The women of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gathered in Abuja, on Monday, to determine how best to position themselves for a major role in 2023 election.
They are meeting under the auspices of the Woman Leader of the main opposition party, Hajiya Mariya Waziri, in partnership with the International Republican Institute (IRI) to consult with party stakeholders while highlighting areas of advancements needs for women, especially as they relate to women’s political inclusion at all levels.
In her opening address, Waziri maintained that women must pull themselves together amId competing interests, identify the fundamental issues that limit women advancement to establish the most effective means of overcoming the hurdles.
She said: “We have seen that our political terrain remain largely skewed. However, we can find ways around our problems, chief of which is the burning issue of getting as many women as possible into the political space and into political offices, that is my primary goal.
“When I say women, I mean women from all spheres of life, the educated, the experienced, the entrepreneur and the young.”
She further said: “Amidst all distractions, disruptions, and insinuations, if we only achieve the mass inclusion of women into our political space, we would have achieved our central goal which is what is most important.”
While noting that women have not achieved their goal to advance politically, Waziri stated: “We are here to discuss amongst ourselves, encourage ourselves, and explore suggestions for strengthening our party especially at the grassroots.
“As we enter 2021, we must deliberate and plan our activities in a very strategic way. 2023 is not far away and 2021 is a step towards preparations for the General Elections.
“We must not be carried away by any present and future disagreements both within our party and between our party and the ruling party.”
In her remark, former House of Representatives former Majority Leader, Hon Mulikat Areola-Akande, stressed the need for women to get it right having been pushed aside for long by men.
She argued: “We have attended so many functions like this, the outcome is what I am concerned about. The men know what is right but they keep pushing us aside. We the women know what is right but we don’t do it. I think with 2023, we need to get it right. We cannot get it right if we continue to pull ourselves down when we continue to say we can’t support her. The men always come together to ensure we don’t get it but as women. We should support ourselves.
“Whether we like it or not. If we put a woman in a position, we can demand accountability from her. We can say we put you there, come and explain to us what you are doing.
“But when you leave the woman to go to the men and they put her in a position, she will only be accountable to them. If we don’t support ourselves, nobody will support us. If anybody is pushing you for a position and you know that you can’t do it, please don’t bother. Don’t bother because they will push you and knowing that you are not capable, you have never been a councillor, but you want to be a Senator. It does not work like that.
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“In each state, we have very capable women. You don’t even have to contest elections to be relevant in politics. We want them to begin to recognise us to make a decision. It is not by saying I must contest an election. If you know you cannot win or you have not even gotten there, don’t bother because you will be wasting your money, your time and other people’s time.
“The National Woman Leader needs to carry women along. We are lagging behind but we need to come together. It is only if we unite that the men will see our strength.
“Women who have been in the National Assembly, we tried our best. When you are a lone voice, you can’t achieve anything, but when we have the number, they will respect us.
“Individually, they have us at home as wives and as daughters. They know our capabilities, but when it comes to struggling it out with them, they feel you are in competition with them.
“Let them know that is not about competition, it is about the partnership, working together in the development of this country and taking it to greater heights.”
Also speaking, a chieftain of the PDP, Senator Grace Bent, advised the womenfolk not to allow themselves to be used to garner votes as has been the practice in the past.
She said women must leverage their numerical strength to demand a vice-presidential slot as a condition for participating in the electoral process.
She added: “We are saying that in 2023 if our political party does not present a female as a vice presidential candidate, we are not going to support them.
“So, set the ball rolling, all-female stakeholders, women leaders, tell the party to give us a female vice-presidential (candidate), otherwise, we will all sit home, we shall not vote.”
Bent, former Senate Committee Chairman on Environment and Ecology however advised female politicians desirous of venturing into politics to prepare for a fight, stressing that nothing would be given to them on the altar of gender alone.
She added: “A lone voice is always a problem and this has always been the problem year-in, year-out. For a woman to be successful in politics, you must learn how to fight, you must have an aggressive spirit because no one gives it to you on a platter of gold.
“I have gone to the field a couple of times and with the experience, I can come out to tell Nigerian women that the men have always treated us like second class citizens which we are not. If you want to succeed, you must pay the price.”
The IRI Resident Program Director, Angee Wambugu, said that the institute was working with the office of PDP women leader to avoid a decline in women representation as witnessed in the 2019 general elections.
Represented by Sunday Alao, Wambugu expressed optimism that the meeting would come up with recommendations to be submitted to PDP national leadership for women to occupy more executive offices of the party by its 2021 convention.
He said: “By 2023, we should have more women take up political positions because we cannot have women constituting half of the Nigerian electoral demography and yet, we are struggling with the figures of women who are elected during general elections.
“I think this is the time to change the narrative, and it has to starts with the PDP.”
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