Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on women to take the bold initiative and step out into politics, assuring them that going into politics does not make them women of easy virtue.
Speaking Thursday while delivering a lecture at the 14th Annual Lecture of Women in Management, Business, and Public Service (WIMBIZ), a non-governmental organisation for women, in Lagos, Obasanjo advised the women folks to be bold and know that they have the capacity to change their own fortunes.
Obasanjo who advocated special provision for women in politics to give them opportunity to contribute to nation building, added that, “Some people say when a woman goes into politics, she becomes a women of easy virtue, doing politics does not make you a woman of easy virtues. We have to do something about this perception.”
The WIMBIZ Annual Lecture series, which is a public forum that attracts over 500 women was designed to discuss topical issues that affect women, their role in nation building and their personal business or organisational development.
The former President, who spoke on “Press for Progress: Women, Politics and Nation Building” said that women were not doing enough for themselves.
According to him there is a need to discriminate positively in favour of women in politics to contribute their quotas in nation building.
“Human beings are the same, men and women. We need fair treatment of women. Gender inequality has cost Africa so much.
“Negotiate as 2019 election is coming but the table is turned against you. In 2019 election, women must have a place of honour.
“You should all say enough is enough. Women, as the majority, must be reckoned with in the overiding interest of the general good of our people.
“The society must correct the impression that it is only women who have nothing to do or have been failing other endeavours that go into politics.
“A way to do this is to ensure that successful women who occupy top cadres in the society should join politics so as to give stiffer competition to the male counterpart. We must discriminate positively in favour of women and women themselves must know how to use other women for their good in politics.
“The reason for the positive discrimination is not because women are Inferior but while they have what it takes to succeed in politics, the men folk have continue to hold them back and so, the positive discrimination will solve such problem,” he said.
The ex-President encouraged women who desired to go into politics to be strong because politics is dangerous and risky.
Obasanjo emphasised that Nigeria had intelligent women that could transform the nation, noting that such women actually existed in the country, but they must be sought and encouraged to get involved.
He said that until the nation had such women in mass number, women cannot make a significant impact in nation building.
Obasanjo, who urged women not to be scared of the risk in politics, said that people including women get involved in driving though dangerous.
Insisting that the perception that women in politics were of easy virtue was wrong, he said, “You must realise that it will not come on the platter of gold. You have to struggle for it. Don’t let anyone build your world for you; build your world for yourself.
“Women need encouragement and empowerment to push them to the nation building process. Women of course have all the virtues to lead.
“We have to make special provision for women until they can compete on the same level with their male counterpart. There must be a special provision.
“In a male chauvinistic society, we feel women would be able to perform, but we still see that women most often perform better than men.
“We must do something to get rid of that feeling. They have to be given opportunity if they are not given opportunity they can’t make impact.
“It is our responsibility as older ones to create opportunity for youths and women,” he said.
The former President expressed his readiness to be a patron for any women for women movement so far such movement is not a political party.
On the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM), Obasanjo, who noted that the movement was one of the things he was paying attention to, reiterated that he would cease to be member the moment the movement metamorphosed into a political party.
“I am giving them encouragement; I have registered and I believe that as at today we have registered more than 3 million people.
“My belief is that we need a grassroots movement that can bring the change that this country needs. We need the platform and we need the system,” he said.
In her remarks, Mrs. Olubunmi Talabi, the Executive Council Chairperson of WIMBIZ said that the government must implement the affirmative action on women inclusion in nation building.
Talabi, who noted the Nigerian women were intelligent, said Nigeria will be better with a minimum of 30 per cent of women inclusion in both elective and appointive positions.
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