Who was not distressed at the news of the assassination of the Kaduna State Labour Party Women leader, Victoria Chintex? The vibrant women leader in Kaura Local Government Area of the state, was reportedly killed on Monday after gunmen invaded her residence in Kaura and shot her. Not even the offer of money by her husband could make the criminals change their minds. Instead, they got the man wounded as well.
How could people be so wicked to waste such a precious life, a beautiful, loving woman whose only “crime” was her participating in politics and identifying with a political party? For how long shall this act of desperate and depraved mind continue in Nigeria? For how long shall women be suppressed, intimidated and murdered for venturing in to politics and participating in the decision making that affects their lives, their children, families and communities?
We have not forgotten how the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) women leader, Salome Abuh, was shot and set ablaze at her residence in the Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State three years ago. One Ocholi Edicha, had long been convicted to 12 years and six months in prison for culpable homicide by the court.
Many other women in our rural communities who have dared to venture into the “male terrain” of politics especially when they choose to belong to political parties different from the ruling parties in their states, have similar ugly tales to tell. At a political gathering recently, some women narrated how they are daily threatened and cajoled for participating actively in politics and being very vocal about their support of various presidential candidates. One particular woman who said she regularly calls during phone -in political programmes on the radio, said she had received several anonymous phone calls, demanding that she should stop participating in the radio programme and promoting a particular presidential candidate or else her family “will be visited”. Pre/post-election violence still pretty much characterises elections in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the percentage of women in politics in the country is low and there have been efforts to encourage more women to be more active in politics. How can this be achieved when the life-threatening barriers to active and substantive participation of women in the Nigerian political system are not addressed? Elections in the country are most often characterised by violence, thuggery, rigging, acrimony, blackmail and outright disregard for decency which is supposed to be the key element of leadership. Again, there are a lot of obstacles on the ways of women who want to delve into politics in the country – gender-based discrimination, indigeneship, culture and religious restriction, poor financial base, lack of education and a lot more.
The various political parties in the country are not even doing enough to address this challenge. Some political parties still considered women to be suitable only for the post of women leaders. Some place the prices of their nomination and expression of interest forms far beyond the reach of many women as was seen in the recently conducted party primaries. We have also seen situations where some women, despite meeting all the parties’ requirements, were asked to step down for the men, probably because they did not pay as high as the men.
All over the world, there is an increasing number of women who are serving in elected and appointed political positions. Nigeria’s case should not be different. Rwanda always comes to mind when talking of where more female involvement in politics and leadership is paying off. The county’s deliberate effort at balancing power between the genders by enforcing the 50 per cent affirmative action policy has led to the rapid development of the country, peaceful coexistence of the citizens and a more decent society At this point in our national history where the country seems to have lost direction and hopelessness looms everywhere, should not women, known for their expertise in strategic planning, human and situation management, be encouraged to come on board to rescue our sinking ship of a nation? Should not there be deliberate efforts towards implementing the 35per cent affirmative action both within political parties and in the larger political and leadership space in the country so as to ensure more women contributing to the affairs of the country?
Is it not high time something was done about political assasination of both men and women in the country? Yes, we were told that in the case of Ruth’s killing, Ocholi was convicted of the crime and sent to prison. But how about the person(s) who must have commissioned him to carry out the criminal act? What about other conspirators to the crime? How about other political assasination cases in many parts of the country? The truth is that unless Nigeria deals with crime as it ought to, ensuring that perpetrators and sponsors of crime, no matter how highly placed, are properly dealt with in accordance with the law, criminals will continue to have a field day in the country. And this is very dangerous for our democracy. People should be free to belong to any political party of their choice and support any candidate they like. There is no law in Nigeria that says that every indigene or residents of a state must toe the same political line with the state governor or the local government chairman, as the case may be.
Members of opposition political parties have equal rights with those of the ruling parties. They have the right to hold their political meetings and other political activities without the fear of molestation and intimidation. Husband and wife, parents and children, employer and employee, brothers and sisters should be at liberty to belong to opposing political parties and still dine on the same table. Is not that the beauty of democracy? One sincerely hopes that Victoria’s killing, the burning of INEC offices in the South East and other parts of the country whether by known or unknown gunmen, the increasing molestation and intimidation of members of some political parties, frightening as they are, will not deter Nigerians, particularly the women, from participating in the next general elections. The stakes at the general elections are too high for them to be left to a few selfish, desperate politicians. Nigerian women and indeed all Nigerians cannot afford to stay aside and watch a few greedy individuals who have run the nation aground, to continue to have their way. Nigeria belongs to all of us and we must be ready to make all the necessary sacrifices to make it work.
It is imperative that sincere measures are taken to curtail the spate of politically induced crime and violence as the election dates approach so as to enable women to freely take part in elections. President Mohammadu Buhari has repeatedly assured Nigerians that the 2023 elections will be free, fair, transparent and credible. Nigerians will like to see the president walk the talk by ensuring that measures are taken by the police and other security agencies to ensure peace in the country both before, during and after the elections. An election cannot be credible when the electorate cannot freely participate in the electoral process due to fear of being killed or maimed, when electorate are forced to abide by the whims and caprices of the governors and other political big weights in their communities and states. President Buhari, the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai and the police should see to it that the killers and anybody that has anything to do with the death of Victoria are caught and punished accordingly. This case should not go the way of others where people wasted the lives of others and disappeared into the thin air. Nigerians are hoping and praying that the death of this woman will not be in vain. That her blood and the blood of other Nigerians spilled for political reasons will bring an end to political violence, insecurity, killings in the country and bring about a better Nigeria.

By: Calista Ezeaku