Riding on the shoulders of business success into politics, Chief Mrs. Kemi Nelson, former Commissioner of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation of Lagos State, has been in the fore-front of what could be termed Advocacy for Women Participation in Politics, (AWPP).
This could be defended with the fact that she had been able to hold her own in politics and had aired her voice and had her way even at the time Nigeria politics had been apparently dominated by men.
During a recent encounter with Daily Sun, the MBA certified tycoon and politician surprisingly prophesized that Nigeria ‘s first female President would be nominated by men in Politics.
Speaking confidently, Nelson said: “First and foremost, there is nothing that says a woman cannot be a president in Nigeria because we have women who could even perform better than the men but the African culture has really restrained our women , we are just coming out gradually. Men have started accepting the fact that we must have to share this space , that they must have to allow us share this space with them. And that it is a gradual process , I am sure you would be surprised that by the time we would have a female president , it is the men that would nominate them, you would be surprised . It is happening everywhere now.”
Asked if she would like to mention some of the women who may be nominated for president. She waved a “No” reply and went down the memory lane about her seventeen year experience in politics:
“I joined politics in 1992 when Babangida encouraged a new breed of politicians. Then we had two political parties which were the NRC and SDP. I decided to pitch my tent with the NRC, the party under which I also became the flag bearer for the Lagos West Senatorial district in 1993, I lost the election but I was unpertubed . I still carried on , working for the party, I was appointed the chairman for the presidential electoral Committee for Osun State.
During the Ciroma- Shinkafi election I was the chairman of the electoral committee. When the party was scrapped and a care-taker committee was put in place.
I was appointed a member of the Uwais Ahmed party. When we had five principal parties under Abacha, I was a founding member of the ENCP under which I contested as the party candidate to the Federal House of Representative for Ikeja Local government.
I won the election but Abacha died and we were not sworn in. But again as a politician I was not perturbed because I had made up my mind that I was going to be a change Agent . So I joined the Alliance For Democracy. I worked with the party conscientiously. That was when I was a appointed the Commissioneer in the cabinet of Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. After which we are all now together in Action Congress.”
On what attributes earned her the appointment, she replied:
“So many things come to play in appointing the Commissioner , your integrity, role, and contribution towards the success of the party at different levels and of course your educational qualification.”
Delving more into her experience as a female politician, Nelson revealed that :
“My experience has not been different from all other women, you know politics is dominated by men. And human beings resist change. Naturally the men would see you as wanting to compete with them , whereas that is not the case. We are supposed to be partners in progress. I think we have moved up from the time that women really have problem surviving in the political terrain.
Now we have been allowed to have our say and have our way a times. A lot of women have their voice now and some of also in our states and even in national level, people respect us and respect our views. Once they know that you know what you are doing and are serious about what you are saying.
They don’t see you as somebody that is just there to hurt their ego, because men do have ego. But they have to see you as a partner in progress. And sometimes they even forget that you are a female politician, because you are on the field together and attend meetings together even till very late times in the evening. During campaigns and all that. So for me, the ego thing is a problem that would keep to rear its head but the ability of the woman to continue holding her own in that huge ocean is what would help her.”
Male admiration and harassment of the women to Nelson is not limited to politics, it is her candid opinion that : “A man would always be a man, a man would always admire a woman in or out of politics. So the way you ward off such elsewhere is the same way you do it in politics. So I don’t see any difference, a man is a man in or out of politics and a woman is a woman in or out of politics.” But she cautioned maturely that : “The ability of a man and a woman to understand where they are coming from and what would be honourable is what is important.”
Although , Nelson concurred that the unconstitutional idea of the new wave of prominence of First Ladies tends to cross the bounds in discharging State duties, she however saw something positive in it and this she defended when she said:
“ They all have the projects that they are doing. You know their husbands are very busy. They don’t have time for them. So if you have something that would keep the women busy , which would not make them not disturb their husband and at the same time contribute to the progress of the nation, won’t it be better to encourage them to continue with the projects that they are doing and the funds they are raising than take those funds for shopping spree and all other irrelevant tendencies. So for me it is good, let them continue.
In their own way , they are contributing their quota to the development of the nation. The only area I would want a brake applied is that they should not interfere too much on State duties , they would interfere , because a woman would know how to relate to her man, a woman would know how to get whatever she wants from her husband. I know there have been cases of the problems between female Commissioners and some First ladies, petty jealousies and all that, but as long as they can keep within their limits, I don’t see any problem.”
Her Amazon features shone when she reacted to the face-off between the Governor of Lagos State and President Yar’Adua over the controversial LCDAs in the State. She said:
“I thought we had laid the issue of the LCDAs to rest but unfortunately it has come to the front burner again. For me, the LCDAs in all honesty, unless we want to deceive ourselves, have really imparted in the lives of Lagosians. It has taken Government closer to the people and I think Lagos State deserves even much more. So I would just appeal that the President himself should urge the Assembly to play their part in lifting these LCDAs so that we won’t go into crisis that we need not because honestly it is a crisis that we do not need. Especially at this point in time when the nation is drifting”
Appearing to be quite frank on the issue of re-branding, Nelson said: “Well, re-branding is good but if you asked me I would say it should start from our schools. Teach them young, that is what I believe. So by the time they would be full adults they would have imbibed the right culture, many of us have imbibed wrong culture and like the Yorubas would say: “A dry fish is difficult to bend”. Even though we would try and see how far our efforts would go but I think our target should be the schools , infact the primary schools.”
Asked what her political plans for the future are, Nelson sounded very humble when she replied that : “I have always rested my plans because I am a human being it is God that plans . So I have rested everything in the hands of the almighty. Governance is what we have now you can’t start talking about election until next year. We have put our people in government and we should give them our support . Politics for me now is still in the back burner. When the time is right God would direct.”
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/politics/2009/oct/07/politics-07-10-2009-001.htm
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