Female politicians under the auspices of the Coalition of Young Female Candidates (CYFC) have stated that they have gone beyond lamentation for, according to them, being relegated to the background to harmonising intentions towards developing better politics that will ensure effective participation of women; ENE OSANG writes.
CYFC mission
The CYFC are female candidates who ran for different positions at the 2019 general elections who taught it wise to have a forum to discuss ways to forge ahead in politics instead of sit to whine and whale.
National president of the Forum Dr. Doris Amaka Opara stated certain irregularities in the conduct of election, stressing, however, the need to bridge the gap in mentoring and the low degree of candor towards investing in women by other influential women just like the men do.
Conduct of 2019 elections
Mixed reactions have continued to be expressed by Nigerians on how the elections was conducted, from the poor working conditions of the voting machines, vote-buying, voter apathy following the postponement and other irregularities.
Amidst all the challenges, Dr. Ijeoma thinks that women did their best even though many lost primaries and most of those who scaled through didn’t win the positions vied for.
“We tried, but the outcome is abysmal; 11 women in a 360-member HORs and 7 in 109-member Senate. Why worry? Looking at all the progressive economies in Africa today and see the percentage of their parliament is female. There’s a positive correlation,” she said.
In the same vein, Opara thinks it is discouraging to have Nigeria as the least country with women parliamentarians in Africa.
“Nigeria has the lowest number of women in parliament while Rwanda is at %63.3, Senegal 42.7%, South Africa 42.1%, Namibia 41.3% , Mozambique 39.6%, Ethiopia 38.8%, Angola 38.2% Nigeria is 6.0%.
“I urge all women to rise up and fight for adequate inclusion of women in governance. Aba women did it in 1929 and we can do same in preparation for 2023,” she said.
Similar experiences of female candidates
The issue of vote-buying, violence, victimisation, intimidation, threat, and harassment of female politicians has remained the major issues women candidates have lamented during the general elections.
For Dr Opara, vote-buying and the lack of support from most women were the major hindrances she experienced contesting against Senator Philip Aduda for the FCT Senatorial seat.
Opara who ran under the African Action Congress (AAC) also said she didn’t emerge because she is not an indigene of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“Vote-buying was the order of the day, it is not good for our democracy, also most women were not ready to vote fellow women. However, I think I lost the election majorly because I am not an indigene, if I was an indigene I would have defeated Phillip Aduda no matter the money he has because people are tired of him.”
She further revealed that she did research on the area councils and find out that they were not well attended to.
“I discovered there is no health care facility in Kwali and this senator is going for the third time?
“FCT women were tired of him and wanted a change because there was no other alternative so they promised to support me if I contest and they did vote for me, but some didn’t because I am not indigene.
“However, I believe we are getting there and with adequate awareness and advocacy citizens will understand that it is better to vote in who will serve than for an indigene. Many Gwari and Gbagi voted for me even though I am not an indigene.”
Narrating her own experience, Ijeoma Nwafor, a medical doctor who joined politics to “bring the desired changes to her Mbaitoli -Ikeduru federal constituency, but has been denied three times,” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has not been fair to its female members.
She said: “I ran for the House of Representatives three times with my party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but my party has not been able to have me earn what I have worked for. I never asked to be given a ticket; all I ever asked for is fairness because we are not there yet so I don’t think the struggle is about equality. Women are a minority group and all we ask for is fairness.
“Every politics is local. In Imo PDP 2019 primaries, there were two line-ups and regardless of the support one had, party machinery was manipulated and mobilised to favour one line-up against the other.
“I happened to be part of the line-up that wasn’t pre-approved by the party machinery to get the party ticket in 2019. Specifics and details are not necessary. However, I am grateful my line-up actually had women they were projecting. The other line-up didn’t project one woman.
“Resultant effect is that PDP Imo state had no female flag bearer. Not one! All 41 seats were males and even deputy governor position was male.”
Also, sharing her experience, Tari Oba Oliver, who ran for Ibeju-Leki constituency 1 of the Lagos state House of Assembly, said the election was the worst women ever experienced in the country.
“The last concluded election is the worse in the history of Nigeria and even more terrible for women. Various civil societies and gender advocacy groups were advocating for an increase in women’s representation. Instead, there was a decline to any progress made in women’s previous outings since the inception of the fourth republic.
“This is demoralising and not encouraging, seeing the amount of efforts women put in during the pre election and election period.”
Any hope in 2023?
Nwafor is not sure she will run for any position in the next elections as she had tried three times in a row, didn’t succeed, disclosing her plans to mentor others on steps to take when seeking elective positions.
“Not in 2023, in my human calculation. I would love to push for other women to break barriers in their own vicinities. Remember, it’s a struggle (destination) not a destination. Not a ‘me story,’ rather it’s an ‘our story’ dynamics,” she said.
However, the candidate for FCT Senate, Doris, is not discouraged; she expressed enthusiasm to run for it again, saying “preparation for another starts immediately one is concluded.”
“This is my first attempt for that position and I hope to be back in 2023. I would have revamped the education system in the FCT because what we see today, even across the country, is not encouraging.
I intended to propose a bill to improve on the salaries and welfare of teachers, provide buses for all schools in FCT so that children don’t walk long distances to school and much more. We really need to do something about the education system,” she said.
Way forward
The coalition called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure adequate use of electronics machines for voting, stressing that “this is the best way to tackle rigging and violence during elections.”
“At many polling units in Abuja people did manual voting; this happened in the FCT especially in Gwarinpa and this is what brings rigging.”
Opara further said there’s the need for Nigeria’s democracy to be sustained and improved on, adding that “this is the way forward if Nigeria must grow.”
“We should not kill democracy it has come to stay and we all have a responsibility to ensure this. Again, we should not encourage vote-buying, particularly the grassroots must know that when they allow politicians buy their votes they won’t get their rights for the next four years.”
Ijeoma, in her further contribution, said: “In my 12 years’ experience in politics, I am a grassroots politician and would encourage women to get ready to battle. I don’t want us to go into the field as the fragile ones because we must get voices to be heard.
“I get embarrassed when I see fellow women in the field working hard and I know deep down that they don’t have a chance not because they couldn’t get the chance, but because they didn’t prepare.
“Women must know that you don’t have to be in politics before you can advocate for women. Until women show up in our polity Nigeria will go nowhere. Reports have shown that countries that go far have a sizeable number of women in their parliament.
“Rwanda has the fastest growing economy because their women are involved; there are certain sociological ideas women bring to the table that men don’t have the capacity.”
The CYFC public relations officer and media manager, Adaora Onyechere, who also ran for the Okigwe constituency of the Imo state House of Assembly, said “female candidates should become authorities to decide what happens in their constituencies and in their state.”
“There should be a level playing ground where wards and parastatal administrations in the state should include candidates to become policy drivers,” she said.
