By Chimezie Godfrey
Two days to the commencement of the general elections, women across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria have called for massive support for all female candidates.
At a “Women Voter Education Town Hall” on Wednesday in Abuja, organized by the Voice of America (VOA), the women declared their readiness to forge a common front to support all women running for elective positions.
Newsdiaryonline reports that the women who decried the status quo that relegates women to the background in terms of inclusion in governance, said they would do everything within their power to change the narrative come the general elections and beyond.
Niger State APGA Gubernatorial Candidate, Khadija Abdullahi, said the town hall meeting was aimed at educating the women folks on the importance of voting, and equally to teach them the rudiments of the voting process.
Abdullahi therefore urged Nigerian women to show up en masse to vote for all women running for elective offices in the coming elections.
She said,”It is about educating the women folks on the importance of voting and ensuring that the women come out in mass to vote for women and also understand the rudiments of how voting entails so that you do not go and vote wrongly and waste all your efforts.
“Nigerian women need to come out to vote en mass because right now is not even a luxury anymore. It has become very, very mandatory for everyone to come and exercise their civic right.
“It is important for Nigerian women to ensure that they put in the right leadership not because of them, but because of their children and their children’s children.
“It is very important that this 2023 elections is something that will change the sphere of what politicking is, we are looking for people, leaders who truly care and this time around we cannot compromise like we normally do.. We need to all come out and ensure that we vote in the right person this time around.”
On her confidence of victory for herself and other women vying for elective positions in the coming elections, she said expressed optimism that massive votes from the women at the grassroot would translate to victory as women make up the larger percentage of voters.
“Victory is already there. We have already seen women.., you know women are 62% of the voters. Right now, all our supporters are women, especially at the grassroot. So, the grassroot women have made up their mind to vote for us, and we are very, very confident.
Also speaking, a stalwart of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), and also a member of the NYSC Governing Board, Mrs Binta Muazu said the essence of the meeting was to gather all women politicians that are contesting in the 2023 elections.
“I think the essence of this meeting is to gather all women politicians that are contesting in this 2023 election, those that have been able to get a ticket for the contests within the parties that are participating in 2023 elections.
“And am happy to be part of this event, because I have come across some women who are contesting that I did not know before until today, which we have shared our views, interacted and we have learnt a lot from each other.
“This event is like a mentoring sort of deliberation for those that from those that are experienced who have contested before, like me that you are talking to, I contested in the year 2011. I contested for the House of Reps, I won and my mandate was taken because they did not accept a woman to lead them, being, you know this traditional, religious problem that in the north normally women face when they come out to vie for positions.
“But nevertheless that did not stop me from continuing with my ambition or rather with participating actively in politics, because we are here to mentor those upcoming politicians to be able do the best they can in the political arena,” she said.
She advised upcoming women politicians to keep on striving, adding that one day would realize their dreams.
Furthermore, another women stakeholder, and social media influencer, Zainab Ahmed, revealed that the meeting was aimed at implementing what they had agreed that women should come together to support one another in politics.
“I feel at least a step further because most of us agreed that we need to support one another as women in politics.
“At the rate we are going in this country, I think most of us are tired of the way this country is being handled by the men folk. So I think we are in time whereby lots of people will give women another chance.
“We are looking at supporting mostly those women, contesting for the gubernatorial in Adamawa. We will do as much as we can with our social media influence, to call women to support Binani, just like the other honorable Khadija that is contesting in Niger State,” Ahmed said.
Mrs Ene Ede, Chief Facilitator, Equity Advocate, who lamented that women have not been treated fairly in the scheme of things, said the meeting was for women to pull their voices together
“Is for us to pull our voices together instead of puling ourselves apart, to do a realistic review, and a preview of the coming election. We have done review that the society have not been fair to us, we have not been to organize ourselves well. We have not been able to pull our resources together, we have not been able to seek appropriate support. And we know that women support for women comes with greater integrity than the male support.
“We know too that so many things are against us but we know that we have capacity, we have integrity, we have good intention to be able to make a difference in governance.
Ede stressed that war has been declared against Nigerian women citing the case of Aishatu Binani, and late Aisha Al-Hassan among other cases especially in the northern part of the country.
She therefore urged relevant stakeholders to ensure that women are accommodated and appropriately supported to win elections in Nigeria.
“If we look at people like Najatu Mohammed, look at people like Ireti Kingibe, look at women like late Aisha Al-Hassan who actually won that election and she was denied, many very prominent women in the north in particular, because we want to be able to make a statement with her context, that is what they want to deny us. So, is war that has been declared against Nigerian women. Is not against Binani alone. And we want to see how all the women will win, if the women are not allowed to win by they placing obstacles on their way we will not be happy.
“We are not saying that we are going to go into war like the men do, but we have our ways of dealing with issues. So our expectation is that the process should be made to accommodate women instead of shrinking the space. Is not fair for them to shrink the space against women. Women must be appropriately rewarded. Women must be appropriately supported for them to win election. All the 18 political parties should support women sufficiently, if they can not support women sufficiently is not fair, because there are women candidates in all the 18 political parties,” she said.
