Women have been identified as the major hindrance to the political breakthrough of women and not men as being pontificated, a female politician, Immaculata Ibe, has said.
The politician spoke at a one-day high level multi-stakeholder’s roundtable on enhancing women’s political participation in Nigeria.
The event was organised by a Civil Society Organisation, Women Aid Collective, in partnership with UN Women, with support from the Government of Canada.
Sharing her experience as a young woman politician in Ebonyi State, Ibe, the Development Centre Coordinator of Afikpo Northeast in Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, said the major roadblocks she encountered in her political career were imposed by her fellow women.
She noted that as a young woman in politics, only a very few elderly ones showed willingness to extend mentorship to her.
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Others, she said, were always bent on frustrating her efforts using diverse strategies.
She stressed that men are not the major problem of women in making their marks in Nigerian politics, maintaining that women out of mutual jealousy scandalise their fellow women, fabricating all kinds of lies to discredit their fellow women excelling in politics or seeking political positions.
Ibe narrated: “Before I became an office holder, I was thinking that men are our problem.
“At every occasion I would always be saying that the men should be told to give us a chance; tell the men to give us 35 percent affirmative action.
“But now I have discovered that the problem is not totally from men.
“I think 60 percent of the problem is from women who constantly think of how to demote their fellow women, paint them black, cook up allegations against them and pull fellow women down instead of working on themselves.”
Ibe, also the Founder of Ebonyi Reality Women Movement, a platform for mentoring young women in politics, admonished Nigerian women to work on themselves, form a united front in order to excel in politics.
She added: “Women should work on themselves, give fellow women support, pray for those in leadership and correct them because no one is perfect.
“Those in political office should also carry other women along, mentor them, including young single girls.
“So, I think the advocacy should go back to the women to allow fellow women reign because if a woman supports a woman, the result will be so wonderful.”
Speaking on the essence of the meeting, the Programme Manager, WACOL/UN Women Political Participation project, Helen Kalu, said it was floated as a platform to engage with influencers, gatekeepers in politics to help advocate for more women involvement in political leadership.
She said the project was motivated by a baseline survey conducted by WACOL, which revealed that women are politically underrepresented in Ebonyi State.
Kalu explained: “Going by the statistics we have on ground, out of the 13 local government areas, we have only two women as chairmen, and in the House of Assembly we only have two women as well, out of the 24 members.
“At the top leadership of the state, though a woman is the Deputy Governor, we have only about four other women as Commissioners.
“When you check this statistics further, you will discover that even at the Councilorship level, in the 171 wards, women are only about 26.
“Considering this statistics, you will agree with me that it is still very low.”
Kalu, who represented WACOL’s Executive Director, Prof. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, further explained that the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill asking for specific seat for women in parliament was already in front burner at the National Assembly and solicited stakeholders support to ensure its domestication in Ebonyi State.
She expressed optimism that the meeting, when completed in the three senatorial zones of the state, would enhance women’s participation and chances in political positions in the state.
In an interview, the State Chairman, Inter-party Advisory Committee, Comrade Ernest Nwaze, pledged to use his position to advance women’s political interests.
Nwaze said: “Considering my position as IPAC chairman, what I will do is to talk to the parties and their chairmen to be fair in their zoning of positions, and when they are making policies, let them do it in such a way as to protect and possibly favour the women and create way for their emergence so that the lopsided balance in the representation will be closed.”
Nwaze, who said he is a strong advocate of equity and equal opportunities for all genders, however did not subscribe to reserving specific positions to women, saying it would create more problems as all social groups would begin agitating for some reserved political positions thereby creating chaos in the political environment.
The meeting was attended by some traditional rulers, women leaders of political parties, some members of state and local government legislative and executive councils, religious leaders as well as the media, among others.
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