Daughter of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Hauwa Atiku-Uwais at the weekend hosted stakeholders to an event ‘The Conversation’ with the theme Is Better Nigeria Possible.
The gathering which took place in Abuja was aimed at fostering political awareness among the women and youths in an effort to enthrone a more effective leadership at various levels of government.
Hauwa Atiku-Uwais while addressing newsmen stated that time has come for citizens to demand and ensure good governance so that the country can work for everyone irrespective of social status.
“Looking at our country today, there are some leaders that have the conviction to make Nigeria a better place. But unfortunately, if you have only a small number in a large sea of people that are not committed to a better Nigeria then it will be a problem.
“For me, a better Nigeria is one where my child can walk to a public hospital and get treated of his or her ailment without me having to source for funds or going to private hospital, a Nigeria that works for all of us regardless of tribe, religion or age,” she said.
One of the speakers at the event, Hon. Shaba Ibrahim, member representing Lokoja/Kogi federal constituency while expressing regret that a greater percentage of Nigerians have not shown the needed interest in politics described them as collaborators in bad governance.
“The manifesto of most political parties has always been to deliver housing, water, electricity, and some other critical infrastructure. I want to say that 40 years on, the manifestos have remained the same. That means something is fundamentally wrong.
“If we want to begin providing answers to these questions, we must interrogate the process of emergence of our leaders. I’m one of those who share the view that somehow we also share in the blame.
“We talk about inept leadership, those of us who either through omission or commission have failed to lend our voices and also commit our energy from entrenching the kind of governance we want are in my view, not victims but collaborators.
“Oftentimes you see us talk about bad governance, the masses of the people are more than enough to entrench the kind of leadership they want. The recent example is the states where elections took place. You can say an emphatic no to bad leadership. What it takes is the will and resilience but unfortunately, I don’t find that with most Nigerians.
“I fought against a system that was so skewed against those who do not have godfathers. After a very long time, I succeeded. I succeeded because I persevered, I succeeded because I refused to let go even when devastating blows were landing on my back” he said.
The lawmaker while maintaining that good leadership does not lie on age called on Nigerians to begin to recruit persons with sound character into leadership posts while ensuring that their votes count.
“I think it is idle for someone to say that people can change when they are in government or power. If a man has no character from school, if a man crosses the threshold of 35 years, he is most unlikely to change in character. What a public office will do is to amplify that innate character in them rather than change. We must like we say in local parlance shine our eyes when next we have a choice to make” the lawmaker cautioned.
In her speech, a woman rights activist, Folashade Idowu said women have potential for making the country great, describing them as custodians of anything good.
She charged women to arise and begin to show interest in the country’s political process.
“To empower women, efforts must be made by the political parties to make sure that policies are put in place to ensure that women come in to do what they ought to do, what they are best known to do, and what they are meant to do and that is to put order in situations.
“INEC must be prepared to put policies in place that will make it compulsory for women to hold certain positions so that the empowerment can really go round. Some women want to come out, culture does not allow them. Some women want to come out, religion does not allow us. Some want to come out, husbands do not allow us, but there is a way as a woman that you know how to take your place” she said.
Idowu expressed displeasure that lack of adequate economic empowerment has adversely affected women’s participation in politics, adding that vote-buying during elections has thrived as a result of people’s inability to meet their family and personal obligations.
“When a man buys my vote, he is not answerable to me in the next four years. Empowerment will improve participation of women. Empowerment of women will bring about gender equality in the society, which in turn will bring about the fulfillment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)” she added.
She extolled the ability of women to feel the pulse of the masses in health, education, income-earning opportunities, and the right to participation in politics.
According to Idowu, an empowered woman will bring values of fairness, inclusion, flexibility, collaboration, management skills, persuasiveness, and empathy into the political landscape.
She added, “If empowered, the woman can also bring about peaceful solutions. Our roles as mothers tend to seek better governance through environmental, fair, and humanitarian approach to issues.
“We all know that the woman is the custodian of everything. No woman, no family. No family, no society, and if there is no society, whom do you want to govern? So empower your woman so that she will bring out a quality individual that will be for a greater nation.”
She further applauded the contributions of women in surmounting difficulties and obstacles in order to make their communities and the world at large a better place, urging Nigerians to create room for women to bring to bear their innate abilities in managing the affairs of the country.
Another speaker, Hon. Fateema Mohammed-Ogunkola expressed optimism that if more women are elected into political offices, there will be an increase in policymaking that will centre on the quality of life and improvement of livelihood of the masses.
According to Mohammed-Ogunkola, women help in building citizens’ confidence in the governance process by prioritising key areas of the economy, particularly health, education, and others.
Participants at the event were drawn from regional and political lines.
