By Helen Ovbiagele, Woman Editor
Our problem in this country is that the men think they know it all, and are more qualified to rule than the women are,” declared Mrs. Z. at a recent seminar organised to encourage women to take more active part in politics.

“You are right, you know,” agreed another participant, “and, I wonder how they came about that conclusion.  How many men are capable of running their homes efficiently, without the help of his wife? That is the litmus test for a good ruler, because if you are able to manage all aspects of running a home well, then you’ll perform well if put in position of authority in a country.  Can men manage a home well?”

“Very few, if any. Many of them would fall apart if given the full control of running the home.  They won’t know their right from their left and they would conveniently forget whatever they don’t find pleasant to them.”

“Like refusing to acknowledge that the baby’s diaper needs changing, after each feed,” said a young lady, with some feeling. “You leave the baby in their care, and they wouldn’t think of changing the diaper all day, and they pretend not to notice the awful stench hovering around the baby.”

“That’s until you return home and you take over looking after the baby.  It’s then they will agree with you that there’s a foul smell in the air, and they had been wondering where it was coming from.”

“And, yet they had carried the baby and fed it!  They look after the upper part of the baby and ignore the lower part.  They pretend it doesn’t exist, or is not a part of the deal of looking after the baby!”

“Yet, the baby is theirs, and they are proud to be a father.”

We all burst out laughing, because these observations are an accurate description of how many of our males handle their positions.
Take any of our social service and ponder over how they are handling it; e.g. roads.

Those in authority here are very aware of the situation and what should be done.  They go to inspect the bad roads dotted all over the country, taking the media with them.  At the scene, they say all the right things and make big promises.

These are reported in the media and we are assured that these roads will be rehabilitated at once. Months later, the roads, of course, are much worse than at the time of the visit.  What happened?

We then begin to hear all sorts of stories – money not made available by the government, or, there is money for the project, but there is argument about who should handle it, or, the contractors appointed to handle it have disappeared with the mobilisation money without doing anything.  If something is done, it is very shoddy work which is washed away by the rains at once. Who inspected the work done?

Silence.  The media take up the cry, and then mudslinging begins, with contractors claiming they hadn’t been paid for all the work done, and the government denying this and breathing fire and brimstone, promising to punish the guilty.  The state of the roads continue to worsen, claiming lives in accidents.  Cries from the media, and government workmen are sent to patch these roads.  All a waste of time and money when what these roads need is total rehabilitation.

The government have numerous experts and so, they are aware of this.  But, there is no sense of commitment or accountability so they continue to do nothing until their term in office ends, and another batch of non-performing males come to repeat this process.

This attitude runs through many other things in our nation – power supply, water, healthcare, education, transport, etc.

Put a woman there, and give her the free hand to perform, and our roads would be in top form all the time because they know that we need good roads to transport foodstuffs with which to feed the nation, ensure safe and smooth movement while travelling; our hospitals will offer better health care because as women, we value life, knowing the great risks involved in pregnancy and  child-birth, rearing children and ensuring that people remain in good health;

educational standard will be higher because we know that education is the key to a better life, and we don’t want a nation of illiterate graduates; we would ensure efficient and steady power supply because it is needed to run businesses, light up the home and our appliances, and ensure a more qualitative lifestyle, even among the poor; clean water in every household would be a top priority given the rate at which water-borne diseases devastate the nation frequently; the law-enforcement agencies would be well-paid and well-equipped so that they can seriously handle the issue of  security efficiently, all over the country, etc.  Why would women be more concerned about all these than the men?  Because women have a better sense of responsibility and commitment as home-builders than many men.

We don’t wait until people are hungry before we start cooking, and we don’t wait until the last scrap of food is gone in the house before we go shopping for food. We stock up on food and on medication too, in case someone falls ill at any time.  We have better money sense because we put the home first and don’t keep back money to spend on outside interests. So, the desire to embezzle money to sustain outside interest is not there. Of course, not all women are honest and people of integrity, but the majority of them are, because they don’t want to bring disgrace to their home and kids by stealing. Some of those who steal, do so at the prompting of their men.

Many men want positions of authority but not the responsibility that goes with them.  Politics is a dangerous and risky affair in our country because politicians want to win at all cost, and this may not necessarily be because they love this country and its citizens so much, but rather it is the attraction of the money and the power that being elected bring to the winner.  Politics has become the quickest way to make money, right now.

Legislators wanted a pay rise at a time when doctors and teachers were on strike for better pay and work conditions, and many things which need money pumped into them to make them work, are not working.  How about sacrifice for the nation?

Letting more women into politics and elective positions would lessen the focus on money politics, because the majority of the women who can render good and honest service to this nation, do not have the money that the male politicians have.  Focus on money will always keep out these women, and we do need them to create a good balance in governance.

Nigeria is a signatory to the UN’s recommendation that 35 per cent should be given to the women in parliament and governance, but we are yet to do that. We should allow in those women of integrity who have proved their mettle in service.

It should be mandatory for all the political parties to put forward a good number of women for elective positions. Nigeria has the highest number of highly educated and enlightened female professionals on the continent, according to experts.  Let’s make good use of them to move the nation forward.