Source: Daily Trust
Otunba Basirat Nahibi is the Founder /President of Women Advancement for Economic and Leadership Empowerment in Africa (WAELE/ARCEFA), an organization in 46 African countries and all states of the federation including the FCT. In this interview, she speaks on women's political participation, and mentoring among others. Excerpts.

You have been working and interacting with women across the continent, from your experience so far, what are the major challenges confronting women?

There are many challenges facing women today. They include challenges with reproductive health and rights, food insecurity, global warming, challenges with resources, political participation and economic empowerment, just to mention a few.

Can you give us a picture of how climate change is affecting women in this country?

Climate change and global warming is affecting women's livelihood. It is also affecting a lot of things around them. We saw what happened in the last rainy season. There was flood. A lot of people were thrown out of their houses, and many women and children were internally displaced. We need to start talking and taking measures about global warming in the country because it is affecting women and children.

Some people are of the opinion that competence should determine women's participation in politics and not Affirmative Action, what is your take on that?

When you talk about competence, we have a lot of women who are competent in this country but they have not been given the opportunity to serve because they don't have the financial muscle to go through party primaries or the main election proper, because it is very expensive. I believe if all the political parties can reserve one seat in each Senatorial Zone for a woman, and every state of the federation also reserves three seats for women, we will achieve the 35% Affirmative Action.

When the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, visited Nigeria in January, she advocated for 50-50 representation of men and women in all spheres, do you see that attainable in this country soon?

I agree with her but let us have the 35 % Affirmative Action first. If we are able to get the 35%, then we can now aspire for the 50-50. If we have not been able to get the 35% why are we talking about 50% ? Let us have the 35% in elective positions first not appointive positions before we move to 50-50.

Nigeria is among the countries in Africa with the lowest number of female parliamentarians. Are there specific ways we can have an increase in their number?

Yes, Nigeria is one of the countries with the lowest number of women parliamentarians in Africa and if you look at our population, I don't think that is fair to Nigerian women. Out of 100 we are to be given 35% for God's sake and I don't think that is too much. So if our political leaders are sincere, and knowing that women are the majority voters as they are the ones that go out on Election Day to vote, if they are not ready to carry women along, honestly it is not fair.

I will advise our political leaders and all the political parties to look at this suggestion of mine critically, every senatorial zone should reserve one seat for a woman to contest, it will go a long way to bridge the gap and bring sanity to both Houses. For example if you have 35 women out of 100 Senators it will go a long way to help. In the House of Representatives, we have over 300 Representatives. If 100 of them are women, that is good. This is the best way to go in order to carry women along.

There is this global clamour for women's involvement in peace processes. We have been having security challenges in the country, do you think women are carried along in the peace process?

Nobody will carry women along in peace processes. Women have to initiate peace processes on their own. Women by their nature are peaceful. We don't have to wait for anybody to carry women along. I was watching the TV recently and was very pleased that women were part of the Amnesty Committee. Even though they were not many, being that women are part of it will help. Women NGOs also need to come together to form a peace committee that will go to Borno, Yobe and Adamawa particularly after the Declaration of State of Emergency on Tuesday. They should go there and see how they can make those three states peaceful.

There was problem in Darfur, my organization went there. We went to Juba and also went to Chad. We travelled to those three areas where there were crises. The President of Chad and the President of Sudan had problems, we settled the problems for them. We made them re-open their borders and their embassies in those two countries. We also went to South Sudan where we met with Mrs Mary Mayardit, to discuss peace between South Sudan & Sudan. NGOs in Nigeria should also come together to see how they can tackle the problem in Northern Nigeria.

Peace and conflict resolution is not something you wait to be carried along. The First Lady and Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development should also do something in that regard. The First Lady sent relief materials to Mali , she should also be doing the same in our own country. The First Lady should lead the initiative for the peace movement. The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development who is also from Adamawa State should also lead the peace movement for women to go and talk to these people and let them see reason why there should be peace in the North East of Nigeria.

You were recently in Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, are there recent developments and break through on women over there?

The Second International Conference on the Plight of Sahrawi Women took place between the 18th - 22nd of April 2013, in Algiers and Tindouf Refugee Camp. I wasn't there personally but a WAELE/ARCELFA delegation was in attendance.

Our members were there because it was a WAELE / ARCELFA initiative. Barrister Mrs Joy Nwagbara delivered my speech in Algiers. It was agreed among conference delegates that I will lead African women to the African Union 50th Anniversary to discuss with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma in Addis Ababa, and that I will also lead the African women to Washington DC to meet with President Obama.

I have accepted the leadership roles conferred on me by other African women leaders that attended the conference and I am ready to lead the delegation to the African Union and to Washington DC .We are trying to push forward and see that the issue of Sahrawi Republic come to the front burner and to show President Obama what is happening presently in Tindouf refugee camp and in Laayoune occupied Territory in Morocco.

What is your take on the issue of mentoring between young aspiring women and the older and established ones?

The women up there don't really care about the women that are down. They don't want competition. They don't want others to be seen. They only want themselves to be seen. My advice to them is that they should start thinking of mentoring the younger generation that will take over from them. If they don't do that, by the time they are off the stage, there will not be people to take over from them.

Surprisingly the younger generations are not waiting for anybody to mentor them. They have started mentoring themselves. They are now involved in the day to day running of political parties and they are trying to contribute their own quota to the development of the country, and at least we have to give them the kudos. From what I have seen now, the younger generations have started to mentor themselves and they are doing very well. I look forward to working with some of them and those that are in my organization, we are already planning how to bring them up, how to take them out of Nigeria and see how things are in countries like Tanzania , Rwanda and Gambia. They will sit down with the women leaders, discuss with them, and ask them questions on how they win elections and how they got to their positions among others.

The President of Malawi is our member. We are trying to organize a Leadership Conference in Malawi. Her Exellency, Mrs Joyce Banda will deliver a Keynote address.

Economic empowerment is very important in addressing the challenges facing women, so WAELE has made arrangements to financially empower women in Oyo State in June, Ogun State in August, Benue State in September and Imo State in October. This would enable them feed their children.

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