WOMEN AND POLITICS: THE CHALLENGES OF

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITION BY ALADETAN

ABIONDUN (M.A, MIHD University of Benin).
ABSTRACT
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. Politics can be said to
be the act of making public choice and making decision on behalf
of people through the medium of the State and its apparatus. It is
accepted that for development of any kind to be successful,
women, who make up a larger proportion of the population,
should not be left out, because there is no doubt that both men
and women have some potentials and rights to contribute
meaningfully to the development of their countries throughout
the world, Africa inclusive. It is against this backdrop that it has
become important to interrogate the currency of the
phenomenon, factors accentuating it and measures to reduce
phenomenon or engender a gender balance. The study shall
engage Primary data which shall be collected through the use of
in-depth interviews and well-structured questionnaires. However,
secondary data involving extensive and thorough library research
and examination of existing publications, existing reports and
websites
including
reports
from
government
agencies,
international organizations, published and unpublished articles
shall also be used to construct supporting reviews of the study.
This paper is divided into five sections. Chapter one is the
introduction while Chapter two deals with Gender relation in
Nigeria politics. Chapter three highlights the performance of
women in the 2011 general elections. Chapter four talked about
huddle between Nigerian women and active participation in
politics. And the last chapter gives findings and conclusion.

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.

Politics can be said to be the act of making public choice and

making decision on behalf of people through the medium of the
State and its apparatus. It is accepted that for development of
any kind to be successful, women, who make up a larger
proportion of the population, should not be left out, because there
is no doubt that both men and women have some potentials and
rights to contribute meaningfully to the development of their
countries

throughout

the

world,

Africa

inclusive.

There

is

abundant historical evidence that African woman have for long

been playing crucial roles in the politics of their countries. Many
great women of yesteryears have helped in shaping African
politics. They have played crucial roles in redeeming or elevating
their countries (Mohamed, 2000).
Despite being a patriarchal society, Nigeria has a rich history
of women breaking out of the mold to participate in politics. Our
pre-colonial history is replete with the exploits of Queen Amina of
Zaria, who led armies to drive out invaders from Zaria; and
Moremi of Ile-Ife, whose sacrifice for her people speaks to selfless
leadership that we are so bereft of these days. Our recent past
speaks of prominent women leaders like Funmilayo Ransome Kuti,

a crusader and challenger of despotic leaders, who led Egba

women on a protest against taxation; Margaret Ekpo, a prominent
civil rights activist; and Hajia Gambo Sawaba, who championed
the cause of the oppressed in northern Nigeria. Iyalode Tinubu of
Lagos exemplifies the rich participation of women on the
economic scene.
The legacies of these women are at risk of extinction. Even
though an increasing number of women are finding their way into
boardrooms and providing leadership for blue chip companies, the
majority of women in Nigeria only minimally participate in
economic development or politics.
Female participation in decision-making is still a far cry from
the Rwandan experience, where the economy rode to recovery on
the backs of women. It is instructive to know that in some parts of
our country, women were not allowed to participate until 1976
sixteen (16) years after Nigerias independence from Great
Britain. There are nagging fears that the exclusion of women
might continue indefinitely (Okome, 1997).
Equitable participation of women in politics and government
is essential to building and sustaining democracy. Comprising

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,

among others into politics which should propel Nigerian women to

the fore front of governance, Nigerias independence has not
witnessed much women participation in politics (Ogunleye, 1993)

Democratic government is predicated upon freedom, justice and

equal treatment of all citizens men and women alike, by the
society

(Nwabueze,

1993:2).

This

is

because

democracy

presupposes equal opportunity platform for political participation

and decision making process (Sodaro, 2001:27). Since equal
political participation is sin qua non to democracy (Anifowose,
2004), a society cannot be truly democratized without the full and
active participation of women who constitute about 50% of the
population of each country. Incorporation of gendered perspective
in policy making process is thus imperative for sustainable
democracy. Gender equality is globally accepted as a requisite for
achieving development and democratic governance that give
men

and

women

equal

voices

in

decision-making,

policy

implementation and attaining MDGs (Ezeilo, 2008). Despite

widespread democratization in most countries and the struggle by
the feminist movements for the integration of gender balancing in
the national politics of countries over the world however, women
who constitute about 50% of Nigeria population still remain
systematically alienated from politics and decision making

process in the country (Agbalajobi, 2010 & Arowolo & Aluko,

2010).

The phenomenon of women low participation in Nigerias

politics became worrisome following the demise of military rule
and then the transfer of power to a civilian democratic
administration in 1999. Nigerian Government in its efforts to
tackle this phenomenon of low womens political participation
ratified some national and international instruments such as the
Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) in 1989 and adopted a National Policy
on Women in 2000 (replaced by a National Policy on Gender
Equality in 2007 and Platform for Action, the National Committee
on Affirmative Action, the Additional Protocol to The African
Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in
Africa 2003, The African Union Solemn Declaration on Gender
Equality 2004, The National Gender Policy 2006, etcetera
(Akiyode-Afolabi & Arogundade, 2003; Ajayi, 2007). After three
consecutive democratic change of government (1999, 2003 and
2007)

however,

gender

inequalities,

discriminations

and

stereotypes continue to exist in all spheres of the Nigerian polity,

preventing women from developing and exercising their full

human capabilities and to play a powerful role in sustainable

democracy. The objective of democratic consolidation in Nigeria
cannot be realized if the womenfolk who constitute about half of
the national population continue to be marginalized.
It is against this backdrop that it has become important to
interrogate the currency of the phenomenon, factors accentuating
it and measures to reduce phenomenon or engender a gender
balance.
RESEAESH METHODOLOGY
The study engaged survey research method. Primary data
were collected through the use of in-depth interviews and wellstructured questionnaires. However, secondary data involving
extensive and thorough library research and examination of
existing publications, existing reports and websites including
reports from government agencies, international organizations,
published

and

unpublished

articles

are

used

to

construct

supporting reviews of the study.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The problem of women's right especially to participate in
Nigeria politics is not new. It has been in existence for some

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

participation in Nigeria, it is contended in this paper that a

conundrum

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.

It is against this backdrop that it has become important to

interrogate the currency of the phenomenon, factors accentuating
it and measures to reduce phenomenon or engender a gender
balance in the political arena in Nigeria.
Politics can be said to be the act of making public choice and
making decision on behalf of people through the medium of the
State and its apparatus. It is accepted that for development of
any kind to be successful, women, who make up a larger
proportion of the population, should not be left out, because there
is no doubt that both men and women have some potentials and
rights to contribute meaningfully to the development of their
countries throughout the world, Africa and Nigeria inclusive.

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,

2004:236; Ajayi, 2007; Awe, 1992:11). The complementarity role

was however embedded in sex segregation, which determined
gender position, status and power in the society and provided

women their own spheres of operation and control (Olojede,

1990:82).
The advent of colonial administration however, destroyed
the traditional systems of womens political participation in
Nigeria (Allen, 1972; Omotola, 2007; Lewu, 2005:65; Mba, 1982;
Ikpe, op.cit:30). The creation of patriarchal government by
colonial administration, its gender policies and economic interests
reinforced and generalized patriarchal values and perpetuated
gender inequality in the country (Kamene, 1991, Olojede, 1999;
Akinboye, 2004:237). The legislative council created in 1922
though with limited African representation for instance, is

noteworthy in Nigerian political development. Yet the colonial

government consciously excluded women from this council
(Akiyode-Afolabi

&

Arogundade,

2003:77).

These

practices

significantly marked the beginning of masculinity of politics and

womens alienation from the mainstream Nigerias politics (Allen,
1972; Ajayi, 2007:138). In fact while women in South Western
Nigeria voted for the first time in the nations electoral history in
the 1959 general elections, their Northern counterparts did not
enjoyed franchise rights until 1976, fifty-four years after the
elective principle was introduced to Nigeria (Enemuo, 1999:232)
Women political activism such as the Aba women riot against
colonial tax policies of 1929/30, the Ngwa womens opposition
against the municipalisation of their community in 1954, the
Eastern Region womens opposition to new school fees in 1958;
and the series of protests between 1946 and 1958 by the
Abeokuta Womens Union led by Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
though

were

invaluable

in

the

countrys

independence (Nwankwo, 1996:16; Adu, 2008:27),

struggle

for

However, the limited gains made by women did not translate

into participation in decision making during this colonial period.
Men dominated in the first political parties. Women did not
feature prominently in the leadership of the Nigerian National
Democratic Party (NNDP), National Council of Nigeria and the
Cameroons (NCNC), Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) and other
parties during the nationalist era and after independence (AhonsiYakubu, 2001:151). In the 1958 elections only Wurola Esan got
appointed to the Senate of 36 members, while no woman was
elected to the 312-member House of Representatives and none
was in the federal cabinet (Nwankwo , 1996:17).
The low participation of women in politics was also fostered
by the nature of post-colonial politics. The ethnic and personality
based,

paternalistic

and

acrimonious

politics

of

the

post-

independence era were detrimental to womens participation

(Ojo, 2003; Aina, 2004:227; Ikpe, 2004:35). In the first republic,
there were only four female legislators in the whole of the
country, a number that was so negligible as to give women the
necessary influence and they could not play any active role in
decision-making process (Nwankwo, 1996:17, Omotola, 2007:37).

The imposition of military, an era that followed this period from

1966 did not foster womens participation in politics and very little
was heard of women at the helm of affairs (Anya, 2003). Military
rule was an all-male affair and while it lasted women played only
a peripheral role (Adeleke, 2002).
The year 1999 marked the beginning of a new dawn in
Nigeria as it returned to civilian government after the demise of
military rule. Women political participation though witnessed an
improvement over previous experience; however, this new era
saw women taking a similar low participation in the Nigerias
political process. The 1999 general elections saw only 181
positions worn by women out of the 11, 881 available positions
throughout the country (Akiyode-Afolabi, 2003:63). In the same
elections there were only five (4.6%) women out of 109 senators
elected into the Senate, while 13 (3.6%) women were elected into
the House of Representatives of 360 seats i.e. 6.3 percent women
representation in the national parliament (Ajayi, 2007:139). While
there were 36 gubernatorial seats, no female featured. Nigeria
had only one female deputy Governor Chief Kofoworola AkereleBucknor, deputy governor of Lagos State (1999 -2003), and of the

990 seats available for the States House of Assembly in the

federation only 12 (1.21%) women were elected (Adu, 2008:27).
At the local level, out of the 774 local government chairpersons
across the nation, only 9 were women and 143 out of the 8,700
councilors were women (Babatunde, 2003; Anifowose, 2004:210).
The poor performance of women in this election was the
basis for the national summit for all women politicians organized
by the International Human Rights Law Group, Centre for
Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) and Gender and
Development Action (GADA) held on June 28, 2002 in Abuja with
the objective of enhancing womens active participation in
Nigerian

politics

(Akiyode-Afolabi

&

Arogundade,

2003:64).

However, elections did not witness any significant improvement in

these elections, only 21 (6.1%) women out of the 339 members,
worn seats in the House of Representatives. Similarly, of 109
senatorial seats, only 3 (2.7 %) women were elected in to the
Senate

(UNDP

Report,

2005:47;

Ojo,

2003:16).

The

36

gubernatorial positions in the federation had no woman and out of

the 990 seats available for the States House of Assembly in the
country, only 38 (3.84%) women were elected (Adu, 2008:27).

In the 2007 elections, a total of 7, 160 candidates (both men

and women) contested in the April elections. Of this number, only
628

women

representing

8.8%

of

the

total

candidates

participated. A total of 3,141 candidates contested for seats in the

National Assembly. Of this number, only 209 or 6.7% were
women. In these elections, 25 (6.9%) women out of the 358 seats
were elected into the House of Representatives and 9 (8.3%)
women out of the 109 seats were elected in to the Senate that is
7.3 percent women representation in the national parliament.
While out of the 36 gubernatorial seats available, no woman was
elected, there were only 6 women out of the 36 deputy-governors
in the country. Of the 990 seats available for the States House of
Assembly in the country, only 54 (5.5%) were women (INEC,
2007; Nigeria CEDAW NGO Coalition Shadow Report, 2008:10).
Thus the percentages of women in the national assembly were
2%, 4% and 6% and in the States Houses of Assembly across the
nation were 1.21%, 3.84% and 5.5% in the country in the 1999,
2003 and 2007 elections respectively. In terms of ministerial
appointments, only 4 out of 49 ministers were women in 1999, 6

in 2003 and 7 in 2007 and 13 in the present administration. This

is the highest so far.

The 2011 general elections in Nigeria recorded a sharp drop

in women representation, in spite of the numbers that came out
for various elective positions. Nigerian women before the
elections were highly motivated by the promises and measures
taken by the federal government to lessen the difficulties they
usually face in past polls. The measures which include the
enforcement of the National Gender Policy that came into
existence on 15 August 2008, with the
promise

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

programme is aimed at encouraging and promoting the political

ambition of Nigerian women as well as their socio-economic
wellbeing. To display her seriousness Mrs. Jonathan embarked on
rigorous tour of the 36 states of the federation, prodding the
women to come out and make history. The zeal with which the
presidents wife carried the message of change bolstered the
hopes of
many women who came to the venues carrying placards declaring
their intentions to contest a number of political positions.
Moreover, the fact that the Women for Change Initiatives
rode on the presumed efficacy of the 35 % affirmative action,
because of the presidents sincerity in its implementation, left no
doubt of its practicability in the minds of the thousands of women
that obeyed the clarion call. Sadly for the women, the result of the
elections after the much touted 35% affirmative action believed
to bring about gender parity showed a complete decline after all
the positive efforts made since 1999. The fact that Nigeria has
yet to achieve gender parity in political representation at 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.

It is obvious from this analysis however, that womens

political participation in the country still remains at a dismal level
in spite of the affirmative actions and institutions of the
government to encourage their participation, thus falling short of
the desired result of giving women the opportunities and access
to political advancement. Womens representation in the National
Assembly currently stands at 6.9 per cent in the House of
Representatives and 8.3 per cent in the Senate, far below the 35
per cent minimum representation stipulated in the National
Gender Policy. Thus the perception that democracy would
automatically boost women political participation has not been
validated after nine years of return to civilian rule.

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

performance during the elections, Favour Irabor (2011) noted that

women aspirants were more and audacious in 2011 unlike in
1999, 2003 and 20072. The total number of aspirants both men
and women were 3306, with 3004 (90%) male and 302 (9.1%)
female candidates.
The increased number notwithstanding the women could not
beat their 2007 performance. In the 2007 elections about 1200
women entered the contest, 660 won the primaries while 93
emerged winners. Out of these winners 6 were deputy governors,

9 senators, 27 members of the House of Representatives and 52

won the State House of Assembly seats. Even though this result
was a great leap at that time and given the poor presence of
women in the nations politics, it did not fill the yawning gap. The
most important political seat after the Presidency
is the Legislature because of their important role of enacting laws
of the land. However, with more men in that position, laws
affecting issues of gender will always remain inequitable. The
general believe among female politicians in Nigeria is that if more
women are elected into the National Assembly, they would
encourage and help in making laws against most of the problems
retarding their progress. Many therefore bemoan the National
Assembly result of 2011 where only 7 women emerged winners in
the

Senate

out

of

the

109

members

and

19

female

representations in the House of Representatives out of the 360

elected members.
Moreover, only one woman emerged as a presidential
candidate. This calls to mind the pathetic spot Sara Jubril (the
only female presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party at the Partys primaries) found herself during the partys

presidential primaries nomination. She contested for the Partys

presidential nomination ticket with President Goodluck Jonathan
(that was his first attempt to the position by ballot) and former
Vice President Atiku Abubarka. Mrs. Jubril lost woefully, she had no
supporters and the only vote she got was the one she cast for
herself. Many see her inability to match the spending power of her
opponents as the greatest challenge Nigerian women face in
politics. The reign of political godfathers in Nigeria who bankroll
anointed sons (always male) and do everything including buying
votes to make sure they win, means that women will always come
last. Women are yet to have a lot of money with which to earn the
sobriquet political godmothers to be able to sponsor their
political
daughters.
The British Council (2012) report further reveals that women
lost some of the ground they gained in 1999 at the2011 elections.
It noted that the low percentage of women elected to various
positions in the 2011 polls especially in
the House of Representatives where women recorded a mere 9%,
has earned the nation 118 position out 192 countries in terms of

gender parity. The 9% representation of women lawmakers in the

lower House puts Nigerian women representatives far lower than
their counterparts from South Africa (43%) and Rwanda (65%).
This collaborates the findings of the European Union on the
elections that the performance of women in the National
Assembly was a downward trend in comparison to 2007
electionswomen were generally represented as voters and
among polling workers. The report reiterates the already known
roles of women during elections that men are comfortable with
which establishes women as active participants in the success of
their male counterparts during elections.

TABLES ILLUSTRATING FEMALE REPRESENTATION

FROM 1999-2011.9
Table 1: Women Elected to Public Office in Nigeria
1999-2011.

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

Table 2: Women Elected to Political Office by Region (Nigeria)

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)

State House of Assembly

15
4
2
21

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

It is regrettable that although women constitute the greater

number of registered voters in any of the elections held in Nigeria,
they are yet to experience full representative positions. The role
women play during the electioneering campaign and voting
processes therefore demands that they be allowed to partake in
leadership positions for their sacrifices to the success of the
various political parties at the polls. Political appointments,

supplementary seats in the National Assembly and enabling

constitutional amendments to safeguard womens positions have
been suggested as alternatives to female elective positions.
These will remove from them the pressure of competing with the
men
and allow more women to be involved in policy making. Abike
Dabiri-Erewa, a member of the Federal House of Representatives,
who was elected into office in 2007 and regained her seat in
2011, believes that it is a far better option. Politics to her is male
dominated and appointive positions are better than elective
positions.
Appointive positions apart from giving women the freedom
to participate in the politics of the nation, will also reduce the
unequal gender ratio where men surpass women at all times. The
political analyst, Bisi Alabi Williams sees the 35% affirmative
action as uneven while blaming the failure of elective positions for
women in Nigeria on the difficult terrain of politics and the
domineering attitude of the male folk apart from representation
in elections, having women in appointive positions also helps to
balance the equation.

Given the results of the elections of 1999, 2003, 2007 and

2011 which glaringly demonstrate that women in Nigeria are
underrepresented, the above alternatives seem to be the best for
the realization of gender parity in governance.

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

women are being heard in political institutions to ensure that

womens needs, demands and interests are incorporated into
political Afr Educ Res J 162 agendas) (Tremblay and Pelletier,
2000). When the reservation system was implemented, political
parties were not necessarily inclined to support female candidates
and the chances of being elected while not being a party
member, or related to one, were slim.
Moreover, the gap between constitutionally-instituted rights
and the conditions which enable women to recognize and
embrace those rights often remains fragmented by the absence of
politically-reinforced responses to womens daily needs and
interests.
According to Nussbaum (2002), Nigerian womens underrepresentation in the public and social domain, against their male
counterparts and the inability to
properly fit into political arena has affected Nigerian womens
empowerment and social status. Without a more substantive
conceptualization of female-male
relations, both inside and outside of the public domain, filling
quota prescriptions risks contributing to routes of womens

empowerment with outcomes observed by Nussbaum (2002)

wherein is seen as the emergence of a new social underclass.
Similarly, Lama (2001), Banerjee(2003), Bird (2003), and
Jacquette (1997) document strategies for Nigerian womens
empowerment

which

have

necessitated

the

erasure

of

femininity within politics, the persistence of proxy-ruling and

populist elections, and the regard for female leaders as goddesses
imbued with a particular religious authority or vision. Moreover,
the application of a gender lens to world politics reveals that
today, when women do occupy political offices, they are often
assigned to ministries dealing with the perceived soft issues of
politics such as health and education, both of which are often
shrouded under the hard political areas of defence, finance and
international trade, all of which are currently dominated by men
(Peterson and Runyan, 1993).
The

masculinization

of

certain

domains

in

politics

is

frequently blamed for the marginalization of issues (such as

comprehensive health care and education) which, when absent,
are most apt to present women with destabilizing life conditions
(Tremblay

and

Pelletier,

2000).

While

the

strength

and

determination of Nigerian womens movements remain strong,

the devolution of substantial political leverage is a complex and
long process (Chaudhuri and Heller, 2002), for instance, the Aba
women riot in 1929 portrayed the strength of Nigerian women in
claiming their rights. Several impediments have been identified as
limiting the participation of Nigerian women on the social,
economic, and political fronts. These barriers are cultural,
economic and legal.
Cultural mores
Men are the decision makers; women should be cooking in the
kitchen while men play politics. Comments passed to Dorothy
Nyone when she announced her intention to represent the
Gokana area for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (Frontline
Women, 2007).
Social conventions, values, and mores combine to maintain
the stereotype of Nigerian women as kitchen dwellers who are
only gatecrashers into spheres outside of their matrimonial
homes. Women are socialized from birth to see their place as
second to that of men. The birth of a male child is warmly
received, to the extent that women often feel that their marriage

is not secure until they give birth to male children. Cultural

practices are often harmful to women. For example, burial rites in
the eastern parts of the country ensure that women remain social
outcasts: widows are forced to drink the bath water of their dead
husbands as part of the mourning process.
Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) results from the early marriage
of teenage girls in the north. Victims of these cultural practices
cannot participate socially as they are viewed as outcasts (Igbafe
and Offiong, 2007).
Religion
Religion is an accomplice in the stereotyping of Nigerian
women and reinforces the barriers that prevent them from
participating politically, economically, and socially. For instance, in
the northern part of Nigeria, women are held in Purdah in
deference to Islam. Only their husbands have unfettered access
to them and their movements are restricted to their quarters.
They depend entirely on their husbands and families to meet their
needs. The conditions of their lives can only be guessed at, as
most households subsist below the poverty line. Religion ensures
that a significant number of women are barred

from participating in politics (either as voters or as aspirants to

elective offices) as well as economic activities.
Others factors include:
1. Patriarchal institutions that tend to push women back into the
private sphere.
2. Cultural and religious socialization that considers Nigerian
women as subordinates and men as their superiors. For instance,
some religions do not allow women to go out in public and they
can only communicate through the men.
3. Poverty: that is, women do not own resources; they are usually
co-owners and as such property lies in the hands of men.
4. Illiteracy: The few literate women are usually marginalized and
isolated by society.
5. Repressive nature of socialization and lack of self-esteem.
6. Womens multiple roles such as reproductive, productive and
community roles.
7. Lack of general security that tends to affect women more.
8. Sexual and gender-based violence.
9.

There

is

perspective.

no

universal

civic

education

from

gender

10. Lack of solidarity among women.

Factors facilitating Nigerian womens participation in
the political transition process include:
1. Existence of political parties.
2. Existence of womens movements and synergies
3. Political will from government.
4. Gender-sensitive donors that tag financial support to womens
participation in politics and governance issues.
5. Women who contribute actively in political campaigns or armed
conflicts are rewarded with positions indecision-making.
6. Education of women, that is, educated women have more
chances to participate in political processes.
NIGERIAN WOMENS PERCEPTION OF POLITICS
Politics a dirty and deadly game
Politics is perceived as a dirty vocation that is reserved for
unrefined people who have little scruples with bending the rules
and subverting due process. Nigerians are regaled daily with the
details of the unsavory actions of members of the political class.
Politicians are adept at manipulating the popular will of the
people. Nigerian women in politics are seen as similarly corrupt.

They are treated as deviants. Contesting for public office as a

woman is often considered unladylike.

The strong demands of politics

Politics is time consuming and demands a great deal of
attention. There are caucus meetings, primaries, campaign
stumps, and fundraising. Participation often requires attending
evening meetings. For women without supportive spouses, it is
difficult to juggle conventional roles with an interest in politics.
Some women in politics pay a costly price for their careers. The
trade off may be
politics for marriage and marital happiness. Female politicians are
often perceived to be divorcees and marital failures (Mohanty,
1988).
The high rate Violence and threats
One of the potential disincentives to participating in politics
is the crudeness of Nigerian politics which brooks no opposition
and resolves dissent by visiting violence on political opponents.
The do-or-die nature of politics in Nigeria is barely veiled.

Threats are made intermittently to warn opponents that when

push comes to shove, the side with the monopoly of violence will
own the day. The spate of politically motivated killings has not
helped matters.
Funding
One of the frightening bogeys that politics conjures is the
figure of a potbellied, avuncular male figure that holds court in a
political party as a godfather. His role is not mentoring; rather, the
godfathers role is to provide a robust war chest and clear the
path for the selection of the godson or daughter for the contested
office. In return, the godfather receives unrestricted access to the
corridors of power and inflated contracts that are rarely executed.
The election process requires tons of cash to buy votes and
compromise consciences. Candidates without deep pockets or
wealthy backers cannot actualize their dreams of contesting for
public office. Nomination forms to contest for elective offices in
most parties are very expensive. According to the Gender
Empowerment Index, women in Nigeria earn 0.45 of a full salary,
which may partly explain why they are reluctant to actively

participate in politics. On the economic frontier, limited access to

credit and finance also scuttles womens
dreams of participation.
Poverty
In Africa, poverty wears a womans face. - UNs Economic
Commission for Africa. A corollary to funding is the stark poverty
that

confronts

conditions,

Nigerian

women

have

women.
less

Under

access

to

stifling

economic

education,

credit

information, skills, loans, and healthcare - all crucial to attaining

financial independence. The combination of all these factors,
added to the burdens of child rearing and housekeeping, conspire
to keep women off the social and political scenes. In some
cultures in Nigeria, women have no property or inheritance rights.
African women are said to own just one percent of the
continents assets. This makes it difficult for them to access loans,
as they do not have collateral.

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

affirmative action declaration for women at the Nigerias

grassroots.
By way of making recommendation, this study therefore
beeps its search lights to areas that need to be given attention
with the aim of creating opportunities for women to attain
leadership positions in our local government areas. They include
the following:
1. Beyond 10,811 political and contestable offices from local
government councilor to the position of the President of Nigeria,
the main obstacles stem from political structures, processes and
parties as they determine political networks, potential benefits,
reconciliation of parental and family responsibilities as well as the
mobilization of women by the media (Schalkwyk and Woronick,
1998). The above-mentioned impediments can be ameliorated
through the agents of socialization viz; the family, religious
bodies, school, peer groups, work place, media and re-orientation
of cultural norms.
2. At the level of political enlightenment, it should be pointed out
that electoral system and education has been porous towards the
women especially at the local government level. It must be stated

emphatically

that

elections

and

results

are

products

of

manipulation by the ruling party, thus the urgency of having an

aggressive re-orientation programs that are of course, vital and
healthy for the survival of our democracy. Therefore, these
programs when put in place for the rural women, which does not
necessarily have to come during electioneering campaigns alone,
should be geared towards enhancing their political, economic and
socio-cultural consciousness. It can be carried out periodically in
three stages
1. Before elections
2. During elections
3. After elections
Poverty alleviation scheme becomes very germane for the
purpose of enhancing popular and active participation of women
in local governance through loans, subsidized agro-chemicals, and
provision

of

mechanisms.

good

infrastructures

backed

by

maintenance

The

failure of the 35 percent affirmative action puts women

representation

in

the

minority

thereby

relegating

issues

concerning women and gender equality at the border of our

national development.
Thus, the recent clarion call on world leaders to enforce the
Affirmative Action found its way into the Nigerias political
landscape with the setting up of the Uwais Electoral Reform
Committee on 28th August 2007. On the basis of strengthening
the compliance capacity of the committee on the said action, the
electoral reforms process therefore gave new opportunities to
actualize

their

Electoral

and

Constitutional

Memoranda

Committee, led by Honourable Beni Lar, the former House of

Representative Chair on Women Affairs on 28th June 2008 at the
ECOWAS secretariat, of which no fewer than seven amendments
needed be made in the constitution as far as gender equity is
concerned (Report of GEM). A deduction made here include late
understanding of the political strength and place of women in
Nigeria, failure to legitimize powers to women, and late passage
of appropriate gender friendly bills to become laws have resulted
in slow pace of women occupying political offices.

. Thus, as the political circle is now heating up for the 2015

elections with each political party strategizing on ways of winning,
making gender parity a reality should start through the practice of
internal democracy . The achievement of gender parity at party
level will automatically ease the way for women in any position
they want. It should be part of the manifestoes of the various
political parties. In the other hand the Women themselves need to
work together like their predecessors by championing a common
front and working towards achieving success in 2015 and beyond.
They need to help one another, be there for each other in other to
hasten their dream of gender equality
In addition, as lack of proper planning contributed to the
failure of the 35 percent affirmative action in the2011 general
elections, to forestall a repeat government should plan against its
failure in 2015 by making funds available to women and on time.
Provisions of adequate security, reduction of late hour meetings
as well as bequeathing on female politicians the respect they
deserve will yield better result in 2015 elections.
Although appointive positions are being advocated for,
Nigerian women have the right to vote and be voted for. This

therefore calls for more enlightenment programmes, training and

support for aspiring female politicians in the form of the UNDP
Democratic Governance for Development Project. The project
which is part of a five- year US$80 million project aimed at
consolidating and strengthening democracy in Nigeria has trained
2043 female politicians and
candidates on how to engage in electoral processes at all
levels.21 Of greater interest is their choice of women in the rural
areas with the firm believe that exposing women into mainstream
politics must start from the local level. The initiative if undertaken
by other NGOs would educate women more and better than the
last

minute

election

campaign

sensitization

programmes

undertaken by government and political parties.

Finally, until a lot of energy is put in the global fight for
gender parity by making elections in Nigeria favorable to women,
policies like the 35 percent affirmative action will remain what it
was in 2011 general elections - a political fallacy.
Conclusion
This paper has critically demonstrated that more women are
involved in governance at both Federal and State levels of

government, particularly at the various houses of parliament.

What happens at the legislative and executive arena is that men
are the major occupant of political offices. It is on rare occasion
that women are considered, as in the case of Abeokuta in the
South West, Nigeria where a woman is local government
counsellor in the President Goodluck Jonathans administration.
Arising from literatures and theoretical framework employed
in this study, it can be established that women involvement in
governance is just gaining ground, despite the popular declaration
of 30 percent affirmative action in Nigeria, characterized by
parochialism,
deprivation

poor

attitude,

tendencies.

low

participation,

Marginalization

of

and

high

in

local

women

governance is nothing but an elongation of male dominance in

virtually all political affairs. As such, historical fact of this nature is
strongly associated with the attitudinal views which had often
impede

the

chances

of

women

to

having

more

political

representatives at the various government levels in Nigeria.