Nigerian women have carried this nation on our backs for generations. We teach the children, heal the sick, run the markets, and hold families together when nothing else is holding. In politics we’ve also shown up. From the Senate to council chambers, we have proven leadership is about service, not gender. For every step taken, we say thank you.
But thank you is not enough. Nigeria 2027 cannot afford to govern with half its brainpower benched. Women are almost half of all registered voters. We fund campaigns, we mobilize wards, we guard votes till midnight. Yet after elections, our names are still too few on the winner’s list. Appreciation is good. Representation is power.
Let’s name the barrier. In many communities, religion and tradition still say politics is “for men.” That a woman should be seen, not heard. Those walls are real. But Nigerian women have climbed walls before. From queens and activists to senators and commissioners, we did not wait for permission. We walked in. 2027 must be the reset. Not another year of token wins. It must be the year a girl in Kano sees a woman on the ballot for governor. The year a trader in Onitsha votes a woman councilor. The year Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Maiduguri send more women to the House, to the Senate, and to the Executive. This is the shift.
To every Nigerian woman: start now. The noise will be loud. The money will be tight. Some will quote culture to stop you. Let them. Join a party. Run for ward. Run for Assembly. Run and let the people vote for you. Fund each other. Mentor each other. Vote for each other. This is not rebellion. This is responsibility.
The work starts in our homes and communities. Talk to your sister, your neighbor, your church group, your market association. Identify women of integrity and encourage them to contest. Become delegates. Become party executives. Become the structure. When women organize, we win.
Benedicta Christopher, christopherbenedicta02@gmail.com
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