• Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
    • Government
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
PRNIGERIA PRNigeria News
PRNIGERIA PRNIGERIA
  • Home
  • Anti-Corruption
    • Engr Abba Babagana Dalori

      Engr Dalori Forfeits Galaxy Hospital, Petrol Station, Properties & Cash

      Chinese nationals jailed in Lagos

      Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals for Cybercrime in Lagos

      ASUU

      Tackle Corruption, Institutional Decay – ASUU Charges FG

      EFCC Arraigns Bauchi Accountant General Over N8bn Fraud as Court Sentences…

      PRNigeria logo fearured image

      EFCC Arraigns Ex-Convict, Other for Naira Abuse in Lagos

  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
    • Comptroller General Nigerian Customs Bashir Adewale

      Customs Moves Against 223 Importers in N379bn Permit Breach

      Bashir Adewale Adeniyi Customs Boss

      How Customs is Tightening Borders to Stop Illicit Cash Flows –…

      Customs boss, CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi with NAFDAC DG Professor Moji Adeyeye

      Codeine, Tramadol Worth ₦20.5bn Seized as Customs-NAFDAC Cooperation Deepens

      Acting Controller General of Customs, Nigerian Customs Services, NSC, Ag. CG Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

      Adeniyi Inaugurates Lagos School Renovated by Nigeria Customs 

      Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada

      Customs’ Maiwada Named Among Nigeria’s 50 Most Influential PR Voices

  • National
    • Troops Repel Boko Haram Attack in Gwoza, Recover Firearms

      court Judiciary

      Court Remands TikToker Arrested by DSS for claiming President Tinubu died

      Comptroller General Nigerian Customs Bashir Adewale

      Customs Moves Against 223 Importers in N379bn Permit Breach

      Dr. Ibrahim Bello Emir of Gusau

      His Death is a National Loss – Tinubu Mourns Emir of…

      Bashir Adewale Adeniyi Customs Boss

      How Customs is Tightening Borders to Stop Illicit Cash Flows –…

    • Government
      • court Judiciary

        Court Remands TikToker Arrested by DSS for claiming President Tinubu died

        Leon Usigbe

        Tinubu Mourns Veteran State House Correspondent, Leon Usigbe

        Dr. Ibrahim Bello, Emir of Gusau

        Tinubu, NUJ, Police, and Military Mourn the Death of Gusau Emir

        Dr. Ibrahim Bello Emir of Gusau

        His Death is a National Loss – Tinubu Mourns Emir of…

        Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN)

        LPPC Elevates Nasarawa SSG, Osun AG, S/Court Judge’s Son, Ayodeji, 53…

  • Security
    • Troops Repel Boko Haram Attack in Gwoza, Recover Firearms

      Troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA

      Troops Kill Three Terrorist Leaders in Sokoto Ambush, Recover Weapons

      Nigerian Navy Personnel

      Navy Arrests 9 Impostors Operating as Fake Coast Guards in Akwa…

      Lt. Col (Mrs) Onyechi Appolonia Anele, FSS, anipr

      Army Dismisses Allegations of Delayed Promotions, Stagnant Allowances

      Police Arrest 22 Cultists in Ogun

  • Features
    • Leon Usigbe

      Death, you can’t be Proud of this By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem 

      Tinubu’s Plateau Gambit – Yilwatda, 2027, and the Return of the…

      Ozumi and a recipient of a wheelchair

      Wheels of Hope: How a Simple Gift is Reshaping Lives at…

      Late Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari and Mansur Liman

      “Buhari: A Blunt, Honest Leader Who Laughed at His Own Predicament”

      Intelligence Synergy: Reshaping Nigeria’s Security Architecture, By Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi

  • State
    • Troops Repel Boko Haram Attack in Gwoza, Recover Firearms

      Nigerian Navy Personnel

      Navy Arrests 9 Impostors Operating as Fake Coast Guards in Akwa…

      Lt. Col (Mrs) Onyechi Appolonia Anele, FSS, anipr

      Army Dismisses Allegations of Delayed Promotions, Stagnant Allowances

      Police Officer

      Enugu Police Raid IPOB/ESN Hideout, Nab 25 Militants, Recover Firearms

      Troops Eliminate Notorious Bandit Kingpin ‘Dan Dari Biyar’ in Sokoto Operation

  • Event
    • Cross section of participants and guests at the Kaduna State Chapter world PR day

      Kaduna NIPR Urges Students to Embrace Evolving PR Landscape

      Engr. Saleeman Adedoyin Saleeman

      Global IT Leader Saleeman Adedoyin Launches Free Summer School in Ilorin…

      Celestine Achi, AI in PR specialist

      BOOK REVIEW: AI is Reshaping PR—Celestine Achi Shows Us How

      Saudi Arabia’s ‘Sleeping Prince’ Dies Weeks After PRNigeria Debunked Viral Recovery…

      Young Muhammadu Buhari jnr

      A Young Buhari’s Poetic Tribute to a Leader By Yushau A….

    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Home General One Year After, how have Nigerian Women Faired Under Tinubu? By Nafisat...
  • General

One Year After, how have Nigerian Women Faired Under Tinubu? By Nafisat Bello

By
Nafisat Bello
-
May 29, 2024
President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

One Year After, how have Nigerian Women Faired Under Tinubu? By Nafisat Bello

“We campaign in poetry and govern in prose”

That was the 52nd governor of New York, Late Mario Cuomo, at his philosophical best. The father of equally famous Andrew Cuomo (the 56th governor of New York), Chris Cuomo (formerly of CNN), Maldeline Cuomo and others, sought to highlight the difference between the idealistic and inspirational language used during political campaigns (poetry) and the practical, detailed, and often less glamorous work of actually governing (prose).

During a political campaign, candidates often use lofty language, grand visions, and emotional appeals to inspire and rally supporters. This poetic language is meant to capture people’s imagination, convey a sense of hope and possibility, and motivate voters to support the candidate.

However, once a candidate is elected and becomes responsible for governing, the focus shifts to the practicalities of implementing policies, making decisions, and managing the day-to-day operations of government. This work is often more detailed, complex, and less glamorous than the rhetoric of a political campaign.

In essence, the phrase suggests that while it is important to inspire and motivate people with grand ideas and visionary language during a campaign, the real test of leadership comes in the day-to-day work of governing, where attention to detail, pragmatism, and effective decision-making are crucial.

The above illustration is the story of Nigerian politics and governance. The period of electioneering is always fun for voters who attend rallies and are treated to tales of fantastic promises, sweet comedy, music and dance (poetry). But the period of governance comes with a different dimension of seriousness where the leaders see reality and want the people to tighten their belts (prose).

To pack millions of Nigerian women’s votes in the 2023 election, President Bola Tinubu made a lot of promises during electioneering. It is now left to be seen in the course of this piece if one year after, the man has also deployed the Cuomo tactics to lure our women to bed with sweet ‘poetry’ while delivering serious ‘prose’ since May 29, 2023.

The 35% Affirmative Action

Women in Africa have in recent years been breaking glass ceilings and making tremendous strides in governance. Countries like Liberia, Rwanda and others have had female presidents while a lot more have had top parliamentarians, ministers heading critical beats and all that.

In Rwanda, over 60 percent of legislators are women while other countries have over 30 percent.

Unfortunately, adequate attention has not been paid to the call for addressing the disparity between men’s and women’s participation in politics in Nigeria, as the country keeps lagging behind despite having almost half its population consisting of women.

Nigeria is yet to produce an elected governor while the women in the National Assembly are less than 10 percent!

Meanwhile, the issue of mainstreaming women in leadership roles is a global mandate of the United Nations (UN) that had metamorphosed into 35% ‘Affirmative Action’ (AA).

Since 1999, no Nigerian President has been able to achieve the 35% women representation affirmative action as also stipulated in the National Gender Policy (NGP) of 2006.

President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed only three women out of 28 ministers in 1999 and that was just about 11 percent. The number increased to nine women out of 30 cabinet members in his second term from 2003 – 2007. And that was 30 percent which was short of the 35 percent required. We can say it was a close shot, but still it wasn’t enough.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration also failed to achieve the specified percentage, as he only appointed nine women out of 36 ministers and that was a 25 percent performance.

Read Also:

  • Troops Repel Boko Haram Attack in Gwoza, Recover Firearms
  • Troops Kill Three Terrorist Leaders in Sokoto Ambush, Recover Weapons
  • Navy Arrests 9 Impostors Operating as Fake Coast Guards in Akwa Ibom

President Muhammadu Buhari appointed six women out of 42 ministers in his first term making it 14 percent. In his second term, he increased the number to seven female ministers out of a list of 43, making a total of 16% of women in his cabinet.

Tinubu’s Poetry Versus Prose

Recognising the daunting need to put in place necessary measures to give equal rights to both genders and achieve the 35% affirmative action, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) stated in his written and signed manifesto titled: “Renewed Hope 2023: Action Plan For A Better Nigeria’, that he will push for legislation to increase women’s participation in governance.

Taking into cue the immense potential of the Nigerian women and youths especially how they constitute the majority of the voting population during election, yet they are not considered when it’s time for sharing the spoils of electoral victories. The President made it a cornerstone of his administration to create avenues for their growth, development, and success. An action that will also accelerate Nigeria’s compliance to the UN gender action.

According to Tinubu’s document, “This legislation shall also mandate the federal executive (particularly the cabinet and core senior advisers) to reserve a minimum number of senior positions for women.”

A year into President Tinubu’s administration, he has not acted on the legislation he promised. Available data also shows that women hold 18.75% of ministerial positions, approximately half of the target percentage.

Social Investment/ Healthcare Reforms

But the fate of women can’t be restricted to the issue of appointment. There has to be a space for empowerment through poverty alleviation, social schemes, health reforms etc.

The Tinubu administration sustained his predecessor’s fuel subsidy removal policy and also floated the Naira. The two controversial policies have caused massive inflation in the prices of goods, foods and basic services and also a significant reduction in people’s purchasing power. Women have been at the receiving end of the consequent economic hardship in the last one year.

On the other hand, the administration has equally introduced a couple of palliative measures meant to cushion the effect of the above polices, and women have been the largest beneficiaries of such measures.

Also, President Tinubu’s reforms in the health sector which are being executed through the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, have been the best thing to have happened to women in recent years.

His Renewed Hope Agenda targets special treatment for women and girls including the elderly and aims to defeat cervical cancer, breast cancer as well as other terminal and vaccine-preventable diseases. Already, the HPV vaccination has been democratised and thousands of Nigerian girls have benefited in the last few months.

The Ministry of Health has equiped 1,400 Primary Health Care Centres to provide Skilled Birth attendance and reduce infant and maternal mortality in the country.

The project, which covers 8,300 facilities, was funded through the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).

Pate revealed this during the presentation of the health sector achievements at the Ministerial Sectorial Briefing.

According to Pate, more than 2,400 health workers, including nurses, doctors and midwives, have been recruited to provide services to Nigerians, many of whom are women in rural areas delivering essential services.

Last Line

The romance between President Tinubu and Nigerian women can be described as a bitter-sweet experience for the latter. The former promised to give adequate slots to women in his appointments. But this promise cannot be be said to have been fully fulfilled even though there are a couple of outstanding women occupying important positions in the administration.

President Tinubu has already exhausted 25 percent of his four-year tenure and he runs a race against time to fulfill the rest of his promises to Nigerian women.

VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES
PRNigeria.com EconomicConfidential.com PRNigeria.com/Hausa/
EmergencyDigest.com PoliticsDigest.ng TechDigest.ng
HealthDigest.ng SpokesPersonsdigest.com TeensDigest.ng
ArewaAgenda.com Hausa.ArewaAgenda.com YAShuaib.com
  • TAGS
  • `Renewed Hope Agenda’
  • National Health Insurance Authority
  • Nigerian Women
  • NPHCDA
  • President Tinubu
Previous articleMNJTF, Ocha Partner on Humanitarian Support in Lake Chad
Next articleKano Emirate Tussle: Gov Yusuf Bans Demonstrations, Orders Arrest of Student Protesters
Nafisat Bello
Nafisat Bello
Xing

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Nigerian Navy Personnel

Navy Arrests 9 Impostors Operating as Fake Coast Guards in Akwa Ibom

Lt. Col (Mrs) Onyechi Appolonia Anele, FSS, anipr

Army Dismisses Allegations of Delayed Promotions, Stagnant Allowances

court Judiciary

Court Remands TikToker Arrested by DSS for claiming President Tinubu died

Police Officer

Enugu Police Raid IPOB/ESN Hideout, Nab 25 Militants, Recover Firearms

Troops Eliminate Notorious Bandit Kingpin ‘Dan Dari Biyar’ in Sokoto Operation

Dr. Ibrahim Bello, Emir of Gusau

Tinubu, NUJ, Police, and Military Mourn the Death of Gusau Emir

Police Officer

Anambra Police Arrest Suspected Child Trafficker, Rescue 11 Abducted Children

Military Troops in Action

Troops Rescue 3 Kidnapped Victims in Benue–Taraba Border

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN)

LPPC Elevates Nasarawa SSG, Osun AG, S/Court Judge’s Son, Ayodeji, 53 others to SANs

Army Recovers Weapons, Rescues Teenager in Plateau

EFCC Probes UK-Bound Female Passenger Over Undeclared Foreign Currencies at Lagos Airport

In Kano, NAFDAC Shuts Down Warehouse Stocked with Explosive Chemicals

Recent Posts

  • Troops Repel Boko Haram Attack in Gwoza, Recover Firearms
  • Troops Kill Three Terrorist Leaders in Sokoto Ambush, Recover Weapons
  • Navy Arrests 9 Impostors Operating as Fake Coast Guards in Akwa Ibom
  • Army Dismisses Allegations of Delayed Promotions, Stagnant Allowances
  • Court Remands TikToker Arrested by DSS for claiming President Tinubu died
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
© 2020 PRNigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Latest News
Troops Repel Boko Haram Attack in Gwoza, Recover FirearmsTroops Kill Three Terrorist Leaders in Sokoto Ambush, Recover WeaponsNavy Arrests 9 Impostors Operating as Fake Coast Guards in Akwa IbomArmy Dismisses Allegations of Delayed Promotions, Stagnant AllowancesCourt Remands TikToker Arrested by DSS for claiming President Tinubu diedDeath, you can’t be Proud of this By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem Tinubu Mourns Veteran State House Correspondent, Leon UsigbePolice Arrest 22 Cultists in OgunEnugu Police Raid IPOB/ESN Hideout, Nab 25 Militants, Recover FirearmsTroops Eliminate Notorious Bandit Kingpin ‘Dan Dari Biyar’ in Sokoto OperationTinubu, NUJ, Police, and Military Mourn the Death of Gusau EmirCustoms Moves Against 223 Importers in N379bn Permit BreachCOAS Endorses NDC’s Research on Advanced Military TechnologiesAnambra Police Arrest Suspected Child Trafficker, Rescue 11 Abducted ChildrenHis Death is a National Loss - Tinubu Mourns Emir of Gusau
X whatsapp