Scorecard: Women Affairs Minister in Trouble…Group demands her scorecard

EMEKA IBEMERE

Three months after the Centenary Celebration of Nigerian women organized by the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the Ministry of Women Affairs And Social Development, Hajia Zainab Maina, has not rested.

This is because, her neglect and ignoring to invite to the event, the grassroots women has pitched her in a war with women organization; calling for her sack for falling to show her scorecard.

Annoyed by non presentation of her Ministry’s scorecard to celebrate President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in the last one year, a group has called for the sacking of head of the Ministry of Women Affairs And Social Development, Hajia Zainab Maina.

The group, All State Women Association Worldwide (ASWAON) said they are challenging the Minister to present her own scorecard the way other Ministers had presented their own for assessment by the Nigerian people.

Rising from their quarterly convention at the Group’s Secretariat at 31 Dawodu Street Oshodi, Dr. Temple Nnedum, and President General of the organization called on the Presidency to relief Maina her duties, citing non-performance as the reason why she should be sacked.

The Nigerian women said the presidency was in order when he set the pace for his lieutenants to take and that from his scorecard that Nigerians can be able to rate their president and his administration, According to them, Nigerians have evaluated the President.   

“During Nigeria’s democracy day celebration, President Goodluck Jonathan set a pace which we the Nigerian women admired. So he challenges all his Ministers to bring forth their own as well; for us Nigerians to evaluate their performances”. Nnedum stated.

She disclosed that ever since Jonathan’s scorecard, that his Ministers have followed suit but one Minister has dodged coming out with her own scorecard. The Group frowned at the Minister of Women Affairs’ attitude in presenting her own scorecard for the nation to assess her responsibilities.

Nnedum challenges the Minister for her failure to present her result since being appointed as a Minister. According to her, it showed that she has failed. “On the other hand, we are asking Mr. President to tell Hon. Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Zainab Maina to come forth with her own scorecard report for evaluation. She added.

“Our ears are itching to know what our Ministry has done for Nigerian women exclusively since she assumed office and not what the First lady has done to Nigerian women”.

 While assessing the Ministers, the ASWAON praised the Minister for Agriculture and Minister of Works & Transportation as great Ministers in their service delivery during the presentation of their scorecards.

 “All State Women Association Worldwide (ASWAON) cannot understand the fact that our own Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development has not presented any report on her activities”, Nnedum quipped, queried. “Hon. Minister Hajia Zainab Maina is there no scorecard report of your administration for us to evaluate, or are you still preparing or is it going to take forever to present such”?

The Group tasked Maina to emulate Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diazani Alison Madueke for her thoughtfulness and hard work which she has shown that Nigerian women are not push over. The Group commended President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for his immense contribution towards the involvement of women in his government, and both public and private parastatals.

“To know that women are in Nigerian Defence Academy was new to a large number of Nigerian women and this policy appears to be similar with the policy of retired General Ibrahim Babangida who during at a time in 1991, lifted up the ban on women recruitment in Nigerian Army and demanded that women should be recruited accordingly”, she said.

Daily Newswatch gathered that the trouble with the Minister and ASWAON was three months ago when the Ministry organized Centenary celebration of 100 years of Nigerian women and excluded the rural women from the event, an action which upset ASWAON.

Though a source told Daily Newswatch that the Minister had apologized to the women group in a letter she sent to the group’s secretariat in Lagos.

It will be recalled that ASWAON and Hon. Minister Hajia Zainab Maina has been at loggerheads over the concluded Nigerian women Centenary celebration organized by the honorable Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development.

The women group frowned at the wanton neglect of grassroots women in the Centenary Celebration organized by the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

According to the women organization, the choice of women in government by the Minister negates the avowed cardinal objectives and desire of the President’s wife in carrying women along in all her project.

Barrister Nnedum then alleged that Hajia Maina marginalized grassroots women in the just concluded event that supposed to include grassroots women, adding that several celebrations in Nigeria have included grassroots women and wondered why the Centenary should be all women in Government affairs. 

“All State Women Association of Nigeria Worldwide, a group that represents women all over Nigeria felt that the style the Honorable Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development used in selecting the women that were invited for the Nigerian Women Centenary celebration was wrong and unfair to rural and grassroots women and their representatives”,. She added. It wasn’t very healthy for the First Lady of Nigeria; Dame Dr. Mrs. Patience Goodluck Jonathan in her goals and objectives for women in Nigeria”.

The organization said they have decided to let the Nigerian public know the Minister’s partial selection of women group in the whole exercise and called on the First Lady to caution the Minister in her recent attempt to marginalize the grassroots women in national issues.

“As such we decided to cry out concerning the neglect of the grassroots women and their representatives in the Centenary celebration of Nigerian women programme”.

The group leader said, “Centenary celebration of Nigerian women is not only for women in government or in politics, it involves Nigerian women in its entirety”.

 “But we have observed that Honorable Minister for Women Affairs & Social Development has been working without including grassroots women in all her programmes.  The group said their interest was to make sure that grassroots women were included in every nation’s event especially the ones that involved them and anything less than that is injustice against the widows, less privileged women in the society and the poor.

“We advise that the Honorable Minister should look inwards and make the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development; a women participatory ministry and not for selected women bourgeois in government and privileged few. We are all Nigerian women not foreigners and we owe each other a duty to care for one another. Nigerian women need a caring and not neglect and intimidation. We must work together to bring that desired change for national unity, peace and love for a strong nation. The onus lies on everywoman not on selected few”, Temple Nnedum, advised.

The conference which held on Thursday, 18th of April 2013 at Eko Hotel and Suite, Lagos, was used to celebrate the milestones and achievements of Nigerian women. It also served as the avenue to produce the framework of the Nigerian Country Report on Women. One of the highlights of the event is the first lady’s remark stating that the National Assembly should pass into law legislations on affirmative action to empower the Nigerian woman with 30 per cent political participation in the leadership of the country.

The objectives of the celebrations include: to reinforce the role of women in nation-building, reiterate pre-existing calls for action in gender equality and women’s rights, display through exhibition documentaries and presentations the contributions of women in arts, sciences, corporate Nigeria, small business, leadership and development.

Others are to: salute outstanding women, provide a window in the Nigerian centenary calendar for actualizing activities dedicated to women and women activities, and advocate for legislation to support girl-child education.

The National Women Conference of the Centenary Celebration with the theme, “Celebrating 100 Years of the Nigerian Woman,” ended in Lagos with the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, calling on Nigerian women to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Government of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to further improve the lives of Nigerian women for effective national development. While recalling the accomplishments of some of Nigeria’s illustrious amazons, she maintained that the emergence of modern Nigeria has taken as much of the sweat and sacrifices of the Nigerian woman as that of the man.

According to the First Lady, the sacrifices of Nigerian women heroes imposed a duty on women to uphold the letter and spirit of the National Anthem, “which says the labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain.”

She noted that the Conference had provided a platform for robust deliberations on gender-centric issues and affirmed that the lesson to take away from the discussions; is that the Nigerian woman is sufficiently patriotic and has both the capacity and the will to make a difference in the life of the nation.

In that special conference to celebrate 100 years of Nigerian women, the Ministry of Women Affairs excluded the grassroots women and only invited women in Governance, Private and public sector. The first lady hosted influential women at the Convention Center, Eko hotel & Suites in Lagos.

The event was chaired by Justice Mariam Aloma Murktar, chief justice of Nigeria. The speakers include Prof. Funke Adebayo, Chief Mrs Toyin Olakunri, Mrs Priscilla Kuye, Prof. Aigbemi Spiff, Ms Ama Pepple, Prof. Olabisi Aina and Mrs Josephine Anenih. Other important personnel include Anyim Pius Anyim, Princess Ngozi Onu, Chief Edem Duke, Onyeka Onwenu, Hon. Nike Sobanjo and many others.

Oluchi Orlandi, Folorunsho Alakija, Rita Dominic, and Bola Shagaya, including others were present at the epoch event in Lagos. The event proper would be formally presented to President Goodluck Jonathan at the Centenary grand finale on January 1st, 2014.