Daniel Kanu
Senator Joy Emordi represented Anambra North at the Senate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and was appointed Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education.
She later ran for the position again in the April 2011 elections on the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) platform, losing the election to the PDP candidate.
Mrs Emodi who was also a former Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on National Assembly Matters in this interview with Sunday Sun picked holes with the recent ministerial list particularly on the low percentage of women representation just as she lamented on the security challenge in the country, calling on the leadership to rise to the challenge. She also spoke on other sensitive national issues and the need to play politics with caution so as not to destroy the country. Excerpt:
What is your reaction to the recent appointment of President Mohammadu Buhari, particularly as it affects the women? Some women are already protesting?
We (women) cannot be satisfied with the appointment, how can we be satisfied with even the number depleting from what we had before; instead of increasing, it is decreasing. And if you look at the total population of Nigeria, I believe that women comprise more than half of the population of Nigeria and aside from that, we have very competent women that will be able to do the job. Women that have the capacity and uncommon energy for the assignment, so I don’t see how or why we should get lesser number of appointment when we are already crying that the number we have is not enough. I am not sure we even got up to one percent. But one cheering news is that the women that were appointed are honestly very high-quality individuals and qualified for the job, but then that number is not enough. I believe that more women should have been engaged rather what we are given now which appears very embarrassing, given the quality of women we have in the country, given the support women gave to the president and the promise of accommodating more women in government. You can see that now we have fewer women in the National Assembly, we have fewer women in the appointive position because in the National Assembly you can say: okay because of the constitutional requirement that you must win the election before getting there, but what of this appointive one? Of course, he has released the list and I am not expecting that he creates more ministries, but must then consider the appointment of more women in subsequent appointments. Aside from the ministers, there are other appointments that are on the ground so he must use that to consider the appointment of more women. This appointment is very uninspiring and I am lost for words because it shouldn’t be so. There should be an increase rather than a decrease in women appointment. I think that by now we could have gotten up to, at least 50/50, i.e 50 per cent of the ministerial appointment to go to women, so what we have now is worth condemning.
So, what other actions are the women going to take to show their grievances over the situation?
One interesting thing is that the wife of the president, Her Excellency, Aisha Buhari, I believe will be able to speak in our favour as she has never kept mute on issues of marginalization as this. For me, I am not mobilizing, but I will use my influence to reach the necessary people to present my disappointment and I believe the wife of the president is honestly a pro-women development activist and I believe that she is even taking it up at her level and as you are aware so many other women NGOs have taken it up. For me, I am already talking to some people, it’s not just enough to protest and go back home, it is necessary as you are protesting to also start dialoguing with some influential people that will be able to bring some sort of impact to achieve what we want. It is necessary for political stakeholders in various states to know that women must be involved in doing some of these sensitive appointments and also for political parties to reserve certain percentage and distribute that among the states that should bring in women. What we are having is not cheering at all. At this time, Nigerian women participation in politics should be higher than what it used to be. When we were there at the National Assembly, I remember the number we were then and today the number is depleting rather than increasing, it is not good for women development because they have a lot to contribute to the development of the nation by being involved. Be that as it may, I am requesting Mr President to in other subsequent appointments, especially in policy-making positions to involve more women because even the women he put in some positions he saw how they performed. Women are very compassionate and passionate when it comes to proving their worth in any given endeavour so it is necessary to consider them in other appointments, especially the ones that will have to do with policy formation. There are so many parastatals, he should consider them and then anytime he will do reshuffling of cabinet, he should consider more women. This appointment honestly calls for concern.
Are there efforts people at your level are putting on the ground not just for more appointments for women, but to also encourage other women into greater political participation?
I am not in government now, but I have encouraged a lot of women and I still do in my little way in respect to elective positions. Even Chris Anyanwu before she become a senator, I did a lot of work to ensure she was encouraged and to get to that position, if you come to my constituency now, House of Representatives member, Hon Linda Ikpeazu, she is a woman, I encouraged her, Stella Odua, she is a woman, I also gave her encouragement, I also played a very important role, encouraging people to work for them. I have been mentoring some that are coming to me too. The thing is that some ladies are not ready to start from the scratch, so if you ask them to go and register in their ward to state from there many of them are put off. But all the same many are eager and are working hard to ensure that they get there. We have this female parliamentary caucus comprising both serving and non-serving female members of the National Assembly and it is a very good platform we will use to encourage more women. We just started it, it can also pass as an advocacy group, encouraging women, and bringing in more women into politics as well as into women and children issues for the betterment of the country. The other day we went to pay a courtesy call to the Senate President and ready to see the Speaker because these people are very important in national development and they will be able to do a lot to encourage more women. We may even come up with some bills and we have to lobby them, it’s also going to be a lobby group, we lobby them to help us push in some of the laws that will help facilitate inclusion of more women in government. It’s going to be a vital voice; we will also reach the presidency and governors to encourage them to put more women in political positions. The women do a lot during elections, so it’s not enough on what they are given at the moment…and you know women, once they support you, you are already there and on the election day you can see that you may not get up to 30 per cent of the men’s vote, but the women will be there come rain, come shine to give you solidarity with their votes. On the election day, you will only see women and the youths, so it’s good at the end of the day to encourage them because they are the ones making the governors, the president and other elective people with their votes. You can never see big men or rich men standing on queue under the scorching sun, waiting to vote, it is the women that go through such pains more and they must be appreciated by recognizing them and appointing them in various political appointments. Go to Mozambique, go to Ruanda, this Central African countries, the ones that we are even more developed than they are, are engaging their women in positions and we are here neglecting our own even with all the superior credentials they parade. Look at the population of Nigeria, almost 200 million and then what we are getting is it six or seven slots, that is ridiculous, it is not fair. Women will be out there running round to canvass for votes, so it’s not fair that when it comes to sharing out positions, only men will be there, we need to reconsider such attitude. Did you not watch the Bauchi State election? There was a place some people came to disrupt the voting, it was the women that resisted them and chased them away. Where were the men? I am not a feminist as such, but what is good is good, what is fair is fair. I am for fairness, equity, and justice, fair play, but that has not been left to the women to benefit from. I am not asking the president to remove the people that have gone through screening, but for subsequent ones, such mistakes should not be allowed to repeat. He must consider the women and this is of utmost priority. We could have loved at least 40 per cent of women in this ministerial slot.
Looking at Nigeria today do you have worries or any disappointment?
You see the security situation of the country should bother any right-thinking patriotic Nigerian. The security situation in the country today calls for serious concern because I don’t know what is happening honestly. The security challenge is something that should be worrisome to every Nigerian and again the level of tribalism, religious bigotry that now abound is eating deeper and deeper into the body fabric of this country. I don’t know why all these things will be coming up now. Look at when Abiola and Kingibe ran for the election, both of them were Muslims, and they were elected, Nigerians did not mind or bothered about their religion, but today things have changed drastically and everything now bothers on where you come from. There is so much division and it should not be so if we want to build a united nation, a country every Nigerian should be proud of. There is so much ethnic sentiment and you begin to wonder what is happening. We have a lot of religious bigots, tribalists and all these things are nothing, but cheap politics. When some people want to play cheap politics they bring up these elements, not that they mean it, but then they are using it to destroy the unity of this country. Unity in diversity has always been the strength of this country, but they are simply destroying it. We were using unity in diversity as an advantage, but today, it has become something else, for the destruction of one another. There is so much hatred in the land as a result of all these sentiments. There is marginalization, you can’t call anybody your brother’s keeper or sister’s keeper now, there is so much division, there is so much tension and the security of the country is something else. People are scared and are running away from some places, why? It is a great challenge before the government.
When did we start missing it?
I don’t know exactly with the way we are going. Some people are now shouting Fulani, but was President Shagari not a Fulani? The late President Yar’Adua was a Fulani, so what is the problem? I think we overplayed politics with sensitive issues, which should not be so. I think this security problem started before this politics of Fulani herdsmen. Before the Fulani herdsmen, I used to see and know were the ones just holding their sticks and controlling their cattle, but what is happening, honestly I can’t explain. Even as a child when we see Fulani herdsmen coming down with their cows we will be excited and everybody will run out, hailing them, that was what I used to know about them, but now you even see some of them carrying guns. But I just think we have over-politicized the issue. I don’t know what to say on this issue because I don’t know whether those people doing these things are Nigerians, I don’t know and I think it is the challenge before the government to dig deeper and know what is happening and see how they can stop it. The way we are going is dangerous and should not be encouraged by anybody. If I know the course I will be able to come up with a suggested solution so I cannot dabble into something I don’t know, but all I know is that what is happening is destroying the fabric of our existence as Nigerians. We must look into the security architecture of the country and do the proper thing, use the proper people to solve our problems or we will be going round in circles and this will not do us any good. We can call a serious peace summit and ensure we involve the women too, you know women are problem solvers.