroad.
“They attend the IPU and other parliamentary meetings, and when it comes to discussing gender issues, the men go into the room to discuss gender issues.
“Nigeria has suffered the problem now that its votes in these bodies are being reduced because it doesn’t have women enough to compare with other countries.
“So, when Nigeria goes, if it has 22 votes, those votes are reduced because the Nigerian state is being punished because it doesn’t have enough women.
“Some say to you, Oh, you want my wife to leave the house instead of taking care of the children to come and be doing politics, we oppose it.
“Unfortunately, there are people, even within the legislature, who do not see this as a very critical issue, and some of them, because of their own position, hinge this on culture.
“Some say, Oh, my religion says that a woman cannot preside over me, there are countries that are not as developed as Nigeria that have dealt with these issues.
“And if you look at the African continent, I think Nigeria is the worst record. Even Uganda that went through a war have huge representation.
“Uganda, Rwanda, Senegal didn’t go through a war, but Senegal is a model in the continent; Tanzania has a woman who is the speaker of the Tanzanian parliament, but also the Speaker of the International parliamentary union,” he said.
Nwankwo said there are states where the chairman or chairperson of the Committee on Women is a man, “just like you have had a situation where previously, and I think it is still the case, the chairman of the committee on youths is a man in their 60s or 70s.
“So, for a lot of us, it is an embarrassing situation. And the National Assembly, the House of Representatives, has shown great determination to deal with this issue, and the plea is for the media to understand this”
Onyebuchi Ezigbo
Follow us on:
