Bimbola Oyesola
Against the backdrop of wanton killings and maiming that characterised the 2019 elections in some parts of the country, the Women Commission of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has called for a change in the style of politics in Nigeria.
The commission’s outgoing chairperson, Comrade Oyinka Olasanoye, at the celebration of the International Women’s Day and the eighth triennial delegates’ conference, lamented that the general election held few weeks back left tears, sorrow and blood on its trail.
She said, “Though women were murdered, more men were killed. The number of widows increases by the day in Nigeria because of insecurity deliberately created by our politicians.
“We wear the shoes, so we can tell where it pinches. Our style of politics must change. Winner-takes-all kind of politics is what creates tension in our country. Winners should be magnanimous in victory by carrying all along,” she said.
Emphasising the theme of the conference, “Balance for Better,” Olasanoye said it was borne out of the desire to encourage women to rise up to the task ahead.
She noted that the odds were against the womenfolk, and it would require die-hard progressives to change the paradigm.
“Freedom anywhere in the world is not got on a gold platter. People work for it. Rosa Parks refused to stand for a white person on a bus because she knew her rights. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Margaret Ekpo played their roles well,” she said, emphasising that it was sad that, even in this modern day, many people still have certain stereotypes about the role of women in society despite the fact that women are excelling in all spheres of human endeavour.
She, however, challenged women to fight for their rights and overcome the obstacles, because the time for women to take advantage of their inherent ability to create a niche for themselves as well as empower others is now.
With the report that the number of out-of-school children was multiplying every day, the TUC Women Commission’s chairperson tasked members to help children to be in school, mostly girls, who may be in the majority and whose parents cannot afford school fees.
In his address, TUC president, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, charged women to gird their loins and take up their positions in society.
“I am one who believes that women can achieve anything. Unfortunately, most women do not have confidence in themselves,” he said.
Kaigama stated that women lost out in politics because they failed to take advantage of their numbers.
He charged women to ensure that they are well represented at all levels of government in the current political dispensation, stressing that there has been no field of human endeavour where women have not made impact.
Kaigama said, “Elections have come and gone and soon elected officers, especially the governors, will form their respective executives; I urge you to get involved. Your tool of negotiation is your number and you must use it wisely.”