CHALLENGES TO THE EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION OF VISUALLY HANDICAPPED WOMEN IN NIGERIAN POLITICS

BY
Adebayo, Adebukola Shehu
Executive Director (Research and Programmes),
Political and Administrative Resource Centre (PARC), Ogba, Lagos.
Paper delivered at
A three-day workshop organized by the southwest cacus of the nigeria association of the
blind NAB on empowering disabled women for nationa building held Ijebu igbo, Ogun
state Nigeria on January, 2007.
CHALLENGES TO THE EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION OF VISUALLY
HANDICAPPED WOMEN IN NIGERIAN POLITICS
Introduction

All protocurs observed.
I am delighted toahve this rear opportunity to share my humble views on the political
plight of visually impaired women in our dear country. But first, let me crave your
indulgence to allow me reframe this topic as Challenges to Effective Participation of
Visually Impaired Women in Nigerian Politics as against the original topic 'The Role of
Blind Women in Nigerian Politics' originally given to me. This modification becomes
inevitable in view of the realization of certain objective realities in Nigeria's socio-political,
economic and cultural historic and contemporary experiences.
We all know that Nigeria has not been able to transcend from her status of
underdevelopment since 1960 when she got her independence. Accordingly, this
protracted problem of under development has infected virtually all spheres of our national
life: social, political, economic and so on. As such, the reality of this assertion can be
vividly seen in the nature of the idea and practice of politics in Nigeria. The problem of
political underdevelopment has therefore made it difficult if not impossible for us to at
this stage of our political experience begin to talk about the identification of roles of such
a minority and 'heavily disadvantaged' section of the Nigerian population; the visually
impaired women in the Nigerian political system.
Indeed, my argument here is that it is only when effective participation has been
guaranteed that role ascription can be brought to the fore of our concern. As such, it will
be wise for us to rigorously explore all opportunities that will guarantee effective
participation for the visually impaired women.
My attempts in this paper have been to draw a general description of the state of Nigeria's
politics with particular concern on the issues of political participation. The paper also
discusses gender issues in Nigeria's politics with particular attention on providing
explanations on the level of women participation in the politics of the nation. Thereafter,
the nature of the visually impaired woman, peculiarities in her socio-political
predispositions, the political ecology offered by the Nigerian situation, as well as the
challenges therein are extensively discussed. This paper concludes with objective and
realistic recommendations on how effective participation can be guaranteed for the
visually impaired women in Nigeria's political system.
Evaluating Mass Participation in the Nigerian Politics
At independence, Nigeria had been fully initiated into the international cult of 'Capitalist
democracies.' This pattern of political and economic ideology and practice rested on the
pillars of contradictions. While capitalism favoured the enrichment of a few at the
expense of the majority, democracy pretended to politically empower the majority as
against the few. Unfortunately, the seemingly politically disempowered few who possess
economic powers controls virtually the entire means of livelyhood available in the
country. As such, inevitably, the majority must perpetually surrender their pretentious
political power to the few elites if their survival must be guaranteed. Accordingly, it will
be safe to then conclude that the minority elites only require the majority masses to
legitimize their economic and political supremacy since he who controls the means of
livelyhood controls life in its entirity.
The practicals of the domination of the masses by the elites have constantly played itself
out in Nigeria since independence till date. There is no gain-saying that the participation
of the masses in our politics over the years have been very marginal and insignificant.
First, we talk about the very long years of total political exclusion of the masses;
facilitated by decades of military rule; about 29 whole years out of our 47 years of
independence. Even the 18 cumulative years of democratic experience so far achieved is
one which has not only witnessed long intervals in between them, but one which also has
not lived upto expectation particularly in terms of the inclusion and empowerment of the
masses.
Even if we live history behind us; with the claims of not being experienced in the
democratic game particularly during the first and second republics, what about this
current dispensation when to claim ignorance of democratic awareness and enlightenment
will not be tolerated by nations like South Africa who was assisted by Nigeria to gain
political freedom, dismantling of aparthied rule and the attainment of majority rule or
popular democracy? Whereas, South Africa has successfully demonstrated democratic
maturity, first by the manner in which Nelson Mandela handed over power to Mbeki,
and second, the enthrenchment of popular democracy through the inclusion of the black
majority in the political space, Nigeria, particularly in this current democratic
dispensation has displayed an unpardonable low sense of democratic maturity and
development in all its ramifications.
It is known to all of us that our votes do not count and have never counted in all our so
called transitions either from military to civilian or from civilian to civilian; the first of
which was experienced in 2003 when this current regime renewed its mandate. Not only
are majority of the people strategically disenfranchised by the poor electoral process put
in place, the manipulation of votes by the elites also render the choice of the masses
powerless and less effective. Not only that, even when the government eventually gets to
power, the ability of the people to easily influence its decisions in whatever legal means
available is virtually destroyed and denied. The June 12, 1993 elections should still be
fresh in our memories. Similarly, in the over seven years of this current regime, apart
from the electoral fraud perpetuated in order to gain power, we all know that there has
been countless times or cases when very unpopular policies were kicked against by the
people but which the government persistently embarked upon.
Fellow compatriots, we need not fool ourselves. the level of popular political
participation in Nigeria is significantly low. In a political system where uncertainties
continue to prevail over the organization of credible elections, where the choice of the
people are rigged out of office in broad day light, and where the voice of the people is
ignored in the formulation and implementation of public policies, the questions that arise
from these negative issues are what then is left of participation? How else can citizens
participate in the political affairs of their country? Am sure we all have endless answers
to these questions. However, my own answer is already being manifested in the current
Niger Delta situation.
Gender Equality and Political Participation in Nigeria
Thank God, the problem is not as bad as to have no degree of inclusion in the political
process. What we have simply observed here is that the level of participation is
significantly low. However, inspite of that, some people are still involved. The question
then is who are the people involved? or to put it more strait, what percentage of men
compared to women are involved?
At this point, we must draw inference from our cultural background. In many traditional
societies in Africa, the feminine gender has been socially relegated. the roles ascribed to
women in the society is usually largely domestic: child bearing, house keeping and so on.
However, we do not deny the fact that women had also held very significant positions
and played very important social roles in their communities. Even in our early history,
great women like Moremi, Madam Tinubu, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Kuti, Mrs. HID
Awolowo, etc., have left remarkable impacts in the lives of those who lived during their
time. Few as they are, this women have become a source of inspiration for our
contemporary women fold who have been able to break the ginks by rising high to
positions hitherto seen as exclusive preserves for their male counterparts. The like of
Prof. Dura Akiyule, the NAFDAC chief executive, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo Iwuala a
Wolrd Bank director and Nigeria's former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Dame Virgy Itiaba,
the Executive Governor of Anambra state among others have clearly demonstrated the
natural abilities of the feminine gender and a clear negation of our cultural role ascription
which domesticate the social roles and relevance of the feminine gender.
Certainly, we can not equate the degree of male political participation to that of the
females anywhere in the world. God Almighty Himself made it 'a man's world' when he
made our fore Father Adam dominant over all other creation including Eve his wife and
partner. Nonetheless, God has equally given the woman a degree of social, political and
economic libration; allowing her to aspire for the best opportunities within the scope of
the law and morality. What I mean to say here is that the law as it is in Nigeria allows
women equal political opportunities with their male counterparts. It is not known any
where in Nigeria's constitution where for instance, the position of the president is
reserved only for men. Or is there anywhere in our laws where women are denied the
right to vote? Not even in our religious books: the Quran and the Bible have I found any
laws stoping women from seeking any of these aspirations. We have earlier mentioned
our cultures and traditions and the negations which the past exceptional women have
demonstrated to such persieved cultural or traditional beliefs. What then is stoping our
women from equating the political imbalance? Why should women continue to rely on
international conventions like the Biegin Declaration to handout quotas of political
offices to them? Or are there certain factors hindering equal participation of women in
politics in Nigeria?
In my humble opinion, the answers to these questions are not farfetched. We should not
forget too soon the fact that popular political participation in Nigeria is significantly low.
We equally need to take cognisance of the fact that women are in the majority as far as
Nigeria's popullation is concerned; even though the current popullation figures reflect
that there are more men than women in Nigeria. Whether this is true or not remains a
contentious matter among scholars of demography. What this simply mean is that many
women are not able to effectively participate in Nigeria's political process. Also, we must
be told here that majority of these women belong to the lowest socio-economic cadre in
the country. This fact is confirmed by current Un statistics which show that more than
80% of Nigerian women live below poverty levels. In fact, women in Nigeria have been
included among the most vulnerable groups besides children and persons living with
disabilities. Our socio-economic structures have failed to give majority of Nigerian
women the much required empowerment that would have made it easy for them to equate
the prevailing political imbalance. Only a few of them barely manage to get up the
lather. It will be objective to also note that besides the prevailence of some cultural
beliefs which naturally discourage active female participation in politics, there is also a
lingering tendency of the lack of confidence within the women fold. Or else, why haven't
female political candidates become successful if truly the women constitute the majority
in our population? Moreover since democracy itself it a game of numbers.
The Socio-Political Predicaments of Women Living with Visual Disability
Who is a visually impaired person? Any one described as this is one whose sense of
sight is either totally lost or is functioning at less than average capacity and can not be
aided by any medical instruments. By implication therefore, any female adult who
possess this physical deformity can best be described as a visually impaired woman.
What makes the socio-political situation of a visually impaired woman so peculiar? I had
pointed out earlier on that persons living with disabilities have been classified among the
most vulnerable groups of persons in Nigeria and the world at large. Accordingly, since
visual impairment is inevitably a form of disability, it follows that persons who are
visually impaired can be regarded as vulnerable people. However, in the case where
women are also regarded as vulnerable, and where such a woman is at the same time
physically challenged, in plain language such a person's level of vulnerability is doubled.
This imply therefore, that visually impaired women in Nigeria like other women
suffering any other form of physical deformity are exposed to an alarming degree of
vulnerability within our social, political and economic environment.
You can not agree with me less that many of our visually impaired women are largely
low income earners. Majority of this category of individuals are virtually unemployed.
Very many others can't even afford basic and/or higher education. Most visually
impaired women in Nigeria perpetually continue to suffer acute social neglect and
discrimination that it has become very difficult if not impossible to establish an integrated
family institution. Typical of the psychophysical nature of the feminine gender, the
visually impaired women in Nigeria have been confined to a state of total loss of
confidence, hopelessness and socio-political apathy.
Even when some of them make spirited attempts to overcome these predicaments, they
are confronted with the larger problems of social discriminations against persons living
with disabilities and the persistent socio-economic dis-empowerment of women whether
physically challenged or not. Also, the vivid insensitivity of government and its policies
to the plight of this special citizens further compound their already worsened socio-political
situation.
We need not argue on the fact that one who suffers this degree of social neglect is
virtually politically ostracised. While battling with the challenges of gaining social
inclusion and obtaining economic empowerment, it will be very difficult if not
impossible to develop any interest let alone participate in any political activity. Our
incurable habit of political intimidation and violence have and is scaring away vulnerable
individuals like visually impaired women from the political process. In fact, you wont be
surprise if the cause of blindness (or any other form of physical deformity) to some
women and other people alike has been as a result of the rate of violence in our politics.
I am not in any way justifying the prevailing political apathy amongst our visually
impaired women. It is only pertinent that we identify those objective realities which have
and is still militating against their ability to feature prominently in the nation's political
process. Nonetheless, we do not mean to encourage them to resign to fate. We simply
need to raise their awareness to the existence of these issues with a view to enlightening
and reassuring them on the existence of certain possibilities and opportunities which can
facilitate a'clean-break away from the past.' As such, our visually impaired women
should see these problems as mere challenges which are indeed very surmountable.
How to Enhance Effective Participation
How can we turn these stumbling blocks to stepping stones? I ask this question because I
know that it will be an un-realizable dream to expect the larger society let alone
government to stand up to the problems of persons living with disabilities. As a member
of this constituency, it is my humble view that the solutions to these problems lie within
us. We are the ones who must rise up to these challenges by taking necessary steps that
will lead us to victory.
Accordingly, our visually impaired women must take their destiny in their own hands.
They must as a matter of fact wake up from their slumber and begin to realise that life for
a woman particularly in Nigeria; and by extention, the life of a physically challenged
woman or to put it more straitly, the life of a visually impaired woman is one dominated
by surmountible challenges. Only a woman with a dearing spirit, with an unrelenting
zeal, with a sustained self confidence, with a bold heart andmind, with a libral and
progressive orientation, and a woman with the determination to achieve who can face and
overcome these challenges. As such, the individual visually impaired woman in Nigeria
must be socially, politically, economically and psychologically 'born again;' her
orientation and perception of life, her socialising instincts as well as her intellectual and/or
creative abilities must be rediscovered, sharpened and properly utilized. This, if properly
done will reposition the personality of the individual visually impaired woman in the
Nigerian socio-political sphere of life. She will be adored, respected, appreciated,
acknowledged and given her rightful place in the Nigerian social setting.
Individually, at the community level, she must begin to demonstrate her interpreter and
leadership potentials. Her abilities of economic-productivity and wealth creation
instincts should be bravely exhibited. This will advance her independence and self
reliance within her community. She will be able to make meaningful material
contribution towards community development activities and as such gain prominence in
the midst of her able women contemporaries. This efforts will usher her into leadership
status in the community.
To gain a credible entrance into the leadership cadre of her community, she must begin
to lend her voice to community discussions; demonstrating a vastness and understanding
of socio-political and economic as well as cultural matters in the community. she needs
to place herself strategically at a vantage position through her views and opinions and
ensure objectivity in her judgements on community matters.
It is equally pertinent that she identifies and seek membership of relevant socio-political
cultural and economic groups within the community and play prominent roles in such
groups. As we can all understand, political parties are presently planting their roots in the
various local communities spread across the nation. The visually impaired woman
needs to identify with any of this political groupings - making her self a front-seater and
not a back-bencher.
I make these suggestions because of the realization of the need for our visually impaired
women to hatch themselves from the eggs of social and political apathy. In-spite of the
attempts by society to exclude us, we too must not resign to fate. individually, we must
prove to the world - frist, from our various communities, that we've got with it takes to
make a better change even than our abled counterparts.
While the individual visually impaired woman is busy at her community level, there is
also need for them to pull their social, political and economic resources together with
view to forming a collective forum through which their voices can be heard louder.
Certainly, the National Association for the Blind (NAB) offers such a forum. Only
collective might and efforts can successfully embark and take this kind of crutial crusade
beyound the community level. Your voices must be heard at other heo-political spheres
of our country: the local government, the 36 states of the federation, the six geopolitical
zones and the nation as a whole. Accordingly, staging more of these events across the
nation and adopting other pragmatic and realistic strategies is very necessary to keep the
nation awake and a life to the responsibilities it owes to visually impaired women.
organizations representing the interest of visually impaired women should identify and
promptly utilize all available legal means of communicating the plight of the visually
impaired women to relevant authorities in government and the society at large. Such
instruments should also be effectively used in monitoring compliance and seeking redress
in cases of default and betrayal.
Meanwhile, let me advise at this juncture, that, from personal experience, the general
public seem to be grossly lacking in awareness and enlightenment about the life and
plight of persons living with disabilities in general, and our visually impaired women in
particular. Accordingly, time is ripe for us to engage the print and electronic media,
educational institutions, religious bodies, relevant agencies of government and other
social institutions and saddle them with the task of massive rigorous public
enlightenment campaigns - showing the public not only the challenges posed by our
disabilities, but also the numerous abilities that lies therein. Such enlightenment
campaigns will necessarily emphasize the life and plight of our physically challenged
(and of course our visually impaired) women. To complement this effort, organizations
representing the interest of visually impaired women should also develop and effectively
circulate awareness creating publications to all levels of schools to further educate the
people on the life and plight of visually impaired women in Nigeria.
To further empower our visually impaired women, organizations representing their
interest should develop and implement in-house human resource development
programmes that will enhance socio-economic self reliance. Such programmes must be
all inclusive: offer literacy programmes for illiterate visually impaired women, offer
vocational training to those with very low educational background and provide them with
funding to effectively establish them, and, provide professional training programmes for
career persons and professionals so that they are abreast with current developments in
their various professions. . Don't ask me how to raise funds for these kind of projects.
We all know that there several cheerful givers out there who can support our programmes
if only as a mere show of sympathy. What is most important is for organizations of
persons living with disabilities to remain focused, articulate and organized if this kind of
opportunities are to be positively, progressively and productively harnessed.
Those in government must be a life to their responsibilities especially to persons living
with disabilities in general, and of course, our visually impaired women. The era of
paying lip-service to matters concerning the physically challenged especially their
women folds should be over. This is a proper medium to notify them that it will no
longer be 'business as usual' as everything will be done to ensure that proper attention is
given hence forth.
Concluding Remarks
Charity the say begins at home. Let me therefore reiterate to all our visually impaired
women here present and to all who may lay their hands on this presentation after this
event that no one, but you yourselves who can fight for your liberty; your fundamental
right to be included in the social process of this great nation and indeed, your right to
participate, without any form of discrimination, in Nigeria's political process. You all
must hatch yourselves from the eggs of social isolation, economic dependence, defeatist
tendencies and political intimidation. Your interest and involvement in the political
process must be vivid and sustained.
While those of you who have found their ways into the rank and file of the public service
and other private corporate organizations should begin to revolutionize public
perception of persons living with disabilities by demonstrating competence, creativity
and real productivity in your places of work and embarking on genuine social integration
at your domestic communities, let the rest of  who are self employed demonstrate to
the larger society that you are as relevant to the society's growth and development as any
other abled person.
I am totally convinsed that the visually impaired woman is a bundle of natural beauty.
So, go all out and embrace contemporary fashion though in a moderate and matured
manner. Let the visually impaired woman carry herself with utmost dignity and pride
while remaining humble in character. You must begin to demonstrate that you've got the
virtues of an original home-grown African woman.
Finally, these indeed are the keys that will help you open the doors to effective political
participation in Nigeria. Remember, it is only when you can and is actually participating
effectively that you can have well defined meaningful roles to play in the political
process of our great nation. Having roles with out participating is falacious and can only
remain in the imaginative realm. However, effective participation will inevitably
establish roles no matter how unpronounced it may be. The era of deceat by creating
ministries, agencies and departments in the structures of government so as to claim that
you have roles is useless where and when you can not effectively participate in making
decisions that affect your plights. But, when effective participation is guaranteed, then,
the slogan "nothing for us with out us" will make and objective and realistic meaning.
I thank you all for listening.