Women in Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi have advocated for equal representation of women in leadership positions in the country.

They spoke in separate interviews in Enugu, Ebonyi, and Awka, as part of Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary.

Speaking, Onyinye Mamah, the executive director of the Heroine Women Foundation, said she had always advocated for equitable representation of women in leadership.

Ms Mamah said that globally, women were grossly under-represented in political leadership.

She said, “For so many years in Nigeria, we have been hammering on the inclusion of women in politics. Here, when few women get involved, it looks like a favour; what we are looking for is a time when women will be properly included in the scheme of things.”

According to Ms Mamah, the reserve seat bill was one of the most beautiful bills one could ever think of in recent times.

“This is because it gives room for carved-out positions which would be contested for by women only,” she said.

She, however, said that the inclusion of women in politics was something that would gather a lot of groups, institutions, strength and improvement.

“The strong fight against poverty would be forgotten if women were allowed to contest within those reserved seats and win,” Ms Mamma said.

In a related development, the Enugu coordinator for the League of Women Voters, Nnenna Anozie, called on women to improve their capacities to become more relevant in the society.

Ms Anozie said that the ability for women to improve their capacities in all spheres would make them contribute their quota to the development of Nigeria.

She said the time had passed for women to leave others to determine their destinies, including participating actively in politics and decision-making.

 Ms Anozie, who is also a legal practitioner, noted that women had fared well under the current administration in Enugu.

She, however, encouraged women to attain any political or professional position, as such efforts would help them become more responsible to the needs of the citizens.

In the same vein, Ify Obinabo, commissioner for women affairs and child welfare in Anambra, said it was the right time women were given their dues.

Ms Obinabo said that a percentage in gender could not be a barrier to performance.

According to him, women needed to be encouraged more to take an active part in political issues, both local and national.

She said that Nigeria, at 65 years of independence, had produced women who were trailblazers.

“Our dear Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Oby Ezekwesili, and the late Prof. Dora Akunyili, amongst others, have distinguished themselves in their areas of representation,” she said.

Grace Anagor, a community leader in Anambra, said women, whether educated or not, have ways of using their native intelligence to promote sanity in any position they find themselves in.

Ms Anagor said it would be cheering news if, at 65, there were a law to give women a percentage in politics without struggling for the position with the male counterpart.

Also, the Recover Nigeria Project, a civil society organisation, has called for an equal opportunity for women and men in politics in Nigeria.

Osita Obi, coordinator of the group and human rights activist, said the measure would enable the country to select credible and responsible political leaders that would deepen the nation’s democracy.

“There is the need for women to participate in politics, but it is discriminatory against men in politics to train women specially and reserve political seats for them.

“Women should not be given preferential treatment to enable them to participate in politics. Sometimes what a man can do, a woman will do better; the days are gone when we referred to women as weaker vessels,” he said.

The Ebonyi chairperson of the Federation of Women Lawyers, Oluchukwu Ike-Odeh, said that more women in political representation would lead to strong and significant progress in governance.

Ms Ike-Odeh also advocated for the prioritisation of the reserved seats for women bill to boost exclusive and elective spaces for women in governance.

According to her, if passed, the measure would transform the country’s political landscape and address a real concern over equality.

“Women are endowed with special gifts, and their contributions cannot be overlooked. So give them the opportunity to assert their rights in political spaces,” she said.

Ngozi Ebenyi, a women’s advocate expert, said that women form a significant part of a workforce in both formal and informal sectors, generating income that enhanced family livelihoods and contributed to the national economy.

(NAN)