Folashade Aransiola is an activist and an advocate for equality. She heads the Nigeria League of Women Voters (Nilowv) and the Women in Politics Forum (WIPF) in Kwara State. In this interview with Akinlolu Abayomi, she disclosed reasons why women in the State of Harmony and others across the country supported Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s re-election in March 2023, and what they seek to achieve through the governor as chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. Read on…
How would you assess the level of women’s participation in politics in Nigeria?
I will say that, so far, it’s been encouraging. Although, it’s still low when you consider the outcomes of the just concluded general election. We have 63 female House of Assembly members across the country, and some sizeable number of women in the House of Representatives and the Senate. But when you look at the agitation for women in politics before now , particularly three years ago when women were demanding 35% affirmative action. They were asking and tabling our demands. And, this had led to what we have achieved, we can still do more. But it’s better than nothing. At least, in Kwara state now, we have six women that are members-elect of the House of Assembly, compared to 2019 when we had zero participation. So far, it’s been remarkable. We can still do more.
Why would women ask for special recognition when they are also human beings like men? Why can’t they compete without asking for special consideration or privilege?
It’s not about asking for special consideration or privilege. It’s simply about giving the women their due recognition.
What is the due recognition you are talking about?
Now, let me explain it. Nigeria and Africa are examples of parochial system that have this opinion that men must rule. And because of that, in some settings, religion, culture would stop women from taking active participation in politics. You look at a state like Kwara, we have not had a female speaker, talk less of a female governor.
You are of the opinion that women should be given special consideration because of the hindrances posed by culture, religion and tradition, but many would also say that since men and women are equal, and since women would readily say ‘what a man can do a woman can do it better’. Why would a woman still request for a special privilege?
When you call it special, are women not special indeed. There are very good women because when you put them in charge of affairs: government, business, they give their best. They have the ability to multitask. And except the few bad eggs, women have actually done exceedingly well in governance. You look at nations that were without the scourge of covid-19, we are talking of Finland, Denmark, look at Germany for example, a woman was the head of state for a very long time. When she was leaving, you saw what happened, people were crying, it was because of the impact of what she has done. So, it is not as if women should just be given due recognition, it should be given to us because we deserve it. Women have earned their place in leadership. Not also forgetting that there are a few bad eggs, we can’t rule out the human nature. While in a position of authority , a woman would seek to protect her father’s name, she would protect her husband’s name, she would protect the dignity of her children and even the children yet unborn.
But we have had women that got arraigned for fraud in this country?
Yes, and that was why I said for the few bad eggs. And when you look at those ones that have been arraigned for fraud, there’s actually a man that would push them into doing it.
But when you see a man that also engages in corruption, there will also be a woman that would encourage him?
Definitely. You see, the relationship between a man and a woman is like the head and the neck. Without the neck, the head cannot function purposefully. So, if there is a synergy between them that works interchangeable, they complement each other but we pray that at each given time that we have women occupying positions of authority they should be surrounded by men that would add value to them and not devalue them.
Talking about women’s participation in politics in Nigeria, considering what we had during the first republic, second republic and let’s say the last dispensation, have you seen an improvement in this present dispensation?
Now, looking at it, I was looking at the statistics, like I said earlier, we have 63 women that got elected as members of Houses of Assembly in the country. We are not there yet but it is better than where we were and better than where we are coming from. It’s about amplifying women’s voices in leadership. In Kwara state, there has been an increase. At least, I can boast and say that the interest of women will be adequately protected now. Unlike when we had a -24 men House of Assembly and a House committee Chairman on Women that does not know what to talk about. Because when you are talking, people say why do you agitate for the idea of having women in the legislature. It is a woman that understands that making a law that situates a health centre close to a community gives a room for a woman to avoid maternal health issue, the delivery of a child and the mother. You understand the reasons for agitating for good roads, water for Sustainable Development Goals. She will talk about quality education, that every child counts. A man looks at the general feature or picture, but women look into details when you are talking about laws and legislation.
Looking at the issue of gender-based violence that we have been talking about. A woman will look at the issue of rape from the psychological, emotional aspects; she looks at it in many ways. A man would just see a woman as being violated, so what is the fuss about it. So, the way a woman interprets the law has far more benefits to the society than the way a man internalizes it. So that is why it seems that there is more agitation that women should become lawmakers, you know women are homemakers. So, when you look at it, you look at when you bring your skill as mother, as a homebuilder into governance. It is value-added thing.
Many may not really agree with your point of view considering the rate of divorce in the country. So if you say women are the homemakers and they can manage things better, they ought to also display this at the domestic level?
Thank you. When you talk about the marriage institution, it takes two to tango. And it is not a sole decision, and when you look at the efforts people put into preparation for marriage, and not living in the marriage, then there is a cause for worry. The questions they ask during courtship is so surface, it is not deep. They only look at the social aspects, the proposal aspect. But how well did they go into the nitty-gritty of getting to know each other. What is A’s attitude to finance? What is his attitude to domestic issues? Is he a quiet person? Is he an outgoing person? These are questions, but you see they are more particular about the kind of dance steps, the kind of aso-ebi, the kind of food. So when they express worry about the rate of divorce , we are seeing children that are not even mature to go into marriage but societal pressure pushes them. Their parents believe that immediately after graduation, they should go into marriage. But are they schooled when it comes to marriage? Are they really going through the rudiments of what it takes to live in a marriage and make it successful? So these are the issues. It is two different things entirely. Yes, the home is contributing to it. You look at the home she’s coming from, how well has she been trained. You see a lot of children that go to school and they don’t even bother going back home, and because of economic situation, some parents do not even bother to ask questions, and such a child would see somebody and says she wants to get married. Because she is also a crisis to her family, they quickly package her and somewhat say good riddance to bad rubbish. So when you look at issues like this, parenting takes a lot of and parenting requires the father and the mother to get committed to ensuring good parenting.
You have convinced us that there is actually a need for men to allow women to also get recognized, men should also give them a sense of belonging. So, what does the future hold for women in Nigeria when it comes to political participation?
I hope that we see more women getting involved in politics , we are looking at a country where women would play a leading role peradventure Nigeria would be one of the African nations that would have a female president. But for now, we are looking at more representation in the House of Representatives and in the Senate because those are places where they make decisions that affect the life of the men, the women, the children, Nigeria as a whole is decided and women still have poor representation in the senate.
And except we are seeing more bills that are gender- sensitive, we are talking about quota system, we are talking about indigenization, whereby a woman can contest in the hometown of her husband without being seeing as a non-indigene, we are looking at true actualization of the 35% affirmative action, we are looking at seeing women as chairpersons in the Local Governments. This is area that is very key to the grassroots. And I think that overall, we are going to get there if we can get women placed in these important positions of authority.
We have had an acting female governor in Anambra state, Virginia Ngozi Etiaba. Also, we had the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives, Foluke Eteh but they were sent packing before spending six months in office, are there steps taken to ensure that if eventually we are able to have a female governor, a female vice president, such a person would complete her term?
Yes, there have been so many efforts in this respect. Actually Global Affairs Canada, they have done a project that is called women voices and leadership over the five years and they have been training women to take their place in leadership, amplifying women’s voices, strengthening their skills in order that they will not only occupy office but stay long in such an office and make the gains of democracy get realized. And my organization has also at different times organized capacity building programmes for women.
Have you gotten necessary supports from the state government?
So far, none. But that’s not going to deter us because until women’s voices are heard, until we are seen , we will continue to agitate and demand that we get recognized in the scheme of things.
Did you make any effort to get in touch with the former Commissioner for Women Affairs?
I have been part of her projects. When the former Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr. Mopelola, wanted to revamp the vocational centre at women affairs, I was a member of the committee that helped her resuscitate it. I’ve been very loud when it comes to women’s issues in Kwara, when you are talking about gender inclusiveness and positioning, I have been a strong voice that has been clamouring. But I believe that the more we shout, one day, God will give us our desired goals.
Are there programmes you have in the pipeline or are there ways you intend to seek partnership with the state government?
Yes, we are seeking partnership. In the last dispensation, the governor appointed 38 SAs on SDGs, that is 2 per local government. And for those times, they were basically not doing the core roles of Sustainable Development Goals. I look at a situation whereby I can partner with the government to train them to be more proactive in their office. We have women that are occupying political offices that do not even know what to do with such an office, and this is why men are saying why do we need to give more opportunities to women.
Many have commended Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for being the one that has greatly promoted the idea of having women as office-holders since becoming the governor of Kwara state?
Yes. I would also lend my voice to say a big kudos to him. When you are talking about gender inclusiveness and a strong he for she, he has done a lot.
Did you people appreciate him for doing this during the last general election?
Of course, we did. We were there for him, we gave our support. My organization did a lot during his first term, I am the chairperson of a group that is called League of Women Voters. We wrote from the national office to appreciate him. I am also the chairperson of a group that is called Women in Politics, it has a national spread. We also celebrated him. The national coordinator came to Kwara to mobilize support for the six female candidates that were contesting. We gave them training, we mobilized support with National Democratic Institute to give them support and we amplified their voice. We hope that beyond Kwara that he should take this strong support for women to the national frontier, leading the herald to champion the cause of women in the new administration.
Are you saying this because he is the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum?
Yes, we can also leverage on it. Women would leverage on any support.
Let me ask you this question, were you people happy that the person that has promoted and supported the women is the new chairman of NGF?
Of course, we are happy and we are celebrating it because he is our own. Actually, he has done a lot for women. He has domesticated the VAAP act and there is even a register for sex offenders in Kwara, it’s a big one. There is gender-composition bill in Kwara that is supporting this. He has taken it beyond that. He has recently made a pronouncement to give 6-month maternity leave to women. Now, he has made the permanent secretaries position 50/50. 50% for women, 50% for men. In his appointments, he has been favourable to the women. We have a Head of Service that is a woman, we have a DG for the revenue agency, she is also a woman. Women have been put in strategic positions under his administration. But beyond Kwara, we want him to scale it up using his good offices as chairman of the governors’ forum so that other governors will learn from him and follow suit . It will give women the desired kind of relief that we are clamouring for.
Maybe you will have to come up with a proposal on how you intend to partner with the state government?
I will write a proposal to him and we will also organize town hall meetings that would begin to let people know that somebody has done much for us in Kwara. Let us support him to scale it up to the national level and women would benefit from this. I remember when he first came into office; almost 350 women organizations celebrated him in Abuja because we appreciate what he is doing, in a system that seems to show bias against women we are seeing a man that is breaking the stereotype and giving a voice to women, I would want to partner with him and partner with any willing organisation that will herald this and champion that cause.
At the national level, we are yet to have a minister for women affairs, how would you assess the immediate past Minister for Women Affairs?
She did the best that she could. She was there for the women. When you are talking about someone that was physically there, that understands the plights of women, she did. And we are actually looking for more capable hands that will scale it up from where she stopped so that the work continues but overall she actually did a lot for women.
Please tell us about yourself?
My name is Folashade Aransiola. I’m a gender advocate. I believe in the idea of having women occupying positions of authority. I am the state chairperson of an organization that is called League of Women Voters, it’s a national platform. I am also the state chairperson of an organisation that is called Women in Politics forum. Also, I have an organization that is called Women Initiative for Strategic Impact.
We have been training women and we have been organizing capacity building programmes for them. I believe that when women are empowered or allowed to occupy an elective or appointive office, they would give their best.
Tell us about your educational background?
I have a degree in Mass Communication. I have a diploma in journalism and a diploma in law.
