WOMEN AND THE QUEST FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION

National development is one of the vital national interests of nations of the world. As a matter of fact, national development commands as much priority as security in the catalogue of national interests of nations. Nations can go to war in the quest for development, as much as they could on security grounds. The successes and failures of a government are measurable, among other things, against its ability to protect its territoriality, and engender national development. This explains why the quest for national development has obsessed nations of the world, Nigeria inclusive.

Starting with the Colonial Development Plan (1958 – 1968), Nigeria hit the ground running in the quest for national development, tinkering strategies, and a motley of tactics pursuant to national development. The country since then has designed and adopted a litany of national development plans which were largely medium term plans, national rolling plans, and strategic initiatives as listed below:

1.      The First National Development Plan (1962 – 1968)

2.      The Second National Development Plan  (1970 – 1974, extended to 1975)

3.      The Third National Development Plan (1975 – 1980)

4.      The Fourth National Development Plan (1981 – 1985)

5.      Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) (1986)

6.      Rolling Plans (1990 – 1999) and Vision 2010

7.      The  National  Economic  Empowerment  and  Development  Strategy  (NEEDS) (2004 - 2007)

8.      Seven Point Agenda (2007)

9.      Vision 20:2020 (2008)

10.  Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017 – 2020).

The implementations of these development plan and initiatives recorded limited successes due to the Eurocentric nature of some of the plans, lack of national coverage of the plans, corruption and financial indiscipline of the leaders, armed conflicts, regime changes, and gender insensitivity.

This study concerns itself with the topic: women and the quest for national development in Nigeria. It is made up of six sections: the introduction, the meaning of national development, the roles of women in national development in Nigeria, the challenges facing women’s contribution to national development, strategies for empowering women for national development, and the conclusion. 

THE MEANING OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Understanding the concept of development is central in exploring the meaning of national development. Scientific studies have approached the concept of development from different angles but they seem to agree that development involves advancement, a shift from good to better, or from better to worse. The disagreements on the meaning of development generally border on whether development is a process or a condition; and whether it is human or material-centred. In recognition of this truism, Ajunwa (2015:87) posited that development could be viewed as:

…increase in national wealth such as the oil boom in Nigeria or the recent industrial explosion in China. It could be considered in terms of infrastructural development such as the construction of good roads, new bridges, industries, houses, more markets, airports, seaports, etc. or in terms of an improved standard of living and quality of lives in general for individual members of a given society, such as Nigeria.

Scholars that propagated development as human-centred include Walter Rodney and Amartya Sen. In his How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Walter Rodney viewed development as a multi-dimensional concept which has different meanings at the individual and social levels. According to him, development at level of the individual implies increased skill and capacity, greater freedom, creativity, self-discipline, responsibility and material well-being. Development at the level of social groups, he contends, implies an increasing capacity to regulate both internal and external relationships (1972). In his own human-centred perspective of development, Sen (1999) insisted that development simply means capability expansion. By this, development is taken to mean the expansion of the abilities of the people of a society to be what they want to be, and to do what they want to do. The genius in this perspective of development is the belief that human development is the driver of economic development. The process perspective of development features prominently Michael Paul Todaro. According to Todaro (1981:56) development refers to as a multi-dimensional process involving the reorganization and reorientation of the entire economic and social systems. He contends vehemently that development is a physical reality and a state of mind in which society has, through some combinations of social, economic and political process secured the way of obtaining better life.

From the discussions on development supra, national development can be seen as both a process and condition of nation-wide advancement in socio-economic, political and cultural aspects of the society. The quest for this advancement (the condition) is usually through conscious plans, and strategies (the process); thus constituting a ying-yang relationship between the perspectives of development, nay national development. This ying-yang relationship of the end and means of development makes the duo nothing but the two sides of a coin. In this regard, the array of the development plans and developmental initiatives in Nigeria as outlined in the introductory part of this chapter become understandable as the “process” of national development which involves the reorganisation and reorientation of the entire economic and social systems of the country, whereas the industrialized status of the United States of America becomes a “condition” of national development. In the whole however, national development is the growth, changes and improvements that occur in any given society, which aim at enhancing the quality of life of the citizenry (Onuselogu, 2015). It thus clear that national development has the citizenry at heart, and it is measurable against the extent to which it has satisfied human needs for food, shelter, security, clothing, gainful employment, energy/power, information and communication, etc.

Broadly, development of the nation encapsulates such parameters as outlined below by Bawa (n.d: para. 5):

i.                    Development through a planned national economy,

ii.                  Increase in agricultural production through application of modern technical know-how,

iii.                harnessing industrial production,

iv.                Development of human resource,

v.                  Application of science and technology in production sector,

vi.                provision of mass education and,

vii.              Provision of various facilities to meet the needs and aspirations of disadvantaged, deprived and poorest of the poor segments of population.

These dimensions of national development above show that the term national development is very comprehensive, including all aspects of the life of an individual and the nation. It is holistic in approach. It is a process of reconstruction and development in various dimensions of a nation and development of individuals.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Women is a significant part of the Nigerian population; the country’s population stands at 140 million, out of which 80.2 of them are women and girls (British Council Nigeria 2012: 45-48). This makes them a part that can never be wished away as useless in the quest for national development. The international community has long taken note of this fact as epitomized by the declaration of 1978 by the United Nations as the international year of women, and the 1991 Beijing declaration. These declarations toward the emancipation and empowerment of women point to the critical importance of the women folk in national development, so as to enable them contribute their needful quota to that effect. Awe (1990) views the essence of women from their roles as a source of peace and stability at home, and this depends largely on their managerial abilities. She further stressed that the women, especially the mothers, plan, organise, direct and coordinate all resources at home to the benefit of all members of the family. Effective management of the home promotes national development. But wherever this is lacking, the reverse is usually the case.  According to Ovute, Dibia and Obasi (2015:7):

Women had tangible records of economic activities, largely in peasant societies where women made large contributions to community and national development. However, these contributions are not really recognized, but the truth is whether one holds a pragmatic or a humanistic view of development, the participation of women is necessary in national development

Generally, women perform an array of socio-economic and political roles in the quest for national development, and they are as follows:

1.      Political Roles: The appreciable political roles of women in Nigeria towards national development is self-speaking, dating back from the pre-colonial, through colonial to the post-colonial eras of Nigeria. For   instance, according to Oluyemi (n.d:2):  

…in   pre-colonial   Bornu,   women   played   active   roles   in   the administration of the state, complementing the roles played by male counterparts. Also, Women also  played  a  very  significant  role  in  the  political  history  of  ancient  Zaria. The  modern  city  of Zaria  was  founded  in  the first  half  of  the  16th  century by a  woman  called Queen  Bakwa  Turuku. She  had  a  daughter  called  Amina  who  later  succeeded  her  as  Queen.  Queen Amina was a great and powerful warrior.  She  built  a  high  wall  around  Zaria  in  order  to  protect  the  city  from invasion   and   extended   the   boundaries   of   her   territory   beyond   Bauchi and   she   made Zaria prominent  Commercial Centre.

The names of the Nigerian Amazons such as Moremi of lfe, Emotan of Benin and Omu Okwei of Ossomari still ring bells in connection of their political exploits in the pre-colonial periods. Moremi  and  Emotan  were  great  amazons  who  displayed wonderful bravery  and  strength in  the  politics  of  lfe  and  Benin  respectively,  while  Omu  Okwei  dominated  the  commercial  scene of Ossomari  in  present  day Delta  State.

In the colonial era, women contributed immensely in politics. The awe-striking Aba women riot in 1929 is a locus in quo. The colonial period witnessed the appointment of women into Houses of Chiefs, especially the Western and Eastern Houses of Chiefs. There were notable names such as Chief  (Mrs)  Olufunmilayo  RansomeKuti  (appointed into  the  Western  Nigeria  House  of  Chiefs);  Chiefs  (Mrs)  Margaret  Ekpo  and  Janet  Mokelu  (both appointed  into  the  Eastern  Nigeria  House  of  Chiefs).

In the contemporary Nigeria, buoyed by the 30% Affirmative action which is a policy that demands at least 30% representation of women in appointive and elective offices in Nigeria, as well as reawakening into consciousness by Nigerian political elites about the critical importance of women participation in politics to national development, the participation of women in politics has significantly improved, and by extension, their contributions to national development. For instance, an economist of repute, Dr (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala steered the economic ship of the nation as the Minister of Finance, first under Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, and later under Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. She later served as the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Under her tenure as the Minister of Finance under Obasanjo’s administration, she spearheaded the negotiation that resulted in the repayment of the US$30 billion Nigeria’s debt to the Paris Club of Creditors, through the negotiated cancellation of the US$18 billion part of the sum by the Paris Club in 2005. There were other names such as Professor Dora Akunyili, the former Director General of NAFDAC; Dr Oby Ezekwesili, the former Minister of Education, and a prime vanguard of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) campaign for the release of the school girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from Chibok, Bornu Sate in 2014; and Kemi Adeosun, the immediate past Minister of Finance; etc.

2.      Social Roles: Women’s groups and organizations have devised ingenious everal strategies of community development, nay national development. Their capacity for concerted efforts in achieving impressive feats has been described as the backbone community development (Okereke, 2010). Women have successfully built community schools, markets and halls, etc. in many parts of the country. They have contributed for scholarship to bright but indigent students, and also have lifted families out of poverty through cooperatives.

3.      Economic Roles: The immense contributions of women in food production is definite and convincing. “Over time, women have paid their dues immensely both as individuals and as groups in Nigeria inthe food production process. They clear the land, till, plant and tend crops. They harvest, store, preserve and even ensure that produced food ends up edible on the dining tables” (Ovute, et al 2015:7). As far back as the early 1980s, the United Nation’s report reveals that 60 – 90 percent of the agricultural labour force was women and they produce two-third of the food crops (Hyattractions, 2016). Olawoye (1985) describes Nigerian women as a crucial factor of producing. To him they assumed this status because they are largely responsible for the bulk production of crops, agro-based food processing, presentation of crops and distribution of yields from farm centres to urban areas.

These roles that the women folk perform in Nigeria, pursuant to national development is still a far cry from the ideal situation due to several challenges embedded in the society. By implication, women have been relegated to the background, politically. This is even at the face of the tremendous  effort  put  forward  by government  and  non-governmental organizations following the declaration  made  at  the  fourth  World  Conference  on women  in  Beijing,  which  advocated  30%  affirmative  action and National Gender  Policy  (NGP) recommendation  of 35%  affirmative action  for  a  more  inclusive  representation  of  women both in elective   and   appointive positions. It is therefore not surprising why Nigeria still grapples with the problem of development.

THE CHALLENGES FACING WOMEN’S CONTRIBUTION TO NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The capacity of women to contribute to national development is seriously kept at bay by many challenges such as below:

1.      The patriarchal Nature of the Society: The Nigerian society is largely skewed against women. It is always about men, whereas women are widely believed to belong to the kitchen and/or as President Buhari once said about Aisha, his wife, “belongs to the other room.” In this manner, women became doomed to men’s domination, thereby incapacitating them from contributing to national development.

2.      Religious and Cultural Beliefs: Nigeria is a multi-religious country with Christianity, Islam, and African Traditional Religion as the big three. A great deal of the religions have doctrines quite discriminatory against women. Similar thing is to be said also about the majority of the cultures in Nigeria. They hold that women should only be seen and never heard, not only in the religious circles but also in politics, and as such, a challenge to women participation in politics, and to their contribution to national development.

3.      Political Violence: Naturally, women run away from ding-dong situations. The close to routine violent nature of the Nigerian politics scares women away. More so, Nigerian women are generally not “aggressive or assertive” enough to seize leadership mantle from their male counterparts (Lasiele, 1999). This notion hinders them from trying to compete with their male  counterparts  which  would  have  given  them  the  opportunity  to  contribute meaningfully  to  national development.

4.      Low level of Education: The  low  participation  of  women  in  education  is  also  part  of  the challenges facing women’s contribution to national development. Education  is  basic  to  a  person’s  ability  to  maximize  any  opportunity  that  may  arise  from  development. Education,  whether  formal  or  informal  constitutes  a  vital  instrument  for  socio-economic  development  of  any society as  well as  the upliftment of the  individual  concerned (Ainabor & Ovbiagele, 2007). Unfortunately, the problem  of  gender  disparity  in  Nigerians  educational  development  as  is  the  case  of  other  parts  of  the  world, remains the basic constraint to women development in Nigeria.  As at 2008, the enrolment ratio between boys and girls was 68 to 59 (boys to girls respectively). The enrolment ratio for girls in secondary school is 22 and boys 29. All these statistics point to the fact that a lot is still required in terms of educating the women for them to participate and contribute their quota to national development.

5.      Poor Financial Status: Political participation, especially vying for a political office is capital intensive. Most Nigerian women are financially poor.  This  situation  may  be  related  to  their  low  level  of  educational  attainment. In business, most women do not often involve themselves in high profile ventures. At best, they prefer to engage in petty trading where the gains and losses are articulated at the end of each day (Okemakinde, 2014), at worst, depend on their male counterparts for their financial needs. Thus, the access of women to finance is so minimal that woman are generally disadvantaged in terms of economic stability and independence needed for active participation in politics. Under this condition, women’s contribution to national development leaves much to be desired.

STRATEGIES FOR EMPOWERING WOMEN FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

(a)   The Centrality of Education

The empowerment of women for national development is achievable through a variety of strategies. The centrality of education among the ranks of the strategies cannot be disputed. The  implication  of  the  above  to  national  development  is  not  far-fetched.  As rightly asserted by Babangida (1986:4):

 A  nation  cannot  truly  develop,  if  her  women  remain  illiterate,  unskilled  and  unable  to harness resources in their environment and improve on such environment that is hallmark of development  and  most  women  cannot  contribute  effectively  to  development  with  limited  or basic education they acquire and other discriminatory practices against them.

It  is  therefore  pertinent  to  note  here  that  investment  in  women  education  is  not  a  matter  of choice, but an obligation that must be undertaken by the government and other stakeholders. Accordingly, government should:

·         Make conscious efforts at promoting gender balance in access to education in Nigeria by insisting on the enrolment of certain percentage of girl children in schools.

·         Grant special scholarship to female students to encourage them to go to schools.

·         Severely punish sexual harassments against female students in schools to serve as deterrence. 

(b)   The Potency of Sensitization

Ignorance is as costly as it is destructive. A lot of people have perished due to ignorance. Many a women that shy away from politics are just ignorant of the giant in them. Sensitization will only reawaken then into consciousness of their strengths and opportunities. This could be done using the media, rallies, interactive sessions, symposia, etc. The sensitization  should  centre  on  what  women  empowerment  is,  its  benefits  to  individuals  and  to  the society and way of achieving it.

(c)    The Need for Value Reorientation

The gender discriminatory cultural and religious orientations of the Nigerian state should be reorientated and jettisoned. Women should be seen as partners in progress in the quest for national development and not as a property to be acquired and owned by men. Their voices and pleasures should be allowed in issues of public concerns. Towards this end, the ministries of Women Affairs all over the country should play a leading role in protecting the fundamental challenges of the women folk which the government and other institutions of state owe the responsibility to tackle. The Nigerian nation owes the women folk the responsibility of removing those artificial and institutional impediments  based  on  religion,  culture  or  traditional  considerations  which  have  weakened  the  ability  of Nigerian  women  to  participate  effectively  and  freely  in  national  affairs  particularly  at  the  political  and economic levels.

(d)   The Imperative of Enthroning International Best Practices in Nigerian Politics

The macabre nature of the Nigerian politics should be replaced with international best practices. Enabling  environment  that  allows  women  to  engage  meaningfully  in  decision making  process  in  a  sustainable  and  effective  way  that  is  free  from  violence  and  harassments  of any  kind should be guaranteed.

(e)    The Importance of Incentives

As a disadvantaged group, the women folk in Nigeria should be motivated to participate in politics with incentives in form of preferential treatments. There should be an established legal funds to    assist    women    politicians    to    challenge    electoral malpractices of any form at all levels of political processes. Political parties should be mandated to give nomination forms to female aspirants at a reduced price. This strategy will give the participation of women in politics a fillip, and the trickledown effect will benefit national development.

CONCLUSION

The achievement of national development can become elusive without the input of the women folk in Nigeria, given the fact that their population is of the level that cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. Right from the pre-colonial era, through the colonial era, to the contemporary Nigeria, women have contributed immeasurably in national development. Regrettably however, the contributions of women to national development are not at their best, no thanks to the socio-cultural and religious impediments against them. Therefore,  the  relevant  stakeholders  are  advised  to  advocate  for  the protection  of  women  from  abuse,  empower  them  economically  and  politically  and  review  the necessary  legislations  to  accommodate  the  growing  interest  of  women  in  politics towards the achievement of national development.

REFERENCES

Ainabor, A.E & Ovbiagele, A.I.O. (2007). “Implications of women education for poverty alleviation in Nigeria.” Journal of Academics, 2 (2) P. 43.

Ajunwa, E. (2015). “Language and National Development in Nigeria;” in Alumona and Ezeogidi (eds) Nigerian Peoples and Culture – A Reader. Enugu: Rhyce Kerex Publishers.

Awe, B (1990). “The Role of women in management in the 90’s.” Journal of Management in Nigeria 26(6)

Babangida, M.  (1986).  A  Welcome  Address  by  the  First  Lady  at  the  Opening  Ceremony  of  a 4-Day Workshop to Prepare a Blueprint on Women Education Accessed from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289377145_Women_Participation_in_National_Development_in_Nigeria_The_Imperative_of_Education [accessed Oct 06 2019].

Bawa (n.d: para. 5). “National Development: Meaning and Problems.” Accessed from http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/society/national-development-meaning-and-problems/76824

British Council Nigeria (2012). “Improving the Lives of Girls and
Women in Nigeria: Issues Policies Action.” Gender in Nigeria Report 2012.

Lasiele, Y.A. (1999). Women Empowerment in Nigeria: Problems, Prospects and Implications for Counselling. The Counsellor, 17 (1), 132-137.

Okemakinde,  S.O;  Okemakinde,  T  and  Tijani,  T.K.  (2009). “Non-formal  Education    as  a  panacea  to  Women  Empowerment  in Nigeria.” International Journal of Educational Issues.4 (1):42-55

Okereke, C. (2010). Gender Equality and Women Empowerment. Nigeria: Akutaenwere press.

Olawoye, J.E (1985). “Rural women’s role in agricultural production: An occupational survey of women from six rural communities in Oyo state”. Nigeria Journal of rural sociology

Oluyemi (n.d).” MONITORING PARTICIPATION  OF WOMEN IN POLITICSIN NIGERIA.” Paper presented by Mrs.Oloyede Oluyemi National Bureau of Statistics (NBS, Abuja, Nigeria). Accessed online from https://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/Finland_Oct2016/Documents/Nigeria_paper.pdf

Onuselogu, A. (2015). “Education and National Development in Nigeria,” in Alumona and Ezeogidi (eds) Nigerian Peoples and Culture – A Reader. Enugu: Rhyce Kerex Publishers.

Ovute, A.O., Dibia, N.G., and Obasi, S.C. (2015). “Empowering Nigerian women for national development: State of the art, challenges and prospects.” Quest Journals Journal of Research in Business and Management. Volume 3: Issue 1 (2015) pp: 04-10

Rodney, W. (1972). How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. London, Dogle-L’Ouverture Publications.

Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. New York, Anchor Books.

TODARO, M. P. (1981). Economic Development in the Third World. London: Longman.