The Convener of the Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, has defended the reduction in women representation in President Muhammadu Buhari’s list of ministerial nominees, in comparison to that of his predecessor, President Goodluck Jonathan.
Jonathan ensured a 35 per cent representation of women in the Federal Executive Council, the highest quota for women in the country ever.
Mohammed, who was also a member of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic, told our correspondent in a telephone interview that for gender equality to materialise, women must fight for it on their own.
He said, “First and foremost, there is nothing like gender equality in the constitution. It is not mentioned. I am all for gender equality if the law requires us to abide by the definition of gender equality.
“If it has not been enshrined in the constitution or in any law, then we have no business getting ourselves involved with matters outside the constitution. It is good to encourage women but it is equally good for women to stand and demand that they should be given equal treatment.
“I know from the last (population) census of 2003, there is virtual equality between men and women in Nigeria, which means it is fair for women to demand half of the total cabinet posts. But the reality on the ground is that that cannot be done now.”
According to him, gender equality is something that will happen with time. He argued that there may come a time when women would be in the majority in the FEC.
But at the moment, according to the former lawmaker, equal representation for women is unrealistic, unless people are being mischievous.
Regarding a statement credited to Buhari that ministers are noisemakers, Mohammed said he believed that people who volunteer to make themselves available for public service should be encouraged.
He explained that he could not make further comments since he didn’t know the circumstances under which the President made the statement.
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