By Funmi Ajumobi & Ebunoluwa Sessou

If the Gender and Equality Opportunity Bill codenamed, ‘House 1301’is passed into law, the lot of women in governance will receive a boost.

The Bill which was designed to create 111 additional electoral seats for women in the National Assembly thereby providing more representation for women in government, was sponsored by  Nkeiruka Onyejeocha and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

The Bill which might be a breakthrough for Nigerian women has scaled second reading on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Both sponsors of the Bill explained that if passed, the law will give women leverage, the platform where they will be tested.

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Since women are clamouring for so much, it is like giving them a chance temporarily, to see how they can perform.

However, there have been mixed feelings on whether or not the Bill would be passed especially with the bureaucracy of the National Assembly.

Against this background, some women group opined that although the Bill is long overdue it is the right step in the right direction.

Value of gender diversity

Khadijah Abdullahi-Iya, a lawyer and Vice Presidential aspirant for the Alliance for New Nigeria, ANN said the earlier the Nigerian society understands the value of gender diversity, the better, stressing that the society cannot exist or grow without the input of the woman.

“The gender and equal opportunity Bill will drive human development investment at every level in the lives of women and would be an avenue to also invite more women to the policy table, where they can be empowered to add their voices to what the woman at the grassroots needs.

“A woman on a table can champion policies that would help women at the grassroots to effect empowering avenues to educate, economically empower women enough to inadvertently impact on their children.

“A collective of trained and empowered women at the grassroots can do a lot more than you can imagine.

“I pray that this Bill passes through. If the legislators understand what the woman on this table represent, more economically vibrant women; empowered enough to provide food and all the basic necessities for their families, they’re empowered enough to take their children to school and alleviate poverty from their lives; the ripple effect of which translates to a strong community, devoid of all the negative consequences that feed society with the plague of banditry, kidnappers, hoodlums, armed robbery among others.

“When they are empowered enough to make good use of their little income to expand their businesses they can economically impact on their various communities.

“That would increase the GDP of these communities which would reflect on the entire GDP of the country”.

Commending Nkeiruka  Onyejeocha and the House of Representatives Speaker, Femi  Gbajabiamila who are visionary enough to understand the value the Bill and all it would would bring to the  country, she however cautions that it is not enough to pass these Bills.

“It is also very important that instruments of implementation are put in place to drive the Bill”, she added.

Talk is cheap

Bose Ironsi, Founder, WRAHP also agrees on the motive, while expressing her wish that the National Assembly does not stall the process because everybody has equal rights.

“Women should be given opportunity in the country.  ”There are other Bills that have been passed, the issue is implementation. There should be deliberate efforts to ensure implementation of the Bills if it is passed.”

Passage is long overdue

In the same vein, for Ngozi Nwosu Juba, CEO,  Visionspring, the passage of the Bill is long overdue and should be supported as it will lead to the promotion of equity and full development, as well  as the advancement of all persons.

“However, it is the sincere hope of Nigerians especially women and girls that this Bill becomes a Law as a means of addressing discrimination against women.

“Nigeria will be the better for it if we have a law that eliminates discrimination in political and public life: women will contribute to the development of Nigeria and negative social norms will become history.

Acting Regional Chair, AML/CFT CSO forum Ecowas Region, Efe Anaughe however has doubts on the successful passage of the bill.

According to her, the challenge we always have is that myopic and simple minded people who do not have a full understanding of what the Bill is about might just jump in and begin to find ways to scuttle the entire Bill.

“It is about time Women are liberated from this reprehensible mediocre state we have found ourselves in, where only platitudes and lip service is the order of the day. Talk is cheap. Let’s see if action will back this lofty and laudable Bill”.

Women representation less than 5%—Annabel Ugwoke

For Annabel Ugwoke, Senior Programme Manager, National Democratic Institute, NDI, the said Bill simply seeks to create additional seats at the national and state legislations to ensure we have a substantive number of women in decision making.

It is also an interim measure that would address the issue of low representation and motivate more women to seek elective positions in subsequent elections.

“When there are more women as legislators they will come up with Laws that would promote education, good health care, economic empowerment which she said men are not wired to come up with.

“Women representation has gone very low with less than 5percent of women occupying political office which is not a good one. And this is the reason there are no sensitive policies and Laws to promote women issues.

“God created every human with potentials. We have capable women just like their male counterparts. People should begin to understand that women can thrive anywhere.

Senior Programme Officer at Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC, Nkiru Uzodi, concurs.

“Nigeria has the worst record in the whole of Africa with less than 5 percent representation in political office.

“If specific intervention is not taken, it would get worse. Nigeria has a gender policy that says the government of the day should ensure that there are 35per cent representation of  women in decision making  but there has been  no commitment to the policy and for me, signing this is one of the way government can show that they are committed to improve women representation.

“On the Bill, political will is the only key to achieve result”.

Vanguard News Nigeria