Nkeiruka Onyejeocha: Women must not be put down in politics

Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, minister of state for labour and employment, says women must not be put down in politics or power.

Onyejeocha spoke on Thursday during the presentation of “Politics, X and Power”, written by Adaora Onyechere Sydney-Jack, a broadcast journalist and gender advocate.

The minister said women must be treated with all sense of responsibility and equality.

“For me, women should be treated with all sense of responsibility,” she said.

“We are very important people created by God and we should not be put down either in politics or power.”

She said the increased participation of women in politics would enable them to occupy their rightful positions anywhere they find themselves.

On his part, Abubakar Suleiman, director-general of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), said women have begun breaking barriers in politics.

“First, though there are many books that seek to address politics and power, Adaora is quite truly uncommon and unique,” Suleiman said.

“Predicated upon the gender perspective, the book is unarguably refreshing, going beyond the smokescreen to demonstrate the intricate connections of women, sex and power relations in the governance framework of our society.

“The book challenges us to think critically about the nature of power, its manifestations, as well as the manipulations of sex as an instrument of political domination in various political systems, and its impact on society at large.”

Sydney-Jack said she wrote the book because there were few women in politics.

“I wrote this book not just as a reference to every individual who believes that for Nigeria, full circle means to have a country where everyone counts and all citizens have a true stake, but to revisit our convictions of who we can be,” she said.

“Interestingly this book was already in pictures in my mind’s eye after daring to run in the 2019 elections, which I call baptism of fire, wind and rain.

“A journey I refer to as the uncovering of the wool over my eyes, especially as I journeyed between two worlds — that of active journalism and the underbelly of politics — where I experienced a complex variety of a new kind of participation which were previously unknown to me as a broadcast journalist.”

Former governors Emeka Ihedioha and Liyel Imoke were present at the event.