Time to end discrimination against women in politics

There is no gain saying that the girl-child has for sometime not been given due consideration in the Nigerian state. From birth to pursuit of life’s ambition, she has been made to take the back seat; no thanks to the cultural inclination that the male child is the heir of the family. However, the Nigerian
Constitution acknowledges the equality of all citizens irrespective of sex. For instance, in chapter three (section 25), the constitution provides thus, “every person born in Nigeria before the date of independence, either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents belongs or belonged to a community indigenous to Nigeria is a Nigerian”.


Furthermore, the constitution allows citizens who have lived in a particular place for 10 years and above the right to claim indigineship of such a place and enjoy all privileges accruable to its members.


Sadly, all these provisions are been jettisoned. Consequently, agitations for elimination of indigineship in the constitution have remained unabated. Worse hit are women particularly married women who are been discriminated against for political appointments. Although women who have held positions of authority have proved their worth, not many including those in authority share this view.


Recently, this scenario played itself when indigenes of Kaduna state protested the nomination of Minister of Environment then ministerial nominee, Amina Mohammed Al-Zubair claiming that she was not an indigene of Kaduna state even though she is married to a Kaduna state indigene. This got many asking questions as to whether ministers are supposedly representing their states of origin or are to pursuing national interest.


It is curious to note that even senators from Kaduna state kicked against the nomination of the former head of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria giving the same lame excuse that she is not from Kaduna.


Citizenship is statutory a conferred status on people ready and willing to be identified, permanently, with a given country. If that be the case, the discrimination against women married to different places other than their places of birth is misplaced.


Going down the memory lane, Senator Daisy Danjuma who had represented Edo South senatorial district in 2003, at the National Assembly under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), was said to have lost the ticket in 2007, owing to her marital status. Daisy who hails from Edo state is married to Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd) from Taraba state.


Daisy is from a traditional home, her father being a Chief, means that even her marriage to a non-Edo person may not pose as a problem to her ambition. Despite the fact that she is known for her philanthropic gestures towards women and young girls which endeared her to lots of people, particularly women in her senatorial district, the issues came up and eventually affected her re-election.


While such conducts and utterances could be described as ignorant of the prevailing acts in the federal character commission regarding the status of married women seeking political offices, it is worthy of note that, women can both stand for elective or appointive positions in either their places of origin or marriage. This is what is done in other climes where productivity, competence and contribution to advancement of a society are placed paramount; over and above other primordial sentiments. The time to stop such practice against the women is now.