‘Women’s success in politics depends on women’-Anifowoshe

Henry Enegede

The success of women in Nigerian politics depends on women. This was the consensus at the recently held one-day development forum/workshop with the theme, Advancing Women in Governance and Political Participation, organized by the International Press Centre (IPC) Lagos with the support of UKAID and ACTIONAID Nigeria.

The theme was presented by Mrs Jumoke Anifowoshe, a politician who disclosed that despite her being capable to be a Governor or Senator, she wasn’t voted for mainly because she’s a woman.

“I rose from the lowest rungs of the ladder to become my party’s state chairman in Ondo and surprised everyone with my performance so the next logical step was for me to be Governor or Senator but the party leaders were against me and the other women in the party were chickenhearted and couldn’t stick out their necks for me.

“Presently, all party chairmen are men and their secretaries are men. Women should rise up and demand for our share. When will it be time for a woman to rule? It has to start one day and better now than later and women and female politicians must get a woman to be a Governor in 2019 in any state whatsoever.”

Also speaking, Ada-Gina Ude, said, “Women leaders can bring about change in their parties. The issue night meetings can be changed if women demand for it. In the UK, they used to have night meetings too but the women demanded for it to be changed and they got their wish.”

Contributing to the issue, several of the female participants said women are the problem of women in politics and that they all have to come together and support a woman to a prominent office regardless of her religion, party, ethnicity and so on.