Governor Nyesom Wike’s benevolence: Gloria Harry speaks

Political policies made by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, have continuously taken center stage, especially those concerning women. Reacting to Governor Wike’s stance on increased involvement of women in elective positions, a female politician from Degema Local Government Area, Hon. Gloria Boma Harry, said Governor Wike has always displayed his rare compassion for the wellbeing of women, which has distinguished him.

Speaking after the news about the Governor’s directives to stakeholders to make deliberate efforts to ensure that more qualified Rivers women are accommodated in the State House of Assembly, Federal House of Representatives and the Senate, Harry, who is also the President General of Project Democracy, appealed to those entrusted with the task to eliminate imaginary barriers that could prevent women from taking advantage of the unique opportunity.

She however observed that women with worth should be given consideration devoid of favoritism or zoning. She further expressed gratitude to Governor Wike for heeding to the silent cries of women who have consistently requested for a sincere approach to the political empowerment of women.

You will recall that at a stakeholders meeting which held at Government House in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, Governor Wike, had appealed that more electoral seats should be given to women in the State.

He reiterated that the time has come for women to contribute more meaningfully to the political evolution of the State, noting that women serving at various levels of government have shown immense capacity, and urged Rivers men to genuinely demonstrate love and help their wives and sisters build a career in politics.

This development comes on the heels of a workshop recently organised by the International Federation of Female Lawyers, FIDA, Rivers State Branch, where female politicians converged to deliberate on ways to increase participation of women in politics.

The Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Linda Somiari Stewart, and Several other speakers, shared their experiences as politicians and stressed the need for women to get actively involved.

Delivering the paper titled: increased participation of women in politics; the way forward, Gloria Harry had said : 10, 15 or even 20 years ago, I would never have imagined that I’d be here today to speak about ” Increased participation of women in politics; the way forward” . When at that time I thought I was too young to get involved in politics. There was also that time when I felt Politics was a dirty game meant for the men alone. And also the thought that only irresponsible women get involved in politics!.

“I am sure that I am speaking the minds of many women in this room. I am sure that those thoughts mirror the perception of many women and men here.
Well, I guess that’s where the problem lies.
Politics as we have come to know it, in this part of the world and especially in Rivers State, has been characterized by violence and all sorts of “evil”.
These factors most times could be propaganda to keep opponents away or it could be reality meant to keep the faint hearted away.

“Growing up, we heard about Democracy being a Government for the people and by the people.
In our social studies and history, we read how governments were formed through the power of the vote.
We never knew that the reality of this theory during our era would be a far cry from the theory taught by our teachers.
Before embarking on the journey towards the topic “increased participation of women in politics; the way forward, it will be necessary for us to evaluate the current situation as it is and where we’d like to be going by our area of focus.

“Women, they say are the home builders yet we are not said to be the nation builders! Again, we were thought that the society is made up of several homes that coexist in a community or State as the case is today.

“Women, were also asked not to speak or behave in a particular way because we do not want the public to tag such girls or women as being irresponsible.

“In our homes, our mothers would reprimand the girl child, for making a slight mistake while the boy’s sins are wiped away with as much as a glance

Society has a stereotype of what an ideal woman should be but not what an ideal man should be.

A single woman who goes into politics is tagged a prostitute, while the case is even worse for the married women. Most political meetings are held at odd times and odd places, making attendance of such meetings almost impossible for a woman who wants to protect her dignity.

“These factors have built a wall around the women to the extent that every day that wall becomes so thick that it looks like a high prison wall.

“Men have become so comfortable with the stereotypes created that to dare to break free would mean doing the abominable! Aru!! These thoughts bring Eleanor Roosevelt’s words to mind. She said “Women must learn to play the game as men do.”

“At this point, I want to ask:
How do we change our mindsets?
How do we increase the numbers?
How do we turn the tables around?

“”Do we have answers to these questions? Until we have sincere and precise answers to these questions. Our quest for increased and active participation of women in the Political scene might just be a myriad.

“Like a child who wants to learn how to walk we should not be afraid of falling or failing. We should be prepared to emancipate our Minds, bodies and souls.

“In Rivers State we are fortunate to have a Governor who has graciously given us A female Deputy Governor, and Senator, ( something that had never happened before since Rivers State was created) we have a member of the House of Representatives, Commissioners, Advisers, Local Government Chairman, Deputy Council Chairmen, Judges and several other appointments. We are very grateful for that, but the million dollar question is, what next?

“This is a transitory period. And it’s time to tell ourselves the bitter truth. We should be sincere enough to ask if we are prepared to get involved. Should we wait for the pie to be given to us or should be work towards getting involved?

“It is said that there is no crime in failing but there is everything wrong in doing the same thing over and over again, expecting to get a different result. How many women bought forms to contest to occupy the Chairmanship positions of the various political parties?
How many women have bought forms to contest for the position of President or Governor or Senator or member of the House of Representatives or even the State Assembly?

I can bet you that the answer would be none or in worse case scenario an insignificant number.

For me, the Way forward should be
1) Consistency: Women should not jump off the boat and come back whenever they like and expect things to remain the way they left it. With constant involvement, the desired result will be achieved.

2) Affirmative action – There should be a sincere approach to this. The men should allow the implementation of the 35% Affirmative action earlier agreed upon. Or are they saying that we are only good for the kitchen, the sitting room and the other room?.
3) Women should push and pull ourselves. The men try to play on our psychology, when they tell us that we don’t love ourselves. And this is a myth we have accepted and lived with for too long.

4) Add value – women must add value to themselves. We should not expect respect if we don’t have anything to bring to the table except our feminity. We want to be seen and heard. The only way to achieve that is through seminars, workshops and events such as what has been organised by FIDA, Rivers State Branch.

5) concession – Should be made, having the woman on the front burner. We have heard stories such as, “this is the harmonized list”. Sadly, the men harmonize all positions to themselves, except the position of woman leader. Which I even heard a man contested for in one of the northern states.
This demands have become necessary because we are yet to have godmothers at the top where the Political godfathers meet to make these concessions for the betterment of their godsons.

As we end our discussions today, I want to remind us of what Yulia Tymoshenko, who is the first and so far the only woman to serve as prime minister in the history of Ukraine wrote. She said -“Whenever you see a successful woman, look out for three men who are going out of their way to try to block her.”
Your Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
Thanks for your attention.