Women Are Imperative To National Development In Nigeria

Stella Dorgu of the Nigerian parliament representing Bayelsa State says that women are key to national development in Nigeria., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Women Are Imperative To National Development

Written by Tunde Akinola
Nigerian Guardian

Stella Dorgu, a lawmaker representing Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency in Bayelsa State at the House of Representatives was a journalist for over a decade before proceeding to the US for further studies.

Before she left Nigeria, she was a seasoned broadcaster, who operated mainly on radio and a little bit of television. She rose to become a principal producer, features and documentary at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).

Upon her return to the country in the 90s, Stella forayed into politics shortly after the death of former head of state, late General Sani Abacha. While in the US, she had been attending series of political meetings and by the time she returned to Nigeria, it was easy for her to join the Alliance for Democracy (AD), where she emerged the party’s gubernatorial candidate for Bayelsa in 1999.

What was the connection between broadcasting and politics for her? “I felt urged to do something other than just working for me. Also, I wanted to see how much change I could bring to people in my community. I was raised up to be very conscious of where I came from, so I am always proud to tell anyone that I am an Izon woman.

“I was quite interested in addressing such issues as marginalisation and the deprivation we have experienced as a people over the years. We became even more marginalised when oil was discovered due to the degradation its exploration brought to the region. I am grateful to President Goodluck Jonathan, governor Seriake Dickson, and my mentor, the Obanema of Opume, His Royal Highness, King Amalate Johnnie Turner, and some other leaders in my community for being here today,” she said.

According to Stella, she had gone to the House with many dreams to better the lot of her people, though things are working at a rather slower rate than desired. “There is this erroneous belief by the average Nigerian that there is money somewhere, which is given to legislators to execute projects,” she said. “But when I got to the Assembly, I realised this was not so.

“I got elected in 2012 to represent Governor Seriake Dickson and there was no allocation of constituency allowance in my name. Due to bureaucratic bottleneck and red-tapism, none of the projects I want to do for my constituency has been undertaken. But before the end of the year, if the money gets released, then we can get some things done. I intend installing a garri-processing machine, and although it will be in my village, it will still serve the whole of the constituency I represent because they are the biggest farmers around.

“There will also be another grinding/processing machine at Ekeremor, but we are still waiting for that to come. That is as far as constituency projects from the Federal Government are concerned,” she said.

Despite these challenges, however, Stella said she has been engaging in other things aside the constituency projects. “Through my foundation, I have been able to award 10 scholarships every year, one of which is for a Law School student. This took off last year, and you know how expensive it is to train a ward at the Law School. I also organised a five-day free medical programme, which was quite successful and it opened my eyes to the kind of health deprivation in my area,” she said.

Due to the high level poverty in her region, Stella said her people couldn’t afford routine medical checks. “They cannot even afford a simple appendix operation and so, they cannot come from their villages to the local government headquarters to access the health facilities there. We did eye operations and treated tumours, as well as fibroid operations. We are hoping to do more next year.

“We did this in collaboration with the Nigerian physicians in America. I had their coordinator on ground to assist me get other people while we had to come up with the logistics. I am hoping that by next year, I will be able to get some partners to work together so that the personal cost will be reduced.

“We printed 5,000 booklets of past questions for members of my constituency taking the School Certificate examination and JAMB next year. We have acquired 110 computers for students in the College of education in my constituency. We equally provide the occasional assistance people always request from their representatives. We want to work with the women and we are still looking at the modalities to adopt, because we really want to empower the women. As a woman, I know that a lot of domestic responsibilities fall on the shoulders of women.”

This is an issue that is particularly dear to Stella’s heart, because in her view, Nigerian women have come a long way and need to be encouraged through proper empowerment. “Nigerian women have really contributed in no small measures to the development of the country. I believe that without women, we would not have been where we are today as a nation, although Nigerian women’s contribution has not been quantified and so, not appreciated. But check the statistics everywhere; women contribute over 70 per cent, just that our contribution is majorly in the informal sector.

“For instance, if you go to any city in Abuja, it is a woman you are likely to find sitting in one corner, as early as 4:00am ready to sell food to people. She might even have a child strapped to her back. Women hawk goods and do all manner of jobs to keep the family moving. It is unfortunate that we are still agitating or cajoling the men, who have been ruling Nigeria for so long, to create space for women to be co-rulers and managers of the country.

“It has been said many times that when women’s contributions are not factored into the mix or their contributions are not appreciated, they cannot grow nationally. Nigeria cannot achieve the expected socio-economic growth when 50 per cent of the nation’s population is disenfranchised. You cannot disregard a part of you and function properly.

“Women are co-creators, so the contributions they make and must make to national development should be countenanced, otherwise we will keep going round in circles. I just came back from South Africa, where the violence being meted out to women there was discussed, and they were talking about the role of parliamentarians. We came to the conclusion that there is no dearth of laws and regulations concerning violence against women, but the laws are just there without teeth because nobody is implementing them. So, you find the perpetration of such evil over and over at an increasing rate.

“I think it is sickening for a 70-year-old man to rape a three-year-old girl. Just like a former Lagos State governor said, for such crimes, the men involved should be taken to a psychiatric home. They should be incarcerated and never allowed to see the light of the day again. We are here crying for 30 per cent affirmation and people laugh at us because they think we are not serious. But we are very serious, as no one will give it to us on a platter. I appreciate all the women working to realise the dream of ensuring that Nigerian women’s voice is heard. They include legislators, professional bodies and non-governmental organisations among others. Until women become a part of the decision-making process, Nigeria will never get to the desired destination.”

She is optimistic though that the proposed national dialogue will address issues relating to women. “I hope when the preliminary report comes out, there will be women that are bold and willing to speak on such issues. And these won’t be just the theoreticians or elites, but women at the grassroots, who are really experiencing what it means to live, as second-class citizens. I hope such women will be allowed to make the necessary input, so that the role of women can be seen in a different light.

So, how does she combine her career and family life? “All I do is put things in their different compartments and do what I need to do. For instance, my day starts at 500am. I get ready for mass at 6am after which I go to the gym for one hour. I get home by 8am and then leave the house around 9am. The individual just has to be a better manager of his/her time. It is a juggling act that has to be balanced.

“I am a widow. I lost my husband in 1992. My children are grown and are overseas. My daughter is 40 years old while my son is 38, but I have an adopted little boy, who is going to be 13. He is in junior high school. I also have four nieces, who live fulltime with me.”

What is her advice for young girls? “They should get an education, because it is the only force, apart from the knowledge of God that can liberate. Like the Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai, who already knows what her roles are in life said, when you educate one girl, you have educated a whole nation. Young girls must go to school. The policy must be made such that a young girl is made to stay in school. There should also be a law to criminalise parents, who do not ensure that the right of their female children to education is met. Parents have to understand their roles towards their children.

“It is education that will enable a girl get to a level, where she can beat her chest that she is a self-actualised human being,” she said.

Stella’s philosophy is to put God first and seek wisdom. “It emanates from the beautiful scriptures that tasks one to seek the wisdom of God. A person should allow wisdom to permeate and pervade his/her life, allow wisdom to enable him/her seek the truth, love and enjoy the kingdom of God here on earth,” she said.

Stella started her education at Township Primary School in Warri, Delta State before proceeding to Queens College, Lagos for her secondary education. She also holds a diploma in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos and a Bachelors degree in Telecommunications Management, a Masters degree in Public Communications Studies and a doctorate degree in Mass Communications, all at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, New York, United States.

The former Director-General, National Centre for Women Development (CWD) said of her leisure: “I love being in the church. I read, sleep, dance and sing during my leisure.”

Young girls must go to school. The policy must be made such that a young girl is made to stay in school. There should also be a law to criminalise parents, who do not ensure that the right of their female children to education is met. Parents have to understand their roles towards their children.