Nigerian women face a myriad of challenges. Shackled, relegated and disadvantaged by a misogynist society. Women pay the gender sacrifice in nearly every facet of life in Nigeria. Worst hit by extreme poverty. A major victim of gender-based violence. Adversely affected by economic and social insecurity. Unequal chance to education and opportunities. Transitioning from primary education to post-primary is difficult, especially in Northern Nigeria. Transitioning from post-primary to tertiary institutions is even more challenging. Sonship preference, early and forced marriages, career glass ceiling, archaic cultural practices, discriminating patriarchy, child labour, sexual molestation, and other “evils” characterize some of the daily challenges many Nigerian women face. Nigeria’s two major religions abhor the mere thought of gender equality. Women in leadership continue to decline in Nigeria. Seven women were senators in the 9th Senate. The number has declined to three women in the incoming 10th Senate, all first-timers from Lagos, Rivers, and the Federal Capital Territory. One of the influential women in Nigerian politics has transitioned from being a senator to becoming Nigeria’s First Lady. Would it be business unusual or business as usual for Nigerian women?
As Senator Oluremi Tinubu resumed as “First Lady of Nigeria”, She became the poster lady of Nigerian women. A three-term lawmaker in the Nigerian Senate. A former First Lady of Lagos State, Africa’s fourth biggest economy. A familiar role but with greater responsibility and opportunity to turn the tide for Nigerian women. In the 2016 budget allocation of ₦4 billion to the Ministry of Women Affairs, Senator Oluremi Tinubu accused former President Muhammadu Buhari of using and dumping Nigerian women after the election. Sadly, in 2017, 2019, and 2021, the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill was rejected by the Nigerian Senate. In 2020, Senator Oluremi Tinubu joined other women to demand 35 percent affirmative action for women in leadership. On Monday, 5th of June, 2023, Senator Oluremi Tinubu resumed as Nigeria’s “First Woman”. It is time to work on the talk. An opportunity now exists for Nigeria’s First Lady to manifest her manifestos for women all these years. She has the power and influence to change the narrative, improve Nigerian women’s living and social conditions, and sustain it. Her experience as a former lawmaker makes it even more exciting. She understands how, when, and where to start the process of women’s economic empowerment in Nigeria.
Education, the highest form of economic empowerment, must take priority for women and girls. The First Lady should ensure women are given trusted positions in the new administration without compromising competence. From now on, 35 percent affirmative action for women’s appointments should be visible in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s appointments. The Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill should be revisited, and the First Lady should lobby her former colleagues to pass the Bill and get her husband’s assent at all costs. The Bill will address many concerns and challenges faced by women in Nigeria. The First Lady of Nigeria should challenge wives of Governors of the 36 states of Nigeria to enact laws to protect women at the sub-national and local levels. Religious, cultural, and social practices that relegate women to second fiddle must be jettisoned for new and inclusive ways of growth and prosperity. Special attention, a need-based budget, and an intervention fund should be provided for women’s economic empowerment. Laws must be enacted to support women’s ownership of property and inheritance in all states of Nigeria. There should be incentives in the form of tax cuts and relief for businesses and companies with more women in management positions. Women should be given scholarships and grants to fill the gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and other male-dominated sectors for inclusion.
Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality), seemingly dead on arrival in Nigeria in 2015, can come back to life through the new First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. She must display the will and actions to empower Nigerian women. If Rwanda can raise the gender bar in Africa and globally, Nigeria can learn and take the lead. Nigeria women remain Nigeria’s most significant asset to economic transformation. Women’s economic empowerment is no threat to men. No nation can make meaningful progress without women’s involvement in development. Women are “missing” in Nigeria’s development process, but the new administration might be a “show time” for women. Senator Oluremi Tinubu, one of Nigeria’s leading examples of “women empowered to do big things”, must lead from the front.
• Alikor is a development economist & University of Oxford Foundry Fellow (alikorvictor@gmail.com)
