Why Nigeria needs more women’s voices in leadership—Stakeholders

……only 2.7% in Senate, 4.7% in House of Reps

Globally the move towards women in governance has yielded much needed results for countries who have adopted this paradigm shift. Women are proving their worth in leadership, but a few of them in Nigeria are empowered to occupy leadership positions in the country.

The country, no doubt is missing out on good governance and development by refusing to implement the 35 percent affirmative female action adopted in the gender and equal opportunities bill.

In the face of this ugly development, many stakeholders are advocating that Nigeria should be deliberate about getting their women to occupy leadership positions at various levels.

Enase Okonedo, first female vice-chancellor at Pan Atlantic University decried the fact that the way and manner things are done in Nigeria, does not encourage women to aspire for leadership positions.

“When you look at the political space and the tiny percentage of women that are there, and even the ones there, the way they are being treated, it leaves much to be desired,” she said.

To accommodate more women in the leadership space, she said the country must promote gender diversity in leadership roles, get people to feel free by getting rid of impostor syndrome.

However, Okonedo maintained that women must endeavour to dream big and work towards achieving their leadership aspirations.

“I think for me, the first thing is for women to dream. Women shouldn’t think anything is stopping them. Dream, and work hard to achieve your dream,” she noted.

Amina Oyagbola, founder and chairperson of the Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), a non-profit organisation focused on empowering and developing professional women to contribute to development and growth in Nigeria and indeed Africa, frowned at women’s low representation in the country’s legislation.

Oyagbola said it is unfortunate that women are not given enough political space in Nigeria, as only Ireti Kingibe, among all the female candidates supported by the organisation made it to the Senate.

“We must note the stark reality of the dismal level of female representation in the legislative bodies, both federal and state. In the 10th Assembly, women hold a mere 2.7 percent of Senate seats (3 out of 109 seats), and 4.7 percent of House of Representatives seats,” she noted.

Furthermore, she said, “Over seven general election cycles since 1999, the number of women in the senate has dropped to what it was at Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.

With the current figures for the 10th Assembly, Nigeria remains at the bottom of the ranking for the number of women in the African Parliament. Sadly, no woman at all was elected in 15 out of Nigeria’s 36 State Houses of Assembly.”

Mo Abudu, an award-winning media mogul and entrepreneur, emphasised the importance of amplifying women’s voices in leadership in her address at a WISCAR event.

“In a world where diversity drives innovation, it is essential to recognise and elevate the unique voices of women,” she said.

According to CNN report in 2024, Forty-nine UN member states have had one female leader in the last seven decades. Another 18 countries have had two female leaders, nine countries have had three female leaders, and just two countries, Finland and Iceland, have been headed by four different female leaders.

Nigeria is one of the countries where a woman has never served as head of state or government in 115 UN member countries.

Margaret Thatcher became Europe’s first female prime minister in 1979. A few months later, Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo of Portugal became the continent’s second female head of government.

The first elected female head of state in Africa was Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who became president of Liberia in 2006.

In 2021, Tunisia became the first Arab country to be governed by a woman when Najla Bouden was appointed prime minister by the country’s president.

Research has shown that gender inequality in Nigeria is a pervasive issue, impacting women’s access to education, economic opportunities, political representation, and overall well-being, with cultural and religious norms often reinforcing discriminatory practices.

This inequality is compounded by high levels of poverty, particularly among women and girls. Nigerian women remain largely underrepresented in the political space, even though 49 percent of the Nigerian population is women.