From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
ActionAid Nigeria on Tuesday told Kaduna women and youths who want to occupy elective positions in Nigerian political space to ensure that they are actively involved at the political party levels to better their chances of success.
To this organisation, women and youths form the largest percentage of the voting population across all political and regional divides, yet, they are not occupying enough elective positions where issues that affect them are been decided.
In an interview with newsmen at the sideline of day 2 of a two-day UKaid supported capacity building workshop for women and youths under the “We-You” project in Kaduna, Manager of Governance, Programme, ActionAid, Celestine Odo hinted that his organisation already engaging the political parties at the national levels towards creating elective space for women and youths first at the party levels.
To him, it is time for women to key into the leadership structures of political parties to enable them to stand for election and participate in governance more than we currently have, “at the national level, Actionaid is having conversations with the political parties and providing technical support for them in thematic areas.
“We should go beyond the traditional clapping of hands with women and the youths being used as thugs. So, the workshop is about improving the political process in Nigeria by mobilising women and youths into the political space”, he added.
Coordinator of the “We-You project” in Kaduna State, Hannatu Hauwan, explained that the ActionAid Nigeria in collaboration with Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW) have been building the capacities of women and youths to increase their understanding of the political and governance structures in the state so they are deeply involved to promote the issues that affect them.
“This training will also develop the skills and technical capacity of the participants on policy and influencing, budget analysis and political education and at the same time, facilitate platforms that will drive conversations on how to engage the political system and actors.
“The project targets young women and youth in leadership positions in political parties and politics away from the current situation where women and youth shy away from active politics due to varying barriers which currently position many of them as clapping supporters and political thugs.
Earlier, the Project Coordinator of the “We-You” project at ActionAid, Frank Abu reiterated that the project has launched a political mentoring programme in Kaduna to train 300 young women and men who are eager to participate actively in politics and political mentoring.