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Nigeria: Politics - Group Seeks Greater Women Participation
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This Day (Lagos)
29 April 2008
Posted to the web 30 April 2008
Hilda Esin
Lagos
Women all over Nigeria have been enjoined to actively participate in politics and its various processes at all levels of the society, to help improve livelihood of women, reduce social inequalities among grassroots women and the girl-child.
Above call was made by the Ajegunle Community Project (ACP), a non-governmental organisation which focuses on gender issues and women empowerment, at a one-day workshop on Civic Education Towards Good Governance held recently in Lagos.
At the workshop, which attracted men and women from different communities in the State, various papers were presented which led to questions and deliberations among participants.
Among the speakers were Alhaja Roli Daniju, ACP's Executive Director; Mrs. Olushola Akai, the Programme Coordinator; and Mrs. Bukola Akosile-Adelehin, Programme Officer of WANEP, Nigeria who spoke on 'Communication, Consultation and Conflict Management as a veritable tools for Good Governance'.
Daniju, who was represented by Akai, said, "the programme's objective is to bring together political aspirants and civil society to discuss local government issues and produce some case studies that would serve as advocacy and reference materials for discussion on policy change."
These, according to her, would be achieved through their various intervention programmes, which include skills acquisition, micro-credit association, youth friendly centre, democracy and governance.
"A lot of women are not fully represented in the decision making of government. As a result, we want more women to participate in politics. Not only that, we want more women to participate in politics. We are emphasising on the need to ensure accountability and transparency in governance," Akai said.
She revealed that the grassroots organisation intends to address potential female aspirants ahead of time on what they ought to do and who they are accountable to after they are elected; adding that the people have no access to politicians when they are elected into various offices, thereby leaving them with unsolved problems.
Akai opined that the politician ought to seek for the people's opinion before a project or contract is carried out; that these projects are often given to the wrong contractors who waste resources such as the digging of boreholes and constructing of roads.
"ACP will set up a team that would monitor these contractors as they carry out these projects. When we start engaging with the politicians they would know us, and we would further engage them on discussion and consultations that would no longer be new to them," Akai stated. Speaking on the topic, "Communication, Consultation and Conflict Management as Veritable tools for Good Governance, Akosile-Adelehin of WANEP said "the reason for increased quest for political participation is not necessarily out of the desire to correct any perceived injustice or genuine interest to serve Nigeria and institute the Rule of Law".
"It is to have access to wealth and privileges that comes with political offices, which was evident in the various political dispensations. To promote democracy and good governance, is to strengthen the rule of law, have respect for human rights, and have peaceful resolution of conflicts", she said.
According to the WANEP programme officer, for an effective communication during a conflict, is to hear what the other party is saying, in a way to make them feel heard, and to make the other party understand their message.
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"To build trust and foster democracy and good governance in any society, political office holders need to consult the constituency on issue for their opinion. They must also learn to handle problems and transform it to bring positive growth", she said.
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