Rwanda, Senegal ahead of Nigeria in gender inclusion, says APC woman leader

Mary Idele Alile, national woman leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has called for a constitutional amendment to guarantee reserved seats for women in Nigeria’s national assembly.

Alile described the proposal as not just political reform but a moral necessity to correct “decades of structural exclusion” that have kept women at the margins of national decision-making.

In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, she said that without legal guarantees of representation, Nigeria will continue to lose the contributions of women in shaping the laws that govern over 200 million people.

“In the heart of every democracy lies a simple truth: representation is the lifeblood of justice. Yet, in Nigeria’s national assembly, the presence of women is so scarce that their voices often echo like whispers in a crowded hall,” she said.

“This is not merely a statistic — it is a moral wound. A country that silences half of its population can never hear the full truth about itself.”

Alile said Nigeria is “at a moral crossroad” while other African nations have overtaken it in gender inclusion.

She cited Rwanda, which holds the world record for women in parliament with over 60 percent representation, a development she attributed to deliberate national action rather than tokenism.

Senegal and South Africa, she added, have also benefited from gender-inclusive laws and policies.

The APC woman leader argued that reserved seats “are not a gift to women” but “an obligation of a fair society”.

She listed political godfatherism, prohibitive campaign costs, entrenched stereotypes, and a hostile political climate as barriers that keep women out of governance.

“We lose more than elections when women are kept out,” she said.

“We lose ideas that could save lives, we lose compassion in policy-making, we lose balance in governance.”

Alile said the imbalance should be corrected through a constitutional amendment guaranteeing reserved seats for women.

“We must ask ourselves, what kind of Nigeria do we want our daughters to inherit? One where they must beg for a place at the table, or one where their place is guaranteed because we know their value?” she asked.

She cited research showing that countries with higher female representation in parliament perform better on education, healthcare, environmental protection, and anti-corruption indices.

According to her, such legislatures hold broader debates, arrive at more inclusive solutions, and produce more humane governance.

Alile urged President Bola Tinubu, the national assembly, political parties, civil society, and citizens to support the reform.

“We cannot afford polite delay. Every year we postpone this reform, we are telling millions of Nigerian girls that their dreams must wait. And justice delayed is justice denied,” she said.

She concluded that a democracy that refuses to seat its women is “half-blind” and warned that nations that fail to learn from the successes of others will eventually be forced to learn from their own failures.

“The question before Nigeria is not whether women deserve a seat in parliament — history has answered that. The real question is whether we have the moral courage to give them that seat now, before another generation passes in the shadow of exclusion.”