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Former UN Women Nigeria Country Representative, Comfort Lamptey, who was on 11 September 2017 accredited as UN Women’s Representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), formally ended her tour of duty on March 18 2022.
In this interview with JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, before she left the country, Lamptey spoke about her achievements, challenges and why she thought women should explore the independent candidate bill that was passed by the Senate to make a mark in the 2023 general elections.
Would you say you are leaving Nigeria satisfied as UN Women country Rep?
Yes, I am leaving Nigeria feeling very hopeful. I’m feeling very hopeful because I have been witness to the potential that this country offers. And I know that it has not always been easy in terms of the issues that I cover, which is gender equality and women’s empowerment. But I believe achieving that is a process that calls for change. And as we know, change doesn’t happen overnight. So we have seen some steps in the right direction. But I’m very hopeful. And I feel very optimistic because I’m also leaving at a time when Nigerian women are more united than ever around the need to bring about change to ensure that they make their contribution to the development of the country. So yes, I feel that as UN Women, we have made a small contribution along the way, working with the government, with civil society, with the private sector and with wider development partners. But the journey ahead is still a long one. And I leave with the hope that we will make it and see good results.
What’s your take on the gender bills that were recently thrown out by the National Assembly?
I think there are a number of things that have to be done. In one of the meetings wining down my work here, when Hon Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the Deputy Chief Whip, House of Representatives, who sponsored the special seats bill said, you know, this is the furthest that Nigeria has come in the House of Reps and the National Assembly in terms of really trying to introduce affirmative action bill, because oftentimes, it doesn’t even get to second reading, you know, it’s sort of thrown out at the very start of the process. But this time it has crossed the first reading, crossed the second, gone to the committee, gone to the states and then just got thrown out at the level of the voting. And I think even the rejection of the bills, in a sense, has been a blessing in disguise, because it’s helped to awaken everybody. It has energised people, it has educated people about what needs to change in the Constitution in order for women to be able to enjoy the full rights as citizens. So I think the momentum since the bills were rejected, the movement that is developing, and the energy and determination that women and a lot of men are also exhibiting shows that these specific requests will eventually see the light of day because people believe that it is a right and a just cause to pursue these changes in the legislation.
How is the UN Women, Canada $8m launched partnership to support women going to change the narrative in terms of women’s participation in politics?
Yes, as UN Women, I think, again, the reason why I feel hopeful is that at least at the level of the international community, we see potential and we see the urgency to do more, to support women. And so together with the Government of Canada, and also the government of Norway, that is also supporting us on our work on women in politics, we’re actually going to embark on a four year programme that is going to address the three pillars. The first is the area of legislative reforms, and trying to ensure that whether it’s through the constitutional review process, which is closing up, but at least passage of gender sensitive legislation, the gender and equal equitable opportunities bill that’s still on the table, it was only stepped down in December. So really we are working to try and get that bill passed, and working to get state level legislation also. So that even the gender equitable opportunities will be passed at the states. So we are focused on states, and really trying to get key legislation, supporting women, the few women in the National Assembly so that they can also have a strong caucus to advocate for gender bills. So that’s one level. And then the second level is, you know, looking at the road to 2023, and how we can support women and also young women in particular, to be able to participate in the process as voters as candidates. And the third level is also trying to support wider partnership with other stakeholders, whether they are traditional leaders or men, and also working to ensure that the 2023 elections can be peaceful. So those are some of the areas we’ll be working with the Government of Canada on.
Do you think women can really make an impact in 2023?
I believe women can make an impact as we go forward. Let me say that when we talk about the gender bills that didn’t pass, there was one bill that passed, which I think is very significant for women. And that is the bill for independent candidates. Right? I think the struggle for women in terms of being able to run for elections is at the level of being selected, you know, during the primaries, and because of that, you see that a lot of good women fall by the wayside and don’t make it through the primaries, and therefore, even those going to run, you see that the percentage of women is very low, and of course those who run, some will not win. So by the time you actually get to elections, you have very few women. But I think that if women can run as independent candidates, that is excellent. I mean, all over the world, we have seen that happen, where women run on the platform of independent candidates they’re popular in their communities, they are popular in the states, and they can win. So I think we should also explore that as we go to 2023, even as we continue to push and lobby in the period leading up to the primaries, on the political parties, with governors to ensure that they will actually put women candidates forward and give them a chance. So I think there is room to believe that yes, going into 2023, we can and we should not see a regression in the numbers. Nigeria is at four per cent in terms of women’s representation, we’ve got to do much better. Of course, the constitutional reform bills would have granted much higher numbers because of the affirmative action principles. But all the same, I think there’s still a chance to ensure that we can do better in terms of representation than what already exists.
One of the dialogues you organised was the UN Women Generation Equality Dialogue on Women’s Leadership for Feminist Action for Climate Justice. What do you think Nigeria should do differently?
Well, I think again, the fact that Nigeria has a gender action plan on climate change is excellent. Not many countries have that. So that’s a really good start. And I think this is kudos to the Ministry of Environment for having that plan in place. What will be important is to ensure that our plan is resourced and implemented. And I think that that will make a huge difference in terms of the policy and engagement, in terms of support to women who are on the frontline, being affected by the effects of climate change. And in terms of really supporting those women who are doing phenomenal work.
There are lots of young Nigerian women. We saw some of them during the dialogue who are really demonstrating leadership in terms of taking climate action, and I think we need to continue to invest in them and grow that community while also supporting and protecting those communities who are very vulnerable and being affected by climate change. So the fact that Nigeria has an action plan is an excellent development and I hope that there will be resources put behind the plan, so that we can see the right kind of change in communities across the country.
Of all the programmes initiated, which one is closer to your heart and you are hoping will continue.
Well, you know, all of them were important, because, you know, as UN Women, we work on four thematic areas of programming. And in many country offices, you see, maybe some country offices may work on one some on two some on three. But actually, we in Nigeria have worked on all four and that’s actually quite intense. And, we have developed teams for each. So whether it’s a women’s economic empowerment, or we’re working with women in the agricultural sector, in the North-East, and really seeing the impact of small investments on the lives of women who have lost everything, and rebuilding their lives, often without their husbands and being able to support them to pick up the pieces is important. Working with women in the agricultural sector, in Niger State in the sheer value chain and in Ebonyi State in the rice value chain.
Those are sort of really, you know, down to earth, grassroots, interventions that are really changing lives and communities. Working with women in the area of peace and security. We’ve done a fantastic job in really trying to work with the security sector in Nigeria as an example and help them to build a gender policy architecture in the security sector. So that today, the military, the police, the Civil Defence all have gender policies and implementation plans. NAPTIP similarly helped them to come up with gender policy and implementation plans. And then some of the women who were here, the women who have set up the National Women mediators network, I really wanted to see how we could get a women’s mediators network set up in Nigeria. And that has been set up. The mediators exist not across all states, but it’s something that we’re growing and will continue to grow. And so that is also really important.
Of course, the spotlight initiative that the EU and the UN family have initiated for which we’ve been supporting, as well from helping states to domesticate the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, to getting one stop centres set up. You know, I remember when I first came to Nigeria, I went to Lagos to the Mirabel Centre. I sat there for hours with them, I was so fascinated by the work the Mirabel Centre was doing by having one centre where you give legal advice, you give health support, you give psychosocial support, and security. You also bring in the police to follow suit for victims of gender based violence. To have been able to see that and I remember saying to them, Why do we only have this in Lagos? Why can’t we get this in other parts of the country, and to have been able under the spotlight initiative to help set one up in Sokoto.
When people said no, this problem is not there in Sokoto and yet within six months of setting it up, we’re seeing so many cases, including young boys who have been raped, and so on. So that sort of intervention is also very important. And of course, the work of women in politics, we’ve been talking about that on the constitutional review to support the agenda and equal opportunities bill. Then supporting the young woman in politics academy. That’s a fantastic intervention as well, which we are going to expand going forward. So all of these things, I think, are foundational and can continue to grow.
