The House of Representatives has blamed the failure of gender- related bills to pass during the ongoing amendment to the constitution on late lobbying by the sponsors, civil society organisations and women groups. According to the House, religious and cultural factors also influenced votes against the bills by the lawmakers. The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, made this known while addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday. The House’s spokesman, however, stated that the lobbying and sensitisation should have begun earlier. According to him, the House would not have passed the bills up to the voting stage if it was not interested in them from the onset.
However, immediate backlashes came from different quarters, first was the Baobab for Women’s Human Rights who stated that men in the National Assembly lack respect for women. In a statement issued in Jos by the Executive Director of the group, Mrs Bunmi Dipo-Salami, observed that in the ninth National Assembly, only eight out of 109 senators were women, only 22 representatives out of 360 House of Representatives members were women. Meanwhile, the wives of the President and Vice-President, Aisha Buhari and Dolapo Osinbajo, on Thursday called on the National Assembly to review its decision on women-related bills.
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, also urged women to use the 2022 International Women’s Day coming up on Tuesday to protest against the gender policy of the All Progressives Congress controlled Federal Government. Wike urged women to keep pace with their demand for legislative rights and used the occasion of the International Women’s Day to further demand for roles they should play in political administration in the country. Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto says there is nothing wrong with women requesting to have more of them in government and in political offices for social, economic development of the country.
Lobbying came late; religion, culture were factors – House Spokesman
“A great call, I must say! A wonderful call, I must say! But as you know, a journey of a thousand miles starts with a step. Will the thousand miles be done? Yes. When? It might take longer. But has a step been taken? Yes. Was it the right step? Yes. How long is it going to take? We may not know. “But a right step has been put forward. And I want to tell you that the lobbying that was done was not done in vain.
That is why I have commended all these people who even visited the National Assembly. That is the beauty of democracy, because if it was not, the wife of the President and the wife of the Vice-President would have no business coming to the House. “They knew that it was only through lobbying, not as you have described us before as a rubber stamp, that they would just give us instructions, maybe by their husbands, and we will get it done. It will be through lobbying and they participated in that lobbying with all humility.” “But I must say this lobbying was done a bit late.
Yes, I want to say that. The lobbying – the advocacy for this – was supposed to have started longer than now. I say that without mincing words. You don’t lobby two days to vote on a very important issue like this. “It goes beyond lobbying at the last minute. It takes a lot of orientation. It takes a lot of advocacy. It takes a lot of sensitisation to enable people buy into this all-important agenda.
You know why? (It is) because you cannot play down on our current issues with regard to emerging democracy, one of which is our religious and cultural dispositions. These things play roles; they are part of the society. “Our religion and our culture are part of the society. It needs a lot of advocacy by the civil society organisations and the women groups to push this agenda forward. It is a wonderful agenda but for people to buy into it, even from the constituents, not even the representatives; because Nigerians are shifting their focus to the representatives and the senators only.”
Lawmaker’s decision disappointed Nigerians – Aisha Buhari
Use Int’l women’s day to protest – Gov Wike
National Assembly lacks respect for women – Group
I hear that on Tuesday there will be a celebration of the International Women’s Day. I ask Nigerian women, what are you celebrating? Other countries can celebrate their women, Nigeria cannot celebrate her women. “Take that particular day and demonstrate against the APC, which has refused to recognise women in this country. Don’t go there and begin to dance; there is nothing to dance about until they recognise you.
It is only when Nigeria recognises you that you can dance.” “The recent decision by the National Assembly to ignore the long-standing clamour for affirmative action for Nigerian women was contrary to the very high expectations of forward-looking Nigerian men and women.” For me, I don’t mind the quota the women are demanding and asking for; but if for any reason such request will be granted, such positions should be rotated and not given to the same known women who had ruled before or who have continued to take the space.” “We demand that the National Assembly puts the advancement of women on the agenda by approving the relevant bills.
We also call on the government to end practices that undermine the dignity of women,” she said in reaction to the National Assembly’s vote against bills seeking gender equality in the country. “The gender bills proposed in the amendment of the Nigerian constitution sought to enhance the lives of women and provide opportunities for them to participate fully in the political governance space and inclusive citizenship rights.
“The bills include special seats for women in the national and state houses of assembly, expansion of the scope of citizenship by registration (citizenship to the foreign-born husband of a Nigerian woman). “Also, affirmative action for women in political party administration (grant women 35 per cent affirmative action in party administration and leadership) and reserved quota for women (grant 35 per cent appointed positions to women).”
