Issues
Why Our Gender Bills Should Fly
In 2020, Justice Akon Ikpeme, an indigene of Akwa Ibom State married to a man from Cross River State was denied the position of the substantive chief judge of the state because she was not from there by birth even though she met the requirements for the job and had worked in the state for many years. It took a nationwide outcry and protests by several women groups for the State Assembly to backtrack and confirm her as the substantive chief judge of the state.
In December 2014, Justice Theresa Uzokwe, an indigene of Imo State but married to an Abia State man was appointed chief judge of Abia State by former Governor Theodore Orji and hell was let loose as the State Assembly and many other people from the state criticised the appointment owing to the fact that she was a ‘non-indigene’.
Justices Ifeoma Jombo-Ofo of Abia State, Patricia Mahmoud of Kano State, Elizabeth Asabe Karatu from Kebbi State and several other judicial officers had similar experiences when they were to be appointed into certain offices in their husbands’ states. They would dedicate themselves in serving the states of their marriage for many years and no one asked why a ‘non-indigene’ would serve the states so well but when it was time for them to be elevated or be given an opportunity to serve in a higher capacity, the issue of their parentage was raised.
Section 26 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria provides that a non-Nigerian woman married to a Nigerian man can become a Nigerian citizen by Registration. No mention was made of a non-Nigerian man married to a Nigerian woman. Shouldn’t such a person also enjoy the privilege of becoming a Nigerian?
Just a few days ago, a federal high court in Abuja dismissed a suit by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seeking to invalidate some provisions in the Nigeria Police Force Regulations (NPFR) which forbid unmarried female police officers from getting pregnant.
The Association had approached the court to challenge the legality of regulation 127 of the NPFR, which provides that “an unmarried woman police officer, who becomes pregnant, shall be discharged from the Force and shall not be re-enlisted except with the approval of the inspector-general of police”, arguing that the said provision contradicts the 1999 constitution and is discriminatory to unmarried female police officers. But Justice Inyang Ekwo ruled that there was no basis for this action in the first place and that an unmarried woman who intends to get pregnant is not compelled to join the police. “Where such a woman becomes a police officer, she is bound by the regulation on pregnancy while being unmarried”, he held.
Search through the NPFR and you will see no similar regulation for single male police officers. A male single police officer can impregnate as many women as he likes and nothing happens to him. It goes without saying that the pregnant single police woman did not impregnate herself, a man was definitely responsible. What if that man is a single police man? The woman will be fired while the man continues to enjoy his job?
These are some of the anomalies the gender bills that were rejected by the National Assembly at the ongoing constitutional amendment exercise aimed at addressing. The sponsors of the bill, which included male and female, wanted the discriminatory citizenship section in the constitution to be amended to make room for equal treatment of both male and female non-Nigerian who can become Nigerian citizens by marriage.
They wanted the issue of non-indigeneship to be legislated upon so that going forward, no woman will be denied her rightful position in her state of marriage; women will be able to take indigeneship in their husband’s state after five years of being together. You can imagine the emotional and psychological effect of the rejection by both their husbands’ state and their state of origin, who usually send them back to their husbands’ state because they have been married out. Both states claim they are not their indigenes, so, where are they from? Shouldn’t this be tackled constitutionally to prevent the unfair, discriminatory acts meted on the women and give them a full sense of belonging?
Honestly, one is tempted to agree with some female activists who claim that the lawmakers that voted against the bills did not even go through them to know what they contained because looking at the importance of some aspects of the bills towards making Nigeria a more peaceful, more progressive society, one would have expected all the legislators to give their nod to them. These lawmakers have wives, sisters, daughters and other females around them who will benefit from these bills both now and in the future. In fact, the entire nation will be better off because it has been proven that the more women participate in governance and politics, the better for the country.
It is sad that 61 years after Independence, women have only 4.4 per cent representation in the National Assembly, occupying only 19 out of 469 seats in both chambers of the Legislature. In all the state Assemblies nationwide, only 44 members are women. About 15 states are said to have no female lawmakers such that men chair the Women Affairs Committee in those Houses. This explains the ranking of Nigeria as the worst performer in women representation in parliaments, in the West African region and one of the lowest in the whole of Africa by a recent report.
So, any necessary action to shove up the numbers should be seriously considered. An example that comes to mind on issues like this is Rwanda. In 2003, Rwanda passed an amendment of her constitution which established a 30 per cent reservation for women across all elective positions. By the end of the 2013 General Elections, 61 per cent of the seats in the Rwandan parliament went to women, underscoring Rwanda as the leader and frontier of women in politics and governance across the globe. Other countries like Cuba, UAE, Bolivia, Mexico, and Sweden have adopted Rwanda’s style by implementing similar tactics which helped each of them achieve a higher number of women in politics and governance. Why can’t Nigeria follow suit?
What is the big deal about granting women 35 per cent affirmative action in party administration and leadership as well as specific seats for women in the National and State Assemblies? Why can’t the women’s request for the passage of the Gender and Equal Opportunities bill currently before the Senate and immediate domestication of the African Charters Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, which Nigeria ratified in 2004 as well as the domestication of the UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Nigeria ratified in 1985 be granted by the National Assembly?
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day celebration is gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow, #BreakTheBias and it is, indeed, high time Nigeria joined other countries the world over to come up with sincere and practicable measures of eliminating all forms of discriminations and bias against women both in the political sphere, workplace, at school and at home and everywhere. Nigerian women truly deserve better treatment and more inclusion and participation in government.
However, the manner in which the women go about getting these demands can make a whole lot of difference. Being confrontational and antagonistic as leaders of some women groups have been since the rejection of the gender bills is not the way to go. African culture, the tenets of the various religions being practiced on the continent require women to submit to men. If the women in Nigeria overlook this and make it seem as if they are rubbing shoulders with the men, achieving their goal may be difficult irrespective of how laudable they may be.
Again, although many women have debunked the assertion of the spokesman of the House of Representative, Benjamin Kalu concerning why the gender bills could not scale through, it is important the champions of the bills and the women groups take into cognizant some points made by the law maker. He said, “It takes a lot of orientation; it takes a lot of advocacy. It takes a lot of sensitisation to enable people to buy into these important agendas. Do you know why? Because you cannot play down on our current issues with regards to emerging democracies, one of which is our religious disposition, our cultural dispositions.
“These things play a role. We are part of the society, our religion and culture is part of society. It needs a lot of advocacy by civil society organisations, women groups, to push this agenda forward; it is a wonderful agenda.”
It is also important that women should resolve to support, encourage and mentor one another. A situation where a woman stands for an election and gets little or no votes from her fellow women does not show that the women are serious about achieving the goal. Besides, women should develop themselves educationally and otherwise to be qualified for whatever appointment and not just wait for the offer to be thrown at them merely because they are women.
By: Calista Ezeaku
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
