The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has berated members of the National Assembly for failing women by voting against the gender bills that were designed to uphold the dignity of women and further empower more women to participate in politics and governance.
Obaseki who spoke in Benin City at the weekend, maintained that “the political class has again expressed its disdain for women despite their daily toil to the uplift of millions of families, their immense contribution to the nation’s growth and development, and more importantly, in this context, to elections’ outcomes.”
He added: “The time has come to redefine our politics. Our democracy must be inclusive as it is practiced in countries where we borrowed democracy from.
“We cannot throw away the cardinal element of democracy which is inclusiveness and adopt a retrogressive, alienating and discriminatory version that will lead us nowhere as a country.
“We cannot continue to ignore the sweat, intelligence and dignity of Nigerian women, who are our God-given
partners and assets for sustainable social and economic growth.”
The Governor further said, “Our history as a country is replete with factual accounts of the gigantic contributions of women, such as Queen Amina of Zaria, Queen Idia of Benin and the Aba Women, amongst others, to our liberation struggles, economic and social reforms and even in some cases women literally led wars, battles and social campaigns that changed the course of our history for the better.
“In the organized private sector, women are leading key financial institutions which our male national assembly members run to for loans and other forms of financial support.”
“So if our women can lead multi billion naira institutions, how come we chose to live the lie that women cannot do even better in politics and governance?” He queried.
Obaseki declared: “This pretentious stance must stop. Members of the national assembly were elected by men and women.
“They must beat a retreat from their macho posture and seek urgent ways to integrate more women in governance through responsible and all-inclusive legislations that will allow everyone to flourish and
contribute their God-given talent to our collective progress.”
