The old saying that what a man can do, a woman can do it better has never been the case in the discourse of Nigerian politics as over the years, women have constantly been consigned to the back, especially on key leadership issues, such as policy formulation, decision-making, and implementation.

The discreditable quote credited to President Buhari who stated clearly that women belong in the kitchen, a statement that has continued to be a reference point in the discourse of women participation in politics. The reason for his remarks is not far-fetched as most political appointment is done as reward for loyalty, sustenance of existing patron clientelism rather than capacity of the individuals to perform effectively and efficiently.

Any nation that fails to extricate itself from such low level practices would remain in the doldrums.

Educating the girl child is not enough, failure to employ women and allow them to maximise their potential is a necessary recipe for a nation to fall behind in the global world order. The world cannot be governed by men only as women make up half of the population so its only logical to have them in leadership positions where decisions are made.

When there are more women in decision making positions, it means we are likely to have laws and policies that benefit women, children and families because women understand the issues families and children face. Women's political participation is a fundamental prerequisite for gender equality and genuine democracy. As it facilitates womens direct engagement in public decision-making and is a means of ensuring better accountability to women. When more women hold top positions in politics, everyone benefits.

Recently, members of the national assembly voted to deny women 35 percent affirmative action in that would have assured them of key participation in party administration and leadership as well as specific seats for women in the National Assembly.

68 bille were brought to the national assembly and 5 of such bills were gender related and they were all rejected. This singular action does not tell of a nation seeking to deepen her democracy.

Scholars have opined that one of the reasons for less inclusion of women in governance could be as a result of the exclusion of women from political governance and leadership during the colonial rule which introduced the British single sex model of administration as practiced in other British colonies.

The crux of the colonial gender ideology was based on the principle that women were not to function in public domains as men but to be domesticated. The trickle-down effect has been the entrenchment of sexism which has become a major bane in Nigerian politics. Women have been politically considered endangered species in matters that pertains to governance.

Political participation and representation should be viewed as a right and not a favour. Women are exceeding expectations in various spheres of human endeavours in Nigeria and in the world at large. Overwhelming evidence has proven that politics remains primarily a male dominated affair. A closer look at political matrix of many countries will show that political participation is dominated by men with only a few women trudging along.

Men must realise that women are no lower than them. This trend is strictly upheld in Rwanda as it is the country with the highest representation of women in politics, education and the workplace in Africa. Rwanda has, for over a decade, been topping the global list of countries with the most female political parliamentarians. 64% of the Rwandan Parliament are females and it has been ranked the highest country in the world - with the most women in parliament as of January 2017. Thats mainly due to the countrys legally set quotas, with the Constitution stipulating that at least 30% of Deputies in the Lower House of Parliament must be women.

This is in sharp contrast with what is obtainable in Nigeria and across most of African countries and the world, men tend to outnumber women in politics and this trend portrays the masculine and patrilineal nature of politics. The low level of political involvement of women is becoming alarming and disturbing.

In Nigeria, women have been practically absent in politics. This is not because of their lack of interest or will but because of their marginalization which is more pronounced in the democratization process. Besides competitive elective positions, women have also been reduced to sideline actors in appointive posts at all levels of governance.

The ministerial nominees released by president Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 revealed that only 7 women made the list of would be ministers as against 36 men. This was no different from the 6 women out of 42 nominees appointed by President Buhari in 2015.

The decline in the number of women appointed in the post-election period is in contrast with what is obtainable during the pre-election period. As women often seem to dominate campaign rallies adorned in their beautiful regalia and they are active in terms of dancing, shouting party slogans and cheering the electoral candidates, party leaders who are invariably men to victory.

Nonetheless, despite the active participation of women in the electoral processes, they are never beneficiaries as they are laid off till the next election cycle by their male counterparts.
Nigeria is a Federal Republic composed of 36 states, with a population figure put at 193,392,517 (98,630,184, 51% males and; 94,762,333, 49% females) as at April 2018 by the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The attainment of gender equality and the full participation of women in decision making, remain the key indicators of democracy. The involvement of women in all aspects of political life produces a more equitable society and delivers a stronger and more representative democracy.

The affirmative action of 35% representation of women in political and non-elective positions in Nigeria has not been observed to the latter, statistics shows that the number of women in the legislative houses and other leadership positions remains at a meager percentage. Since 1999, it is evident that women have not attained 10% representation in public offices as the figures always hovers around 6-7% and the positions most times are not top notch as expected.

From 1999 till date, no woman has been vice president of Nigeria, Governor, Senate president or deputy, need i mention the highly revered position of the president as that remains a mirage. In 2011, only one woman contested for the post of the president in Nigeria under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party and she did not survive the primary election. As she got only one vote despite the large number of women that attended the primary election but refused to vote for her even on sympathy bases.

Women are continually considered as minors and second fiddle beings to men. While some scholars may argue that no one is barred from political participation and that politics in Nigeria is an even field for all who care to join regardless of gender and social status, I beg to disagree citing the structural basis for participation and involvement in place in Nigeria which makes it too difficult for women to show up and be part of the governance process. This is especially so when it comes to holding elected public offices as the exorbitant price for picking up nomination forms from their party is enough to send the women to the sidelines, not to forget the huge costs of putting up campaign rallies. It has to be however noted that holding public offices should not be considered to be the zenith of political participation as other forms of political activity exist which also shape domestic political climate and the women should take center stage.

The government of the day must take a cue from Rwanda by replicating her success strides and do more to include more women in the governance process. The women also, should not be content with playing second fiddle to their male counterparts; the status quo will stay the same if the women continue to take a relaxed stance.

Happy International Women's Day!