By Ebunoluwa Sessou & Abdulmumin Murtala, Kano

Women voters have turned out in their numbers to vote in all the polling units visited by Vanguard in the large cosmopolitan cities of Lagos and Kano, the two most important states in determining the winner in last Saturday’s presidential polls.

Female voters in both cities were seen in long queues waiting to cast their votes with some of them carrying infant children under the scorching sun.

The just concluded presidential/ National Assembly elections could not be complete without telling of the impact of Nigerian women voters, who came out en masse, despite the challenges emanating from cash crunch, insecurity, among others.

From the North to the West, East and to the South, women in their millions ignored the scorching sun to vote for their preferred candidates.

This was despite disappointing levels of participation of women in active politics which is reducing by the cycle. According to research, 9 percent of candidates contesting to be president, governor and members of parliament are women, even as 48 percent of registered voters are women. Also, just 26 out of 420 governorship candidates are women.

At the Wailari ward at Dawakin Tofa, women could be seen in long queues. A female voter, Maryam Muhammad voting at polling unit number 003 said she was there to exercise her constitutional right as a citizen.

“I was instructed to come out and vote by my husband like all the other women. We are here to cast our votes as good citizens of the country” she stated.

Another voter, Fatima Isah, at Cikin Garin Ganduje ward where Governor Ganduje cast his vote also expressed satisfaction with the way women have come out to vote.

“This shows that our women folks are taking up their responsibility as mothers and are interested in the progress of our country” she stated.

They were told that they had exceeded the number of people captured by the BVAS and would have to wait for further instructions.

An incident occurred at the Tukuntawa ward of Kumbotso local government, gidan radio polling unit where some people belonging to a new ward expressed fear of being disenfranchised.

An affected female voter vowed to remain there until she exercised her voting rights.

“My name is Aisha Haruna and I am here to vote but the BVAS could not identify me and was told to stay aside and wait a while. I will wait here and will not leave until I cast my vote” she says.

In Lagos, the picture of a woman attacked by miscreants who returned to her Lagos polling unit to cast her vote in bandages, has been trending as one of the most iconic photographs of the elections.

In polling unit ward 005, Oke Afa, a Lagos metropolis, the women were ready and happy to cast their vote. Bisi Adeyanju, one of the voters who spoke with WO, said it was her first time to vote during Nigerian elections.

“My sister, I am happy to be part of this process this year and I am certain that I would vote. We have been out since morning and we will not be tired”, said.

However in ward 030, Ajao Estate, it was a different story entirely as most of the women expressed dissatisfaction with the entire process.

Meanwhile, erstwhile candidate of the Bayelsa West Senatorial District in last Saturday’s Polls, Mrs. Tombra Mohammed claimed while local women came out enmasse to cast their votes for her, the more established political parties openly engaged in vote buying, leading to her defeat.

According to her, after collecting the pittance they (her supporters) all succumbed to pressure and by the next day, they came begging and crying.

“ I am not sure I could have approached the campaign and election day differently, if my mission was to be of service.

The truth is that women are living below poverty and that N200 is the only meal they will get on election day”.

“ Bayelsa will not forget my hard work, as such I am happy and know that in an ideal society, I will be declared the winner because I played strictly by the electoral law guidelines”, she said.

This month, the world will be celebrating International Women’s Day once more, providing us with an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made in the push for gender equity, and to recognise the work yet to be accomplished.

The 35 percent Affirmative Action push has virtually fizzled out. The big question however remains, when are women going to get affirmative action?

It is instructive to note that women were a strong part of the campaign team of the winning All Progressives Congress, APC, led by the party’s Women Leader, Dr. Betta Edu.