Since the return to democratic rule in 1999, Nigerian women have tried to break into the political scene within the country by contesting for elective positions at various levels. Unfortunately, women are yet to occupy up to 15% of elective positions in a country where the voting population of both men and women are almost equal.
According to the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria has a population of about 193 million people with approximately 51% men and 49% women. Out of the 109 senators who currently serve in the 8th Assembly, only seven are women.
In the 2011 general elections, female candidates fared poorly with only 32 women elected to the national parliament out of 469 members, which is barely 8% representation.
According to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nigeria is the country with the lowest number of women representation in the national parliament and the sub-regional parliament. Statistics show that out of the 438 members of the Nigerian bicameral national parliament, there are only 30 women: 7 senators and 23 members of the House of Representatives. Also, the country has the lowest female representation in the ECOWAS Parliament. Out of the 35 seats allocated to Nigeria, women occupy only four, representing a meagre 11.4 percent. This is an increasing problem because women represent a critical mass of voters and are an electoral stakeholder group that should not be ignored.
In Nigeria’s 2015 general elections, there was low participation of women contesting for elective positions. According to INEC statistics, only 1 female presidential candidate contested in the 2015 elections. Eighty-seven female candidates contested out of 380 for governor and deputy governors (22.9%), 122 out of 747 for Senate (16%) and 267 out of 1,774 candidates for House of Representatives (15%).
How do we get more women involved?
Nigerian men have dominated the political sphere in Nigeria and only a handful of women have had the opportunity to be involved in politics within the country. There are a lot of factors that contribute to this and their interactions have made it difficult for women to fully participate in the elections since 1999 and, regrettably, the special nature of the country’s political environment contributes to this.
In the past, some candidates who have indicated interest in contesting election across Nigeria have lost their lives. Additionally, politicking and electioneering is an expensive exercise and many women simply do not have the financial capacity to wrest power from the men who are in positions of power. Financing stands as a major obstacle against female politicians, especially because both the electorate and party members demand money from politicians at every opportunity.
As the 2019 election draws closer and Nigerians campaign for more female participation in politics, the two leading political parties in Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), have sought to make the acquisition of nomination tickets easier for their female members.
The All Progressive Congress, the party of President Muhammadu Buhari, has made it possible for female members of their party to purchase the party nomination form at a discounted price. The People’s Democratic Party has made it possible for its female members to acquire nomination forms for free, helping to mitigate some of the factors that hinder women from participating, fully, in politics.
Curiously though, neither of the two parties have presented female aspirants vying for the highest political office in Nigeria, despite the elections being a few months away. The days ahead will reveal whether or not the steps taken by political parties to increase women’s participation in the elections worked and, if Nigerians can make room for more female participation in Nigerian politics moving forward. As the election day draws closer, observers are keen to find out what, exactly, the level of female participation in Nigeria 2019 elections will be.
