CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
In a society where men are the undisputed champion, a
womans quest for attaining the very apex of societal vanguard
becomes elusive if not an exercise in futility. If eventually she
reaches the zenith of her career against all odds, such a giant
stride is often rubbished by certain unfounded rumours and
insinuations which bring discredit to her reputation.
Unfortunately, this anachronistic view and relegation of the
female gender has succeeded in stagnating the growth and
development of our country. It should be noted that, in any
society where women are relegated to the background, such
society will remain at the nadir of development among the comity
of states
No Woman Need Apply (NWNA) an unspoken slogan
reminiscent of the discrimination against Irish nationals in 19th
century Britain. This unwritten rule is one that only a small
percentage of the female population has defied successfully.
throughout
the
world,
Africa
inclusive.
There
is
over 50% of the worlds population, women continue to be underrepresented as voters, political leaders and elected officials.
Democracy cannot truly deliver for all of its citizens if half of the
population remains underrepresented in the political arena.
Despite the effort being made by our sister countries in
Africa to bridge the gap between men and women in politics,
Nigeria government has not deemed it necessary to implement
this. However, the recent election of female presidents in Africa,
Latin America and Europe is being hailed by many as a seminal
movement for the advancement of women in politics. The
international community has encouraged countries to keep at
least 30% seats in their national parliament reserved for women.
In Nigeria, the roles of men are more highly valued than
those of women when it comes to politics. Women today are still
seen as poor political/social problem solvers and therefore
ineffective leaders. Despite the huge contribution they have made
in developing the country, they are still sidelined in both elections
and appointment into public offices. For instance, it has been
observed that rather than blossom the activism of late Mrs.
Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti, Hajia Gambo Sawaba and Margaret Ekpo,
(Nwabueze,
1993:2).
This
is
because
democracy
and
women
equal
voices
in
decision-making,
policy
however,
gender
inequalities,
discriminations
and
and
unpublished
articles
are
used
to
construct
period. Right from the day a woman is born, she is been faced
with discrimination, exploitation oppression or subjugation of one
form or the other. This paper discusses women's participation in
politics and governance in Nigeria, in order to unravel the
dynamics and factors that limit their visibility in the political
system. Women's participation in politics in Nigeria has remained
a contentious issue, despite many decades of struggle to improve
their lot politically. Following an analysis of the ways in which
gender relations shapes the lives of Nigerian women, and an
extensive
review
of
the
trajectories
of
women's
political
of
factors,
politics,
militate
against
womens
advancement.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
In Nigeria, politics is presumed to be a mans turf, where No
Woman Need Apply (NWNA) an unspoken slogan reminiscent of
the discrimination against Irish nationals in 19th century Britain.
This unwritten rule is one that only a small percentage of the
female population has defied successfully.
CHAPTER TWO
GENDER RELATIONS IN NIGERIAS POLITICS
Throughout the history of Nigeria, there has been varying
levels of womens political participation. In pre-colonial Nigerian
societies though womens political participation was not equal to
that of men, the position of women in traditional political
governance was complementary rather than subordinate (Mba,
1982:37;
Nwankwo,
1996:20
&
Ikpe,
2004:23;
Akinboye,
&
Arogundade,
2003:77).
These
practices
were
invaluable
in
the
countrys
struggle
for
paternalistic
and
acrimonious
politics
of
the
post-
politics
(Akiyode-Afolabi
&
Arogundade,
2003:64).
(UNDP
Report,
2005:47;
Ojo,
2003:16).
The
36
women
representing
8.8%
of
the
total
candidates
of
providing
women
35%
affirmative
action,
was
expected to offer them the chance to compete with the men and
capture a good number of their aspired positions. The Nigerian
Women Trust Fund inaugurated on 24 March 2011 in Abuja by the
Ministry of Women and Social Development also offered a launch
pad for female candidates at the poll. The 100 million naira Trust
Fund was set up to help offset the campaign costs of about 230
female aspirants no matter their political parties.
In addition to these was the activity of the office of the wife
of the president, Dame Patience Jonathan directed to the
achievement of the political ambitions of Nigerian women in the
2011 elections. The first lady at the peak of the campaigns rolled
out
her
programme,
Women
for
Change
Initiatives.
The
national level, let alone meet the target it set in the NGP1,
emphasizes the position of Nigerian women as second class
citizens in the nations politics as in every relation with men. After
all the promises made women are still underrepresented.
CHAPTER THREE
WOMENS PERFORMANCE AT THE 2011 ELECTION.
The dismal performance of women in 2011 election (both the
new entrants and those that were already occupying elective
offices before 2011 and wished for a second tenure like their male
counterparts) indicates that a lot have to be done if they must
effectively transcend political power in Nigeria. The 2011 election
was widely monitored by both Nigerian and International election
monitoring bodies and this removed the element of bias in their
collective judgment of the election as the lowest in female
representation.
In
review
of
womens
participation
and
Senate
out
of
the
109
members
and
19
female
1999
Office
2003
Women
President
Seat
Available
1
Senate
House of Reps
Governor
State House of
Assembly
2007
Women
Seat
Available
1
109
360
3(2.8)
7(1.9)
109
360
36
990
0
24(2.4)
36
990
2011
Seat
Available
1
Women
4(3.7)
0
40(3.9)
Women
Seat
Available
1
109
360
9(8.3)
27(7.5)
109
360
7(6.4)
25(6.9
36
990
0
57(5.8)
36
990
0
68(6.9)
CSHA
SHA
Committees
Chairpersons
L.G.A
Chairpersons
Councilors
829
18(2.2)
881
32(3.6)
887
52(5.9)
887
710
13(1.8)
774
15(1.9)
740
27(3.6)
740
6368
69(1.1)
6368
267(42
6368
235(3.7)
6368
2011
North-Central
North-East
North-West
South-East
Governor
0
0
0
0
Senate
1
1
1
House of Reps
2
4
1
6
South-South
0
1
4
South-West
0
1
8
Participation by Gender in Elections by April 2011(Nigeria
Office Contested
2011
Presidents
Vice presidents
Governor
Deputy governor
House of reps
senatorial
Gender
Female
Candidates
1(0)
3(0)
13(0)
58(1)
220(19)
90(7)
Table 3:
12
15
Total
Male
Candidates
19(1)
17(1)
340(36)
289(35)
2,188(341)
800(102)
20
20
353
347
2408
890
CHAPTER FOUR
HURDLES BETWEEN NIGERIAN WOMEN
AND ACTIVE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Like many countries, Nigeria maintains a national democratic
constitution, boasting inclusive and equitable access to political
participation. It was expected that facilitating Nigerian womens
admission to one-third of positions in governing bodies would
enable women to reach a critical threshold in the pursuit of
changes in gender equity and thus, womens empowerment
(UNIFEM, 2003).
However, the under-representation of Nigerian women in
politics is both descriptive (that is, the number of women in
political institutions is not reflective of the number of women in
society) and substantive (that is, the unique perspectives of
which
have
necessitated
the
erasure
of
masculinization
of
certain
domains
in
politics
is
and
Pelletier,
2000).
While
the
strength
and
There
is
perspective.
no
universal
civic
education
from
gender
confronts
conditions,
Nigerian
women
have
women.
less
Under
access
to
stifling
economic
education,
credit
CHAPTER FIVE
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
From the foregoing, the findings derivable include more
women participation in governance at the Federal and State
governments above the local level, male domination due to low
political consciousness among women- that is associated with
cultural barrier, lack of economic base for women is a basis for
poor
attitudinal
syndrome
to
achieving
the
30
percent
emphatically
that
elections
and
results
are
products
of
of
mechanisms.
good
infrastructures
backed
by
maintenance
The
representation
in
the
minority
thereby
relegating
issues
their
Electoral
and
Constitutional
Memoranda
minute
election
campaign
sensitization
programmes
poor
attitude,
tendencies.
low
participation,
Marginalization
of
and
high
in
local
women
the
chances
of
women
to
having
more
political