By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The lawmaker representing Oluyole Federal Constituency, Hon. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe has advocated more women representation in Nigeria’s politics
Honourable Akande-Sadipe made the call at a one-day roundtable organized by a non-governmental organization, the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), in Lagos, at the weekend.
She stressed this at a roundtable with the theme, “Role of parliamentarian in ensuring gender and social inclusion for growth and development” that it is difficult to ignore the current low representation of women in Nigerian politics.
According to the lawmaker in her keynote address, “Women occupy only a small percentage of seats in the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly.
Lamenting the decline in women’s representation, and the barriers faced by women in competitive politics in Nigeria, Hon Akande-Sadipe, pointed out that “the journey towards gender and social inclusion, is filled with challenges”.
Emphasizing that the Federal, State and Local Governments should help in confronting deep-rooted cultural norms, discriminatory practices, and biases that hinder progress towards a fairer society, she said as a parliamentarian, she has a profound responsibility to represent and advocate for the diverse needs and aspirations of her constituents, including women.
“We must also acknowledge that achieving gender and social inclusion requires an intersectional approach that recognizes and addresses the interconnected systems of disadvantage faced by women of different backgrounds”, she said.
Hon Akande-Sadipe added, ” In the Senate, women hold 3 percent of the seats, 3 seats, and in the House of Representatives, they hold 4 percent of the seats, 15 seats. This decline in women’s representation is disturbing and highlights the challenges and barriers faced by women in competitive politics in Nigeria”.
” This means policies or issues regarding women could be easily swept under the carpet”, she revealed. The situation is not much different in the state House of Assembly. Out of the 1,019 females who contested in the 2023 state houses of assembly elections, only 48 women won, representing a success rate of 4.7 percent”.
The lawmaker said, ” This number increased slightly compared to the 2019 election but is still far from achieving proper representation. The 2023 elections saw a total of 1,553 women contesting various positions, including presidential, gubernatorial, and legislative seats”.
” However, only 72 women were elected at the federal and state levels, representing a low percentage of elected women candidates. We would agree that both figures are low, and women currently represent less than 10% of the key positions in Nigeria politics. Hence the need to activate our superhero spirit”.
Hon Akande-Sadipe stressed further, ” To enhance women’s representation in politics, all hands must be on deck and that women should take concrete steps to overcome these gaps, fill in the numbers, and ensure that they have equal opportunities to participate and lead in the country’s decision-making structures”.
By doing so, she said Nigeria can tap into the potential of its female population and foster more inclusive and effective governance.
“We must be resolute in identifying and dismantling the structural barriers that hinder women’s political participation. As lawmakers, tackling discriminatory laws and practices and challenging traditional gender norms that limit women’s roles in public life should be integrated into our core objectives”.
“Our women policymakers should be equipped with legislative ninja moves and public speaking magic, ready to conquer any challenge that comes their way”, she added.
