Lagos — Eniola Roberts writes that despite the setback, the Speaker is on the side of the women
It was a very heated session. The Nigerian people and other external stakeholders were awaiting the outcomes of the constitution amendments voting.
Since the return of civil rule in 1999, there have been sustained clamour on the need to fashion the nation’s constitution to reflect the collective aspirations of the people. The 1999 constitution, many argued was forced on the people by the military without the involvement of the Nigerian people.
The obvious inadequacies observed in the nation’s grundnorm necessitated various amendments that the documents had underwent since the beginning of this republic in 1999.
The latest was the process that started with regional public hearings that held across the nation last year, culminating in the voting for various amendments in the parliament.
Expectedly, every interest group lobbied to have their interests protected in the most important national document. The proposal to have a pension scheme for principal federal legislators came under the hammer. Ditto for the three women bills that failed to fly during voting on 68 amended clauses in the 1999 constitution amendments.
The women requested for Indigeneship Bill, Citizenship Bill and the 35 per cent affirmative action on Political Parties’ bill. A bill seeking to give at least 10 slots to women as ministers and commissioners in the federal and state governments failed at the upper legislative chamber.
A total of 88 senators registered to vote; 44 senators voted yes, while 43 voted no, and one abstained.
The bill, which was meant to guarantee the inclusivity of women in governance, failed as it could not garner 73 votes needed for it to be passed.
Women groups including wives of governors have been talking tough over the rejection of the women bills. They led protests to the gate of the National Assembly to vent their anger.
In a statement signed by the Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Wives Forum (NGWF), and First Lady of Ekiti State, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, to mark International Women’s Day, they condemned what they described as brazen discrimination against Nigerian women.
The first ladies said as those who formed half of the population of the country, their voices and lives matter, stressing there could be no development without the full and equal participation of women in all spheres of life.
They added that any country that continue to deliberately undermined the advancement of women was simply stifling its own advancement.
Mrs Fayemi promised that the wives of the governors would continue with ongoing engagement with a broad range of stakeholders to support the proposed constitutional amendments that would give them a gender-friendly constitution in Nigeria.
According to her, as wives of state executives, the first ladies will mount pressure on federal and state lawmakers to do the right thing and be true representatives of the people, with women constituting at least 50 per cent.
The statement read: “Every March 8, communities around the world gather to commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD). It is a time to reflect on the status of
women and highlight the many areas in which their rights are still being undermined and assess progress made.
“It is a day for governmental and non-governmental actors, corporate bodies, development partners and social movements to make commitments to close gender gaps and address the many challenges women still confront in public and private.
“Over the past three electoral cycles (2011, 2015, 2019) the number of women in the National Assembly has been in steady decline. There are currently 109 senators in Nigeria, with only seven women.
“The House of Representatives has 360 members with only 13 women. There are at least 14 state Houses of Assembly with no women at all. There are no female governors. These disturbing statistics show that there is a deep-rooted bias against women holding leadership positions, and if urgent steps are not taken, this picture will continue to go from bad to worse.
“On March 1, 2022, Nigerian women received very disappointing news from the National Assembly. The ongoing constitutional amendment currently has 68 amendments up for debate. There are five bills that seek to ensure gender justice and fairness.
“The Bills are: A Bill to create additional seats for women to increase women’s representation in the Senate and House of Representatives. This Bill will level the playing field and lead to a significant number of women in the National Assembly, which currently stands at 5 per cent. The bill was rejected.
“A bill to enable Nigerian women transfer citizenship to foreign husbands, a right that every Nigerian man married to a foreign spouse enjoys. The bill was rejected.
“A bill to ensure affirmative action of at least 35 per cent in political party administration and appointive positions across federal and state levels. The bill was rejected.
“A bill to ensure a minimum of 20 per cent ministerial or commissioner nominees are women. The bill was rejected. A Bill to allow a woman to become an indigene of her husband’s state after five years of marriage. The bill was rejected.
“Our interpretation of what transpired with this pattern of voting at the National Assembly on March 1, 2022, is that the progress of Nigerian women has been rejected. All the proposed constitutional amendments were meant to end bias against women and ensure the minimization, if not total removal, of barriers millions of women face on the basis of their gender.
“We hereby condemn in no uncertain terms this brazen discrimination against Nigerian women. As half of the population of the country, our voices and our lives matter.”.
Meanwhile, in the ensuing melee, one person stood out among the pack during the critical historic moment. That was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila who cautioned on the danger of suppressing the rights of women who according to him form the greater percentage of voters.
The speaker was very disappointed by the outcomes of the voting requested for the repeat of the process perhaps it could turn in favour of women folks. No way!
“Following existing statistics, it is women that come out enmasse to vote. It is the same women who come out enmasse to vote for us. You are now here voting against their interest? I am going to publish those who voted against this particular bill”, Gbajabiamila lamented.
Those who are acquainted with the speaker’s style will attest to his nationalistic disposition to matter of this nature.
Last year during the amendments public hearing, he remarked, “A nation’s Constitution is the foundation of its existence. It is supposed to set the terms of our nationhood and define who we are in a manner that reflects both our common truths and highest aspirations. Our constitution falls short of this standard because the 1999 Constitution is the product of a hurried national compromise that we entered into two decades ago in order to ensure that the military returned to the barracks and that we returned to democratic government.
“It was always the intention that we will one day as one people and one nation, return to amend this document so that it gives voice to the yearnings of the Nigerian people and sets out in clear details how we intend to achieve the shared ambitions of our nationhood. Providence has cast upon the Ninth National Assembly the responsibility to write such a constitution for the Nigerian people.
“The foundational constitution of the United States of America deemed people of colour to be ‘less than’ and denied women the right to vote. It did not include any limits on the President’s term of office and allowed for citizens to be denied the right to vote for failure to pay the ‘poll tax’.
“Twenty-seven reviews and amendments, over one hundred years cured these and other defects. No nation in the world has a perfect constitution, but we need a near perfect constitution in Nigeria and we can achieve that through substantive amendments that significantly alter the character of our nation.”.
Roberts writes from Lagos