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From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Nnena Elendu-Ukeje, has said that the opposition in the National Assembly has been emasculated by the ruling party.
The former chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, in this interview with Sunday Sun, said that as a result of the situation, Nigerians are a bit more disenfranchised.
Elendu-Ukeje who represented Bende Federal Constituency, however, said that Nigerians expect a parliament that is whipping at government everyday and they don’t hear that.
Elendu-Ukeje concluded that a lot of Nigerians are of the opinion that the National Assembly is a little docile in the face of heightened poverty that a lot of Nigerians face.
What role are you expecting the women to play as far as 2023 elections are concerned?
Well, I think that the women are determined, in the words of Madline Albright who said: “Now that I’ve found my voice, I cannot be silenced.” And that is the beautiful thing about being audacious. We’ve recognised and it’s not a hidden track that the women are the ones to vote. And I don’t actually think that the women are asking that you vote every woman on the ballot, but when people say ha, look at the women in the judiciary, they’re doing so well, what it points at is that the women in the judiciary are Nigerian women. And so, if they’re doing so well in that space, it means that ability is not the challenge. It is the space that is the challenge. What we, the Nigerian women are trying to do is that we are trying to break down those barriers in 2023 because we have shown that Nigerian women are competent in every sphere. In the boardroom, how many banks have been taken over by Nigerian women? The judiciary has literally been taken over by Nigerian women. So, it shows that Nigerian women have capacity. And I think that what it takes is for us to have a coalition that actually breaks down the stereotype that trades a barrier for the women, engaging the grassroots, letting them know that when you see a woman, she’s a place to go. I mean, we can do it. All we have to do is calibrate the narrative and sell it. It happened in America with the Pink wave and it happened in everywhere in the world where women are determined. And there is nothing that can stop the wave of determined women to do whatever they want to do.
Like you rightly said, women are taking over the spaces. Looking at the diplomatic configuration here, the United States Ambassador is a woman, the British High Commissioner is a woman, the Head of the EU delegation is a woman, French Ambassador to Nigeria is a woman, and the German Ambassador to Nigeria is a woman. In 2023, do you see any of the major parties giving their presidential ticket to a woman?
As President?
Yes.
Unfortunately, as it stands today, I’ve not seen any woman vying for that job.
What is responsible for that?
Because we’re breaking down walls and this is me. I mean, Nigerian women want to run to where? We’re going to create opportunities where we can actually stand on the shoulders of our forebears and build the blocks until people start to realise that this indeed is an egalitarian society. Let’s not forget that the figures state that it is going to take us 145.5 years to bridge the gap of political inequality in Nigeria. As far as the political equality index is concerned, Nigeria is 149 ranked out of 155 countries. So, wanting to be the President of Nigeria, I would love to see a woman as the President of Nigeria. But I would also love for us to start by seeing a woman as the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I try to be realistic, and I even say it to people when people speak about the United States and Kamala Harris. And I say that had Biden not chosen Kamala Harris to be the Vice President, Kamala Harris wouldn’t have been the Vice President . So, what I want to see is probably a male President, who has the gumption to pick up a female Vice President in a way that gives us a seat at the table at the topmost level, and conversations that keep the door open for them to walk through and show their competence.
You were part of the 8th House, and I am sure you’ve been following the efforts of the 9th House. Would you give it a pass mark, or you believe it’s a rubberstamp to the executive as alleged?
You know something, we fought for the autonomy of the National Assembly. There were certain things that we did. I recall a certain headline that said: “Coup at the National Assembly, Reps elect Tambuwal leader.” That was the beginning of the emancipation. Legacies of militarism and colonialism and so on and so forth, have suppressed and repressed the Nigerian political space. And because the National Assembly was always absent when there were military interventions, it took the National Assembly a lot of work to fight to have a space at the table. Even though they said there are three different, but equal arms of government, the truth of the matter is that the National Assembly has to continue to fight for relevance within the political space. And Nigerians were quick to embrace a National Assembly that was at loggerheads with the executive, and I use the word “loggerheads” advisedly. Now, the reason I said that was because the way the executive arm of government is situated in Nigeria with the amount of over-bearing powers the arm of government has – they control the military, the police, I mean the exclusive list is fraught with all amazing things that props up the executive and strengthens it. Now, we continue to have to fight for our space. So, because of that, there’s the impression that the National Assembly, once it is on its back leg in disagreement with the executive arm of government, we become the darlings of the Nigerian people. Now, there’s also a saying that you can’t talk with a full mouth. The impression, ab initio, was that the leadership of both House and Senate were darlings of the executive arm of government. Because of that, from the beginning, there was suspicion for that leadership. Let’s also not forget that there was a lot of rancour as well in the elections of the opposition. And so, if you recall, Femi Gbajabiamila as the opposition leader was very vociferous on the floor of the House. People don’t see that amount of fire anymore from the opposition in the parliament. They probably have their own style of doing things. But, you know, parliament is a place where the Nigerian people want to watch and hear you speak on their behalf. There’s also the saying, of course, that the opposition will have its say, the majority will have its way, but the Nigerian people want to hear the minority speak vociferously on their behalf about things that affect them. Unfortunately, that voice was not as loud as the Nigerian people want it. So, it would appear, should I say, that they have been emasculated by the ruling party. And because those voices are not loud, it gives the impression that the National Assembly is acquiescing. Unfortunately, leadership in the time of social media is difficult, things that other people got away with, people are watching government in real time, everybody has a ringside seat to government, and you know Nigerians are very opinionated people. And so, things that have affected the people like the valuation of the Naira, the high inflation rate and so on and so forth, Nigerians are a bit more disenfranchised, and they expect a parliament that is whipping at government everyday. They don’t hear that. So, a lot of Nigerians are of the opinion that parliament is a little docile in the face of heightened poverty that a lot of Nigerians face. Let me also make a point that a lot of things have conspired to create this feeling of disaffection we’re feeling in Nigeria. COVID-19 has done that. Coronavirus caused kickdown, loss of income, global devaluation and so on and so forth. It has created a lot of frustrations, poverty and anger within the polity. Of course, the security has not helped, the transborder crime, the movement of ISIS, the banditry and so on has not helped. Nigerians are yearning to see that government is coming up with actionable plan. They’re not seeing that from the executive and they’re not hearing loudly enough, the National Assembly condemning it. So, people are concerned about the strength of the National Assembly . That, I believe has formed the opinions. However, I’ve seen flashes of excellence. I’ve seen some very interesting bills passed in this constitution review, my Small Arms and Light Weapons Bill, I’ve seen them try to do something about it. I’ve seen them do something about devolution of powers in this constitution amendment in certain ways. I’ve seen some audacious pieces of legislation, but as with everything else, there’s room for improvement.
In your recent interview on Channels Television, you said electoral violence is keeping many women out of politics. Now, it has happened to you, was that a vision or what?
I wasn’t seeing a vision, it was real, it was a clear, and present danger. And I’ve always said it, this is one of the problems of not having enough women in the parliament. Because have we had enough women in parliament, they would have been able to speak up against gender-based violence in the political space in the Electoral Amendment Bill. I think that those are very important things. And I know that yes, poverty wears a woman’s face in Africa, especially in Nigeria in the political space, a parochial, patriarchal society, a misogynist society. At worst, people die. Already as it is, I’m in court for libel. I’ve been slandered and I say to people, the reason I went to court is because over time, you have these slurs thrown at you, and you continue to say oh, you’re a woman, that’s what happens. No, that’s not what should happen. And for me, it was so interesting. A penny dropped, I had gone to some platform, and I was asked: what have you done as a person to keep the door open for other women. And I spoke to mentorship and all that, but the truth of the matter is that going to court to challenge these sexual innuendoes and these slurs and disrespect, I have faith in the judiciary system and I’m hoping I get the relief I seek so that it is a deterrent to other people who say they can throw these slurs at women and stop them. Now, that is violence in the space, that’s cyber- bullying. You open it up and see all kinds of news super imposed on female members. That’s cyber bullying and it goes viral and a lot of women just can’t deal with it, especially married women. Men, even if it were not true. In the words of Winston Churchill, “a lie goes round the world twice before the truth’s get the chance to put its pant on.” So, you find that a lot of women just can’t put up with that, and I was speaking about it, and I’ve seen the escalation of violence in the political space. In the Nigerian space, violence and politics are always talked about parri-passu. I was sounding a note of warning that with the escalation, we’re going to see a lot worse as we go forth. I wasn’t in the house in the village. People went into my house, my father’s house, burnt it down, burnt the cars in the house in the village, to act as a deterrent to stop me from even contemplating the thought of running in the next elections. Unfortunately, I don’t be scared that easy. But can you imagine if it was not someone steeped in the political space, or someone who wanted to test the waters of the political space, she would go and never come back. The greatest deterrent for women is violence and the conversation should be open.
Are you now saying you’re running in 2023?
I find it paradoxical that I scream at the top of my voice on opening up the spaces for women and I want to walk away from that space. It’s leadership by example and I will be presenting myself again in the hope that the people see me as a fit and proper person to embrace in the next election.
The Southeast as a geo-political zone has been agitating for power shift, should power be taken to the East?
I think that there should be a shift, I think that people should be given the opportunity to aspire. There is this impression and it is not unfounded, that the Southeast has been marginalised. I believe the political spaces in the Southeast should be open and big enough for the people to legitimately pursue their ambition to be president of this country, the same as anybody. I think the Southeast has a right. It is interesting that when you listen to most of the advocates, especially from the Southwest, I’ve heard Pa Adebanjo (I think it was), and I’ve heard Edwin Clark, and I’ve heard quite a few people and they’ve spoken quite vociferously that democracy must be represented and it must be inclusive and I think that the Southeast is more than eminently qualified to present people to be President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and should be given the opportunity so to do.
