A Development Agenda for Women Affairs Minister

By Nafisat Bello

Barrister Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, fondly called “Mama Onboard,” was the only female who stood tall at the Eagle Square on that memorable night in 2022 and sought delegate votes to become the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Though she eventually stepped down for the winner, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, she made her point, sought a better deal for Nigerian women and pricked the conscience of a nation that has made it a culture to relegate women to the background.

President Tinubu who was himself an aspirant seeking the APC ticket on that night must have taken note of her passion and erudition and probably said to himself that: “If I get the ticket and eventually win the main election, this woman will become my Minister of Women Affairs.”

Now that the best woman has emerged from among millions of brilliant Nigerian women, it is appropriate to set the agenda for her in line with the contemporary challenges troubling the womenfolk in the country.

Women Empowerment

On her first day in office, the Minister spoke brilliantly about gender equality and the welfare of women in various sectors of the economy. This is commendable. But we must also place it on record that the Nigerian state needs to stop paying lip service to the empowerment of women. This is because it is as important as the development of the entire country. The best way to empower the family is to develop the women and the best way to advance the standard of a nation is to elevate the living standards of the families. That is why some people say if you want to develop a nation, empower the women first.

All eyes will be on the Minister to see the policies she will be bringing forward to support women in terms of skills, jobs, education and life-changing opportunities.

Some gains were made in the area of easing the way for women to seek elective positions in the two major political parties during the last election as they were made to pay less than their male counterparts for forms, yet we still don’t have a lot of women in elective positions. This means that a lot still needs to be done to empower women with the financial war chest to compete favourably with the male folk.

Gender Discrimination

There is still this unwritten rule in Nigeria that some jobs, other opportunities, appointments etc are not for women, only the men are good enough to fill the positions. There have to be deliberate policies and laws to dissuade private organisations and even government-owned agencies from discriminating against women, if not, it won’t stop.

Gender-based Violence (GBV)

Over the years, women and children have suffered all forms of violence in Nigeria. It was mentioned in a report commissioned by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) that 15% of Nigerian women had experienced physical violence ranging from sexual harassment, harmful traditional practices, emotional and psychological violence, socio-economic violence and violence against non-combatant women in conflict situation in12 months. 44 percent of divorced, separated or widowed women also reported experiencing violence since age 15, while 25% of married women or those living with their spouses have experienced violence as well.

A lot of efforts have been put in place to protect Nigerian women from the hands of violent spouses but more needs to be done in the area of deterrence. Rapists and wife beaters need to be made to face the full wrath of the law and the consequences of their actions. If a man raises his hands to molest a woman, something needs to remind him that he would regret it afterwards. This will serve as a deterrent for all potential offenders. Laws need to be changed and policies need to be on ground to further protect Nigerian women from all manners of abuse.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu made a profound promise on the issue of GBV which if the Minister helps him implement, the problem will be reduced to the barest minimum. He wrote: “Our government will expand the use of specialist police units to investigate and handle cases of domestic violence. We shall strengthen social services and support to victims of domestic violence and abuse by encouraging whistleblowing, counseling for victims and sanctuary homes. We shall prioritise the prosecution of domestic abuse cases and will seek more serious criminal penalties for abusers.”

Collaborating with relevant anti-GBV activists who have the experience and who understand the issues will also help the Minister to succeed in this task.

Maternal/Child Mortality

The issue of Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Infant/Child Mortality Rate also needs urgent attention. This menace has made us lose the best of our women and children.

The process of childbirth is still a deadly affair in Nigeria and it shouldn’t be so. According to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 287,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020. Unfortunately, about 95% of all maternal deaths occurred in low and lower middle-income countries that year. Nigeria also accounts for the second-highest number of maternal and child deaths globally as maternal mortality is gradually becoming unacceptably high.

We need a series of sensitisation programmes that will enlighten women about the danger of ignoring the antenatal procedure during pregnancy, the accessibility of contraceptives, the quality post-abortion care and others.

Out-Of-School Children (OSC)

Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of Out-Of-School-Children in the world and it is a tragedy for the so-called leaders of tomorrow to be seen begging on the streets with plates or hawking in traffic points when they are supposed to be in school.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) stated that the total number of out-of-school children (OSC) in the nation is more than 20 million out of the 200 million population. This amounts to over 10 percent of Nigeria’s entire population and is more than the overall population of various countries in Africa. According to the UNESCO report which came out in 2022, there are 244 million children and youth between the ages of six and 18 worldwide who are still out of school and “the region with the second highest out-of-school population is Central and Southern Asia with 85 million.”

The top three countries with the most children and youth excluded from education are: India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) figure however stated that the OSC in Nigeria is slightly above 10 million. According to UNESCO, the data is based on those aged six to 18 years, ranging from primary one to senior secondary school three, while UBEC’s figure is related to those aged six to 11. Whatever numbers one looks at, the reality remains that Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of OSC in the world.

There has to be a specific or deliberate policy to ban the menace of street begging and hawking for kids. The Child Rights Act (CRA) has made enough provisions for this. The Minister should advocate that all parts of the country domesticate the law so that all Nigerian kids will be protected irrespective where they live within the country.

The issue of security is so important. No child should be afraid to enter a classroom or be afraid that their school might be attacked or that they will be kidnapped. Parents should also not be afraid of sending their children to school.

So, before the Minister of Women Affairs can encourage Nigerian women to send their wards to school and safeguard their future, the security agencies should also ensure the schools are safe for the kids because even as we dont want to raise illiterate kids, every parent will prefer that to dead or kidnapped kids.

Last Line:

It takes a mother to understand the joy and pain of motherhood. It takes a woman to understand the challenges associated with womanhood. If the above qualities are combined with world class education, overflowing milk of human kindness, business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit and so on, then we have our perfect Minister of Women Affairs and that is Barrister Uju Kennedy Ohanenye. We begin to know how tomorrow will look like from the way today is going. Though she has her job cut out for her, the Minister has shown that she understands it and is fully on top of it.

She started her assignment by visiting some strategic institutions in the country including the Women Development Center (WDC) and also the National Hospital, Abuja where she paid the bills of some women and children who could not afford to pay.

There is no doubting the fact that if the Minister pays adequate attention to the above thematic areas and continues the way she has started, Nigerian women are going to have a rewarding time under her watch.