An Investigation into the Causes and Effects of Women Political Underrepresentation in Ogun State, Nigeria

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue XI, November 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186

An Investigation into the Causes and Effects of Women Political Underrepresentation in Ogun State, Nigeria 

Elias Mabel Oyindamola, Prof. Azeez Olaniyan
Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria has been described as a patriarchal nation because of the low level of women political participation. Women are expected to partake in governance and the decision-making process of a nation because their challenges can only be understood and effectively solved by themselves. Therefore, it has become necessary to identify the causes and understand the effects of low political underrepresentation of women in Nigeria. This study employed the use of primary and secondary data to identify the causes and effects of women’s underrepresentation in the political sphere. Primary data was obtained by administering 100 questionnaires and interviews at Obafemi/Owode Local Government in Ogun state; 97 of these questionnaires were returned. The secondary sources of information include published journals, theses, papers from academic conferences, and an online repository of information. This study identified some causes of women’s political underrepresentation in Nigeria. The effects of poor representation of women in governance and decision-making process were discussed. Possible solutions identified to the identified challenges were highlighted and concrete recommendations were made.

Keywords: Patriarchal; Women; Political-Participation; Political-Underrepresentation; Political-Sphere

1. Introduction

Women’s participation in governance has experienced a global rise over the past decades but they are still low compared to that of men; women hold only 23.8% of all seats in the parliaments and senates in the world despite being half of the global population (Radu, 2018). As of January 2019, globally, only 20.7%of government ministers are women, 11 are serving as head of States, and 12 as Head of Government (UN Women, 2019). The African continent is not left behind in terms of the influence of women in governance. Rwanda, Seychelles, Senegal, and South Africa are among the top ten countries in the world in terms of female political participation (IPU, 2015). However, the same cannot be said of Nigeria; Nigerian women are still suffering from discriminations in the familial and societal settings. According to Nwachukwu (2018), the political representation of women in Nigeria is still a far cry from the level expected despite the nation being signatories to international conventions on gender equality. Statistics from the recently concluded 2019 general elections showed a decline in the number of women elected into public offices. The Fact Sheet presented by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) revealed that only 62 women were elected into offices (equivalent to 4.17 percent of the elected officials); this value falls below the value (5.65 %) recorded for 2015 elections (Onyeji, 2019). Onyeji (2019) further revealed that out of 235 women (12.34% of the candidates) that contested for a seat in the senate, 7 women (6.42%) were elected; similarly, 533 women participated in the contest for a seat in the House of Representatives, only 11 (3.05 percent) were elected. Although there has been a palpable improvement in the number of women participating
in elections, the percentages of women that won the elections are still low. Therefore, it has become necessary to look into the factors responsible for the low representation of women in the elective and appointive offices, the effects it has on women’s development, and there by proffer possible solutions to this ugly menace in Nigeria.
The study employed both primary and secondary data to analyze data and draw empirical conclusions regarding the causes and effects of women’s low participation in governance. The primary data for this study was obtained through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews distributed to the people of Obafemi Owode Local government in Ogun State. The researcher adopted purposeful sampling in which 100 men and women which consist of businessmen and women, politicians, public/civil servants, and students. The principal sources of secondary data were information gathered from textbooks and published materials, which include peer-reviewed journals, academic conference publications, newspaper publications, and articles sourced from the internet.
3. Women in Nigeria and their Political Representation from 1999
Women form a significant percentage of a nation’s population and as a result, should be integrated into governance and decision making. According to the World Population Review (2020), Nigeria’s population is projected at 206,933,389; with the percentage of women estimated at 49.33%. Women can lead and contribute to national development. However, Babatunde, Ifedayo, and Ishola (2013) cited that only a few women have been elected to occupy the male-dominated legislative and executive positions. Despite the awareness and nationwide campaign to promote women’s participation in governance, there has been no significant improvement in the numbers of women holding elective or appointive positions. The nation’s democratic development is in grave danger if the low level of involvement of women in public decision-making persists. Therefore, it becomes imperative to identify such factors inhibiting the participation of women in politics in Nigeria. Several factors have been identified to hinder women’s political participation and representation.

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