As  Mr. Project  reads out an account of his stewardship in Rivers State come May 29, 2023, so much would be said about the flyovers, numerous roads, university education, the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, and so many other achievements, which may be typical of every good government, but his role in cementing a place for Rivers women in politics can never be forgotten in a hurry.
Hstory would remember him kindly for giving Rivers women a voice at every level where decision is made in the state. Governor Wike’s grassroots politics and politics of inclusion have given every segment of Rivers State a seat at the table. Our political lingo, it could be said that the women of Rivers State have been carried along since May 29, 2015, when Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo was sworn in as the first female Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
As governor and the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State, Wike has the enabling environment for Rivers women in politics to thrive. He made clear his disposition to women in politics when he chose Dr. Banigo as his running mate in 2014. For some Rivers women, this gesture was too good to be true. But it was, and it has been our reality in the past seven years. Since 2015, Rivers women have smashed many glass ceilings.
Rivers State has its first female Chief Judge, women have occupied the office of Vice Chairman in all 23 local government areas of the state; and Chairmen of at least two local government areas, including Bonny Local Government currently. In stark opposite to President Buhari and the current National Assembly’s disdain for the role of women in politics, Governor Wike took a stand that Rivers women must have adequate representation. Based on his understanding of Nigerian politics, the governor was aware that on their own, Rivers women are unable to navigate the current political swamp and survive. His comments when the gender bills were rejected by the National Assembly revealed his heart and support for the political prominence of women. According to the governor, what has been achieved in Rivers State is a product of deliberate policy implementation by the PDP leadership in the state. He said, “APC controls the National Assembly. If Mr. President was in support of this, there is no way they will disgrace women in the National Assembly. Such shameful thing.”
“Today, in this State, all 23 vice chairmen are women. Today, in this State. We said we must have five women as councilors in each local government. It is a matter of policy and it is leadership,” he stated.
Keen observers are shocked at the current state of women’s participation in Nigerian politics. The level is unbelievable as compared to other African countries. According to a report recently published by Gender Strategy Advancement Initiative (GSAI), women’s participation is only 6.7 percent in Nigeria, a shortfall of 15 percent from the global average of 22.5 percent, and the Africa regional average of 23.4 percent, and the West Africa sub-regional average of 15 percent. It is an irony that African countries with less educated women populations have better women participation than the giant of Africa with its armada of amazons, and female trailblazers in every field. This sorry state, according to most political pundits is a result of the monetisation and the mercantile nature of Nigerian politics. Nigerian women cannot hire thugs or doll out hard currency to purchase political positions in party primaries.
The recent primaries of the two major political parties in the country were a case in point. It became evident that, so long as Nigerian politics acknowledges  the primordial state of internal democracy in political parties, no Nigerian woman could ever become governor or president. The current political atmosphere makes the non-passage of the gender bills by National Assembly most regrettable. The current Senate has only eight women out of 109 senators, while the House of Representatives has an unjustifiably 13 women out of a total of 306 members. It is worthy of note that a Rivers woman is among the eight female senators; and hopefully, the current Deputy Governor will win her senatorial race next year to continue the tradition.
The non-passage of the gender bills was the loss of a rare opportunity to bridge the gender gap and to show a semblance of progress on the journey of gender equity. The 35 percent affirmative action is supposed to play its role in our polity like the Federal Character Commission does to foster national integration in making sure that every region of the country has equal representation in the functioning of government and its agencies.
Speaking at a two-day capacity-building workshop at Abuja recently, the Executive Director of GSAI, Ms. Adaora Onyinchere, wondered why a country where women represented 49.2 percent of the population makes no deliberate effort to enshrine gender inclusion policies.  According to her, “Statistics of women from 1999 to date both in governance, in politics and the way government has tailored their implementation of gender budget has totally been null and void. It is a serious problem and the need to evaluate and look at what government has done, is very important.”
“From our investigations, there is no sense of duty to women’s inclusion at the community level. So it seems as if there’s not enough effective implementation of policies at the grassroots.”
From all indications, the next dispensation might reveal a marked retrogression since 1999 at the national level. However, in Rivers State, the reverse would be the case, because Governor Wike has given the women folk in  the State a share of the political pie that  can only be improved on. It is now certain that if PDP wins the next gubernatorial election in Rivers State, a woman will be the next deputy governor. And, her profile should encourage all young Rivers women to be the best in whatever field of endeavor they find themselves.

By: Raphael Pepple