The recently concluded 2023 elections provide evidence that Nigeria is failing to achieve gender inclusion in the political process, just days after several nations made firm commitments to improve women’s representation in public life on International Women’s Day, which has become a source of concern for gender experts.
Mrs Maryam Rahim, secretary of the Southern Women’s Forum (SWF), responded to this development in a statement on Tuesday, blaming the poor performance of women in the 2023 elections on the violence and voter suppression that characterized the polls across the country.
She lamented the low level of participation of women in the 2023 elections while commending them for their resilience “in seeking more relevance and inclusion in the political space dominated by men.”
According to Professor Oluyemi Fayomi, Director of Research, Innovation, and Development at Nigerian Army University in Borno state, the development is shocking and unacceptable. She revealed this to THE QUEST TIMES on Tuesday.
“This is a very worrisome trend. This also demonstrates how poorly the 2023 elections have been handled thus far,” Fayomi noted.
Experts have noted that since the resumption of the Fourth Republic, only 157 women have been elected to the 469-member National Assembly (38 senators and 119 members of the House of Representatives), compared to 2,657 men (616 senators, 2,041 reps).
They also noted that the results of the 2023 governorship elections demonstrate Nigeria’s failure to domesticate international treaties aimed at achieving gender equality.
Recall that during the Constitutional Amendment debate in 2022, National Assembly members voted against five gender bills, prompting women to protest at the entrance to Nigeria’s central legislative house in Abuja.
Only three women were elected to the Senate in the February elections, while only 15 were elected to the House of Representatives.
In the 2023 gubernatorial elections, there were ten female governorship candidates from six states: Adamawa, Abia, Cross River, Rivers, Niger, and Ogun. There are also 24 female deputy governorship candidates on the ballot in 15 states for the 2023 general election.
When compared to 2019 data, the results were even more discouraging for advocates of gender inclusion in the political process. In the 2019 elections, 2,970 women ran for various political positions across the Federation, but only 62 (about 2.1 percent) were elected.
During the 2019 elections, seven women were elected to the Senate, and 11 women were elected to the House of Representatives. In addition, out of 990 available seats in the 36 state Houses of Assembly, only 40 women were elected. The two major parties did not field a woman as a governorship candidate in the 2019 election, but Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (Binani) was elected as the APC’s governorship candidate in Adamawa state in the 2023 gubernatorial election.
Professor Fayomi said “I’m deeply disappointed by what happened in Adamawa state in particular.
“There appear to be more cultural biases against women’s political participation in the country’s north-eastern region,” she continued.
“Northern Nigerian women voted for the first time in 1976 local government elections. No woman has been elected governor in the past 47 years. Isn’t that disheartening?” she queried.
Only four women were elected as deputy governors in 2019: Enugu, Kaduna, Ogun, and Rivers states. When compared to the 2023 election, the results show a slight improvement, with six of the 24 nominees for deputy governor in the 2023 elections succeeding.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had not declared a female gubernatorial candidate the winner as of the time of filing this report. However, six women have emerged as deputy governors in the 2023 elections: Professor Ngozi Odu (Rivers state), Dr. Hadiza Balarabe (Kaduna state), Engineer Noimot Salako-Oyedele (Ogun state), Mrs Josephine Chundung Piyo (Plateau state), Mrs Patricia Obila (Ebonyi state), and Senator Akon Eyakenyi (Akwa-Ibom state).
Dr. Ajoke Onojeghuo, a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist based in Canada, told QUEST TIMES that women faced gender barriers during the election. “If women are not given opportunities to be relevant in their wards, they cannot be given opportunities in their LGAs, states, or even nationally,” she said.
“Most women with interests were discouraged,” she added.
Isehi Uwa, a youth/gender advocate and former president of the National Association of Quantity Surveying Students (NAQSS) at Obafemi Awolowo University, also commented on this development, telling QUEST TIMES that it portends grave danger for gender inclusion in politics. “There were no gender barriers,” she stated.
“If there is any barrier to women’s participation, it is the women themselves,” she stated.