By David Onimisi Lawani
The Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, the other day visited the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to place a special request before the party’s Constitution Review Committee (CRC) led by Prof. Tahir Mamman.
The Mamman-led eight-man CRC, which was inaugurated on March 1, has a one-month time-line to review the APC 2014 Constitution.
Briefing newsmen shortly after meeting with the Prof. Mamman-led constitution review team, she said the absence of women in the APC’s statutory organs, apart from the, women leader, was not good enough.
The minister said, “We demand for affirmative action. You will agree with me that women toil and give the highest votes of all the elections. The absence of women in the party structure is what bothers women. We are here to demand the amendment. We are aware that, last week, the party inaugurated the committee for the amendment of its constitution.
“Immediately we heard about the constitution of the committee, we swung into action. We happen to be the first because we agree that we are the most marginalised. And that is unacceptable for national development. We are here to demand for affirmative action. We need more women in the party structure and for all elections.
“We are demanding that no gender, women or men should occupy more than 60 per cent as against the other. We are demanding gender equality. We are demanding full participation and representation of women in the party structure and all elective seats in our dear country, Nigeria.’’
She added that women were not trying to counter the view that the secretary of the party once said that APC is women friendly. “We are only here to demand more affirmative action for Nigerian women. We deserve it and we are demanding it.
“We are not debunking or countering what the National Secretary said. What he said is true, but we are demanding more. And we want percentage of our demands. Just like what is applicable in most African countries. You will will agree with me that the whole of Africa looks up to Nigeria.
“They look up to Nigeria as a model because we are leading in all aspects, except in true representation of women in political parties. Not just political parties, but in elective positions from the national down to ward level. And we want that corrected because of national development. Until that is done, we will not be able to achieve meaningful development in our dear country.”
The women affairs minister also reiterated that the clamour for affirmative action didn’t start lately. She said she was convinced that a day would come when a woman would emerge as the president of Nigeria.
“It is a possibility. One day, that dream will come through. If Liberia that we supported and assisted to bring peace and restore sanity can have a female president; if Malawi can have a female president, is Nigeria not bigger than this countries? Are we not better than them? Don’t they look up to us? So, just the way we have been supporting the men in all elections, we are also appealing that they should do the same to us.
“What is the exact percentage you are requesting –50/50 per cent gender equality? That is what the world is advocating. And, we came at the right time. This is the month of women all over the world. The UN has declared not only March 8, but the whole month of March to address issues affecting women and children. We are mothers in the land. The world is focusing on women. We want Nigeria to be the lead country in Africa. Other African countries have set the pace.
“We want to take that leadership role that they all look up to us. We can do it. There is nothing impossible about it. We love Mr President and we are supporting him. We want Mr President to lend his voice on this matter as the leader of the party. We are calling on all men of goodwill to lend their voice so that we can have gender parity,” she stated.
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Tallen appealed to women to keep supporting their colleagues as that would be the surest way to stand for women empowerment.
“That is one of the amendments we are seeking. We are saying that delegate election is not democratic. We are demanding open elections -Option A4. Direct primaries. That is more democratic. That is how you will know the true representative of the people. We are afraid to contest election.
“We want a level-playing ground. Women don’t have money like the men to buy delegates. How can you take in a ward of over 3,000 people only three people to represent them? Of course, those 5,000 people you won’t see them. They will smuggle them in until the hour of voting. They keep them away and bring them out on the hour of election. Until we allow the will of the people that is only when we can claim that a democratic system is in place.
“And it calls for direct primaries. If you don’t want to win the primaries, you cannot contest. And it is not that women are not accepted. We are loved. Women identify with their people at the grassroots, but their hands are tied. It is just three people that represent thousands at the delegate election. We say no to it. We are asking for direct primaries at all levels”, she said.
