Honourable Princess Titilayo Owolabi-Akerele,aspirant for Ekiti North Senatorial District, speaks to IMOLEAYO OYEDEYI about the challenges female politicians face and the plights of the people of her senatorial district over incessant herdsmen attacks, among others.
In your own assessment, how will you rate women participation in governance in Nigeria?
I see women participation in governance in Nigeria as being very poor. For elective positions both at the state and National Assembly, we have less than six per cent in terms of female representation, which is one of the poorest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the fact that we have close to 61 per cent of women participating in the political process in Nigeria, only seven out of 109 senators and 22 of the 360 House of Representatives members are women. So we really have such an appalling representation when it comes to giving democratic spaces to women to make critical decisions that will have trail-blazing impacts on the country.
Even when you look at the Nigerian population, about half of it are women. This implies that having more female representation and participation will create a balance of power between the two genders for an equitable and egalitarian society.
Over the years, there has been a steady rise in the number of women serving in elected and appointed political position across the world over, but it hasn’t been the same in our country, despite the fact that many political scientists have noted that a full and equitable participation of women in public life is essential to building and sustaining a strong and vibrant democracy. So we really need to change the status quo.
Despite what seems to be low consideration for women in Nigeria when it comes to governance and political representation, you have decided to represent your constituency at the National Assembly. What exactly motivated this decision?
Well, I will say the urgent need for strong intervention and the plights of the people of my senatorial districts is one of the key factors that motivated me to contest for the political seat. This is because ever since I was born, I have always been a fighter and a strong believer in humanity. I have a passion for humanity growth: to help and develop people to become self-reliant and a transformative workforce for society. Right from my background in the aviation industry, I was at one-time a union leader and president of my professional association. I have also held the secretary and vice-president (technical) positions of the international federation of my professional association.
How well are you in tune with the challenges and prospects of the people and constituency you are aiming to represent at the NASS?
For me, 12 years ago, I came into Ekiti, having retired from the aviation industry, to see what I can do to contribute to the development of my state, constituency and senatorial district and from my experience as a former state legislator, I have seen and understood the power of policies, regulations and laws in the development of any country. When you have the right policies in place and the right political class to drive the will to enforce the policies, you will see that things will work fine for all. But when you have laws in place and there is no political will to enforce and achieve the wonderful policies that have been put in place, there won’t be any result at the end of the day. These are some of the issues that border and drive me to come out to contribute my quota to the development of my senatorial district.
Secondly, I am from the Ekiti North Senatorial District and we are quite prone to Fulani herdsmen attacks, because we share very porous borders with Kogi and Kwara States. The borders are grasslands that can be penetrated easily with cattle and criminals hide under rearing the cattle to kill, rape and harass our people. For me, if given the mandates, I will initiate discussions and carry out result-driven actions that will improve the security in my senatorial district. Also, we have very good and arable land in my senatorial district for agriculture, but because of this menace of banditry and Fulani herdsmen driving people away from their farms, the lands are wasting away. So these are issues that borders me.
We also have a teeming youth population that are now politicians, because there are no jobs. They want to work, but there are no jobs for them. There are no industries to recruit them and the government can only hire the minimum number of workers whose salaries they can conveniently pay. So, these are some of the things I want to address in my senatorial district. Above all, I believe service to God is service to humanity.
Since you came into the state, in what way have you impacted the lives of the people in your senatorial district?
Well, since I came 12years ago, God has used me to touch lives. I know that I cannot do all as even a state governor cannot solve all the problems of endemic poverty and deprivation of wants in any state. But in my own little capacity, I have helped people in the area of footing of school tuition fees and purchase of JAMB forms for admission seekers. I have also had a series of empowerment programmes for the youths in my senatorial district.
When I served as the Ekiti State House of Assembly member representing Ikole constituency II, I sponsored two bills that directly affected the people in the state in the area of tourism and land grabbing. I was also able to make moves towards the Child Rights bill amendment in the state and to the glory of God, these laws have helped the people and will still continue to do so as time goes on. For the four years that I spent at the state House of Assembly during my time, there was no budget for constituency projects, so I had to save up my salaries and allowance to deliver some projects for my constituency.
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