“Women will be more in demand if they perform better than the males”.These were the words of political analyst, human & women’s rights advocate, Hon. Kafilat Ogbara at the 2024 Gender and Inclusion Summit organised by Policy Innovation Centre (PIC) and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), held recently in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.
She also encouraged for improved inspiration amongst women, even in a male dominating environment.
Hon. Ogbara was responding to claims in a panel session that women find it difficult to provide support for themselves, especially in politics. However, she said this could be blamed on the political structure of most parties.
‘Women do support women, she said.
“I have some women that supported me and others that did not. Politically, you will find a lot of women not supporting a woman that wants to contest an election under a party.
“This is because, once the leadership of a particular party gives a directive, everybody matches on. When it’s time to vote, the woman may have just a vote. This is one aspect, this is what happens within the political party”, she stated.
The Lagos born entrepreneur also said the first step in ensuring female participation in political activities is registration, “as it is important for us women to be responsible in this aspect, not to look at the difficulties that we go through in the process of registration”.
She posited that most women are better qualified, well placed in education than some men. “We have to be ready, resolute, committed and determined to face anything at the political level”, Hon.Ogbara said.
She called on women to utilise the opportunity presented by the local government autonomy, a ruling passed by a Nigerian court that allows the full independence of local authorities in states across the federation. This she said is a way of building their political careers.
In her words, “we need more of our women to participate in local government elections. You can start at the councillor level to reach out to people, your immediate environment, neighbourhood, participating in community works. As a councilor, if you work for the community and they love you very well, you will make it.
“It is true that politics is not cheap, it is very expensive. You must be ready to part with your money. You will be selfless and spend. That’s the experience I’ve had. I’ve been contesting elections since 2003. I have won and lost. You will need money and can generate that by partnership and collaboration.
“There are persons that will love to support you. When you have the right material, people will come out to support. At your workplace and immediate environment, seek support. Let people know what you stand for. It mustn’t be financial, they can print t-shirts for you and other souvenirs. So, don’t be discouraged if you are not so financially bouyant”, Hon. Ogbara concluded.
Barr. Toyin Bashir, Partner, Banwo & Ighodalo, another member of the panelists, said for women to be more inclusive in legislation or governance structure, advocacy has to be very strategic, clear and broken down. This she said will also ensure that Nigeria moves forward from an economic angle.
She said a lot of restructuring need to be done to improve the chances of women participating in vote registration wherever they are, as it can impact the outcome of an election.
“We are talking about figures, how many women? You can talk about population, how many women are there? Translate that into voters. A simple scenario where of registration point can actually determine how many women are going to vote because, women are in the market. And, if you now situate it in the other side of town, they are not going to register. There’s so much in terms of dynamics that need to go in terms of restructuring to ensure that population translate into vote, she stated.
“For the economic side, I talked about a more sustainable process. You cannot look at it in isolation. If you are talking about how to get more women involved, you are doing so to put them there and the legislation.
“In addition, sustainably, you can empower women economically. We need to look at reforms in such ways that they are structured for women to be economically empowered that can get them into offices”, Barr. Bashir said.