By Emmanuel Gandu
HIGHLIGHTS
@ Introduction
@ Why women day ?
@ 2025 campaign theme.
@ A place for women in Islam, Christianity, and Culturally.
@ The odds against Nigerian women :
* Their population translates to no political nor economic benefits.
* Women Senators/ legislators a neglectgible figure – the facts.
* Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill (GEO) lacks teeth and bite.
@ Women as better leaders than men – the global facts.
@ Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
“In a world facing multiple crises that are putting immense pressure on communities, achieving gender equality is more vital than ever. Ensuring women’s and girl’s rights across all aspects of life is the only way to secure prosperous and just economies, and a healthy planet for future generations.” – UN WOMEN.
WHY WOMEN DAY ?
Women Liberation Movement was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960’s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western World.
This movement affected change politically, intellectually, culturally throughout the world including Africa and Nigeria.
Their objective was to realize human rights and equality for women, economic, psychological, and social freedom to be necessary for women to progress from being second – class citizens in their societies.
However, most societies in Africa and indeed Nigeria are still tied to the cultural, religious, and legal validity of patriarchy, male chauvinism, gender disparity and inequality, and all forms of discrimination against women.
2025 CAMPAIGN THEME – “ACCELERATE ACTION.”
International Women’s Day campaign theme is ‘Accelerate Action’.
This, the women believe will aid action for gender equality.
According to data from the World Economic Forum, and at the current rate of progress, it will take untill the year 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, before the women can achieve full gender parity.
Therefore, these actions calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers, prejudices and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.
The case of women like Senator Natasha Akpoti of Kogi state comes to mind.
A PLACE FOR WOMEN IN ISLAM AND CHRISTIAN RELIGION
The female gender is strongly becoming a veritable factor that cannot be ignored in global affairs. Realising this indispensability are bureaucratic, military, and civil institutions. Even the religious institutions are not left out as the two major world religions – Christianity and Islam continue to contribute effectively in galvanizing the female gender in this direction.
This granting and concession is captured vividly, and therefore encapsulated in the two Holy Books of the Quran and the Bible.
In the Quran, women are important and play significant roles on the good morals taught in Islam.
The wives of the Prophet Muhammed, Peace be upon Him plaid exemplary and very prominent roles in guiding and showing the way for the Muslim woman.
Maryam (Mary) is mentioned 70 times in the Quran.
In the Bible, Mary (the mother of Jesus) is mentioned by name 12 times in the Gospel of Luke, 5 times in the Gospel of Matthew, 1 time in the Gospel of Mark, and 1 time in the Book of Acts – totalling 19 times.
THE ODDS AGAINST NIGERIAN WOMEN
Are Nigerian women prepared to take over the leadership of the country from the men who have messed up things for the past several decades ?
– The statistics :
(a) International Women’s Day is currently being celebrated with calls for women to assume more and higher positions.
But this year (2025) marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration of 1995 without significant achievement from Nigerian women on the ’12 Strategic Goals’ including political participation.
(b) Women make up about 50% of the world population yet they are never farely represented in governance, politics, etc in order to help meet the ever increasing complex chalenges of today’s society which men find difficult to overcome.
(c) According to figures by the National Population Commission (NPC), and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria has a population of about 200 million people with approximately 51% males and 41% females.
However, this figures have never translated in favour of women in either elective or appointive positions.
(d)
* Out of the 109 Nigerian Senators in the 9th assembly (2019 – 2023) there were only 7 women.
* All these 7 women senators in that 9th Assembly lost their election bid.
* The 10th. Senate Assembly has only 3 senators.
(e) Just one (1) senator was a woman in the whole of the 19 Northern states of Nigeria in that 9th assembly.
However, the emergence of Mrs Iretty Kingibe as the Senator of FCT in the February 25 2023 election, and Senator Natasha Akpoti from Kogi state is a good plus for Nigerian women, especially northern women.
(f) On the other hand, the House of Representatives is no better than the Senate in terms of women parliamentarians.
* There were only thirteen (13) women out of the 360 Honourable members of the House of Representatives in the 9th Assembly (2019 – 2023).
* The 10th Assembly got an appreciable increase to 16 women parliamentarians at the House of Representatives.
(g) No woman has ever been elected president or vice president of Nigeria.
(h) No woman has been elected as governor in the 4th republic.
(i) The Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill (GEO) sponsored by Senator Abiodun Olujimi since 2016 is still lacking in teeth and bite.
(j) On the global scene, Nigeria’s ranking is poor on the Statistics table of women parliamentary representation.
Out of 193 countries surveyed by the United Nations, Nigeria ranks 181 position.
Rwanda is no.1 in the list, Namibia is no. 7, South Africa is no. 10,
Kenya is no. 90, Niger is no. 122.
WOMEN AS BETTER LEADERS THAN MEN ? – THE FACTS
The argument as to whether women are better leaders than men depends on the side of the divide one is coming from. It is not even a matter of which side presents the most persuasive argument. The facts remains and reminds us that :
✓ No country is known to have gone to war where millions are killed during the reign of a woman.
✓ Nations have been known to experience stability, economic development, and industrial boom during the reign of women.
✓ As mothers, women are endowed with firmness, democratic qualities, sympathy, and empathy in the affairs of governance. Some of these women world leaders include Bandaranaike of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Indira Gandhi of India, Golda Meir of Israel, Margaret Thatcher of UK, Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Joyce Banda of Malawi, Theresa May of UK, Angela Merkel of Germany, and Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar.
Men on the contrary are rather schismatic, ruthless, insensitive, dictatorial, and draconic in nature, thereby leading their country to the brink, volatility, chaos, and bloody consequences like in the case of Adolf Hitler of Germany, Mussolini of Italy, Gaddafi of Libya, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Omar El Bashir of Sudan, Assad of Syria, Augusto Pinochet of Chile, Idi Amin of Uganda, and Sani Abacha of Nigeria.
CONCLUSION
Men have led Nigeria to a catastrophic bitter 30 month civil war from 1967 – 1970. Men have dragged Nigeria to an unnecessary Boko Haram and fulani herdsmen unending atrocities. The menace of kidnapping and banditry is driven by men.
Communal and tribal conflict is fuelled by men.
Men have earned for Nigeria the infamous notorious no. 3 position on the world terrorism index(2020).
Men have mal administered Nigeria through all forms of Nepotism, corruption, political banditry. Men have squandered the Commonwealth of Nigeria.
Is it not time to allow the women take the destiny of Nigeria to a better future ?
Now is a good time to start.
If the 2 world major religions Islam and Christianity elavates women to amiable pedestal, if the gender discrimination and divide in Nigeria’s political leadership landscape is more as a result of culture, patriarchy and religion, then, it therefore remains to be seen whether our religiousity is more of lip service, our culture is more of deception, and chauvinism rather than anything that has to do with women’s brains.
Peace 🙏
8/3/2025
