Somali female lawmakers visit Akpabio, Abass, seek exchange of ideas

Lawmakers from Somalia on Monday called for a better collaboration that would enhance the relationship between the Nigerian and Somalian parliaments.

They made the call during a separate visit to the Nigerian Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker, House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass in Abuja led by Sahuur Haji Ulusow – MP and Chairperson of the women caucus in the Somali parliament.

The visit, orchestrated by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Somalia, under the leadership of Country Representative, Niye Ojowlape, was aimed to showcase the commitment to cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration in the realm of parliamentary diplomacy.

Speaking, Senator Naima Hassan Mohamud of the parliament of Somali said the parliament has about 54 female lawmakers, noting however that they were working to increase the number in the next election.

She described Somali as a growing democracy that needs ideas from different countries so they could able to deliver dividends of democracy to their people.

“We are the female Somali representatives of the Senate and the House of the People. And we are here to exchange knowledge with you knowing that Nigeria is similar to Somalia in so many ways, from culture, religion, diversity, and we’re happy to be here and to exchange knowledge. Somali is a growing democracy and with this opportunity, we’ll be able to improve and have meaningful participation with you and an exchange of dialogue.

Akpabio while welcoming the visit, said parley between both countries will strengthen parliamentary ties and cooperation between Nigeria and Somali.

He said though colonialism divided Africa in terms of territories and languages, future generations of young Africans could be encouraged to learn languages of other countries.

According to him, “That way, we can begin to bond together as Africans realizing our common heritage and ancestry”.

“We are convinced that no matter whether the parliament are different, we share one objective which is the fact that we would like to see good governance, improvement in the living standard of Africans and the fact that we would like to see a tribe free Africa where there’s no crisis, where prosperity reigns and where the people can interact and have a voice and that is what democracy provides.”

He said though the 10th senate have few women compared to the ninth assembly, the female legislatures have been given key responsibilities and were not made redundant.

On his part, Abbas while receiving the delegation, commended the lawmakers for finding the Nigerian parliament as a worthy place to visit, saying ideas is best exchanged with people who share similar culture and history.

Abbas represented by the deputy speaker, Benjamin Kalu, said the disclosure that there were about 54 women in the Somali parliament is a wakeup call for Nigeria to increase the number of women in the National Assembly.

He said: “So, it’s going to be a symbiotic transfer of knowledge. From our side, you will learn one or two things and from your side, we already understood the message you are trying to pass which is the fact that our gender equity formula, gender equality formula and gender inclusiveness formula need to be rejig in Nigeria. I can assure you that there is no advocacy that is greater for our women than that which you have done by coming to Nigeria. You came to Nigerians to tell us that, yes, you are smaller than us but you have more women in your parliament. We have only 16 and you have 54, it is a challenge. We must copy you in this regard”

He said the Somali parliament also have to learn from Nigeria by making more women heads of committees.

The speaker also told his guest that both countries have similar issues of insecurity and humanitarian crisis to contend with, adding that the 10th NASS was working assiduously to ensure that the issues are tackled.

He said: “Like the previous speakers rightly pointed out. We have similar humanitarian issues. So what did we do as a house? We created a committee or two in charge of Humanitarian Affairs and another in charge of poverty alleviation and national emergency response.

“We handed it over to those who will ensure that the policies of government within the affected states are well carried out and that they receive speed when there are resolutions for legislative compliance. Maybe it’s one of the things you should be looking into but on this humanitarian issues in your countries, you need a specialize committee that will be able to address these challenges”.

He expressed confidence that the security challenges in Africa will come to an end in no distant time, saying that “it is impeding our developments.”

On his part, Ojowlape, the UNFPA Country Representative, emphasized the organization’s dedication to fostering partnerships that contribute to the advancement of gender equality and legislative excellence.