By Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye
Princess Miriam Odinaka Onuoha, representing Okigwe North/ Onuimo/Isiala Mbano federal constituency of Imo State has said a woman would emerge as either the speaker or deputy speaker of the 10th assembly. In this interview, the lawmaker who was just re-elected for the second time spoke on various issues.
Congratulations on your election to the House of Representatives. So, how do you feel as one of few women elected to the 10th National Assembly with the number of women depleted with each election?
I thank God that I made it back first to the 10th House of Representatives. It didn’t come easy especially coming from the South East and of the All Progressives Congress(APC). It was a very huge battle and I survived the Labour Party Tsunami. So, to me it’s worthy of appreciation and I give glory to God.
So what are the secrets of surviving the Labour Party Tsunami?
Well, I think mostly is being in tune with your people, setting a pace for good governance, connecting my people to the national grid, evidence based representation, making a strong point at the National Assembly, being present during remarkable and special occasions both at the constituency and on the floor of the House. I think I demonstrated the capacity and the right competencies. I led governance with a human face as a woman that I am, which also necessitated a large turnout of voters especially the women, coupled with the adult literacy programme which I staged for the adult women who had lost it with their early childhood education. So that also kind of bridged the gap and then closed in on me and the women voters.
How would you describe the performance of women in the just concluded general elections?
Well, overall, I will say it is poor. I was thinking that our number would double from the ninth assembly but then we lost almost all our amazons. But the good thing with the legislature is the older it gets, the better it is like the wine. But in an election that left us with casualties of our amazons like Hon. Nkiruka Onyejeocha and Linda Ikpeazu, Aishatu Dukus, all the big names of most of the big women that have become the trail blazers and ranking members were lost in the various tsunamis of different zones. It doesn’t spell well for the legislature. Secession management became truncated. So we have new entrants as new members; they will have to start learning the ropes again.
Mastering the art of the legislature is not a day’s job. I’m glad that I have come back as a returning member who has also had the opportunity to work with these big names who couldn’t make it back. It was more like getting myself prepared for the 10th assembly bringing into bear experiences I have got from them and hands on experiences because I was actively involved in most of the gains of the ninth assembly. I was a part of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) committee, I was part of the operation of the Constitution Special Committee, I was also part of the reforms and took part in the Electoral Act amendment bill and a whole lot of other relevant community and house activities. Also, I am the pioneer chair of the Committee on Disability, setting the agenda for the implementation of the Disability Act, enforcement of the provisions therein for the rights and welfare of over 35 million Nigerians living with one form of disability or the other, ensuring compliance with the MDAs, general public with regards to pushing of the interests and the opinion of persons with disabilities, had become my task and a lot of issues that arose over the infringement of their rights or non implementation of their rights, such as financial inclusion, non accessibility of public buildings or places and non implementation of the five percent, mandatory quota for job employments for persons with disability.
I’ve been able to conduct committee hearings to ensure that agencies in question were brought to book. The most remarkable was the alleged discrimination against passengers with disabilities by Dana airlines and a whole lot. My investigation and call to order was to ensure that we have a disability desk at all major airports and the booking apps are disability friendly, wherein disability types were copiously displayed to ensure that types of disabilities are accommodated on the front page before you proceed to booking proper. So airlines were also warned from discriminating against persons with disabilities such as mandating them to come with the caregiver, and all of that. Marking access points for persons with disability at parking lots and all of those things. Disability is not a disease; it’s just a stage, this could be permanent, it could be temporary, it could be anybody.
So for me, seeking to be the speaker of the House of Reps is not just about the size of the office. My being happy to be the chairman of the disability committee tells you that I’m happy to serve irrespective of the size of the office or the nature of the office.
How much support have you garnered from your colleagues in the House to enable you realise your ambition?
Well, I belong to a group of G7. The coalition of speakership aspirants with a common goal, common interest to redress issues of injustice and exclusion from the party, sort of misinformation. So we took our case there and the party in her wisdom, has acknowledged that the right procedure was not followed to arrive at the names that were displayed in public and that the proper and better consultations were in place to bring us back to the drawing table, to make room for inclusivity and diversity. So that’s why we went there. The list that was produced by the party did not properly capture the geopolitical zones, nor did it pay attention to the issues of inclusivity such as gender.
Of the four names released, none was a woman, even though I was the only woman running for the office of speakership. Not even the deputy speaker that was zoned to the South east was ceded to me, whether it was right for them or the other. So it clearly showed a case of discrimination; it is against the Constitution clearly stating that no one shall be discriminated upon on the basis of gender, ethnicity or religion.
So I felt excluded, I felt my rights were obviously infringed on, I think it is a regrettable step, which the party would never have wished they took on. But everybody makes mistakes in life. The important and the honourable thing to do is to realise when you have gone wrong and retrace your steps, which is what I see the party doing recently. We are all the party’s children. We belong to the same family and none should be treated like a leper, or, like it didn’t matter. Everyone matters, you know. Women matter too, if you have over 44.4 million Nigerian voters as women, you can’t disregard this large population when you have a Miriam Onuoha in the race, who has distinguished herself, gaining the right competencies and experience on the job. So you don’t want to put questions on my character and capacity that have been laid to rest when I showed my seven point agenda to sanitise the House, bringing about cutting edge technology in record management, to ensure listing of business of the House became more functional. And then to also bring on capacities in the running of Committee Affairs. Proper management of committees of the House to reduce overlapping mandates, which always occurred where committees were performing similar activities, and then maybe they were cases of conflict over committee functions.
Also my vision to run an open house where the public opinion matters, to deal with motions, response and interventions on key matters of national importance were brought to bear and improve the executive legislature relationship to ensure smooth running without necessarily becoming a rubber stamp. I believe in the independence of the legislature but with a close relationship with the executive; it makes for more dividend increases for the people.
Mine is to bring on pragmatic solutions, fresh ideas to tackle issues, dwindling economy, mass unemployment, diversification from mono economy and issues of diversity and inclusivity, threats to national security and all of those problems that Nigerians cry about. So I will support policies of governments using legislative intervention to ensure that we deal with all of these pressing challenges to Nigerians. I will strengthen oversight of the executive. As you know, our core mandates as legislators are making laws, representing the opinions and interests of citizens and relations and then over-sighting the executive, the MDAs to ensure that we block leakages and there’s proper accountability of the budgeted amount to those agencies.
The ninth assembly threw away the gender bills, is all hope lost or we are to wait for the 10th assembly to begin again?
Well, for the gender bills, there’s hope. But more importantly is the fact that because the number of women in the house has really not improved. We want the current administration to live by its word and support a woman to be a presiding officer, either speaker or deputy since we have no ranking female member in the Senate. That’s why my ambition is not just for myself. It’s to bridge the gap in the law representation of women. Supporting my election to be deputy speaker or speaker, will go a long way in reducing the disparity and balancing gender, because it’s not just balancing of region, balancing of powers, it’s also balancing of gender and that makes for inclusivity.
So the number of women is abysmal. And our strength is even further reduced because most of the numbers are new. Before you start learning the ropes, and start advancing the course of women, it’s going to be a huge setback like it is already. So the number one solution would be setting the right foot forward by supporting me to become Speaker or Deputy Speaker. So that a woman who’s on a decision making table where the House sits to consider issues of public importance and the ones that require attention. So, it’s an appeal to Nigerians to lend their voice to this noble cause.
In the House, we are 360 members, and we have about 16 female members, more than half are men. It’s worrisome that most of the bills, motions, policies of governments executive bills coming through us might not have proper engagement and interpretation with regards to women. And as you know very well that the number of women in parliament is also a measure of a nation’s SDGs.
So issues and policies around gender responsive budgeting and social inclusion, and all of those things that bother around women, children, youth, persons with disability, the elderly, and the vulnerable, like we are generally referred to, if you’re not in there to talk about such rights and interest, who will? Stories are better told by the persons themselves. So it worries me, not just for myself, but for the generality of Nigerians.
I also use this opportunity to remind us that Asiwaju is a promise keeper. And I’m glad that Nigeria women turned out to vote for him, knowing that he is our last hope and in this christened renewed hope, Nigerian women, our life and belief and hope is that Asiwaju will not break our hearts, that he will not dash our hope. He has made a promise that he will include women in all political strata to be in the executive, and legislature. Even if you give us 30 female ministers and deny us the opportunity of presiding officer in the legislature, it is not a good score. Because it has to be balanced. We have to have women in decision making bodies of the National Assembly, of the judiciary, of the executive that way, it is a tripod.
So, if you over strengthen one area and leave the other areas, then it’s like passing the baton; it is a myth and when there is a myth that means we have missed it somewhere. And we are starting this next administration by the proclamation to constitute the National Assembly, meaning that it is the first step and no team goes to a very important match without its best 11. So, it’s just an appeal to the incoming president to take the first step and make it the right step by ensuring that a woman is a presiding officer of the 10th assembly. Not just the presiding, we have 10 leadership positions, two are presiding, if you give one to a woman, the remaining eight, another one woman, at least two women in leadership, one presiding, one principal officer, which is also part of leadership, and then strategic committees. Women in the House have established themselves in different fields of endeavour. So, they should also be empowered in the rights committees to show up their competence or to get meaningfully.
How has consultation been with returning members and members-elect as regards your ambition?
I will say that I’m very happy that my ambition and my agenda has been well received by the members-elect; old members and returning members have really welcomed my intention to run for this office. And that’s the reason you see the uproar especially the need to mainstream gender. And the issue with mainstreaming gender is not just about bringing a woman in, I am competent and qualified, I am ranking and have the requisite knowledge and experience of the working of the House and I’m friendly; I work well with my colleagues. So putting the round peg in a round hole is all members are asking for right now. In fact, excluding my name on that list, I believe it is 80 percent of the problems. When Nigerians, even men, are crying that in a country of 49.5 percent women, you bring out a paper nominating four names and none is a woman. So meaning that from number one to six, from the President, down to the bottom, the least is Deputy Speaker, no woman, six of them? And so many groups have come up to ask that even if it is Deputy Speaker, especially now that you’ve zoned it to the South east, why not Miriam? She’s a woman. She’s competent, she served in the committees that fall within the purview of the Deputy Speaker, which is the constitutional amendment committee. And what next? Chairman consideration bill, committee of the whole, where the Deputy Speaker presides as chairman. Those are things that I can handle, I have handled a standing committee, an ad hoc committee, I have been a member of very sensitive committees. So becoming a deputy speaker is a walk in the park, especially the fact that the job itself is dynamic, and everybody will, at some point, learn on the job. If I don’t man the job, how will I improve in my tomorrow?
I frown at the fact that Nigeria is signatory to 35 percent affirmative action; FEC has ratified the new Nigeria gender policy. But is it just lip service or it’s reality? The test of it would be this inauguration of the 10th assembly. And the body language shows that the incoming president is a talk and do; he is a promise keeper. And I’m confident that he will not fail Nigerian women. I can take it to the bank that Asiwaju will keep to his word. And a woman will emerge speaker or Deputy Speaker of the 10th Assembly. I count myself as that woman who will be the first female deputy speaker at least and change the narratives around women and the leadership of the National Assembly.