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American Economic & Social Review  

Vol. 1, No. 1; 2017 

Published by Centre for Research on Islamic Banking & Finance and Business 

 

15 
 

 

The Role of Women towards Political Participation in Nigeria 
 

Ibrahim Suleiman1 

 

1Department of Political Science, Bauchi State University, Gadau, Nigeria 

Correspondence: Department of Political Science, Bauchi State University, Gadau, Nigeria, Tel: 

+2348060287718, E-mail: isuleiman@basug.edu.ng 

 

 

Received: September 28, 2017       Accepted: September 30, 2017      Online Published: October 3, 2017   

 

 

Abstract 

This study investigates the factors that limit women‟s participation in Nigeria‟s politics using case study period 

between 1999 and 2015, among these factors are socioeconomic development, the country‟s cultural heritage, 

historical legacies and institutional designs. The study employs secondary source as a method ofdata collection. 

The study reveals that the patriarchal system and male domination of the society, which relegates women to 

subordinate role, has created women‟s inferiority complex and alienated them from the mainstream politics in 

Nigeria. The Nigerian political culture of thuggery and gangsterism has   made the political terrain too 

dangerous for most women to venture into mainstream politics. Besides, the stigmatization of women politicians 

by fellow women discourages the political participation of the former while religious beliefs and institutional 

arrangements that restrict women to family responsibilities in the country coupled with lack of genuine and 

decisive affirmative action to encourage women‟s political participation, have created a legacy that limit 

women‟s political participation in the country as a whole. Consequently, the study emphasizes the need to 

address those factors that entrench women subordination in Nigeria‟s politics. These include, among others, the 

reformation of all religious, statutory and customary laws and practices that perpetuate women‟s subordination 

in the country and the explicit specifications and modalities of affirmative actions on women‟s political 

participation and clear guidelines for implementations in the Nigeria constitution. 

 

Keywords: Political Participation, Women Participation &Factors affecting Women Political Participation in 

Nigeria. 

 

1. Introduction  

The increasing salience of women‟s issues and the resurgence of women‟s movements have raised popular 

consciousness and intense academic discourse on poor participation of women in politics (Peterson & Ruyan, 

1999: 48 & Akinboye, 2004:233). Though women‟s low political participation is a universal phenomenon 

(Shaul, 1982; Waylen, 1996:11; Akinboye, op.cit:233; Lewu, 2005:62; Rai, 2005 & Pokam, 2006), the 

imperative of women participation in democratic governance and human development cannot be over 

emphasized (Amadiume, 1997:81; Bruce, 2004:113; Babatunde, 2003; Bari, 2005). Sustainable democratic 

government relies upon the participation of all citizens in determining through elections and political processes, 



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who governs them. It also depends upon the equality of all citizens under the law (Sodaro, 2001:247, 

Anifowose, 2004:205). Women's legal status is closely linked with their political participation and has an impact 

on their ability to contribute to and benefit from economic and social progress. The involvement of women in 

political activities underscores this correct assertion:  

Without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women‟s perspective in all levels of decision 

making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved (Akiyode; Afolabi & Arogundade, 

2003). 

The possibility for all citizens - both males and females to participate in the management of public affairs 

otherwise known as mass or popular participation is thus at the very heart of democracy (Sodaro, 2001:247). 

Putting it more succinctly, the Inter-Parliamentary Union incorporated in the Universal declaration for 

Democracy that:  

The achievement of democracy presupposes a genuine partnership between men and women in the conduct of 

the affairs of society in which they work in equality and complementarity drawing mutual enrichment from their 

differences (Inter-parliamentary Union, 1999).  

Although equal political opportunity for women is a goal shared by both men and women and despite increased 

support of women‟s equality, for thousands of years, women records poor participation in politics and decision 

making positions (Waylen, op.cit:10; Anifowose, 2004:204; Pokam, 2006; Henderson, 2006). This is despite the 

fact that women constitute roughly half of the current world population (Pascaud-Becane, 1999; Babatunde, 

2003; Anifowose, op.cit:204; Bari, 2005). In Nigeria, like in other parts of the world, women are at least half the 

country‟s population. According to the report of the 2006 Census, women constitute 48.78% of the national 

population, yet this numerical strength of women does not automatically translate to increase in women‟s 

participation in political activities in the country (Kukah, 2003:162; Abdu, 2003; Nigeria CEDAW NGO 

Coalition Shadow Report, 2008).  

While the global average representation of women in national politics is 10%, in Nigeria, the figure has hardly 

ever been more than 3% (Ajayi, 2007:138; Inter-parliamentary Union, 2007). From the country‟s independence 

to 48 years after, there have been various degrees of women‟s participation in politics and governance and 

varying sets of limiting factors to women‟s political participation (Johnson, 2003; Agomo, 2004; Adu, 2008).  

This global low women‟s participation in politics has prompted the emergence of campaigns to increase 

women‟s political presence in countries around the world. The first major international action in favour of 

women universally was taken by United Nations in 1946 when it set up a commission on the status of women 

(Peterson & Runyan, 1999:11; Akiyode-Afolabi et al, 2003). In 1975 during the International Women‟s Year, 

the UN General Assembly launched the UN Decade for Women (1976 – 1985) with a view to creating greater 

global awareness on the status of women and the girl child (Akinboye, 2004:13). This concern climaxed with 

the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 held in Beijing, China with the theme “Equality, 

Development and Peace”, the aim of which was to review and appraise the achievements of the UN Decade for 

Women (Omotola, 2007:33). One of the major activities of the year was the World Conference on Women that 

took place in Mexico.   

In 1976, the UN Assembly again established the Voluntary Fund for the UN Decade for Women to implement 

the objectives of the Decade (Oyekanmi, 2004:44). It also adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All 

forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which became effective in 1981 (Rai, 2005:3). In 1985 

however, the General Assembly gave the Organization an expanded mandate to join the UN group of agencies 

as the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) with the mission to promote the economic 



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and political empowerment of women in developing countries. In addition, the Organization of African Unity 

(OAU) and the New Partnership for Africa‟s Development (NEPAD) work towards strengthening women‟s 

political leadership and their participation in political decision-making bodies (Olojede, 2004:120). These 

events marked a watershed in human resource development as it brought women, the other half of the world‟s 

population, into development.  

However, despite these international instruments to encourage women involvement in political activities, the 

world still witnesses slow progress of women participation in politics (UNDP Report, 2005). The 

Inter-Parliamentary Union Report of 2007 indicates that there are onlytwelve countries where women attained 

the critical mass of 30% women representation in the parliament, out of which Rwanda, Sweden Finland, 

Argentina are handful of countries that have elected more than 40% women to their legislative body (IPU, 

2007).  

2. Political Participation: A Conceptual Discourse  

A conceptual analysis of citizens‟ participation in politics will not be thorough without a clarification of what 

constitutes politics. This section therefore briefly considers the concept of politics.  

2.1 The Concept of Politics 

The concept of politics has been viewed in different perspectives by scholars who have written on the subject 

matter. Heywood (1997:1) confers his credence to the divergent views of scholars on the concept of politics 

when he noted that respected authorities can not agree on what the subject matter is all about. In this vein 

therefore, the term politics has been defined in various ways. The idea of Aristotle that „man is by nature a 

political animal‟ and his conclusion that politics is the „master science‟ because it involves the intricacy of 

conflicts and conflicts resolution on the distribution of power and resources in the society readily comes to the 

fore. Heywood (1997:10) inextricably linked politics to the phenomenon of conflict and cooperation when he 

defined politics as the art of government, a phenomenon which relates to public affair, a means of resolving 

conflicts either by compromise, conciliation or negotiation, rather than through force and naked power. Sodaro 

(2001:27) share this view by defining politics as the process by which communities pursue collective goals and 

deal with their conflicts authoritatively by means of government. 

Easton (1990) defines politics as the „authoritative allocation of values‟ in a political system. By this Easton sees 

politics as encompassing the various processes through which government responds to the pressures and 

demands of allocating benefits, rewards or penalties in a society. This is why Lasswell (1958) sees politics as 

the determination of who gets what, when and how. It is however observed that the various definitions above 

consider the concept of politics from the view point of the normative function of politics which is the resolution 

of conflict of interests. However, it is necessary that its inscriptive value be also put to bear. In doing so, the 

concept of politics will not just be limited to the view of the developed countries but will also be relevant to the 

context of the developing countries particularly Africa. The holistic approach to the concept of politics is 

however observed by Williams (1980:69) in his view of politics from two perspectives. Firstly, that politics is a 

discreditable activity whose virtue is the competitive pursuit of private interests and secondly, that politics is 

concerned with the administration of the common affairs of the public, a matter of universal rather than 

particular concern, whose aim is defining and promoting the common goods.  The opinion of Sodaro (2001:27) 

that politics is a process connotes its continuing sequence of events and interactions among various actors 

(individuals, organisations and government) which generally take place within a structure of rules, procedures 

and institutions rather than haphazardly. The indispensability of politics to the existence of statehood makes 

Appadorai (1974:4) to conclude that politics is “the science which is concerned with the state and of the 



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condition essential for its existence and development‟.   

Following this view therefore, Dahl (1963) defines politics as any stable pattern of human relationships that 

involves power and influence.  While all the above conceptual definitions of politics portray the view of these 

writers as it relates to the theme under discussion, one finds the basic thrust of politics from these various 

scholarly views. In this regards therefore, politics involves such issues as the exercise of power or authority, a 

collective decision making process, allocation of scarce resources among contending factors, the making and 

preserving of rules and the practice of deception and manipulation.   The fact that politics permeates every 

aspect of life owes to Aristotle‟s submission that „it is only within a political community that human beings can 

live the good life.‟ It is imperative to grasp the truth that all social problems are in one way or the other linked to 

political decisions of the powers that be, a participation in this essential ingredient of a political system is 

therefore very much a necessity (Kumari & Kidwai, 1994: 11). 

2.2 The Concept of Political Participation  

Political participation is an essential component that is required for ensuring the stability and legitimacy of 

every political system (Kumari & Kidwai, op.cit: 12). According to Agbaje (1999:193), political participation is 

one of the fundamental ideas of a democratic society. It is the sine qua non of democracy, because democracy 

involves a commitment to equal opportunity for men and women to develop their individual capacities 

(Anifowose, 2004:205). Thus, democracy is inconceivable without political participation (Agbaje, 1999:193). 

According to Pateman (1970) however, citizens‟ participation in politics is very important because it determines 

how much power is controlled. Thus in the view of Kumari & Kidwai (1999:12), in every  society, the wielders 

of political power are very keen on ensuring at least some amount of political participation by the people. 

Political participation therefore, describes the extent to which individual members of society share, take part or 

get involved in the life of that society (Agbaje, 1999:193). It is because of this crucial place that political 

participation holds that Kumari & Kidwai (1999:13) asserts that its denial to substantial part of the population 

can result to explosive situation. Consequently, the political power that women or any group of persons in a 

society have would be linked directly to the degree of their participation in the political process of that society 

(Lewu, 2005:63).  Theoretically, political participation has a long genealogy.  

Like most concepts that are used today, it is an unfolding concept. From direct participation of the Greek 

city-states to the Schumpeterian rejection of that model, the concept has been central to every discussion about 

democracy (Beck, 1997). Though the search for a participatory, just and sustainable society permeates all 

political systems, the normative question of how much ordinary people should participate and what kind of 

popular participation in political affairs is possible and desirable, is very much politically relevant and socially 

significant (Bruce, 2004:106). This question owes to the fact that the term “participation” though widely used 

within democratic theory, its meaning remains vague (Weale, 1999:84). Steiner (1988) posits that the question 

of what it is to take part in politics is massively complex and ultimately ambiguous. He noted that while it is 

assumable that activity within a political party or an organisation which regarded itself  as a pressure group 

should count as political participation, activity in other sorts of organisation, such as sports associations and 

traditional women‟s organisation which are though not overtly political but set the contexts of politics, give their 

active members administrative experience and are capable of overt political action if their interests or principles 

are threatened remains ambiguous as to whether those activities are political or not. 

Anifowose (2004:205) defines political participation as those voluntary activities such as holding public and 

party office, being a candidate for office, attending election campaigns, voting and exposing oneself to political 

stimuli. Similarly, Maclosky (1968) defines political participation as a series of voluntary activities through 



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which members of a society share in the direct or indirect selection of rulers and formation of public policy. 

Sanghera, (2005) on the other hand defines political participation as the active engagement by individuals and 

groups with the governmental processes that affect their lives. This encompasses both involvements in 

decision-making and acts of opposition. 

2.3 Women and Political Participation  

Throughout the world, the power relations that shape social, political, economic and cultural life prevent women 

from participating fully in all areas of their lives, whether it‟s in the home, or in the public arena (Awe, 1992; 

Waylen, 1996; Nwankwo, 1996, Unumeri, 2003, Abdu, 2003, Johnson, 2003). According to Akioyede-Afolabi 

(2003), the global average representation of women in national politics is 5%. Notable exceptions include the 

Nordic countries, Costa Rica, South Africa and Uganda, where proportional representation is practiced (Lewu, 

2005:62; IPU Report, 2007). While women‟s dedicated efforts to challenge the status quo have allowed more 

women to reach positions of power in recent years, women continue to be under-represented in all areas of 

decision-making, such as religion, the media, culture and the law and still face significant barriers to their full 

and equal participation in the structures and institutions which govern their lives (Omotola, 2007; Ajayi, 2007; 

The Nigeria CEDAW NGO Coalition Shadow Report, 2008; Genevieve, 1999). The first ever women rights 

convention (which had more than one hundred women in attendance was held in 1948 at Seneca falls, New 

York at the instance of women like Lacretia Moth and Elizabeth Candy Stanton. The group demanded equal 

rights, including voting right and an end to double standard. New Zealand was the first country to allow women 

to vote in 1893. 

In the United States of America however, women did not enjoy franchise until 1920, and similarly, Britain did 

not allow women franchise until 1928. This political right of women in France was not allowed until 1944, 

while Italy, 1945 and China 1947.  Nigerian women enfranchisement came in 1959 while in Switzerland 

women were not allowed to vote until 1971 (Ajayi, 2004:138). For the first time in history in 1919 the American 

born Lady Nancy Astor became the first elected women to take her seat in the British parliament after fulfilling 

certain age and property (Johnson, 2003). Several national and international documents and human rights 

mechanisms have been put forward to encourage women‟s participation in politics including the International 

Convention on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and the International Convention for the Elimination of All 

Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), elaborate the nature of women‟s civil and political rights and 

the steps required to promote greater equality between women and men in this area (Kukah, 2003:163; 

Akinboye, 2004:13). The Beijing Platform for Action, the principal international action plan on women‟s rights, 

contains a section on women in power and decision-making, which states that the empowerment and autonomy 

of women and the improvement of women‟s social, economic and political status is essential for the 

achievement of both transparent and accountable government and administration and sustainable development 

in all areas of the society.  

On the other hand, since the post-World War II era, there has been a global explosion of women's activism on 

behalf of equality, liberation, and better living conditions. They have gained visibility and influence in a wide 

array of political and economic arenas in the society. This change seems to allow many women to go further; by 

building up their own careers and support bases, consequently becoming actively involved in politics in their 

own right. Thus women‟s increasing political participation is both a source and a signal of social change 

(Henderson, 2006).  Paradoxically however, despite the increasing involvement of women in political activities 

and the acknowledged women‟s crucial role in nation building, the prevailing trend witness a seeming 

aberration which put limitations on women participation in political activities (Akinboye, 2004:14).  Most 



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countries of the world still fall short of the critical mass of 30% of women political representation (IPU, 2005).   

2.4 Legal Framework for Women’s Political Participation 

Human rights, an old concept, are considered to be universal and inalienable, individual, indivisible, interrelated 

and interdependent. It is a general notion embracing rights that are applicable to individuals, peoples and 

mankind (Agomo, 2004:92). The foundational legal articulation of this right can be found in Article 21 of the 

UN‟s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This has been further formalized and elaborated in the later 

treaties most notably the 1976 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Adu, 2008).  Klein (2005) 

argues that the Declaration is a statement of general principles and since it is not a treaty, the standards of 

behaviour that it defines have the status of only non-binding norms, but the document is nonetheless of 

enormous legal and political importance, for it provided the foundation not only for later legal-binding 

international treaties but also for many national governments‟ rights frameworks. However, the Covenant which 

was ratified almost three decades after the Declaration as a treaty imposes some obligations on signatory states 

and includes some compliance mechanisms.  The right to representation and politics of inclusion are the 

hallmark of civil and political rights (Bruce, 2004:105). Klein (2005) defines the right to political participation 

as citizen‟s right to seek to influence public affairs.  The right to political participation is spelt out in both 

Article 21 of the Declaration and Article 25 of the Covenant.  Article 21 of the Declaration states that: 

(1)Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen 

representatives. (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. (3) The will of the 

people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine 

elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free 

voting procedure (cited in Wilkipedia, 2008).   

2.5 Similarly, Article 25 of the Covenant States  

Every citizen shall have the right and opportunity, without unreasonable restrictions: (a) to take part in the 

conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) to vote and be elected at genuine 

periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing 

the free expression of the will of electors (quoted in Steiner, 1988). According to Klein (2005), the political right 

as spelt out in these two Articles deserves special attention. Whereas the other rights are recognised as natural 

part of human beings, the Declaration recognises political rights within the confine of government and similarly 

the Covenant limits the right to political participation to those with the status of citizen.  Since citizenship is 

recognised only within the context of a government and a political community, the right to political participation 

presupposes a political community with individual members (citizens) and organizational form (government). 

Since the Declaration and the Covenant conditioned political right on the existence of political institutions, it is 

concluded that the rights to participation does not exist as a human right per se but only in the context of a 

political institutions of citizenship and government. Women‟s civil and political rights are integral parts of the 

larger human rights agenda (Bruce, 2004:105).  

The legal framework for women‟ participation in politics is therefore an integral part of the political rights spelt 

out above in the Article 21 and Article 25 of the Declaration and the Covenant respectively. The legal 

framework for women‟s participation in politics is however, given more vivid expression by some specific 

international mechanisms and conventions instituted to enhance women‟s involvement in politics. The 

International Convention on Civil amd Political Rights and the International Convention for the Elimination of 

All Forms of Discrimination Against Women of 1979 (CEDAW), elaborates the nature of women‟s civil and 

political rights and steps required to promote greater involvement of women in politics (Okome, 2006). The 



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convention in its Article 1 bars any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the 

effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of 

their marital status, on the basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in 

the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. As defined by the convention, discrimination is 

symptomatic of a situation where patterns of structural inequality are maintained by rules, norms and procedures 

that dictate a subordinate role for women in all spheres of society. It stresses the need for a holistic orientation 

which acknowledges the vital role of women in development and engineers their integration into development 

processes as equal partners with men (Okome, 2006).    

Nigeria signed the convention on 23rd of April 1984 and ratified it without any reservations on 13th of June, 

1985, and it ratified the optional protocol to CEDAW on the 8th September, 2001 (Okome, op.cit; Chikwe, 

2003).  The participation of women in politics and decision-making is one of the central areas of focus of the 

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), the principal international action plan on women‟s rights. It 

reiterates the importance of women empowerment and the improvement of their social, economic and political 

status to the achievement of both transparent and accountable government and administration and sustainable 

development in all areas of life (Bari, 2005). This is reaffirmed in Goal No.3 of the Millennium Development 

Goals (MDGs) in year 2000 which aims at promoting gender equality and empowering women through 

eliminating gender disparity at all levels by year 2015. The indicators include - ratios of girls to boys in primary, 

secondary and tertiary education, share of women in wage employment in the nonagricultural sector and 

proportion of seats held by women in national parliament (Omotola, 2007:33; UNDP, 2008; Wilkipedia, 2008)  

Nigeria is also a signatory to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World 

Conference on Women held in Beijing on the 15th of September 1995. The Declaration aims at achieving 

greater equality and opportunity for women by removing the obstacles to women's public participation in all 

spheres of public and private lives through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political 

decision-making. On the basis of that adoption, the Nigerian Government constituted the National Committee 

on Affirmative Action (Wikipedia, 2008; Anifowose, 2004:210). Furthermore, the National Policy on Women 

was adopted by the Federal Government of Nigeria in the year 2000. The goal of the policy centres on 

enhancing the active and meaningful participation of women in the political arena by eliminating all forms of 

legal, cultural, religious and other discrimination against women, empowering them through enhanced strategic 

human resource development, integrating women in all sectors of development in accordance with their 

capabilities and needs and establishing a data bank on the implementation of a comprehensive (national) 

baseline survey (Chikwe, 2003; Olojede, 2004:120). At the national level however, the legal framework for 

women‟s participation in politics in Nigeria is, hinged on the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria. The 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by virtue of Section 40 

guarantees the political rights of every citizen of the country. It states that:  

Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form 

or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests… Section 

42 of the same constitution states further that: Any citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, 

place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person be subjected to 

any form of discrimination. Section 77(2) also confers the right to register and to vote for the purpose of election 

on every citizen that has attained the age of 18 years. A key policy document that supports women‟s 

participation in political and public life is the National Gender Policy 2006. The 5th objective of the policy is 

aimed at achieving minimum threshold of representation for women in order to promote equal opportunity in all 



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areas of political, social economic life of the country for women and men (The Nigerian CEDAW NGO 

Coalition Shadow Report, 2008). The legal framework for women‟s participation in politics, Nigeria inclusive, 

is thus premised on the ground that women possess the same rights as men to participate in governance and 

public life (Akiyode-Afolabi, 2003, Babatunde, 2003).  

There are a number of factors put forward to explain participation of women in politics. These factors are 

critically perused in the next section.  

3. Factors Affecting Women’s Political Participation  

Women‟s participation and access to formal political power structures vary across countries (Bari, 2005). 

Recent literatures on women and politics have identified various factors that affect women‟s participation in 

politics across the globe. Of the factors explored, research finds the following four factors to be particularly 

important: (1) socioeconomic development; (2) cultural factor; (3) historical legacies stemming from a society‟s 

cultural and political traditions; and (4) institutional design factors (Amadiume, 1997; Inglehart & Noris, 2003, 

Akioyode-Afolabi, 2003; Dahlerup, 2005; Rai, 2005; Alexander & Welzel, 2007).   

3.1 Socioeconomic Development 

Alexander & Welzel (2007) refer to this as economic modernity. This is the view of the classical development. 

It focuses on economic development and considers increases in democracy and human choice as direct outcome 

of economic development (Lipset, 1959; Rostow, 1960; Bell, 1999; Ineles & Smith, 1974). In relations to 

gender equality, this approach holds that economic development is central to increasing the pool of women 

eligible for positions of social power (Alexander & Welzel, 2007). Thus Babatunde (2003:6) argues that a 

country‟s level of development correlates with women‟s participation in politics and decreases existing barriers 

to political activity and participation. These scholars establish that increased economic development associates 

with a more broad based distribution of educational and occupational resources. Greater access to educational 

and occupational resources increases women‟s chances of professional development, creating a larger pool of 

women eligible for power positions such as political office. Others note that higher levels of economic 

development bring more social services to societies. These developmental measures such as increase in per 

capita, gross domestic product, women in the work force and women literacy positively influence the percentage 

of women‟s political participation (Kenworthy & Malami, 1999; Reynolds, 19999, Welch & Studler, 1996; 

Babatunde, 2003).  

3.2 Cultural Factor 

Cultural norms and customary practices have great influence on women‟s political participation. Babatunde 

(2003) defines culture as a socially created phenomenon that is influenced by the history, social experiences and 

material circumstances of the people. Among the cultural ideological factors that affect women‟s political 

participation is patriarchy system (Bari, 2005). Patriarchy is characterized by male kinship, permanent marriage 

and paternal authority (Appadorai, 1974:35).  Fayomi & Igbelina-Igbokwe (2006) note the influence of 

patriarchy cultural structure on the social status of the female gender. Cain, Khan & Nahar (1979:406) define 

patriarchy as a set of social relations with a material base that enables men to dominate women. Here, the central 

focus of power is the father, and the factual importance of motherhood kinship structure and history is denied 

(Amadiume, 1997:72).  

In other words, patriarchy describes a distribution of power and resources within the family in a manner that 

men maintain power and control of resources, and women are powerless and dependent on men (Oyekanmi, 

2004:42). Thus, men dominate the political game, and set the standards for evaluation. This negative factor 

entrench feelings of inferiority complex and other vices that perpetually put women at a disadvantaged position 



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(Akinboye, 2004:237). Additionally, research finding shows gender role ideology which does not only create 

duality of femininity and masculinity, but also places them in hierarchical fashion in which women are 

subordinated to men. Women also find it hard to participate in politics due to limited time available to them 

because of their dual roles in the productive and reproductive spheres (Bari, 2005). Alexander & Welzel (2007) 

and Inglehart & Noris (2003) however, note a rising gender-egalitarian attitudes that gives rise to an 

emancipative worldview, reflected in self-expression values that emphasize autonomy of women. According to 

these scholars, this rise in emancipative orientations consequently leads to increase in women‟s empowerment 

and political participation throughout society. This perspective highlights changes in modern societies 

particularly conducive to women‟s empowerment and therefore establishes a link between cultural factor and 

women involvement in public life. Inglehart & Norris (2003) find that cultural factor holds real, positive 

consequences for women empowerment and thus women‟s political participation.  

3.3 Historical Legacies 

Researchers have presented historical legacies potentially capable of affecting women‟s social and political 

status (Omotola, 2007:38). Scholars argue that a country‟ developmental trends of social modernization create 

cultural and institutional legacies that affect societies‟ abilities to improve women‟s lives (Krasner 1984; 

Skocpol 1992). Alexander & Welzel (2007) note that the emergence of institutions, whether cultural or the 

result of policy, sometimes consists of types of social organization that have a continuing and somewhat 

determinant influence on phenomena relevant to those institutions far into the future. This influence can take the 

form of an inertial tendency where institutions affect relevant phenomena that would have otherwise changed 

due to other social forces (Peters 1999). This view considers some measures of path dependent processes 

capable of affecting gender equality: Protestant religious traditions, a long tradition of female suffrage, 

colonialism and a state tradition of investing into welfarism rather than coercive forces.   

Depending on the nature of a society‟s traditions, religions vary in opportunity for women‟s emancipation 

(Amadiume, 1997; Inglehart & Norris 2003). For instance, relative to other religious heritages, scholars find that 

a Protestant religious heritage improves the status of women in a country. Protestantism holds a tradition 

particularly hospitable to democratic values, such as respect for individualism, reciprocity and popular 

sovereignty (Inglehart, Norris & Welzel 2002; Inglehart & Welzel 2005; Reynolds 1999; Rule 1987). 

Researchers also approach the impact of religious legacy on women‟s empowerment through measures of 

publics‟ levels of secularization (Inglehart & Norris 2003; Inglehart & Welzel 2005). As societies secularize 

there is greater deference to rationality and expertise, and this typically gives rise to the modern state and 

widespread social services. The secularizing trend typically occurs from the pre-industrial through the 

industrializing phase of modernization. During this transition, traditional units restrictive of women‟s 

development such as the family and the church lose their authority as individuals place greater emphasis on 

rationality and individualism (Inglehart & Norris 2003; Inglehart & Welzel 2005).    

In addition to religion, path dependent processes with respect to women‟s suffrage policy may affect the 

potential to increase women‟s political participation in particular societies. Some studies have also stressed the 

salience of the epoch character of colonialism particularly in African countries. They have argued that 

colonialism in Africa was male dominated and did nothing to deviate from the preclusion of women from the 

public sphere and their limitation in the economic sphere (Omotola, 2007:38). Countries with earlier suffragist 

policies for reforming women‟s formal political exclusion are likely to have a stronger institutional legacy of 

women‟s formal political inclusion (Kenworthy & Malami 1999; Moore & Shackman 1996; Ramirez, Soysal & 

Shanahan 1997; Rule 1981).  



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State-financed welfarism policy is another central factor to societies‟ progress in political participation by 

women.  Much research confirms that a key barrier to women‟s full social inclusion and autonomy has been 

and continues to be institutional arrangements that restrict the state‟s role in caretaking and domestic 

responsibilities (Hirschmann 2001; Liebert 1999; Sainsbury 1996; Tronto 2001). Welfare policy is capable of 

alleviating these barriers by expanding the scope of the state‟s involvement in these everyday household 

necessities through, for instance, state supported childcare. Thus, state legacies with respect to welfare policies 

are an additional form of historical institutionalism that could potentially offset the empowerment modernization 

brings to women.   

3.4 The Institutional Design Factor 

This view holds that a country‟s institutional characteristics either enable or constrain women‟s political 

participation (Alexander & Welzel, 2007). Three aspects of the political system find support in this literature: 

the strength of democracy, the electoral system, and gender electoral quota systems. Thus Inglehart & Norris 

(2003) submit that democratic institutions that preserve and socialize free and equal citizenship supply women 

with more rights and more channels for making their voices heard (Alexander & Welzel, 2007).  

The impact of institutional variation within democracies on women‟s political involvement has also been 

considered. Most prominent among the arrangements considered is the influence of electoral systems (Krook, 

2008). Electoral systems affect women‟s paths to parliament by structuring party elites‟ incentive or disincentive 

to run women candidates. In this regard therefore, proportional representation system has been found to have a 

positive impact on the percentage of women in parliament (Pascaud–Becane, 1999; The Nigeria CEDAW NGO 

Coalition Shadow Report, 2008; Rai, 2005; Kenworthy & Malami 1999; Lakeman 1994; Norris 1985; Paxton 

1997; Akioyede-Afolabi, 2003).This is because these electoral systems have a higher number of seats per 

district and offer parties a greater chance of winning more than one seat per district.  

Moreover, through greater district magnitude and party magnitude, parties are more likely to choose women 

candidates for the second seat (Matland 1993; Rule 1994). Thus, because Proportional Representation electoral 

systems increase women‟s chances of recruitment and electability despite lower placement on candidate lists, 

these electoral systems provide greater opportunity for the election of women. Finally, with Proportional 

Representation electoral system, the greater incentive to balance tickets gives parties greater opportunity to 

promote gender as an option for challenging other parties. This typically results in a promotion of women‟s 

inclusion across parties as elites attempt to equalize the playing field by avoiding the appearance of their party‟s 

marginalization of women voters (Matland & Studlar 1996; Akioyode-Afolabi, 2003). As noted by Matland 

(2004), there is a distinct gap in women‟s representation in national legislatures between countries with 

single-member district electoral systems and those with proportional representation electoral systems.   

In addition to the role of electoral rules, gender electoral quota systems are institutional mechanisms that 

consistently, positively mediate the conditions and attitudes that structure women‟s leadership potential. Indeed, 

researchers studying the recent proliferation of quota systems throughout the world have referred to quota 

systems as “the fast track” to the equal political representation of women (AkioyodeAfolabi, 2003). Over the 

last three decades, several societies beginning with Norway, have introduced some form of a gender electoral 

quota system in their political bodies for improving the status of women. These quota systems take the form of a 

constitutional amendment, electoral law or party policy. Scholars generally find that the stronger the gender 

electoral quota system the greater the level of women‟s percentages in political office (Dahlerup & Freidenvall 

2003; Caul1999, 2001; Kolinsky 1991; Matland 1993; Studlar & Macalister 1998). Thus the attributes of 

democratic institutions, electoral systems, and the degree to which countries adopt gender electoral quota 



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systems are the institutional designs that perform mediating role of either improving or hindering women‟s 

presence in political office (Dahlerup 1998; Babatunde, 2003).  

Taking the four factors as a whole, economic development, socio-cultural factor, together with historical 

legacies, as well as various institutional design factors are the likely correlates of various aspects of women‟s 

participation in politics. What is less clear however, is the degree to which these four factors uniquely influence 

women‟s participation in political activity. This therefore necessitates a comparative assessment of the same 

cultural and political predictors on women‟s participation in Nigerian politics to confirm the relative degree to 

which the political environment matters with respect to women‟s attainment of positions of full political 

empowerment. It is useful to ask whether and to what extent economic development, socio-cultural factor, 

historical legacies and institutional designs uniquely influence women‟s prominence in Nigerian politics.  

4. Womens’ Political Participation in Nigeria: Historical Background  

4.1 Pre-Colonial Period  

Prior to their colonial experience, the Nigerian women played active and productive roles in their respective 

traditional political governance (Akinboye, 2004:236; Ajayi, 2007). Although women‟s political participation 

during pre-colonial era was not equal to that of men, the position of women in governance was complementary 

rather than subordinate (Mba, 1982:37; Nwankwo, 1996:20 & Ikpe, 2004:23). Even in the most conservative of 

societies of Nigeria, women contributed tremendously to the development of their societies (Awe, 1992:11). In 

the pre-colonial Nigeria, they occupied important roles in the traditional political life and in their different 

regions, they were actively engaged in politics and held decision-making roles in the governmental institution in 

their respective regions (Kamene, 1991). The extent of women‟s participation in the public sphere in the 

pre-colonial Nigeria however, depended very much on how their particular society was organized, whether in 

the form of monarchy like the Yoruba kingdom or as republican like the Igbo tribes (Nwankwo, 1999:14). The 

traditional Nigerian society was segregated between genders which enabled the measurement of power and 

achievements. The complementarity‟s role of women was however embedded in sex segregation, which 

determined gender position, status and power in the society and provided them their own spheres of operation 

and control (Ikpe, 2004:22). Certain political structures, which allowed for power sharing between men and 

women were articulated and firmly put in place. Women for instance, had access to political participation 

through a complex and sophisticated network of relationship, rights and control of power with men in certain 

societies, their role were complementary or subordinate in others (Olojede, 1990:82).  

This however, does not mean that women occupied equal roles with men in the society. There were very few 

women who possessed political power in the precolonial Nigeria (Awe, 1992). Only very few women were 

initiated into traditional cults such as Ogboni, Osugbo, Ekpo, Ekpe, Eyo, etcetera. (Ojuolape, 2001:1) Some 

notable women in the traditional political governance in the South West Nigeria include the Erelu, Ayaba and 

Olori (king‟s Wives”, Iyalode (Women‟s Leader), Iyalaje (Market Women‟s Leader), Yeye Oba (King‟s 

Mother) and Iya-olosa (Goddess priests), Moremi of Ife, Efusetan of Ibadan and Emotan. One cannot undermine 

the significant role of Iya Afin, Iya Agan and Iya Abiye to the palace administrations of the various kingdoms 

(Mba, 1982; Nwanckwo, 1999:14) Likewise, the influence and contributions of Queen Amina of Zaria to the 

political development of the Northern Nigeria‟s emirate and the achievement of Kambasa of Bony in the dim 

pre-colonial past are by no means negligible (Awe, 1992). The change of government from the Hausa 

aristocracy to the Fulani/Muslim hegemony however, totally excluded women from the public sphere. After the 

reign of Amina in the pre-Islamic past of Zaria, there was no woman who sat in the court of any Hausa ruler 

(Abubakar, 1992:11). Islam made strict division of the spheres for the different genders. Women were not to be 



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seen in the public spheres (Modo1996:99).   

Women‟s participation in public life in Benin Empire was limited (Ikpe, 2004:24). There was no women 

representation among the various grades of chiefs. Men dominated the different craft guilds and even controlled 

the markets as agents of the Benin King. The only important female political figure was the Iyaoba (King‟s 

Mother) with her court at Uselu. She did not sit in the Oba‟s council and as such did not take part in decision 

making. Some of them, such as Iyaoba Idia, reputed to have contributed personally to the success of Esiegie‟s 

campaigns against Idah, were powerful and contributed to the successful reign of their sons (Ikpe, 

1997:251).They however, did not act as spokespersons for women in Benin.   

In the riverine Igbo societies such as Onitsha, Asaba, Osomari and Illah, there was the institution of the queen, 

the Omu. Though the Omu wielded great authority in the society among the women, her position was based on 

loyalty to the Obi (king), thus limiting the power of the office (Ekejiuba, 1992:89). Nevertheless, the 

administrations of the community‟s affairs in the Igboland was not without due consultation between the men 

and women groups (Nwankwo, 1999:14; Ajayi, 2007).  

Despite the lack of sufficient literature and history that captures the relevance of women in that era and the fact 

that conventional African history provides only fragmentary images of women, the pre-colonial Nigeria though 

a patriarchal society, women were not completely left out of the political scene (Ojo, 2003; Olojede, 1990:82 & 

Nwankwo, 1999:14)). However, the coming of Westernization destroyed their political positions and then 

marginalized them in the modern political institutions (Allen, 1972; Sadiqi, 2000:35)  

4.2 Colonial Period 

Women‟s poor participation in politics, like many other problems in Nigeria, has a deep root in the system 

carved and imposed by colonialism (Omotola, 2007; Lewu, 2005:65). It began with the colonial occupation, 

starting with the fusion of the three regions (Yoruba in the southwest, the Igbo in the southeast, and the 

Hausa/Fulani in the North) to the Nigeria‟s independence and its governance, and then to the post independent 

Nigeria (Mba, 1982). Colonialism played a significant role in the political participation of women in Nigeria. 

The advent of colonialism and its attendant political and economic subjugation subsequently entrenched the 

masculinity of politics and subordinated the women under the men (Ikpe, 2004:30). Colonial administration 

created a patriarchy government in which women were not allowed to hold any authoritative positions (Kamene, 

1991). Thus, the lack of recognition of the Nigerian women political/leadership role in the mainstream politics 

in Nigeria today is traceable to colonial invention (Allen, 1972). Colonial administration restructured the 

feminine relevance in governance by divesting the women of their political powers (Ajayi, 2007:138). This was 

exacerbated by the policy introduced in which men were believed to have the potential of activeness in the 

society; and those that were lucky to receive some education got recruited into the colonial overlords. The 

colonial administration gender policies eroded female participation both in politics and economy as women 

were denied both electoral and job opportunities (Mba, 1982; Olojede, 1999 & Ikpe, 2004:30). This practice, to 

a large extent, served to reinforce and generalize patriarchal values in the country and significantly marked the 

beginning of low participation of the females in the formal agencies of government, a phenomenon that has 

continued till date (Enemuo, 1999:232).  In fact a section of the women in South Western Nigeria voted for the 

first time in the nation‟s electoral history in the 1959 general elections, while their Northern counterparts were 

disenfranchised  and it was not until 1976, fifty-four years after the elective principle was introduced to 

Nigeria, that the Northern women first enjoyed franchise rights (Ajayi, 2004:138).  

In furtherance of the colonial masters‟ attempt to restructure the traditional African economies in order to make 

them ready market for European manufacturers and sources of cheap raw materials for their factories, only men 



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were granted economic power in the production  of export crops while the women were left to concentrate on 

the production of food crops (Akiyode-Afolabi & Arogundade, 2003:77). All these have resulted in gender 

insensitivity in the design and implementation of public policy and have significantly assisted in perpetuating 

gender inequality in various gamut of social life. At the same time, the masculinity of politics was so entrenched 

that the machinery put in place during the colonial period systematically rendered women invisible as they were 

considered unsuitable for the rigours of public life; hence they were not allowed to vote, to contest elections, to 

sit in parliament or to be employed in the civil service (Akinboye, 2004:237).  

Despite the alienation of women from the mainstream of Nigerian politics during colonial administration, the 

Nigerian womenfolk made itself relevant by its contributions to nationalist movements, which constituted 

vanguards against the colonial administration. Women political activism dates back to 1929/30 Aba women riot 

against colonial tax policies. The Ngwa women‟s opposition against the municipalisation of their community in 

1954, the Eastern Region women‟s opposition to new school fees in 1958; and the series of protests between 

1946and 1958 by the Abeokuta Women‟s Union led by Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti were invaluable in  the 

country‟s struggle for independence (Nwankwo,1996:16). A major landmark achievement in the political 

development of women during the colonial era was the formulation of a women‟s political party in 1944 

spearheaded by Mrs. Oyinkan Abayomi (Ojo, 2003; Akiyode-Afolabi, 2003:11). At the individual levels 

however, women, notably including Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Margaret Ekpo, Gamboare Sawaba, participated 

in the anti-colonial political struggle, and took part in the negotiations for independence (Akiyode-Afolabi & 

Arogunde, 2003:11).   

However, the limited gains made by women did not translate into participation in decision making during this 

colonial period. Men dominated in the first political parties while actively depending on material and 

mobilization support from women. The Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), National Council of 

Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), and Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) garnered varying levels of support 

from women's groups. However, women did not feature prominently in the leadership of these and other parties 

during the nationalist era and after independence (Ahonsi-Yakubu, 2001:151). In the 1958 elections only 

Wurola Esan got appointed to the Senate of 36 members, while no woman was elected to the 312-member 

House of Representatives and none was in the federal cabinet (Nwankwo, 1996:17).   

4.3 Postcolonial Period 

The low participation of women in politics was also fostered by the nature of postcolonial politics. Though 

women‟s political participation witnessed a rising trend but showed a disturbing low profile participation in 

political development of Nigeria state (Aina, 2004:227). The acrimonious politics of the post-independence era 

was detrimental to women‟s participation. Politics and political parties became ethnic, paternalistic and 

personality based. Women were expected to support politicians from their own ethnic area without any 

consideration whatsoever for their personal interests (Ojo, 2003). As party and ethnic allegiance became more 

important than gender solidarity, women lost their power of collective action, which was important in their 

agitations during the colonial era (Ikpe, 2004:35).   

From 1960 -1965 there were only two female legislators in the federal parliament and three others in the Eastern 

House of Assembly (Nwankwo, 1996:17, Omotola, 2007:37). Four female legislators in the whole of the 

country were a number that was so negligible as to give women the necessary influence over decision-making. 

The imposition of military, an era that followed this period from 1966 did not foster the participation of women 

in politics and very little was heard of women at the helm of affairs (Anya, 2003). Military rule was an all-male 

affair and while it lasted women played only a peripheral role (Adeleke, 2002).  No woman was appointed 



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military governor even though there were some qualified women in the military set-up. However, in 1967, when 

Nigeria was divided into 12 states, 1 woman was appointed each as commissioners into East Central and Lagos, 

while Oyo state had two women commissioners (Nwankwo, 1996:17). The Constituent Assembly of the 

Obasanjo regime in 1975 had no single female members out of its 50 members (Babatunde, 2003). It was the era 

of military dictators who had little regards for the muchcherished constitutional interest balancing. It also 

disturbed the proper functioning of women organization as pressure groups since they were banned (Aina, 

op.cit:227). Women did not feature prominently during the preparations made by the Murtala/Obasanjo regime 

for returning power to civilians. No woman was appointed to the fifty-member Constitutional Drafting 

Committee, very few women were elected into the local government councils during the 1976 elections, and 

only Mrs. Janet Akinrinade was elected to the Constituent Assembly. Four other women were appointed to the 

250 member assembly.  

The second republic did not witness any significant difference with respects to women political participation 

despite renewed efforts to give women a chance to contribute to national development (Anifowose, 2004:211). 

Although from 1979, women have made desperate efforts to enter into representative politics but with little 

success, women recorded low representation in the Senate, the House of Representative and the States House of 

Assembly. Only 3 ministers, 1 out 96 senators  and 11 out of a total of 450 members of the House of 

Representatives were female (Aina, 2004:227).  In all the 19 states of the federation, there was no female 

representation in all the State Houses of Assembly, neither was there a female chairperson nor councilor at the 

local government level (Omotola, 2007:37). With the collapse of the second republic, women again fizzled out 

of relevance in the two-year regime of Gen Mohammed Buhari (Adeleke, 2002). From the mid-1980s however, 

the military started appointing a few women now and then to positions of authority.  Thus the coming of Gen 

Ibrahim Babangida in 1985 changed the attitude of military rulers to women leadership. One important aspect of 

the rising profile of women in political life was the phenomenon of First Lady Syndrome (Aina, 2004:227).  

This however was nothing but mere personal aggrandizement (Babatunde, 2003). Under this auspices, the Better 

Life for Rural Women was created and was later renamed Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP) 

by the succeeding First Lady.   

4.4 Women’s Political Participation in Nigeria - 1999 - 2015   

The forth republic which began in 1999 saw women taking a similar low participation in the Nigeria‟s political 

process. The 1999 general elections saw only 181 positions worn by women out of the 11, 881 available 

positions throughout the country (Akiyode-Afolabi, 2003:63). The elections saw only five (4.6%) women out of 

109 senators elected into the Senate, while 13 (3.6%) women were elected into the House of Representatives of  

360 seats i.e. 6.3 percent women representation in the national parliament (Ajayi, 2007:139). While there were 

36 gubernatorial seats, no female featured. Nigeria had only one female deputy Governor – Chief Kofoworola 

Akerele-Bucknor, deputy governor of Lagos State (1999 -2003), and of the 990 seats available for the States 

House of Assembly in the country only 12 (1.21%) women were elected (Adu, 2008:27). At the local level, out 

of the 774 local government chairpersons across the nation, only 9 were women and only 143 out of the 8,700 

councillors were women (Babatunde, 2003; Anifowose, 2004:210).   

The poor performance of women in this election was the basis for the national summit for all women politicians 

organised by the International Human Rights Law Group, Centre for Development and Population Activities 

(CEDPA) and Gender and Development Action (GADA) held on June 28, 2002 in Abuja. The objective of the 

summit was to enhance women‟s active participation in Nigerian politics (AkiyodeAfolabi & Arogundade, 

2003:64). Despite all efforts geared at improving women‟s participation in politics in Nigeria, the 2003 elections 



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did not witness any significant improvement.  In the elections that held that year (2003) only 21 (6.1%) women 

out of the 339 member worn seats in the House of Representatives. Similarly, of 109 senatorial seats, only 3 (2.7 

%) women were elected in to the Senate, which is just 8.8 percent women representation in the national 

parliament (UNDP Report, 2003:47; Ojo, 2003:16). Of the 36 gubernatorial seats available, no woman was 

elected and of the 990 seats available for the States House of Assembly in the country, 38 (3.84%) women were 

elected (Adu, 2008:27). In 2007 only 25 (6.9% ) women out of the 358 seats were elected into the House of 

Representatives and 9 (8.3%) women out of the 109 seats were elected in to the Senate, that is 7.3 percent 

women representation in the national parliament while, out of the 36 gubernatorial seats available, no woman 

was elected and of the 990 seats available for the States House of Assembly in the country, 54 (5.5%) women 

were elected (Nigeria CEDAW NGO Coalition Shadow Report, 2008:10).   

The records from the database of the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed that in the 

2007 elections a total 7160 candidates (both men and women) contested in the April elections. Of this number, 

only 628 women representing 8.8% of the total candidates participated. A total 3141 candidates contested for 

seats in the National Assembly (799 candidates for the senate and 2342 candidates for the House of 

Representatives). Of this number, only 209 or 6.7% were women (59 or 7.4% women for Senate and 150 or 

6.4% women for House of Representative) (Okocha, 2007). The analysis above indicates a 2%, 4% and 6% 

women representation in 1999, 2003 and 2007 respectively.  

However, the trend shows an improvement in women representation. This was due to the conscious affirmative 

efforts of the Obasanjo administration to involve more women in his political administration. As a result, 

political parties took a decision to waive for the women the payment of pre-registration levies for political 

aspirants in the country. In addition the national summit for all women politicians organised by the International 

Human Rights Law Group, Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) and Gender and 

Development Action (GADA) held on June 28, 2002 in Abuja with the objective of enhancing women‟s active 

participation in Nigerian politics and the awareness campaigns by these and other gender-related organisations 

and NGOs spurred women in the federation to vie for political candidature in the 2003 and 2007 general 

elections (Akiyode-Afolabi & Arogundade, 2003:64).  

In the history of Nigeria, there has been no woman ever elected as state governor, while only 6 women have 

ever been elected as deputy Governors (from Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Imo, Plateau and Anambra States). Thus the 

perception that democracy would automatically boost women political participation has not been validated after 

nine years of return to civilian rule. Nigeria still falls short of the desired result of giving females the 

opportunities and access to opportunities to advance socially, economically and politically ((Ojo, 2003: 

Babatunde, 2003; The Nigeria CEDAW NGO Coalition Shadow Report, 2008:3, Adu, 2008:27).   

4.5 Theoretical Framework  

Many political scientists find systems theory as a relevant tool for analysis of multicultural political 

phenomenon. Frank and Gills (1993:17) for instance, argues the case for applying system theory across 

disciplines because it provides a “human centric‟‟ alternative to the systematic distortions of Eurocentrism” 

which could help us see „a common river and unity of history in a single world system (that is) multicultural in 

origin and expression.‟ In this view, researchers in the field of social sciences have shown the applicability of 

this approach to the study of political geography, development studies, gender, ethnic and race relations, 

international relations and international political economy. Thus, Covington (1998:4) argues that systems theory 

is all-purpose in that it takes into account numerous systems that interact with other systems which help a 

researcher to focus attention on important component that might otherwise go unnoticed. He argues further that 



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systems theory gains a holistic view of an area of human activity, taking the environment in which a 

phenomenon is observed as part of this holistic approach.   

The development of systems theory for the study of politics however, was first conceived by David Easton in 

1953 (Varma, 1975:194).  His work was a continuation of the search by social scientists for accurate 

predictions, using general laws that have universal application for a systemic interpretation of society which was 

started by a sociologist, Karl Manheim (Newman, 1972:13; Chilcote, 1994:123). According to the Eastonian 

systems theory, a political system is viewed as made up of interrelated units that function together to make a 

whole. His concept of political life is that of “a system of behaviour embedded in an environment to the 

influence of which the political system itself is exposed and in turn reacts (Kaplan, 1968:150). One aspect of the 

political system cannot therefore be understood thoroughly without studying the other interrelated units. At the 

centre of Eastonian systems theory is therefore, the formulation of a general framework, a focus on the whole 

system rather than merely on its parts, an awareness of environmental influences upon the system. Thus 

Denhard & Denhard (2006:215) defines a system as a set of regularized interactions configured or bounded in a 

way that differentiate and separate them from other actions that constitute the system environment. Similarly, 

Kaplan (1968:150) defines systems theory as the study of a set of interrelated variables as distinguished from the 

environment of the set.   

The theory considers political activity as essentially involving the political system, the input and the output and 

the environment. Easton views the political system as the basic unit of analysis while the intra-system behaviour 

of various systems is seen as principal areas of research (Varma, 1975:194). He defines the political system as 

that system of interactions in any society through which binding or authoritative allocations are made and 

implemented (Chilcote, 1994:127). The environment consists of the objective conditions and forces that 

generate the demand and support input. Demands are expressions of opinion that an authoritative allocation with 

regards to a particular subject matter should or should not be made by those responsible for doing so. Supports 

are actions or orientation prompting or resisting a political system. Also, the system adapts to its environment 

through growth and elaboration of its structure made possible by negative entropy. Such a system is also 

self-regulating through feedback loops which are used by the decider or system decision-maker to achieve its 

goals and to maintain some sort of dynamic equilibrium (Easton, 1965).   

According to this concept, inputs in the form of demands (expectations) and support approach the political 

system. These inputs (demands and supports) become issues for discussion and resolution. Demands drive the 

motor of politics, and politics operates to convert demands into authoritative policy outputs. Inputs in this way 

are processed within the political system during the so-called conversion process and made into binding 

decisions and policy actions for all members of society in the form of laws and provisions (outputs) (Ikelegbe, 

2004:36; Denhard & Denhard, 2006:215).   

The actual conversion of input to output is effected by the various governmental institutions expressly designed 

for these ends. These Easton referred to as "black box" into which inputs stream and out of which outputs 

emerge. These outputs in turn create reactions within society and feedback. Outputs that are deemed satisfactory 

and met the demands of some members within the system generate renewed supports and put to rest the original 

demands that set the conversion process into motion. Outputs that are judged inadequate may generate negative 

consequences by eroding supports and dangerously intensifying the level of demands or resulting to new 

demands on the system. Outputs need to travel full-circle and return, via the feedback loop, to the input side of 

the conversion process (Rosenbloom, 1993:159; Olawuyi, 2004:33).                                                                   

Easton analytical framework views the political system as continuously operating mechanism, with inputs 



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(demands and supports) going in, and output (authoritative decisions and actions) coming out. According to 

him, political life forms an open system; open to influences from its environment. The framework however, 

includes regulatory mechanisms for preventing demand overloads and for maintaining the smooth operation of 

the system. (Newman, 1972:497; Kaplan, 1968:157; Mahler, 2003:13). Thus the Eastonian system theory 

involves a general framework, a focus on the whole system rather than merely on its parts, an awareness of 

environmental influences upon the system, and a recognition of the differences between the political life in 

equilibrium and in disequilibrium (Chilcote, 1994:127).  

Eaton‟s systems theory is also being referred to as input-output analysis (Mahler, 2003:13). This suggests that 

the output in form of decisions, policies and actions within the political system is largely a result of the inputs 

(demands and supports) exerted upon the political system. Although the view by Ikelegbe (2006:37) that some 

output may be a result of the political system without input from the environment cannot be completely 

overruled.  

It is noted at this juncture, that Gabriel Almond‟s structural-functionalism approach shares some similar 

characteristics with Eastonian systems theory in that both emphasize on the whole system as the unit of analysis 

and views a society as a system of mutually interdependent parts and a change in one segment of a society 

results in corresponding change in other segments of the society (Malinowski 1944:75; Merton, 1949 & 

Radcliffe-Brown, 1950). However, structural-functional teleological assumptions which cannot be scientifically 

investigated; and its implicit philosophy with a conservative bias toward system maintenance and order rather 

than change, present some points of departure from the systems theory. Thus critiques believe that Almond‟s 

structural- functionalist model presents a static model of society and as a consequence cannot account for 

change, and that it overemphasizes integration and therefore fail to deal with dysfunction (Holt, 1968:87; 

Chilcote, 1994:138 & Newman, 1972).   

The adoption of systems theory as the theoretical framework for this study will enhance our understanding of 

women as subsystem of the Nigerian supra-system whose involvement in the political affairs of the system are 

to be seen as equally important as other sectors of the society. Political participation is however, a behavioural 

pattern interconnected with some other factors within the individuals.   

Furthermore, political participation, using the systems theory, is an open system, open to the influence of some 

factors embedded in its environment – the society. Thus women‟s political participation is a function of some 

certain factors in the environment which include socioeconomic variables such as the standard of living 

measured by per capita income and Gross Domestic Product, access to educational and occupational resources 

et cetera. Another environmental factor is the cultural ideological factor. Most often, the behavioural pattern in a 

society is guided by the norms and customary practices obtained in that society; so also is women‟s political 

participation. The historical legacies such as long tradition of female suffrage, religious traditions etc also 

constitute environmental factors on which women‟s political participation responds and reacts to. Of immense 

significance are the institutional design factors. These include the strength of the country‟s democracy, the 

electoral system and gender electoral system. All these factors constitute the institutional design environment 

that affects women‟s political participation. Put together, these four factors highlighted above are significant 

factors within the environment that greatly impact on women‟s political participation in Nigeria and which as an 

open system is being affected by them.  

The use of systems theory for the analysis of women‟s political participation thus places before this research 

work, the immense importance of going deeper into the problems of women‟s political participation. It helps 

this research in finding out factors and influences to which women‟s political participation in Nigeria is open, 



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determine the boundaries between one system and another, and speculate as how far the influences that creep 

through this boundary line are case of damage or destruction to the system and how far they are helpful in 

maintaining it.  Finally, it helps to understand what concept of maintenance would involve, whether stability, 

equilibrium or survival itself. The study of the challenges of women participation in politics will therefore, not 

be thorough without the understanding of the influence of these interrelated issues (the economic aspect, 

socio-cultural background and the political structure of the political system) within the country. All of these are 

viewed as interdependent in interaction where a change in these elements induces a change in the pattern or 

level of women‟s political participation.   

While other theories mentioned above fail in one way or the other to look at political reality from a holistic 

perspective, systems theory dissects political phenomenon as a holistic interconnected unit of the general 

society. The theory views a political system from a holistic perspective being characterized by the interactions 

of its components. It is nevertheless, needful to point out that Easton‟s system theory is not free from some 

certain loopholes. The theory has been flawed for never realizing its potential as a theoretical framework 

capable of explaining the operation of the political system (Newman, 1972:497). Furthermore, systems theory 

like any other theories has been criticized as a mere map of reality and not the reality itself and like most 

analogies, it is imperfect and exactness is not always to be found in some explanations (Spiro, 1968). However, 

these flaws notwithstanding, systems theory still enhance our comprehensive theoretical understanding of this 

research work women‟s political participation in Nigeria. 

4.6 Women and Nigerian Politics in the Fourth Republic, 1999-2015 

The Fourth Republic began on May 29, 1999 following successful transition programme initiated by the former 

Head of State of Nigeria, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar. The process that led to the birth of the Republic began in 

1998 after the controversial death of the then Nigerian military dictator, Gen. Sanni Abacha. Gen. Abacha 

initially initiated a transition program that would have translated him from a military dictator to a civilian 

president. This was not realized due to his unexpected death on June 8, 1998 (Akinbi and Adesote, 2014:103). 

Following his death, General Abdulsalam Abubakar became the new Head of State. He immediately announced 

that he would hand over power to a democratically elected president on May 29, 1999. As a follow up to the 

announcement, General Abdulsalam dissolved the existing five political parties registered by the Abacha 

regime. He voided all the elections that were conducted, and set up another electoral body known as 

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) (Akinbi and Adesote, 2014:101).  

The ban on political parties was lifted, and political prisoners were released from detention facilities. The 

constitution was modelled after that of the ill-fated Second Republic which saw the Westminster system of 

government jettisoned for an American Presidential system. The electoral body was set up initially to grant 

provisional registration to nine political parties, with the condition that only those that had more than 10% of the 

votes in at least 24 out of the 36 states of the Federation in the local government elections would qualify to 

contest the subsequent State and Federal elections (Akinbi and Adesote, 2014:104). Eventually, the only three 

political parties that made the cut and were registered are People‟s Democratic Party (PDP), All Nigeria 

People‟s Party (ANPP) and Alliance for Democracy (AD). Elections were set for April 1999.  

In the widely monitored 1999 elections, former military ruler General Olusegun Obasanjo was elected on the 

platform of PDP. On 29 May 1999, Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in as President and Commander in Chief of 

the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Akinbi and Adesote, 2014:104).  Since the inception of the current democratic 

dispensation in 1999, concerted efforts have been made by women‟s groups, women advocates and activists, 

civil society organisations, Nigerian government and international agencies and donor communities to increase 



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women‟s participation in both political and public life. Although there is no constitutional provision for the 

office of the First Lady, Nigeria has paraded several First Ladies in the Fourth Republic and many amongst 

them played roles that made them prominent. However, statistics revealed very low, disproportionate 

representation of women in governance. This situation falls well below the recommended 30% of the Beijing 

Platform for Action in 1995 and 35% recommendation of National Policy on Women adopted in July 2000 (Odi, 

2012:3.) Although the Nigerian democracy since 1999 provided opportunity for women‟s participation in 

politics, the reality is that the place of women in elective and appointive position with the sixteen years of 

democratic rule was still low. 

But, it was better than during the colonial and second republic. This very low representation of women in 

governance can be attributed to several factors which will be interrogated later in this paper. There is no doubt 

that Nigerian women participated virtually in all electoral process in the country since 1999.  Women and 

Nigerian Politics: An Appraisal of 2015 General Elections This section interrogates the extent of women 

involvement in the 2015 general elections. Areas of their participation include registration, voting, campaigns, 

contest and so on.  It argues that in spite of the increasing number of Nigerian women in politics, the country‟s 

politics is still largely dominated by men. The challenges facing the active participation of Nigerian women in 

politics such as cultural factor, lack of internal democracy among political parties, gender discrimination, and 

lack of fund and so on are also analysed in descriptive and analytical manner.   

The 2015 General Elections allow democratic nations a chance to celebrate the rebirth of values of popular 

representation of the interest of the people. Nigerians have, through the recent 2015 General Elections, 

celebrated this important aspect of democracy. More importantly, the loss of an election by an incumbent 

Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to an opposition candidate and the acceptance of the unprecedented 

situation signify the coming of age of an ideal democracy (The Guardian April 2, 2015:19). The development 

showed that democracy has actually been consolidated in the country. Fundamentally, our concern here is how 

this process has advanced the political status of women as well as their role in the unfolding scenario. The 

outcome of the 2015 General Elections has been argued to be the most expensive in African History (The 

Guardian April 14, 2015:20).  

Meanwhile, it has not indicated a marked departure from the entrenched „tradition‟ of circumscribing women's 

role in the political engineering process of even the „benefits‟ accruing to them for their efforts. Gender 

cleavages still dictates who wins and who losses election. However, modest progress especially within the more 

conservative cultural and religious enclaves is exploding myths about the incongruity between politics and 

gender (Ogunsola, 1993:77). As these women are tried and proven, the trust of the public and the corollary 

legitimacy of gender representation grow. There are grounds to argue that the representation of women is 

self-producing and selfsustaining, manifesting as both a catalyst and a consequence of their inclusion. A close 

examination of the electioneering processes and the voting pattern of the 2015 general elections will assist in 

validating this position.  Electioneering process is made up of the entire or series of activities engaged in by the 

persons who have agreed to submit themselves to the elections, their political parties, groups, communities, 

political associations, friends, families and others in order to influence the anticipated preference of the 

electorate or choosers positively. Simply put, electioneering encompasses all the activities that ginger electorates 

to support candidates in elections (Akinwalere, 2012:10).    

The electioneering process in Nigeria starts with registration of voters in which Nigerian women participated 

actively (INEC, 2014). This was accompanied by awareness programs conducted by different kinds of agencies, 

especially on the importance of voters‟ registration. In a nutshell, a lot of agencies went all out to facilitate mass 



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enlightenment and multi-media campaigns on voter education and promote citizen awareness in order to 

increase voter turnout during the election and thereby promote electoral and governance accountability, even 

beyond the elections. The role of the Nigerian Police and other Security Agencies cannot be underestimated 

here. It was categorically stated during the conference organised on the 8th April, 2015 by the Nigerian Police 

that the success or failure of any election depends on the stakeholders like INEC, political parties, election 

observers, media, the Nigerian Police and other security agencies performing their duties effectively and 

efficiently as expected (The New Dawn, April 10, 2015) Organisations like the International Republican 

Institute (IRI), CEDPA and United Nations (UN) worked with women in major states and cities to spread the 

awareness of the need for women‟s leadership and to sharpen skills.  

Through strategic planning and advocacy workshops, participants expand their political education skills and are 

encouraged to individually speak out. The Democratic Governance for development project, implemented by 

United Nations Development Project (UNDP) in partnership with the Nigerian Government trained over 2,043 

female politicians and candidates in preparation for electoral processes at both national and state levels. Focused 

programmes, like those organized by the IRI and UNDP, truly make an impact on female political engagement 

(UNDP, 2014). Towards this, the Nigerian Women Trust Fund supported the „Preparation towards the 2015 

General Election: Enhancing citizen participation through Civil Society Organisations‟ at a Conference in 

Abuja, Nigeria on 8th April, 2014. The meeting is one of the many fora for the Civil Society Organisations 

(CSOs) to actively engage with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) enroute to a fairer 2015 

election process (Onyekwelu, 2014:1). Also, the Trust Fund whose multimedia campaign focuses on the benefits 

of increased women‟s political participation; the women‟s political education session conducted by the 

non-partisan Women in Politics Forum to increase women‟s chances to run successful campaigns for office. It 

should be noted that INEC introduced an easily accessible means of continuous voter registration via email and 

SMS, and called on the help of CSO‟s to educate the voters on its use. The women took advantage of this and 

registered enmasse towards the 2015 general elections to make up the total number of 68,833,476 registered 

voters in the country, both male and female (INEC, 2014).   

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Rivers State, Dame Gesila O. Khan observed in a paper on how 

INEC supports women participation in the 2015 Elections, the poor participation of women in politics vis-à-vis 

their numerical strength and relevance in governance has propelled the commission to support them both as 

voters and candidates. She opined that “Available statistics show that over 49% of the Nigerian population are 

women, yet only 7% are involved in governance”, adding that Nigeria has a huge resource base of women 

whose contributions are currently not being enjoyed”. Other reasons she advanced for supporting women 

include their equal constitutional rights to political participation as men, increasing their number in governance 

to fulfil Nigeria‟s local and international commitments for gender parity among others (INEC Admin, 2015).  

Mrs Dame Judith Amaechi, the wife of the governor of Rivers state also encouraged the youths to shun violence 

as 2015 general elections as it gather momentous, that the youths must intensify their efforts to educate and 

re-orient themselves against violence and from all forms of victimisations. With this, the use of youths for 

violence was minimised during the 2015 general elections (Elendu Report, Thursday 12, 2015). A lot of women 

leaders and advocates were involved in the electioneering process of the 2015 general elections.   Campaigns 

and Rallies When the 2015 general elections were approaching, candidates from various political parties 

launched their campaigns in full swing. The Nigerian women participated actively in the 2015 general elections 

campaigns and rallies. The women came all out to support the candidates of their choice to support them in 

campaigns and rallies. Dame Patience Jonathan and Hajia Aishat Buhari campaigned rigorously for their 



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spouses. Dame Patience Jonathan was seen severally at campaigns for the return of her husband while Hajiya 

Aisha Buhari appeared for the first time at a campaign rally on the 13th of January, 2015 at the M.K.O Abiola 

Stadium, Abeokuta, Ogun State. She engaged in campaigns that further confirmed her support for her husband. 

She was involved in mobilising women to vote for her husband and engaged the crowd at rallies on issues and 

promises by her husband (The News Magazine, 2015.13). She also demonstrated her passion for the 

development of Nigerian women at a campaign rally in Edo State, where she assured women that her husband 

would initiate policies that would guarantee their living standard.  Also, the Nasarawa State governor‟s wife, 

Hajiya Salamatu Al-Makura called on the women in the country to see the postponement of election by six 

weeks as opportunity to go and collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) when she played host to some 

women groups that paid her a courtesy visit in her office in Lafia (News Agency of Nigeria, Feb. 19, 2015). 

In buttressing the fact that women participated actively in the campaign rallies of 2015 general elections, women 

and youths numbering over 5,000 staged a mega rally in support of APC presidential flag bearer, Gen. 

Muhammadu Buhari and his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. The rally took place simultaneously in Afikpo 

Local Government area and Abakaliki, the state capital. They matched through Ebonyi APC campaign 

headquarters along old Enugu road through major streets in the two cities, chanting songs in support of the APC 

standard bearers (Osun Defender, 2015). All these revealed the level of women involvement in the 2015 general 

elections. They also featured in the cultural events and entertainment, mobilization, catering and event 

managements as well as in clerical duties.Furthermore, in Aisha Buhari‟s efforts in mobilizing women and 

youths to support and vote for her husband during the campaign period, she reiterated her gratitude to the efforts 

of the women during the 2015 general elections that brought her husband to power.  

In her speech during the „Appreciation Dinner‟ organised recently at the government house, Abuja for women 

and youths on the success of the campaigns to team work of the women and youths that helped vote her husband 

into office. With her agenda on „focusing on women issues‟ the wife of the president hoped to see more women 

in the legislature, from the local level, while she also observed the decline of women in the legislature as opined 

in the body of this paper, Aisha Buhari hopes to help reverse the situation and believed that empowerment from 

the ward level would better affect ordinary women on the streets. She also quoted people saying that her 

husband earned up to „four million votes‟ as a result of her campaigns (The News Magazine, 2015.16). This 

indicates to a large extent the importance of the role of women during campaigns and rallies for their husbands. 

On the other hand, it has also been said in some quarters that the role of Dame Patience Jonathan during the 

2015 general election campaigns contributed to her husband‟s defeat at the polls. However, with high level of 

participation of women in the electoral processes, the following tables below however indicate the level of 

representation of women in the 2015 elections in Nigeria.  

5. Women Participation in Elective Positions 

5.1 The Presidential   

Professor Oluremi Sonaya, the first woman to ever qualify as a presidential candidate in Nigeria came on board 

in the 2015 general elections. She was involved in a primary with three other aspirants and emerged as the 

party‟s nominee as the presidential candidate of the party. The presidential result revealed that women 

participation can actually influence the politics of the country. The only female candidate polled some votes in 

all the states of the country. The result showed some reasonable votes where male candidates were unable to get 

as much. For example, in Nasarawa State where Citizens Popular Party (CPP) candidate polled four votes, she 

polled forty eight votes. Also, the total number of votes she secured surpasses that of HOPE Democratic Party 

and United Democratic Party (UDP) parties during the election. While the total number of votes for HOPE was 



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7,393 and UDP was 9,147 votes, KOWA party had 12,524 votes (The Punch, April 1, 2015).   

With this development, experts and gender activists have continuously advocated the active participation of 

women in governance for the good of society. The result of the just concluded 2015 general elections in the 

country has however, not shown improved women representation in elective positions in the country. It should 

be noted that out of the fourteen candidates that contested for the seat of the president, the only woman amongst 

the contenders came out in the twelveth position. Just as men have always dominated the National Assembly, 

the 2015 election result does not present a different picture in the number of women who will represent their 

constituencies in the next four years. However, many Nigerians saw in the audacious candidacy the possibility 

of real change and a clear departure from what the country experienced so far as a nation.  

5.2 The Gubernatorial   

The gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC in Taraba state Aisha Jumai Al-Hassan 

would have made history in the last gubernatorial election in the state as the first woman to scale the hurdles of 

electioneering campaign and break the jinx that has befuddled Nigerian women over the years from emerging 

successful at the polls as governors, but for the outcome of the election which was not in her favour in the 

gubernatorial election. „Mama Taraba‟ as she was fondly called, almost made it but then, the near success 

syndrome that has been the lot of many Nigerian women in politics cut short her joy. Her expectations were 

high that she would emerge successful considering the direction of some results earlier reeled out by INEC. But 

suddenly, the result of the election was declared inconclusive and then, a re-run that finally dashed her hope 

when the PDP candidate was declared winner.  

5.3 The Legislative  

Table 1.  Senate 

Year Number of Seats and Percentages 

Number of seats Men % Women % 

1999 109 106 97.2 3 1.8 

2003  105 96.3 4 3.7 

2007  100 91.7 9 8.3 

2011  102 93.6 7 6.4 

2015  101 92.7 8 7.3 

Source: The Nigerian CEDAW NGO Coalition Shadow Report (2008), New York, United Nations Committee 

on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. Adapted from Ojo, John Sunday (2013)  

 

In all, eight women made it to the 109 members‟ senate as opposed to the seven elected in 2011. Three of the 

eight women senators are of the All Progressive Congress (APC) while the rest five are from the People 

Democratic Party (PDP). The 2015 general elections was able to add one female to the seven in the 2011Senate. 

This is still far from what is expected of a balanced assembly    

Table 2.  House of Representative 

Year Total No of Seats and Percentages 

Number of seats Men % Women % 

1999 360 347 96.4  13 3.6 

2003 339 318 94.2 21 5.8 

2007 360 333 92.5 27 7.5 



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2011 360 335 93.1  25 6.9 

2015 360 346 96.1 14 3.9 

Source: The Nigerian CEDAW NGO Coalition Shadow Report (2008), New York, United Nations Committee 

on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. Adapted from Ojo, John Sunday (2013)  

    

The table above indicate a drop from the 2011 general elections. There was a steady increase in women 

representation in the House of Representatives since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999. But during 

the 2015 general elections, the percentage of women representation dropped from 25% to 14%. This is not a 

good development. However, there is this hope that the new government will compensate the women in the 

appointive position like the President Jonathan administration did for the women folk.   

Table 3. State Houses of Assembly 

Year Total Number of Seats and Percentages 

Number of seats Men % Women % 

1999 978 966 98.8 12 1.2 

2003 951 912 96 39 4.0 

2007 900 843 94.2 57 5.8 

2011  832 93.1 68 6.9 

2015      

Source: The Nigerian CEDAW NGO Coalition Shadow Report (2008), New York, United Nations Committee 

on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. Adapted from Ojo, John Sunday (2013)  

NA – Not Available    

 

Tables 3 reveal that in 1999 House of Assembly elections, women constitute 1.2% while the men folk comprise 

98.8%; in 2003, women were 4% while men constitute 96%. In 2007 women were 5.8% while men were 94.2%. 

With little increase, women were 5.8% in 2011 while men were 93.1%. The 2015 general elections reveal that 

the Senate has 7.3% of women 

5.4 Deputy Governorship Position  

The gubernatorial elections produced four women deputy governors. They are Oluranti Adebule (Lagos State), 

Mrs Yetunde Onanuga (Ogun State), Ipalibo Banigo (Rivers State) and Cecilia Ezeilo (Enugu State). It is 

disheartening to observe that only few women emerged winners in the various positions they contested for both 

at the party primaries and in the general elections. Despite improved political consciousness of women and the 

various objectives of the National Gender Policy, it is disappointing that women still occupy less than eight 

percent of elective positions at all levels of governance in the country. The “domino theory” of patriarchy and 

masculinity which predominantly characterised the Nigerian society is still a dominant force that controls the 

entire polity (Oke, 2013:67).  

Men still exclusively dominate Nigeria‟s political landscape and this reflects in the gap in the number of seats 

won in general elections from 1999 till date on the basis of gender as captured by the tables above. Be that as it 

may, women have benefitted more in selective or appointive positions since 1999 and in fact, in some instances, 

they have been compensated with 35% inclusion in all appointive positions (Oke, 2013:67). Women have 

occupied many sensitive appointive positions which have expectedly improved their voices in public affairs. For 

example, Dr Okonjo Iweala (who served as Minister of Finance and coordinating minister for the Nigerian 



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economy), no doubt, has played significant role in not only the political economy of Nigeria, she has also set a 

pace at the international scene. In a nutshell, the empirical evidences as given above depicts the potency or 

otherwise of the contribution of women in the formation and restructuring of the Nigerian economy and politics 

in general. It then means that women can play active roles in shaping the direction of Nigerian politics even far 

beyond the imaginations of the male folk.  

By any standard, however, women participate in politics as voters, party supporters and usually attend political 

rallies in large number. Some even run for top political offices (the example of Sarah Jibril and Professor 

Oluremi Sonaya of the KOWA Party who contested for the office of President with Goodluck Jonathan and 

Muhammadu Buhari respectively and Hon. Mulikat who  unsuccessfully (albeit robustly) vied for the seat of 

Speaker, House of representative is apt in this direction). The 2006 census puts Nigerian women at about half 

the population of the entire country (Channels TV, 2012 August 2). Despite this numerical advantage and the 

massive participation in voting, less than 20% of political offices are held by women. For all intents and 

purposes, it appears that the Nigerian situations seem to defy the political theory that political power derives 

from political participation because women participate fully in elections in Nigeria but without full 

representation (Jibrin and Salihu, 2004:)   

Nigerian women have about the lowest representation of 5.9% in the national legislature when compared to 

most other African countries. For example, Uganda has 34.6%, South Africa (43.2%), Ethiopia (27.7%), 

Cameroun (20%), Niger (12.3%) and DR Congo (8.0%) (Daily Times, May 18, 2012). For Nigeria women, 

particularly in areas of political representation in governance the percentage is 7%, the lowest in the world 

(Vanguard Newspaper, January 21, 2013). Women representation in Nigeria politics has, over the years, been 

less than encouraging. This poses a challenge and narrows the chances of getting more women in 

decision-making structures. Women have actually proved their strength and competence in the society in all 

spheres even in male dominated professions but women involvement in public decision making processes in the 

emergent Fourth Republic in Nigeria has been characterized by low representation.  

Instructively, women have particularly demanded the implementation of affirmative actions towards the 

integration of at least 35% of women in all elective positions and in fulfilment of United Nations agenda for 

gender mainstreaming (Oni, 2014:107). Women political empowerment and development as enshrined in 

Nigeria‟s National Gender Policy should be adopted. It is useful to mention that globally, women representation 

has increased from 13% to 18% (Igbuzor, 2014:77). But it is worrisome to note that while increase in Africa is 

phenomenon from 10% to 17%, the growth rate in Nigeria remains stunted and even declining. The clamour for 

the attainment of the 35% affirmative action for women political integration has remained a far cry from what is 

obtainable in other continents. Igbuzor, 2014 attempted a comparative assessment thus: Burundi has 30% quota 

for women representation in the constitution while there is 50% local representation in South Africa Local 

Government. African National Congress (ANC) has 30% women representation enshrined in the party‟s 

constitution.  

A comparative study of election results from 1999-2015 reveals vividly that elective positions still elude women 

despite huge investments in mobilization, advocacy, lobbying and many others. However, it is impressive to 

observe that women public consciousness has improved significantly in the Fourth Republic. More women have 

put themselves forward in virtually every position to be contested for in the current political dispensation unlike 

the situation previously. Women political consciousness was particularly fascinating and impressive in the 2015 

general elections. But this has not translated to meaningful inclusion in the political process as expected. As a 

result, it would be necessary to look into the challenges facing the involvement of women in the Nigerian 



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politics and which has also affected their representation in the 2015 general elections. The challenges facing the 

Nigerian Women in Politics Over the years, Nigerian women have continued to record very poor performances 

in elective political offices. This is largely due to the sentimental attachment on feminine gender. Although they 

have been playing crucial role in political life of the country, this has not yielded results in terms of their 

performances when it comes to elective offices.  

The following are some of the challenges considered to be affecting the women in elective positions:  

Cultural and Religious Factors  

Culture and religion are strong factors inhibiting women involvement in politics in Nigeria. The socio-political 

and religious values constrained women to be fully involved in political participation, especially in the northern 

Nigeria where Purdah System is more pronounced. Even in other climes there are also inhibiting socio-cultural 

practices like polygamy where the husband in Yorubaland will have a favourite among his wives who represents 

him in some occasions. Gender Imbalance Nigeria as a Federation operates the Federal Character Principle 

which is the attempt to eschew group imbalance in public institutions and affairs. The definition of that “group” 

does not include gender in the conception and implementation of the principle. Understandably, there are legal 

provisions which tend to guarantee the equality of all individual and groups including women. But there is no 

legally backed affirmative action to promote gender balance. This has been fostering discrimination against 

women in employment in government and the private sectors. This may be as a result of patriarchy, which sees 

the man as the breadwinner and head of the family and must, therefore, be given preference over women in 

employment (Jegede, 1994: 101). The military is a good example where women were excluded in the combatant 

corps thereby automatically excluding them in high-powered political decision-making in the organisation.  

5.5 Lack of Internal Democracy 

Political parties in Nigeria are fond of selecting a consensus candidate as flag bearers of the party during the 

elections. Democracy is not usually allowed to play its full part in elective positions. In a situation whereby a 

candidate is highly favoured, the political leaders will not allow contest to have its full sway. Within a period of 

time, they would have declared a consensus candidate to the disappointment of other candidates who are willing 

and even in some cases more qualified for the position.  

5.6 Lack of Funds  

Finance is a major factor for the survival of every organisation. It is the bedrock upon which successful 

institution rests. First, to understand the financial problem of women in Nigerian politics, we have to fathom the 

type of politics in Nigeria. Politics in Nigerian parlance could be understood within the framework of 

monetization. Any political contestant must have prepared to acquire the entire necessary wherewithal to make 

him or her successful in the electoral contest. The cost of running electoral contestation in Nigeria is too 

exorbitant for women to bear (this includes; party nomination form which runs into millions of naira, election 

campaigns, gifts to god fathers, people mobilization and money for political party leaders, etc). This financial 

burden discourages women to run in democratic contests. Women Issues Women are said to be their own worst 

enemies. An article by Women in Higher Education pointed out that relationships are central to women‟s lives 

and they expect their relationships to be on a level playing field, and that when something – anything affects this 

balance, such as promotion, it raises feelings of insecurity.  

The article underscores the reasons why on entering a gathering, women quickly, but silently, do an assessment 

and judge themselves on looks, age and sex appeal. (Punch 4: 2015). Though women hate to admit it, they still 

judge others on these. When women find themselves in a marginalised position within the family, they may 

react by trying to be extremely good, or go on the offensive to prove they are smarter and better than other 



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women. This implies that women are more likely to judge their abilities against those of other female colleagues 

than males. Generally, jealousy is usually the problem but it has not been subjected to any serious research. It‟s 

just a feeling, and women themselves do confess to it.  

This is manifested in the “pull her down-syndrome” where women condemn female political aspirants by calling 

them names, assassinate their character and engage in smear campaigns thereby making women enemies of one 

another. Casual observation will support that women while in authority may be a little harsh over their female 

counterparts, and men are not spared sometimes. This also is a major challenge to women voting for their 

counterparts in politics and this could have been to a large extent a factor responsible for low women support for 

Oluremi Sonaya of KOWA Party as a presidential candidate in the 2015 general elections. Violent Nature of 

Nigerian Politics The challenge of Violence in Nigerian politics, which has been part and parcel of Nigerian 

democracy pose an obstacle to women‟s interest in party politics. During the periods of campaigns, the political 

atmosphere is usually characterised by waves of assassinations, thuggery, murders, arson, looting and 

kidnappings. The incidence of Mrs Emily Olufunke Omope-Aborishade also known as „Ms Thatcher‟ who was 

bathed with acid in Ekiti State in 2002 for her unwavering determination in the state politics was a case in point. 

The physical battles which often accompany electoral contests in Nigeria need to be addressed and this can be 

spearheaded by civil society organisations. Women Education The problem of women education generally starts 

with lack of access to education like men.  

Once the girl child is withdrawn untimely from school for socio-economic reasons, the boy continues to go 

further. This deprived most Nigerian women from formal education. Meanwhile, education is a necessary 

pre-requisite for securing high-powered jobs in the public and private sectors. Without this important 

„ingredient‟, women are unable to put in their best towards personal and national development. This again is a 

shortcoming in women participation in politics generally. In sum, it can be said that women representation at all 

levels of governance in Nigeria is highly disproportionate to their numerical strength. Thus, while the 

aforementioned factors might have inhibited the significant participation of women in politics, they do not 

provide all the explanatory variables. Our perception of the nature of the role of women in the society is 

prejudiced against women. Redefining that perception in manner favourable to active women participation, 

therefore is a significant step to addressing the problem of gender imbalance in Nigeria.  

However, in order to succeed, women must cooperate among themselves to win in a man‟s world like Nigeria 

and refused to be used to pull down or limit their fellow women in whatever field of endeavour. They must 

agree to work together. Women have not been using their numerical strength to their advantage. It is believed 

that if all women will determine to give their votes to women aspirants, the chances will be quite high for 

women aspirants. But instead, you see men marginalising women in political party leadership with most parties‟ 

hierarchy dominated by men. This could be linked to the comparably poor financial status of women to fund or 

support party activities in the country.   

5.7 Policy Recommendation 

The phenomenon of the age-long historic dismal participation of women in the formal arena of politics in 

Nigeria can be nipped in the bud. It will only take a consciously determined effort of the Nigerian government 

to be truly committed to pursuing the course of women empowerment rather than mere political 

aggrandizement. In order to achieve the goal of improved women‟s political participation, the following policy 

recommendations are suggested. Nigeria is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of 

Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). However, this has not become laws in Nigeria.  

Therefore CEDAW should be domesticated and its Article 1 - 16 should be incorporated in to local laws in 



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Nigeria immediately. This will expunge the conflicting and discriminatory provisions in Nigerian Statutory, 

Customary and Religious laws that reinforce male supremacy and perpetuate patriarchal system, e.g the Sharia 

law. The domestication of CEDAW will also prohibit the reinforcement of patriarchy structure and men‟s 

domination by the major agents of socialization – The family, schools religion institutions and the mass media.  

Affirmative action measure is a key strategy to redressing gender imbalance in politics. The government of 

Nigeria though shares this approach in the country, an idea that was instrumental to the free nomination fee for 

women political aspirants, however, no conscious effort is made by the government for the entrenchment of 

such as a constitutional policy for implementation in Nigeria. This study upholds that affirmative action in the 

country must not be mere voluntary action, but explicit specifications and clear guidelines for modalities and 

implementations that enhance women‟s empowerment should be developed. The National Assembly should 

pass an Electoral bill into law specifying what affirmative actions are adopted to enhance women‟s political 

participation in the country. For instance, 50% of financial cost of registration as a candidate for political 

positions and election campaign should be borne by the government. Every national political party should 

reserve 30% of all elective positions for women.  

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should ensure that this policy is obeyed and any 

political party that fails to follow it should be disqualified. There is a clear consensus in literature and among 

respondents in this study that electoral quota system is an effective tool for addressing low women‟s political 

representation. Therefore, by a constitutional provision, 30% of the seats in the National Assembly, States‟ 

House of Assembly and Local Government Councils in Nigeria should be reserved for women and this quota 

system of female gender representation should reflect in all their committees.  Government should partner with 

women‟s movements and civil society to embark on aggressive awareness and enlightenment campaign towards 

changing societal perception that women are inferior to men. By engaging a number of these women‟s 

movements such as Gender and Development Action (GADA), Gender Rights Advancement and Development 

(GRAND), Civil Liberties Organization, Rural Women Empowerment Network (RUWEN), Legal Defence and 

Assistance Project (LEDAP), Women‟s Consortium of Nigeria, Women Law Development Centre, Gender and 

Constitution Reform Network (GECORN), National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) Women in Nigeria 

(WIN) et cetera.  

The Ministry of Women Affairs and other government machinery for women‟s advancement and development 

should be strengthened. The ministry should be equipped with modern information storage and research 

facilities to investigate and document the situation of women. This ministry is nothing but mere political 

propaganda that lack tangible and practicable realistic policies and plans for women empowerment. It is 

unfortunate that this ministry could not even provide up-to-date statistical records of women in political offices 

in their states. One wonders what such institution can offer with respect to women empowerment when it lacks 

adequate information about the issue it is created to address.  Economic empowerment strategies at the level of 

policy-decisions and policy framework need to improve lives of poor women and men in equal measure. Such 

strategy must find ways of affecting lives at the grassroots and not be limited to the states‟ capitals. This is 

important if women and men from all strata are to participate in political development of the states. On this note, 

loan scheme with minimal interest rates should be made available for women to enable them embark on small 

and medium scale business entreprise.  

In addition, the Central Bank of Nigeria should mandate commercial and microfinance banks to remove the 

stringent regulations that make loans inaccessible for the common man. It should give directive to these 

financial institutions to give special priority to women who seek loan for small and medium scale entreprise. 



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42 
 

Banks who default in this directive should be severely sanctioned. There should be a reformation of customary 

and religious institutions of the states so as to avoid discrimination against women‟s involvement in public life. 

The patriarchal structures that reinforce power imbalance between women and men should be dismantled. 

Nigerian government should therefore abolish all statutory, religious and customary laws and practices that 

subordinate women to men. Government should consciously mainstream women‟s perspectives and issues in all 

policies, plans and progammes in public and private spheres. Child care and other social facilities such as 

healthcare services, Daycare services, Nursery and Kindergarten Schools should be provided in the various 

major towns with affordable charges to reduce the burden on women who have to bear the responsibility for 

family and community sustenance in addition to their major role as wives, mothers and economic contributors. 

These facilities will help free women for effective participation in the public sphere and make them available for 

more productive ventures.    

Government should engage the support of the mass media for vehement campaign against women 

subordination, discrimination and stigmatization in the society. The Ministry of Women Affair should have a 

periodic campaign programme via the mass media in this regard. The current majority electoral system should 

be changed in favour of proportionate representation. These will not only encourage political parties to field 

women as candidates for second seats; it will also reduce the “do or die” political struggle among political 

parties engendered by the principle of “winner takes all” that is characteristic of majority electoral system.  

Education of women is useful to destroy inferiority complex and to give aspiring women courage and 

confidence to compete with men. Women education should target the adult population both in the cities and 

rural areas. Nigerian Government should therefore establish evening and week-end education programme in the 

states for adult women who as a result of one limitation or the other could not attend the formal education. 

National Youth Service Corps members posted to this states should be engaged in this programme instead of 

deploying them to various organisations where they are rejected or redundant for a whole year of their services. 

Graduates who roam about the streets in search for jobs can also be meaningfully engaged in this programme.   

Lastly, the creation of a political environment supportive of and conducive for women‟s participation is a 

responsibility of the government. Government must curb the culture of electoral violence and the use of political 

thugs and gangsters to suppress and witch-hunt political opponents in the country. Election Task Force should 

be established by the government with membership drawn from The Nigerian Police should be on ground 

throughout election periods for immediate investigation of the use of political thugs and gangsters during 

political campaigns and voting by political parties or aspirants, and conviction of such acts through the 

adjudication of Election Tribunal should lead to automatic disqualification of such political party or aspirants by 

the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). 

6. Conclusion 

This study has examined the spate of women‟s participation in politics in Nigeria, under the new dispensation of 

a democratic government since 1999. Despite global campaign for gender equality, women‟s political 

representation in the country has failed to achieve the critical mass of 30% women‟s representation in the 

country‟s parliament. The country‟s socioeconomic factors, political structures, historical heritages, political 

thuggery and gangsterism, societal norms and beliefs have created a culture that alienates women from the main 

stream of Nigerian politics. The imperative of democratic consolidation in Nigeria requires that women, who 

constitute half of the national population, should find prominence in the mainstream political development of 

the nation since democracy is only achievable on the altar of popular participation of every citizen of the 

society, males and females alike. It is therefore conclusive that any corrective measure adopted to address the 



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43 
 

low participation of women in Nigerian politics will only be superficial unless the nation‟s socioeconomic, 

cultural and political factors that limit women empowerment are decisively addressed.  

Furthermore, the various obstacles and challenges identified can be addressed by both political and legislative 

commitment. The review of the 1999 constitution must state specifically the principles and methodology of 

affirmative action as exemplified in Uganda, South Africa and Rwanda. Affirmative action and quotas have 

been used across the globe to address the need to close the gender-gap in political-bureaucratic development. 

Nigeria can benefit from these “best-practices”. Despite unprecedented human development efforts, a 

widespread inequality between genders still persists in access to political terrain. This is as a result of decades of 

neglect to focus on gender issues. Gender mainstreaming has become the catch phrase for narrowing the 

gendergap and should provide the significant impetus for political development that will correct generations of 

social injustice in gender relations in Nigeria.  

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