Wim biz annual lecture paper women and politics- is the hand that rocks the cradle asleep-

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR

1 | P a g e W i m B i z A n n u a l L e c t u r e 2 0 1 1 - T u e s . F e b r u a r y 2 2 , 2 0 1 1

Text of the Paper

WOMEN AND POLITICS: IS THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE ASLEEP?

Delivered by

Her Excellency Mrs. ‘Funmi OLAYINKA Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Nigeria

at the Annual Lecture of Women in Management and Business (WimBiz), held on Tuesday February 22, 2011,

at the Muson Centre, Lagos Island, Lagos

1. PROTOCOLS / SALUTATIONS Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, all protocols duly observed. It is my pleasure to make a presentation to this illustrious audience of great Nigerian women and men and nation builders. My highest regards go to the Board and Management of the Women in Management and Business (WimBiz), an organization that I have a very high respect and admiration for. I am extremely proud of the achievements of this noble organization that in a short time has become a veritable voice in national discourse, concerning not only our thematic focus of Women Empowerment, but other pressing national issues. I am grateful for the privilege to make my contribution on such a crucial theme, at this crucial time and trust that this epochal event shall be a sure foot forward towards achieving our objectives. 2. INTRODUCTION The 1999 Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees every citizen of age, the right to participate in political activities. Section 40 of that Constitution specifically says and I quote, “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other



persons, and in particular he (she) may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his (her) interests…” By this provision, women are constitutionally equipped to be politically active. Much more so, the rights of the Nigerian woman to fully participate in the political process, is enshrined in several other International, Regional and National Instruments. Notable amongst them is the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)’ which stipulates that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…” The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), is an international treaty for all ratifying countries, which enjoins State parties to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women. The Nigerian Government ratified the Convention as far back as 1985, with the obligation to pursue among other provisions, “Equality in Political and Public Life at National and International levels” The foregoing including the establishment of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in 1993, among other steps taken by successive Governments in Nigeria, underscore the fact that the socio-political environment in Nigeria is not lacking in the requisite legislative framework to sustain women participation in politics. Why then does it appear that the Nigerian Woman is asleep as far as active participation in the political process is concerned? Why is it that the Nigeria Woman is exploited and marginalized despite the fact that we constitute about 49% of the total population? This is even more pronounced in the democratization processes much like other areas of national life. Women in Nigeria constitute more than two - thirds of the country’s 70% adult non-literate population while they hold less than 5% of the important



decision making positions. The present national assembly in Nigeria has an appallingly low average of 0.05% of women in both houses! This paper shall discuss some of the causative factors behind these alarming indices and proffer a way out of the quagmire. Definition of Key Words? Woman For the purpose of this paper, we shall adopt the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of the word ‘Woman’ which is ‘an adult human female’.

This simplistic definition however does not offer a broad perspective of the restrictive gender role that defines women in our largely patriarchal society. ‘Woman’ within the context of our socio-cultural gender construct, has come to be associated with discrimination, marginalization and low representation.

Politics

Politics according to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English is defined as ‘ideas and activities relating to gaining and using power in a country’. However, the character of Politics, which is often referred to as a game, differs from one society to another, and is a function of the underlying socio-cultural superstructure.

Evolving Political Dynamics and the Role of Women

A close look at global political dynamics, point to the fact that the world is changing fast. The ascent to power of a black man to the office of the President of the United States of America lends credence to this. I had the privilege of studying in that country and observing first-hand the thinning out of racial prejudices. I still have cause to marvel that a society can evolve drastically from denying a racial sub-set suffrage, to voting a minority from this same race as President! All of these within the space of a few decades.



Equally significant is the fact that in this same election, a woman, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, the current Secretary of State aspired with good effort to secure the Presidential Candidacy of the Democratic Party. Though she didn’t succeed, she made an excellent/impressive mark.

This wave of change is consistent with happenings in other parts of the world. Stereotypes of those who can aspire to, and attain public office are rapidly changing, with the breaking down of deep seated prejudices. Previously marginalized segments of the society such as certain ethnic groups, women, youth e.t.c, are having greater access to power in oftentimes unconventional ways.

Today, we have female incumbent Presidents/Heads of State in countries such as Liberia, Brazil, Germany, Ireland, Finland, Costa Rica, India, Argentina, Lithuania, and Kyrgyzstan. This is unprecedented in the history of democratization around the world.

Also of note is the enviable female representation statistics from Rwanda, a small African country with a population of less than 10 million. The East African country in 2003, sneaked into history as the nation with the highest female representation in elective offices. The Rwandan women have steadily built on a colonial legacy of universal suffrage, having produced the first female parliamentarian as far back as 1965.

As the true hands that rock the cradle of national development, the women of Rwanda seized the opportunity that the post-conflict environment offered, to populate the parliament and contribute assiduously to the rebuilding of the nation. Women in that country won 48.8 percent of seats in the lower house of Parliament in 2003!

Today, we have young people leading non-violent protests in the North-Africa/Middle East parts of the world, and securing phenomenal concessions from the powers that be.

The implications of the evolving social order, is that no segment of the society can be taken for granted any longer.



Sadly, Nigerian women are not maximally exploiting this high ground. Despite the favorable legislative framework, sheer power of numbers and wave of globalization, the abysmal statistics of female representation in the political process leaves much to be desired. 3. WOMEN AND POLITICS IN NIGERIA – TIME TO AWAKE

FROM SLUMBER The involvement of women in Nigerian politics can best be described as apathetically reactionary. We ‘rise’ in our quest for ‘affirmative action’ long after our male counterparts have decided on political structures that seem best to them. We complain of being left out when we never joined in. We agitate for the crumbs off the table when the sweat off our brows account for the meal that the men lord over. The best we clamor for in the internal structures of political parties is the often ill-defined women-leader position, when women can lead and even found political parties. We have long justified our indifference to politics with the notion ‘politics is a dirty game’. Assuming then that politics is a dirty game; would mothers in this hall today please tell me, who is in the best position to clean it up? May I stop at this juncture to ask, how many of the women here present registered to vote in the coming General election? Before we go ahead to proffer a way out of our collective quandary, we need to understand some of the causative societal factors that have shaped the status quo. Nigeria as stated earlier is a largely patriarchal society. In many states, socio-religious ethos forbid a woman from speaking publicly to a gathering that includes men; talk less of aspiring to lead them. In our national organizations, discrimination is institutionalized. Can we imagine, that only recently was a national institution such as the Nigerian Defence Academy permitted to admit women for courses leading to commissioning as Officers of the Nigerian Armed



Forces? How then would we have spoken of equality in the years of military rule when the entry point had been compromised? That invariably accounts for why we never had a female Military Administrator of a state in Nigeria, in the many years the military held sway. The men have thus seen leadership as a birthright of some sort, while we women have accepted our fate as cheerleaders in the political circus.

In Nigeria today, there are only 8 women in the Senate and 36 in the 360-member House of Representatives. Prior to 1976, women were not only prevented from standing for elections in some parts of the country, but were not allowed to vote in Northern Nigeria.

Other factors that negate the aspirations of women in the Nigerian society include the discriminatory educational system, restrictive access to healthcare, work place discrimination, gender-based domestic violence e.t.c. All of these work together, to make women too economically vulnerable and psychologically ill-prepared for the arduous task of attaining public office.

We can see then, that the battle for egalitarianism is two-fold. We have to fight the enemies without, but more importantly, the enemies within – socio-culturally inflicted self-doubt and apathy.

The Way Forward

Whilst it is often said that women are their own worst enemy, this is not true. Patriarchy is women’s worst enemy. To start with, women have to appreciate that social change is often a gradual process. We have to disabuse our minds from expecting quick fixes. Sustainable alterations to the social order come not by last minute feeble attempts when the die is cast, but by careful strategising and deft manoeuvrings, with a view to forcing other stakeholder blocs to the negotiating table. No politician or political grouping negotiates with any individual or group that has nothing to bring to the table.

Secondly, women MUST to get involved. I am one of the few Nigerian women that have the rare privilege of attaining elective public office.



I and others like me are representative of a growing tribe of women who have challenged the societal stereotype and aspired to elective office; some are yet to succeed but are nonetheless heroines for daring to move, I salute their courage. The point here is that we made an attempt and eschewed all limitations to get involved. I often hear some women complain of social malaises bitterly, yet they refuse to vote, talk less of stand for elective office or political appointment. It is time we moved this discourse beyond beauty parlour talk, where the heat from the hair dryers are of greater effect than that of the anger within us. It is time to give vent to suppressed agitations. It is time to get involved.

In relation to the first point I made, getting involved from today does not mean we would see instant results. Considering the recently concluded primaries across all political parties, even if all the female candidates win, we would not be very far from the status quo. But we can make a difference; not only by starting early towards future political dispensations, but also ensuring gender equality and women empowerment are mainstreamed in the determination of who we vote for.

This brings me to my third point. Organisations like WimBiz have to increase their share of voice in advocating for gender equality, until it becomes a major subject in our collective consciousness. Women advocacy groups in Nigeria have done creditably and deserve commendation, we however cannot rest on our oars until every woman is able to stand head-to-head with equal opportunity beside her male counterparts, in aspiring to any height in her chosen life path.

Fourthly, in relation to our advocacy efforts, we have to pay more than lip service to women empowerment. This point is of particular interest to me, considering ‘Women Empowerment’ is one of the 8 points in our administration’s development agenda in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Womenfolk have to work with other stakeholders to create programs and policies to empower women economically and mitigate other vulnerabilities.



Within our short time in office, our administration has demonstrated commitment to women empowerment by taking decisive steps such as:

• Engaging women advocacy groups with a view to ensuring zero-tolerance for all types of gender-based violence/discrimination in the home, workplace and society at large,

• Making healthcare freely available to all pregnant women, creating a multiple-birth fund to support women burdened by the responsibility of taking care of twins, triplets e.t.c.

• Stimulating girl-child education by ensuring Education is free and compulsory for all children up to secondary school level as well as the purchase of WAEC forms for all qualified candidates.

• Implementing a state-wide medical mission during which a public health campaign was mainstreamed focusing on the prevention of gender-based diseases such as breast and cervical cancers, etc.

It is our objective to make Ekiti State a model for other states to emulate as far as veritable women empowerment is concerned. We are therefore not relenting in mainstreaming gender equality as we implement our development agenda across all sectors of the economy, while ensuring effective trickle down to rural areas.

Our plans going forward include domesticating the National Gender policy in our state, as well as legislation against violence.

It is important for us to consider the very vital issue of funding women to run for office, I want to recognise the creation of the Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund in which the wife of our Governor, Chief (Mrs) Bisi Fayemi is the Chairperson. This scheme would assist our women in the area of funding for political, social and economic projects.

I also want to urge members of WimBiz to use their clout and networks to ensure that more women become aware of their political



responsibilities, and go forward to boldly pursue their political ambitions.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is our collective duty to ensure women are empowered to see life beyond the struggle to survive, to see ourselves as an integral part of society. To be given access to credit and encouraged to grow thriving businesses and be economically independent, to be given access to healthcare, to be given a voice and a platform to be heard.

Lastly, we may complain of low representation in public office, but the question then is, are we making the best of the leverage we have? How have women holding public office fared over the years? What support structures have we created to ensure their success? I am sure we all agree that attaining public office is one thing, performing creditably is yet another. I can confidently share that with you, not only from my experience in public office so far, but also from the long tortuous months following our election in 2007, till the judicial validation of our popular mandate 3½ years later.

In case you don’t know, it takes a woman holding public office 10 times the amount of resilience, patience, tact, hardwork and political dexterity to overcome the challenges and distractions, in achieving veritable success. That invariably, is if the woman is not just interested in being counted among the number; a spare tyre with no real responsibilities in the affairs of state.

While we seek to better our collective fortunes, we have to consolidate our position by maximising our foothold in the socio-political space. Women that are privileged to hold public office, have to offer their hands in bringing up other women through mentoring and other avenues to create more space for women. They have to pass on vital skills in governance, integrity, commitment and role modelling, negotiation, stakeholder management, diplomacy, community mobilizing, fundraising e.t.c.

On the other hand, since all of us cannot possibly seek elective positions, women outside of active politics have to support women



public office holders to succeed. This can be done through the provision of technical support in various areas of speciality, as well as sustaining the groundswell of support required by these women to take crucial steps without fear or favour.

We have to create these linkages across political, religious and ethnic divides, and fight this common cause in unison. Women have to close ranks and avoid the competitiveness, pettiness and rancour that have been our undoing over the years. We have to actively educate females of all ages about our rights and privileges in the free society to which we belong, to see a world of possibilities and the power we have to create the type of future we desire. We have to build ourselves into a formidable political bloc to be courted by other stakeholders as a maiden in her youth. 4. CONCLUSION In concluding, we should not be so naïve to think the task ahead would be easy. This is because addressing inequality in the socio-political space is just one of the many issues we have to contend with. Let us not forget that as women, we bear great responsibility in building the smallest but most important unit in any society – the family. We should not in our quest for political relevance abdicate our roles as home builders and custodians of the values of society. Ultimately, we should build bridges of partnership with other stakeholder groups and never compromise the unity and stability of our great nation. The burden of birthing a new Nigeria is upon us, may God Almighty give us the grace to bring forth. Amen. My fellow women, let us stop to AGONIZE and begin to ORGANIZE !!!

Thank you all for listening.



H.E. MRS. ‘FUNMI OLAYINKA DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF EKITI STATE, NIGERIA LAGOS, NIGERIA TUESDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2011 REFERENCES

• Politics - the Many Barricades Against Nigerian Women by Ruth Tene Natsa published in Leadership, February 16, 2011

• Section 40, 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

• Women and Children’s Rights in Nigeria published by Women Aid Collective (WACOL)

• Women and Politics in Nigeria: Towards Participatory Democracy in Ogun State South - Western Nigeria.



Oluyemi O. FAYOMI Department of Policy and Strategic Studies College of Business and Strategic Studies Covenant University

• Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, UK

• Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

• www.wikipedia.org

• http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/228050/americas_first_female_presidential.html

• 100 Days of the People’s Mandate – An Account of Stewardship by the Dr. Kayode Fayemi-Led Administration of Ekiti State.

• Attracting support for Female political aspirants – Report by the Directorate of Women Affairs, Ekiti State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare.

• List of Political Appointees- Office of the Secretary to the Government of Ekiti State.

• European Journals of Social Sciences, Volume 14, Number 4 (2010)

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Wim biz annual lecture paper women and politics- is the hand that rocks the cradle asleep-