Women went through the labour and deliver pain, so naturally, they care for Life.
A mother is like nucleus whom everybody else go round in a family. She ensures that life functions in an orderly way, right breakfast, lunch, dinner being served at the table, to clothes being ironed and kept in the wardrobe, to kitchen always being stocked up with food, the beds perfectly made, good costing and pricing to get value for money in the market, don’t spend on things that are irrelevant to the family, the list is unlimited!
However, a mother brings balance to the family, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
A mother is a role model, caretaker, administrator etc of the home. She sees to the well being of everybody in the home.
Let me not overemphasize the good qualities of a mother, so that my readers will not think, I am being biased.
The essence of leadership is service. It is not a gender issue, that why I first of all outline some of the good qualities of a mother.
African, especially Nigerian men in particular from the onset are giving the position of leadership right from the family unit. Culturally speaking, men take charge to perform sacrifice to the gods of the land, during festivals which span through all the ethnic groups across Nigeria eg New Yam Festival.
As such Nigerian men still believe that they cannot be there while a woman will take over the leadership position.
The rights of women has been violated in terms of equality with the men. There had been no legal backing to the effect. The upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly rejected a bill on women equality with their male counterparts. It could survive because over 90% of the members are made of men and men see the women as rivalries not complements and hence suspect of being overthrown.
In Nigeria, politics is too expensive and is all about how much one gives into the system. The campaign is never a woman journey as it involved sewing of different uniforms and sharing of money within the party and the electorate. It is a high fence for women to climb. The political system has not been developed to where an aspirant can emerge without buying voters and bribing other structures involved during and after conducting of an election.
The level of desperation to win elective positions is alarming where on the election day, people are killed, houses and cars burnt. The picture of hostility and war is so high that one imagines which woman can cope with such. Infact, opponents threaten themselves and go after each other lives. Surprisingly, women file in their numbers to vote but rarely come out to contest for the fear of being attacked.
During the Nigeria/Biafra civil war, women were not allowed to go to war front; they sit at home to be assigned some kitchen responsibilities. Where would we expect to place the women here in Nigeria where elections into positions of leadership are fought like the civil war, where bullets fly and people killed. The women will also need to sit back and watch or cook for them.
Nevertheless, bringing women at par in society depends to a large extent on: women leading the campaign and support initiative for women to come out and aspire for positions of leadership as the office of the governor and president.
Men should not create a gender war with the women but give them the needed support to aspire for positions of leadership in society. Platforms must be made as to educate people to know that it is not about gender but service delivery of the dividends of democracy to the people. Therefore, examples of women that have performed more than the men abound.
In Rives State, we have a notable female politician that has performed credibly ie Hon. Engr. Victoria W. Nyeche of Port Harcourt Constituency I.
Women that have done well in the world as presidents in their countries should be take note of and those aspiring to become president like Hillary Clinton from US.
Kudos to Sarah Jubril who contested as presidential candidate under the platform of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan of All Progressives Congress, governorship aspirant of Taraba State, Gbemi Saraki, a female governorship aspirant who contested as the candidate of ACPC in 2011 of Kwara State, these women had shown that women do not end only in the kitchen.
African leaders should give the womenfolk a chance and stop their rule for ever attitude.
Our legislators should have nothing to fear about women but to make necessary law to give opportunity to women of integrity, credibility and transparency to occupy positions of the president and governor.
The hydra headed problem of corruption can be reduced to the barest minimum since women do not have the capacity and courage to steal the state resources like the men. Naturally, women are known for frugality with funds and preference for home management.
The emergence of candidate during party primaries call for concern. Political parties choose who becomes the party’s flag bearer, someone who will be according to Nigeria parlance loyal to them. These people are selected and not voted since they will be there to share state funds to their political godfathers. They don’t always see the women as a good tool to use so women find it difficult to win from the party primary level.
Without gainsaying, the women themselves have failed to carry their own cross. They have become part of the discrimination, threats, inequality and abuse they suffer. The myriad and plethora of problems they suffer are caused by them. It is not funny to emphasize that women are the first to magnify and make their own situation worse or impossible. Most time, you hear the women addressing the men like “Why are you behaving like a woman”? A reference to women as “not capable or morally unsound”.
The video of denigrating themselves played out in the PDP presidential primary where all the women delegates voted for the men and could not even give Sarah Jubril the then presidential aspirant even a single vote. The revelation became clear as Sarah got one vote, meaning that was the vote she voted for herself. It was one of the events that further worsen the denial of women their rightful place in the society. ###
