RECENTLY, the National Coalition on Affirmative Action, NCAA, appealed to Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State to sign into law the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill reportedly passed in 2007 and 2010 by the Anambra State House of Assembly but not yet accented to by the Governor.

The coalition, led by its coordinator, Prof. Mercy Anagbogu, described Obi as the most gender -sensitive governor in the country, but expressed surprise at Obi’s alleged squeamishness to sign the bill.

Prof. Anagbogu said: “We sent a report to the international community that Obi is the most gender-sensitive governor in the country, going by what he has done for the women. From what we have so far observed, we are close to the 35 per cent affirmative action in Anambra…. So, we see no reason why the Governor could not sign the bill already passed twice by the lawmakers. He should know that this bill is for the good of all”.

Then, it goes without saying that if Governor Obi had, without signing the bill into law, achieved much more for the women, he would continue to achieve much more for them, without bothering to sign the bill. Or, his signing the bill will be a mere formality, which serves no additional advantage. But, why are women in Anambra State and the rest of the world questing lither and thither for legalising or constitutionalising their citizenship rights, particularly political right, already constituionalised in Nigeria and other democracies?.

Surely, it is only in the spirit of feminism or women liberation. Since the 1960s, beginning from the United States of America, USA,women worldwide have been rising from indulence to challenge men in every struggle–politics, career, education, pay, promotion, and so on.

They have been sprouting up to cancel and tear to pieces the argument that God had designed men as prime ministers, judges, pilots, captains of industries, etc, and women as secretaries, waitresses, data clerks, computer operators and housewives. Perhaps, the women are being goaded by the deception that every man is a sexist, derisive of the female sex and expressive of masculine superiority.

However, the Nigerian women were not caught by the fever of the women’s emergence, known as feminism or women liberation, until after the civil war. At independence, the Nigerian woman was still family-oriented, but shortly after the war she became career-oriented, less by choice than economic realities. With spiraling inflation, the earning power of families steadily declined since the ’80s, so that two incomes are a necessity, not a luxury, and a precarious economy promises only more pain.

Many women fully expect to do their share as breadwinners, though not so much out of personal choice as financial. It is difficult to juggle work and family, such that too much pressure is placed on women to bear burdens. If our women were meant to speak straight, they would say that Nigerian women are no longer contented with the consolation prize of being morally superior for devoting more hours, than men do, to caring for parents, for friends, for children, even for their houses. But our women cannot easily balance their family and career roles. And now, they want to add concrete political roles.

In every democratic experiment, right from Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s political bureau, our women have relentlessly struggled for elective positions of the country’s presidency, state governorship, and equal representation in the National Assembly and the state legislatures. But they have consistently failed abysmally to achieve any of these. Because nobody seems to be listening to them, or to be persuaded by their mission, they have shifted ground.

They now insist that constitutional entrenchment of exclusive political rights of women is to enable them to contribute effectively to development of the country. Accordingly, their slogan has switched to “women in development”.

Having lost presidential and governorship nominations in the short-lived, so-called Third Republic, our women decided to make do with the seats in the state legislatures and local councils. But the female voters chose the men.

Thereafter, the women intensified their struggle for political posts and demanded from Gen. Sani Abacha’s constitutional conference and Provisional Ruling Council, PRC, state intervention as a solution to sex inequality, especially in politics.

They were consoled with the establishment of Ministry for Women, through the sweat of Mrs Maryann Abacha, who requested and got it from the PRC. At any rate, the ministry has not solved, and is not likely to solve, the women’s problems.

By IFEANYI UBABUKOH, a comentator , wrote from Awka, Anambra State.