Beyond Dancing At Rallies: Women Must Contest, Not Just Mobilize
The number of women vying for political positions in Nigeria is too low compared to the 2023 General Elections. This is a worrying development for our democracy.
Why are women going down in numbers to contest elections, rather than just being followers or being used by men to win elections?
Today, women are the biggest mobilizers during campaigns. They are everywhere at rallies and on election day. Yet, when it comes to being on the ballot, their numbers are dropping.
We must ask the hard questions. Why are women retreating? It is due to high cost of politics, lack of party support, intimidation, and most importantly, lack of unity among women themselves.
Even when we have a good example in Niger State, where all 25 Local Governments now have female Vice-Chairmen through the deliberate political strategy of Farmer Governor Umaru Bago, other states are not emulating it. Other states need to encourage and support women in politics.
Also, our women need to wake up and encourage one another rather than bringing ourselves down for men in the name of selfish interest. It is painful to see women being used to fight fellow women just to please men.
Until women support women, their political numbers will continue to fall.
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