An evolution is happening in northern Nigeria, and we couldn’t be happier for it. Barely two weeks ago, the city of Argungu in Kebbi state witnessed the appointment of the first female chairperson of its local government council in the person of 25-year-old Hindatu Umar. Umar’s appointment was also the first of its kind in north-western Nigeria.
On Saturday, October 1, 2016, as Nigeria marked its 56th Independence anniversary, Kogi State was welcoming its first female Chief Press Secretary, Petra Akinti Onyegbule. Onyegbule isn’t just the first female CPS in Kogi but in the entire northern Nigeria. Her appointment also makes her the second ever female CPS in Nigeria and presently the only female CPS in the country.
Prior to her new designation, Onyegbule was the senior special assistant to Governor Yahaya Bello on electronic media, a position she took over from Kingsley Fahun, the current Director-General of media and publicity, Kogi state.
It is noteworthy that Onyegbule’s appointment followed closely on the heel of the recently passed gender equality bill which provides for measures eliminating discrimination against women in both political and public sphere in terms of positions, appointments and a minimum of 35 percent positions reserved for women.
The recent appointment of women in political offices in Nigeria continues to be significant for the obvious reason that while making crucial appointments, President Buhari fell far short of the 35 percent women representation in high-ranking governmental positions, and his appointments are a distant cry from over 33 percent female representation in the former administration.
Objective 5 of the National Gender Policy states, “Adopt special measures, quotas and mechanisms for achieving minimum critical threshold of women in political offices, party organs and public life by pursuing 35 percent affirmative action in favour of women to bridge gender gaps in political representation in both elective and appointive posts at all levels by 2015.”
It’s the last quarter of 2016, and we are nowhere close to achieving this objective, but with every appointment like that of Onyegbule in Kogi state, and Miss Umar in Kebbi state, the country is slowly evolving to a level where women are not boxed in, or discriminated against based on their gender.
