A New Kind of Dance

HADISHabibaDanganaFoundation

NurturingOpportunitytoFruition

Amina Salihu

LESSONS LEARNT WORKING WITH WOMEN IN NORTHERN NIGERIA�Notes from the �� elections�

A New Kind ofA New Kind ofA New Kind of

Yaliam Press Ltd. 08037222209, 08054356202

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amina [email protected]

A New Kind of Dance Lessons learnt working with women in Northern Nigeria

(Notes from the 2011 elections)

Amina Salihu

For further information or permission

HADIS Foundation

House 9, A Close, 64 Crescent,

Gwarinpa II,

Abuja.

www.hadisfoundation.org

First published, 2014

© Amina Salihu

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be used without

the written permission of the owner, with the exception of brief

excerpts in magazine articles, reviews, etc.

ISBN: 978-978-509-562-3

This work is also available in Hausa Language. It can be

purchased/assessed from the above-mentioned address.

A New Kind of Dance

Lessons Learnt Working with Women in Northern Nigeria

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Dedication

To girls and women everywhere; – the unsung sheroes holding up our world.

And to our sons and men who believe in freedom for all.

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They say women dance for politicians, that is all well and good.

… and we are still dancing, this time, a new kind of dance.

We dance for ourselves – when and how we want to.

–ku zabi chanchanta1

1 Elect the best candidates who will deliver development.

Sharing during the Women review meeting on the 2011 elections in Zaria.

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Contents Dedication iii Acknowledgements vi Foreword – Iyom Josephine Anenih, mni ix

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

Chapter 2: Building a Campaign with Women 19

Chapter 3: Finding Support for Women 35

Chapter 4: Broad-Based Organising 43

Chapter 5: Perspectives from the 2011 Elections 55

Chapter 6: The Voices 63

Chapter 7: Conclusion 81

Communique 85 Afterword – Hajiya Saudatu Mahdi, MFR 92

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Acknowledgements

The very many voices as you will come to find in this monograph are testimony to the size of energy that went into its making. Even though I could not name all those women and men, I hope that the monograph has been true to their voices and aspirations. I will mention a few here:

Salihu Mohammed Lukman, my husband, ACN candidate for Kaduna North Senatorial District 2011, for his persistent courage and for the adventure of a lifetime. Our numerous friends who proved to us what true friendship means; contributing sweat, time and funds to a campaign that was more of a journey than a political venture.

Dr. Kole Shettima friend, mentor and guardian to our children who took the time to read and make very helpful comments on this monograph at a time when it was difficult to get others to do so.

Alhaji Yahaya Amfani indefatigable entrepreneur, philanthropist and grassroots icon and his team for their contributions toward making this into the book it became.

Friends, mentees and mentors who constituted themselves into a planning committee to bring this work to public light. Much gratitude to you.

Community, religious and traditional rulers; men and women who shared their time and best wishes with us generously.

Our extended family from the Salihu and Lukman clans many of whom moved mountains and stayed the

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course, especially our mothers Hajiya Habiba Salihu Yusuf and Hajiya Ramatu Mohammed Lukman, my sister Kudiratu for her love and passion.

Our children, young innocent souls, who asked questions about their country which challenged us and who made the quest to find the right answers a necessary endeavour.

Language translation is politically nuanced and therefore a weighty exercise. I appreciate Dr. Yakubu Azare and his team for the fine work of translating this monograph into the Hausa language and for the brotherhood. My gratitude also goes to our big sister in the women’s movement Hajiya Saudatu Mahdi of WRAPA for the peer review, epilogue and language context checks.

Iyom Josephine Anenih respected women leader for writing the prologue. Our leader and mother Professor Bolanle Awe for her kind, loving, mentoring through the years. To my old teacher Dr. Jibo Ibrahim for his enduring trust; Dr. Mairo Mandara and Dr. Hajo Sani.

To Yinka Odubamowo our English editorial adviser for her incredible patience, diligence and kindness.

The women from all the local governments of the Kaduna north senatorial district were and remain our inspiration. They came, they spoke and worked together. They challenged themselves to evolve a way of broadening participation and getting others to join Tsintsiya KND, the new platform.

I salute the women of Ikara, Kubau, Kudan, Lere, Makarfi, Sabon Gari, Soba and Zaria for their love for

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humanity and a recommitment to change for the sake of their children and grandchildren.

I affirm the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) for giving non-partisan support to women in Kaduna north district at a strategic point in time when small resource could be put to most effective use. I must particularly celebrate my big sister Erelu Bisi Adeleye – Fayemi and Sarah Mukasa of the AWDF.

I thank People & Passion Consult (Pe-Pa) and its Team and Board for living up to their philosophy of connecting people; a resource, which when combined with the right energies is the greatest resource we can hope to have to lead change. And the beat goes on - Insha’Allah. Amina Salihu HADIS Foundation

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Foreword

It is no longer news that women make up 50% of Nigeria and that they are participating in politics. They have been participating in politics since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999. Even before then women have been political players in our homes, society and places of work. What is new is that Women know they have to pay attention to every aspect of their lives; the economic and the social because they are all political. We can no longer choose between one and the other because they are all interrelated. So long as politics means who gets what, when and how as Harold Lasswell tells us then politics is life.

One key place of politics is the struggle for a means of livelihood. No aspect of life has become more politicised than access to economic opportunities. When resources are misappropriated basic services are eroded and women bear the brunt of meeting the gap. When hospitals do not have necessary life- saving equipment and adequate number of qualified and motivate personnel chances are that more women will die in child birth even where they attend regular antenatal clinic. The statistics are scary as the 2012 DFID report on gender in Nigeria shows:

Nigeria has one of the lowest rates of female entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of women are concentrated in casual, low-skilled, low paid informal sector employment.

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Only 7.2% of women own the land they farm, which limits their access to credit and constrains entrepreneurship and business activity

Only 15% of women have a bank account. This is a function of the banking policy, one’s financial literacy, and the amount of money you have to warrant opening a bank account in the first place

Each day 144 Nigerian women die in childbirth, which is equivalent to one death every 10 minutes.

More than two thirds of 15–19 year old girls in Northern Nigeria are unable to read a sentence compared to less than 10% in the South.

In 2011, only 7 of 109 Senators and 25 of 360 Representatives are women.

How can anyone ignore 50% of their population and hope to grow? The need for balance in our national life is no longer just a matter of gender but it is smart economics – Women must pay attention to politics. This does not mean that we must all be card carrying members of a political party as essential as that is – but first, we must become the guides and the guardians of the political process. This means knowing our political environment – which party has a better agenda, which individuals will really deliver, supporting good women and men to run for office. Using our energy, our organisations, our networks to push for the agenda we want to see.

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We cannot fold our hands and say ‘what can we do, that is Nigeria’. We are all Nigeria and we can begin to cause the change we want and need by being involved. This means paying attention to political events around us, asking questions about those who want to lead us – what is the agenda, how will they implement that agenda and how will it benefit us and our children and grand-children. I may collect the soap and the oil and the wrapper and the maggi and the rice offered during campaign but we should know that in doing so we have sold away our right to ask these questions and to hold them to account after they get into office. We will have become part of those fueling the cost of elections in Nigeria. This is not the costs of campaigning or advertising and agenda but the cost of vote buying such that when politicians get into office they embark on a quick return mission to recoup their ’investment’ i.e., the money spent in the political campaigns to buy your votes. We as women must put ourselves forward because as Amina puts it is a new kind of dance. We are no longer women who ululate and dance behind politicians, we now want more concrete things; we want to have our needs met and; we want to participate in governance as citizens of this great country of ours. This requires new kinds of dance steps. I have known Amina for two decades as a sister, friend and technical adviser. I admire her passion and diligence

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to the cause of empowering women and elevating their status in the society. She is humble, self-effacing, a silent but powerful engine that is relentlessly and effectively driving change in this country. As Minister for women affairs I had the honour of bringing to fruition the dream of so many years to create a fund for women in politics in Nigeria. Amina and I worked together on this project. One of the lessons we are learning in politics is that we must find our own money if we are to be taken seriously. The approach of encouraging women entrepreneurs to be active political actors is a sustainable one for our governance. What Amina is doing in facilitating grant and organisation building for the Tsintsiya women’s umbrella in Kaduna state is creating a movement that can galvanise resources for women’s business so they have a voice in governance in the home, the society and the state. I must not fail to acknowledge Amina’s literary contribution to the story of the Nigerian woman by her documentation of every step taken in the advancement and participation of women in the past few years. The dearth of written accounts of the work of women in the past did not help in properly measuring our progress. Amina is modeling an example that each one of us can emulate to contribute our quota in our own way. No effort is too small. I challenge us to give a heart, a head, a hand and a home (Passion, thought, action and commitment) to

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the issues concerning women, children and governance in our country. Iyom Josephine Anenih mni, Honourable Minister for Women Affairs (2009 - 2011)

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A New Kind of Dance Lessons Learnt Working with Women in Northern Nigeria

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Chapter

1 INTRODUCTION

Idan mace tana da shi Idan mace tana da shi - soyaiya ta karu Idan mace tana da shi - ka kara ma namiji ne Idan mace tana da shi - sai kayi mashi yanga Idan mace tana da shi - yace maki hajiya ko ‘madam’ – Zamzam Anguwan Alkali, Women 2011 If a woman has – If a woman has means; there will be abiding love between spouses If a woman has wealth; it is also the man who has wealth If a woman has resources; the woman can show her independence If a woman has money; even the man will call her ‘boss’

The process of writing this monograph began under the consulting and development firm, People and Passion. Pe-Pa is a social entrepreneurship; it has now been taken forward under HADIS. Hadis seeks to provide early start up opportunities for businesses and innovative ideas with the potential to uplift women and young people.


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I have been for many years, a friend, fan and facilitator for politicians; visiting them on the field and participating in their campaign trails, fund raising, strengthening their secretariats, etc. I never thought I would be involved in political campaigns full time until my spouse decided to run for office. Salihu Mohammed Lukman contested for Kaduna North Senatorial District on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Though he did not win, the experience was a rich tapestry, which left me five months after the elections still reeling from the incredible lessons it contains. The need to really understand the location of women became a passion on its own. It went beyond galvanising support for Salihu Lukman who was not a diehard or a ‘do or die’ politician like we say in Nigeria. He had been a community organiser and facilitator of change and will always play that role in the community of his birth. The campaign was, therefore, an opportunity for the participant observer to see, learn and understand more how best to organise. I have chosen to do this documentation from the stand point of what I took away from working with and meeting women on the campaign trail. Do it yourself, but no manual The second motivation for the documentation was that there was no manual or handbook or some form of literature to guide me. None which answered the questions: as a spouse of a politician, what do you need to


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know? How should you conduct yourself? What is the best way to proceed? Or as women’s rights advocate, how do you organise a campaign? Our work and trainings for women politicians over the years have, at best, addressed how to raise resources, speak in public, woo constituents and ask women politicians to share lessons from the field, but there has never been to my knowledge one which focused on the nitty-gritty of starting and sustaining a campaign. I would wager that everyone probably does it differently, yet there might be some commonalities. This narrative is an attempt to write down some experiences and to capture some of the gains and lessons that came from working closely with women in the 2011 elections in Kaduna North Senatorial District. It is my hope that the lessons will be useful for politicians, their spouses, friends of politicians and team members alike. Even though Salihu did not make it to the Senate, for me it was a win. I recall the philosophical words of one of the traditional rulers who said,

Duk wanda ya fito takara ya chi zabe Chi na daya shine ka fito asan ka, ka san jamaa Chi nabiyu shine idan Allah ya kai ka ga mikamin da kake nema.1

1 Sarkin Tsugugi, Sabon-gari Local Government, April 2011.


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Once you come out to be voted for, once you seek for an elective position, you are a winner by the very fact that you gain knowledge and visibility. Because you gain in people, the public come to know you, and you come to know the public. If you win that position which you seek then that is a second win.

Therefore, we are at that first level of winning. Lukman found the courage to contest, relatively unknown but now better known. We now have a better grasp of the dimensions of the challenges confronting someone who really wants to serve his/her people; we have a better grasp of the breadth of the expectations of the people and the needs of the people and we know we need a plan to contribute in our own little way. The Salihu Lukman Campaign was considered revolutionary. Its slogan was ‘it is possible to be different’ and different it was. Different in terms of setting a clear agenda on a fulcrum of three issues:

• Empowering women to organise and grow their

resources. • Enabling young people have options towards taking

charge of their future. • A consultative and participatory approach to policy

making.

Secondly, it truly put the people first and mapped out a strategy to consult all the social strata that could be


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defined and identified, especially the ‘invisible people’: artisans, self-employed, petty traders, mechanic, water vendors, etc. The ‘visible people’ were equally respected; gate keepers such as religious and community heads. This is however strictly a narrative of my experience and the lessons I learnt working with women. Methodology This volume attempts to capture four key things

i. What are the fundamental things to note if you want to lead or support a campaign? ii. What are the lessons of the 2011 elections? (My own

perspective as well as that of the women that I met.)

iii. If women are an important equation in politics, how do we get to organise them across differences? iv. For women, what is the link between politics and economics?

As a feminist, methodology means a lot to me. It is finding a careful balance between the interest of the researcher and the passion of the advocate, and yet it is essential to respect the rights of the subject. What right do I have to attempt to represent the voices of women or speak for them when they are very well able to do so themselves. How do I preserve the nuance and the intension of every spoken word. This may not always be possible but with a few very purposeful techniques, it can be done. Techniques such as the following were employed.


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It looks at those tensions, expectations, the nuances and quiet feelings which make women the interesting contradictions that we are – happy, sad, weak, strong, resilient, cunning, wise, gullible, content, greedy and yet principled.

First, keeping some expressions in Hausa, the original language spoken, and second, providing a translation of this monograph, which is written in the English, into Hausa language have helped to keep the women’s perspectives visible and firmly woven into the fabric of the tale. My basic knowledge of the Hausa language, way of life, and the fact that I have been married to a Hausa man for sixteen years also gave me some insights into how we could organise an accepted and respected campaign. During the campaigns, I took copious notes mostly capturing expressions, lessons, proverbs and prayers that were both regaling and revealing of the nature of women as warm, stoic, versed and at the same time naïve and trusting beings. Third, the story looks beyond the big picture back into the smaller picture of details that feed that bigger picture. It looks at those tensions, expectations, the nuances and quiet feelings which make women the interesting contradictions that we are – happy, sad, weak, strong, resilient, cunning, wise, gullible, content, greedy


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and yet principled. We are only human, like it is said in Hausa; Mutun tara ne bai cika goma ba.2 Our wholeness lies in drawing our humanity from each other. The support we give and get, and the resources we find and share make us complete. Though my participation was unexpected, I was not totally unprepared. After all, I had for the past fifteen years been organising for and with women. I therefore stuck to my niche which was mobilising women. This was the traditional role expected of me anyway so I was neither overly rocking the patriarchal nor the campaign boat, which can sometimes get crowded with a horde of well-meaning people.

What right do I have to attempt to represent the voices of women or speak for them when they are very well able to do so themselves. How do I preserve the intonation and the intension of every spoken word.

On second thoughts I did rock the patriarchal boat a little. There were some people who thought a woman from the northern part of Nigeria had no business in politics anyway, so what exactly was I doing on the field. But then the classical excuse of, “oh she was helping her husband – after all woman is man’s helper” – helped ease

2 Literarily a being is not a perfect whole, but only 9 parts; not 10 parts out of 10.


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that tension and gave me acceptability. Moreover, I had always addressed women or leaders of women; a very ordinary thing to do.

Our wholeness lies in drawing our humanity from each other. The support we give and get, and the resources we find and share make us complete.

Women of Kaduna North Kaduna North Senatorial District comprises eight (8) local governments; Ikara, Kubau, Kudan, Lere, Makarfi, Sabon Gari, Soba and Zaria. A warm, vibarant multi-variate community, Kaduna North Senatorial District, is a cosmopolitan, multi religious and multi ethnic zone with high presence of ‘settlers’ from all parts of the country. With Zaria as the headquarters, it is known for radical politics including contestations for political space by different components of the society, especially against the Zaria Emirate Council. Kaduna where the Kaduna North District can be found lies in north western Nigeria. Kaduna is one of seven (7) states viz; Jigawa, Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara. In a study on the north western Nigeria, Umar and Abdullahi3 opined that while the northwest has

3 Lydia Umar and Tanko Abdullahi (2012) North West Nigeria, in Amina Salihu (ed) The Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund: Politics, Strategy and Sustainability Blake & Harper Abuja, Dubai.


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the largest number of women in Nigeria, it has the smallest number of women aspiring for political posts. The zone has a population of 35,786,944, made up of 17,516,288 women and 18,270,656 men4, and represents 25.56% of Nigeria’s population. A number of reasons can be adduced to this which include; low level of education, patriarchal tendencies that create a system of belief which demands that women do not aspire beyond their domestic- reproductive role, violence in the political space, lack of capacity which comes from a lack of formal education, and a weak financial base. Umar and Abdullahi found that an examination of the political performance of women in the North West geo-political zone cannot be divorced from the historical background and experiences of Nigerian women; namely their experiences during the colonial and pre-independent eras. Indeed, women who ventured into politics in those days had traditional and cultural precedents to follow.5 Although Nigeria traditional societies were, and to some extent still largely are, ‘patriarchal’ and tend to exclude women from decision-making, some cultures had a history of women political leaders – from queens to powerful princesses and warriors to community mobilisers. Such women later led protests against the colonial administration. Outstanding women in the

4 The 2006 national census figures released by the National Population Commission, Abuja. 5 Yusuf, B. 2005. ‘Making a Difference in Women’s Effective Political Participation.’ Paper presented at the workshop for legislators organised by the Gender Awareness Trust in collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Union at Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria.


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history of the North West include Queen Daurama of Daura and Queen Amina of Zaria. The researchers note that the exclusion of women from decision making and the excessive taxation they endured during the colonial era led to protests organised by women, such as the 1929 Aba women’s uprising and the 1946 Abeokuta women’s protest led by Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. Other protests were organised by Lagos women between 1927 and 1941. In a twist of irony, there were no such protests in the North West zone where Queen Amina of Zazzau is famed to have done bigger things such as leading men to war. The history of democratic political participation of women in the zone can be described as recent, compared to that of western and eastern Nigeria. This is because women in northern Nigeria entered the political scene of electoral politics late. Unlike the women in southern Nigeria, where as far back as 1954 Mrs Oyinkan Abayomi established a Women’s Party and women engaged in politics through the 1950s and became enfranchised by 1954, in northern Nigeria the dominant party, the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), opposed the enfranchisement of women. Only the opposition Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) campaigned widely for the right of women to vote and be voted for. The late Hajiya Gambo Sawaba of NEPU, based in Zaria in Kaduna north senatorial district, led this campaign to get franchise for women in the North for several years. But it was not until 1979 that women in


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northern Nigeria were granted franchise. Local government reforms initiated by the military regime of Olusegun Obasanjo (Decree 198 of 1976) allowed women to vote for the first time in local government elections. Pockets of demonstrations against women’s franchise were recorded in Sokoto but eventually women in northern Nigeria were granted universal franchise in 1979, twenty-two (22) years after their southern counterparts.6 The late enfranchisement of women seems to have created a wide gap in the level of participation of northern women as against women in other zones. This is reflected in the performance of women aspirants in previous elections, including the 2011 general elections. It is, therefore, a paradox that the zone that has the highest number of women voters in the country, has consistently recorded the lowest number of women candidates in all elections. In 2011 there were 69 female aspirants to political office in the North West, as opposed to 117 in the neighbouring and relatively smaller North Central zone. However, in the 2011 general election there were 885 female candidates nationwide against 674 in 2007.7 Many

6 Ityavyar, D. and Ityavyar, N. 2002. The Political Participation of Nigerian Women, 1900–2000. University of Jos Press, Jos, Nigeria. 7 www.inecnigeria.org and Political Parties Department Register, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Headquarters, Abuja. Other sources of data put the 2007 figure at 666. See chapter on national data analysis in this volume; Yusuf, B. 2010. The role of CSOs in promoting women’s participation in elections. Paper presented at the 25th Conference of the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association (FOMWAN), NYSC Orientation Camp, Kubwa, Abuja, Nigeria, 4-8 August 2010; Umar, L. 2005. Opening remarks presented at a workshop for legislators


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of the aspirants were unable to secure a party ticket to contest and the few who did manage to scale the hurdle of party primaries had little or no chance of winning. For example, out of the five females that contested Senate seats in the zone, only one won, and out of 37 aspirants to the Federal House of Representatives, only one from Kebbi State won.8 The question to ask is what factors are responsible for the lack of success of women politicians in the North West zone? First, it is important to understand that women in Nigeria, irrespective of zone, face common obstacles and challenges to active participation in politics, particularly in contesting and winning elections. Ityavyar9 has eloquently documented the socio-cultural and economic challenges facing the participation of women in partisan politics. Fora on the evaluation of women’s political performance held by the Gender Awareness Trust10, the Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA),11 and other gender-sensitive civil society organisations to examine the factors responsible for low participation and the poor performance of women in the 1991, 2003, 2007 organised by the Gender Awareness Trust in collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Union at Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria. 8 Idonije, P.J. and Oboh, U.B. 2008. Gender Analysis of the 2007 and 2011 election data. 9 Ityavyar, D. and Ityavyar, N. 2002. The Political Participation of Nigerian Women, 1900–2000. University of Jos Press, Jos, Nigeria. 10 Gender Awareness Report. 2003. Stocktaking evaluation workshop for women aspirants from the North West zone post 2003 party primaries. 11 Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA). 2004. Nigeria 2003 Elections: The Experiences of Women Aspirants in Political Party Primaries. WRAPA, Abuja, Nigeria.


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and 2011 elections in Nigeria, have identified the following as leading factors: financial constraints, violence, socio-cultural norms, electoral malpractices in favour of male candidates, the political party ‘zoning’ system, apathy in supporting female aspirants and candidates, lack of capacity, a weak constituency base, absence of mechanisms for redress and marginalisation of women in political parties.12

...the zone that has the highest number of women voters in the country, has consistently recorded the lowest number of women candidates in all elections.

If these factors are common to Nigerian women, what then accounts for zonal variations? Women in states of the South West, South East and South-South zones seem to have made some significant improvements in aspiring to political office and winning elections at all levels, while the remaining states, particularly in the North East and North West, are way behind (Table 1.1).

12 Ibrahim Jibrin and Amina Salihu (2004) eds. Women marginalization and Politics in Nigeria, an OJIWA Global Rights and CDD Abuja


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Table 1.1a: Women elected to political office by zone, 2007. Zone Deputy

Governor Senate House of

Assembly State House

South East 2 3 7 17 South West

3 1 8 9

South-South

0 1 3 15

North Central

1 3 4 9

North East 0 1 1 2 North West

0 0 2 2

Source: Ezeilo, J.N. Women and Politics: Towards the 2011 General Elections WACOL working paper 2010, Enugu.


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Table 1.1b: Women elected to political office by zone 2011.

2011 Deputy Governor

Senate House of Assembly

State House

North Central

0 1 2 15

North East 0 1 4 4 North West

0 1 1 1

South East 0 2 6 21 South South

0 1 4 12

South West

0 11 8 15

Source: Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development databank June 2011.

Women’s political organising in the northwest, particularly in the Kaduna North Senatorial District (KND) area, played a crucial role during the anti-colonial struggles and in the post-independence period. Led by the legendary Gambo Sawaba of the Northern (later Nigeria) Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) respectively in the first and second republics, the area pioneered the participation of women in politics in Northern Nigeria. Thus women organising in the KND area covers issues including


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economic independence through building agricultural cooperatives and market associations.13 Diverse but not disparate, mutual respect exists among women of different ethnic and religious backgrounds but not one leading to close collaboration or cooperation nor joint organising , but all have mutual respect and show courtesy to each other. There is a tacit agreement that cooperation across differences is useful and beneficial especially religious differences. They live as neighbours and their children play and grow up together. They trade with each other. Different vocations exist: sewing and knitting, tiling the land, raising poultry and ruminants, farm labour such as husking rice, extracting oil from groundnuts. Other vocations are: hair plaiting, food vending, sale of provisions, snacks, drinks and textiles. This volume hopes to share some of the lessons I learnt on the 2011 Nigerian elections campaign trail. Some will make you laugh, some will leave you crying and frustrated; and others will take a while to fathom. Some of the stories and lessons are ripe for the telling, while others must wait for another day.14

13 See also Lydia Umar and Abdullahi Tanko; ‘North west Nigeria’ in Amina Salihu (ed) Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund Politics, Strategy and Sustainability. Blake and Harper (2011) Nigeria 14 Gender in Nigeria report (2012) improving the lives of girls and women in Nigeria British Council/DFID


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Diverse but not disparate, mutual respect exists among women of different ethnic and religious backgrounds but not one leading to close collaboration or cooperation nor joint organising, but all have mutual respect and show courtesy to each other.


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Chapter

2

BUILDING A CAMPAIGN WITH WOMEN The 2011 elections exposed my little knowledge about Zaria town, and how much I had forgotten since my childhood years. The nooks and crannies, the social life, the way women were organised and how they could be reached, what had changed and what remained the same since my childhood. All these I recaptured during the 2011 campaign. My parents are originally from Ilorin, Kwara State in the North Central part of Nigeria. But, I, like the rest of my siblings, was born in Zaria. I married a man from Zaria. Kaduna, therefore, is my adopted state and Kwara my state of origin. Getting started from the roots Campaigns have come to assume a quiet and more subtle form where you go talk to the gatekeepers in their own lairs and enlist their endorsement. Leave the rabble rousing and the soap box climbing to the youth – the young men that is. This means building a team that can map the environment and penetrate all the nooks and crannies where key voices speak from. Where does the team come


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from and who leads it? I talked to sisters in the women’s movement and some brothers; friends of the movement, to enlighten us on first steps; what is to be done? How does one start a campaign? Who do we meet first?

Campaigns have come to assume a quiet and more subtle form where you go talk to the gatekeepers in their own lairs and enlist their endorsement. Leave the rabble rousing and the soap box climbing to the youth – the young men that is.

I got first class advice which is; organise the family first because it is the bedrock of everything especially where you have an extended family that is well known in the community. I was reminded to reach out to women’s organisations, share with them a sincere agenda, and seek funding from donors who support women’s work and to have the courage to keep to the agenda even in the face of difficulties.

Gida shine tushen arziki The home is the root of all success.

Technically speaking, therefore, the first team I had was friends from the women’s movement. They remained a sounding board all through the campaign bringing tremendous value, contributing ideas and financial


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resources and their presence to give support to the campaign. A key lesson I learnt from these friends informed the shape of the women’s campaign. A good team must be knowledgeable. It must be able to listen rather than talk at people all the time. It must have enough love and patience to stick with you through the ups and downs of a campaign.

A good team must be knowledgeable. It must be able to listen rather than talk to people all the time. It must have enough love and patience to stick with you through the ups and downs of a campaign.

The Yoruba’s will say ‘owo funi koto eniyan’ – All the money in the world cannot be compared to people’s love and care. Our friends proved that point most effectively. To adapt this lesson, I requested one of Salihu’s (my husband’s) elder sisters Hajiya Maryam Lukman who is very respected and well-connected within and outside the family to convene a family meeting of all the women - the daughters of the house. She chaired the meeting and set the objectives. At subsequent meetings, the women selected their leaders based on representation across different branches of the extended family. They mapped-out a technique to execute a campaign that will be grounded. The meeting set the leader their terms of reference (TOR) namely to find more women, reach out to them, ensure they know their ‘brother’s’ agenda and sell


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the agenda in a ripple effect till every woman on the street gets the message. A clear identity When people begin to see you as a politician, there is a natural curiosity to know who you are and who you are affiliated with. That is meant to give a fair gauge of your character and intensions. It helps to state this upfront especially in a very closely-knitted society that makes up the Zone 1 Senatorial District of Kaduna State where everyone knows each other. Letting out one’s history helps to keep the word-of-mouth network informed with the right information. By far, the most effective means of communication is from members of one’s family. The social agents who get involved with the community role, and socialise and move in circles within homes, markets, hospitals, women’s groups and economic cooperatives are women. If your mothers, sisters, nieces and daughters speak well of you, their family members, friends, neighbours and associates will do the same. They altogether serve as the human network that communicates to the world who you are. They equally serve as the feedback loop for you. Each campaign must have its core of campaigners and facilitators, who should be trusted persons that know the terrain, well resourced, and able to deliver. These groups – family and core-team – will help you find the women and give a visual map of how they are organised: who is important to know, important to avoid, who has formidable networks, etc. Size is not the issue but quality,


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commitment and networks. Although as the campaign progresses, there will be a need to step down this resource

If your mothers, sisters, nieces and daughters speak well of you, their family members, friends, neighbours and associates will do the same. They altogether serve as the human network that communicates to the world who you are. They equally serve as the feedback loop for you.

to find smaller teams that can reach out to the farthest corner.

When people begin to see you as a politician, there is a natural curiosity to know who you are and who you are affiliated with.

Health warning! Rather than rely on the categorisation by others, of who is the enemy or a friend. Try to draw your own conclusions. One must muster the strength to sift through vested interests and poor judgment or old grudges which may be used to exclude others. It is best to find the means to see everyone, if you can, and measure their opinions during interactive sessions. You may find out the hard way, who is working with or against you. You may only truly know


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this after the outcome of the elections is known but either ways, one key lesson you take away is that things may not be what they seem. However every lesson, bitter or sweet, has its value. Protocols Even if unlike me you have firm roots in Zaria and beyond, protocol still demands that you go in a team. The team will present the issue and introduce you. It is hardly dignified to say who one is and also state one’s mission. Sometimes you lead and at other times, you let them lead. This depends on the place, the energy level and the nature of the audience. Other times too, the group must split because everyone cannot go to the same place together all the time. This is because of time constraint. Unless it is an informal meeting, there should be at least two people visiting a would-be supporter on a campaign.

Dress is part of protocol. I found that my use of the veil was not ‘Islamic’ enough. While I was perfecting how to fix my veil so it stayed in place, the Muslim Community in Kaduna North had graduated to the use of the hijab which is an outer layer of clothing worn rather than a veil which is merely wrapped around the outer clothing. One of the wives of the senior cousins in the family advised me to wear abayas instead – the usually black severe but elegant long gowns mostly worn by Muslim women from the Middle East. After I got used to the heat around my ears from the tightly drawn scarf, I began to see the merit of it – my hands were more free, the gowns were lose and comfortable and had colourful designs to break the


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dullness of black. I equally met the Islamic cum elite code of dress. With the abaya, I was not dressed in a way significantly incompatible with my usual form of dress; that would have been hypocritical especially if after the campaigns I went back to my usual way of using the veil as a body wrap. I began to wear the hijab of my own volition especially when we were going to Islamic schools. I did not want to stick out or disrespect our hosts. I fell in love with the abaya and stayed with it even after the campaigns.

The language of communication Language is an integral part of protocol. Saying salaams at the right moment before entering a compound or addressing a group or a community in a way they expect is a sign of respect for their belief and regard for their space. This is especially true in the Muslim households, even in Christianity, salaam is an accepted mode of introducing one’s presence. After all, the salaam is a greeting which means peace be onto you. My Hausa is what you would call average. I struggled with the complex words and sentences. One of the first things I had to learn was how to horn my language skills. My special thanks goes to my sisters-in-law, for being my dictionary and prompter. I realised that even if I was Hausa, I would still have to mind my language. Every occasion has its phrases and social forms. As an Elite who had no problem speaking English, I discovered that speaking the English language is not an asset in the communities. Interestingly, what is an asset is


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the knowledge that you do speak that foreign language. This confers on you respectability, as someone of means who has resources and knowledge that can be of benefit to the people.

Language is an integral part of protocol. Saying salaams at the right moment before entering a compound or addressing a group or a community in a way they expect is a sign of respect for their belief and regard for their space. This is especially true in the Muslim households, even in Christianity, salaam is an accepted mode of introducing one’s presence.

The key lesson is to set aside the book knowledge and make it known to them that the years of school and degrees (which should be made known to your constituencies), will be used to intercede on their behalf and to bring change. This way you show an ability to integrate tradition with modernity and in fact open pathways for more girls whose parents may now want to send to school because they want them to be like you. Learning through women The best way to learn from simple, honest, hard-working women is by listening to them even if they may not be learned in the modern ways which includes speaking the


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Queen’s English or any form of English for that matter. The women we met were full of knowledge, learning about their culture, religion and basic common sense. They knew the ways of their society and were clear about their needs and what needed to be done. Women weave their reality into words. You find their hearts in their songs, proverbs, prayers and prose. You will find a lot of voices of women and men talking about women woven into the tapestry of this lesson sharing. Women talked and shared through laughter, stories, lessons, and recounting of frustrations and fears - a mother’s aspiration, a widow’s fears, a young girl’s despair at finding no income-earning work to do, fear that she may settle for marrying the wrong man just to please the society, the gnawing pain as a result of the loss of a loved one, a community leader’s concern about the plight of their followers and co–residents, etc. Another way to learn from women, therefore, is to live and work with them and see the way they relate to each other, respond to their environment and reciprocate solidarity. A third way to learn from women is to ask them what they want. There is a clear sense of what is needed. You hear it in the expression, da so samu ne – if wishes were horses... In the communities of Kaduna North Senatorial District, the absence of basic needs has helped fuel a collective indignation that was channeled towards a desire for positive change in the 2011 elections. In some homes the situation is so dire that even vital needs are ranged in


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order of priority. So, food needs not be balanced diet just something edible to keep body and soul together. Water need not be entirely potable but just clear enough so you cannot see the impurities. This lowering of standards is a survival strategy to keep from having to grapple with the reality of constant want and the effect it can have on the mental wellbeing of a people. The danger though is that it creates euphemisms that mask the real dire situation of things; when things are no longer called by their true names because they are frightening and cannot be dealt with; when impure water becomes ‘pure water’.

Women weave their reality into words. You find their hearts in their songs, proverbs, prayers, and prose.

Education was presented by all women as a very strategic need and not a want; there is subtle rebuking of cultural practices that ignore the education of children while prioritising spending on things that do not really count like a lavish wedding trousseau or ceremony.

Aki tallafa ma yaro yayi karatu, aman, da zaran ance ‘aure’ sai ka ga an hada ma yaro turaman atamfa. Wanan shine cin gaba?15

One must listen to, live, and sit with women to really hear their voices. 15 They will refuse to provide scholarship for a child to go to school. But the moment they hear marriage suddenly they pull together resources (Wrappers etc). Is that progress?


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Prayers as a shield and satire - Muna bara da aduan manya – we seek the blessings of the elders.

Women are prayer warriors. They often pray over un-listened-to frustrations, for a wish, their joys and laughter. Every good wish can be expressed as a prayer to Allah. Allah is the word for God in Hausa whether in the Christian or Islamic faith. There is belief in a true and just Deity, which is common practice in virtually all Nigerian communities that I know. The Northern community regardless of language or religion is no exception. Prayers sooth frayed nerves, they convey hope and goodwill and even sarcasm sometimes. They equally send a message of solidarity and dire warning to enemies. Prayers are the words with which women cloak themselves in love and safety.

During the campaign conversations, calling for someone to lead the prayers is a sign that the meeting is being called to order. Virtually everyone pays attention. If you make a special request for prayers, you are taken seriously and respected because nothing can be accomplished without the blessings of God Almighty and you must make a wish first through prayers.

We heard prayers of this nature everywhere we went:

Allah kara sauki Allah shi mana rangwame Allah shi tabatar da alheri Allah shi kada fitina


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Allah shi raya mana zuriyar mu Allah ya raba ku da makiya na tsarari da boye Masoyinmu, Allah ya shigo mana da su Allah ya shiriye mu, ya raya mana zuriya Allah fishe mu kunyan juna Shairin da ke ciki Allah shi kau mana dashi Alheri da ke ciki Allah ki kawo mana shi Allah ya wuce mana gaba Ya bamu rinjaye Allah ya saka da alheri Allah ya taimakeku, ya biya maku dukan bukatunku na duniya da lahira Allah ya kareku daga sharrin makiya Allah ya kara daukakar darajan ku albarkacin Anabi (SAW)16 Yet the energy was lacking to move and address what needs to be done. There was a sense of waiting, waiting for the messiah to save us all. Still the women surprised us in other ways, showing incredible agency in matters of marital rights. An average woman from the north does not feel stigmatised by divorce. She will stay in the marriage so long as the terms of the contract are not violated except she does so out of choice. Compare that to other parts of the country with more western educated people, where women are treated as pariahs because they choose to leave an abusive or unsatisfactory marriage.

16 Essentially supplication for God’s protection, blessings on oneself, friends and family and invocation of Allah’s wrath upon one’s enemies.


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Give to women what belongs to women There is a tendency to ghettoise resources for women’s needs; keeping only a small bit of resources for them or adding their needs to the equation after all else is taken care of i.e. now we have a plan, can we bring in a few women here and there to help speak with the women or to ‘remind us about what we may have forgotten about women’. This is not fair. First, women’s participation should be mainstreamed into any process. During the campaign, we did that through:

An average woman from the north does not feel stigmatised by divorce. She will stay in the marriage so long as the terms of the contract are not violated except she does so out of choice.

· involving committed women and men who are

knowledgeable about the needs of women; · building a team that shows true participation of

women in the campaign decisions; · committing resources to working with women; · setting aside time for women’s interests on the

agenda; and · ensuring there was someone who evaluates how well the team is doing in working with women. This is best done when the head of the campaign i.e. the aspirant or candidate herself has a firm understanding and keen interest in women’s rights issues. Secondly, there must be a deliberate strategy for working with women beside the main campaign plan.


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This includes a separate communication loop where women can speak with trusted women outside the ‘main campaign team’, which is invariably male-led and dominated. The women’s campaign should be segregated but connected to the broader campaign. It is important to have that connection for reasons of synergy. Evidence of interconnectedness can be seen when:

· resources meant for women go directly into women’s hands for work they lead on which forms part of a total agenda;

· the campaign works with different streams of women leaders not just the formal ones, to increase points of contact and opportunity for leadership. This also provides an alternative source of evidence and information in addition to that from the established formal leaderships such as the party women leaders. 17

While the party women system can be useful, it was not adequate to reach the majority of women during the campaign. This may be a function of the nature of the political party. Salihu ran on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) a lesser known party with emerging structure in Kaduna State, which meant its women’s platform was also not very established. I will however still advise that even with established parties, it is preferable to reach women through the party structures

17 We got phone calls from some members complaining about their ‘leaders’ who had not given them resources meant for them. This was never verified of course.


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and other different avenues. This system does not eliminate frictions, conflict and miscommunication, which I guess occur in every large scale operation, but it certainly minimises them.

Making money count Without doubt, money matters in politics. This is not bags of money to bribe the electorate or buy goodwill for endorsement. But it is the practical day-to-day logistics, transportation, office accommodation, campaigns advert costs, etc. A politician needs money to ‘demonstrate goodwill’. People come to you with genuine need, which should ideally not come to you if government worked and they had a steady income; leaking house roofs, school roofs, broken water pipes and bore holes, sick family members request, etc come to politicians. Anybody who will venture into politics should have atleast a small sum set aside to run the campaign. An investment plan which would have grown over the years is an indispensable Practical Plan. This investment plan may or may not be cash or property but also friends and a network of allies who can contribute to your campaign. Salihu Lukman did not have any substantial sum of money when he emerged to run. All he had was an agenda, a leap of faith, good intensions and the goodwill of faithful allies. Where you have invested in people and the community, a politician will not need to steal votes to win or be appreciated by the people. The people will themselves stand up to protect the vote. So yet again it comes down to quality people.


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The Lukman strategy was not to throw money at people but to give strategic support; capital, for business, repair of community infrastructure, succour in times of distress, scholarships and support to women’s cooperatives, etc. Those kinds of fishing net as opposed to giving the people fish interventions. That way the little money goes a long way. Even if you do not win public office, you would have won hearts because you have sown seeds of hope by genuinely helping someone make something of their lives.


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Chapter

3

FINDING SUPPORT FOR WOMEN

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) and Pe-Pa Partnership Example

I, People and Passion Consult, wrote a proposal after the first three months of our stint on the field when the enormity of the challenge of organising women hit us. The proposal was meant to establish a bond of solidarity among women of diverse backgrounds: language, ethnicity, religion, age, vocation and political party but who share some things in common – they live in Kaduna North, they are affected by the dearth of infrastructure and poor governance and they have an aspiration to see their children, grandchildren, themselves and their communities get better services. The purpose of the grant was to advance women’s equal participation with men as decision-makers through enhancing their social and economic capacity. People and Passion (Pe–Pa) put in a matching grant to increase resources from AWDF. I was very glad of the support of AWDF, and that of Pe-Pa. This gave us a window into the lives of women and an opportunity to help them better organise, and to access


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resources that strengthen their capacity as women, mothers and political players.

Working with women During the 2011 elections, we met a diverse category of women; strong, organised, focused, fledgling in strength, young, old, Muslim, Christian, community organisers, members of new cooperatives, Islamic teachers, members of political parties, followers of political parties, members of ethnic social forums, etc. Some were genuinely passionate about change, while others just wanted a ‘cash and carry’ support. The latter were women who wanted to convince you at all costs that they believed in your vision but then they wanted money here and now to ‘organise more women’ or ‘rent an office for campaign’ or ‘do door-to-door campaign’ but without a tangible plan in place or an answer to the question: “If you believe in my vision where then is your contribution to that vision?” We knew there were women who legitimately wanted the progress of other women and were ready to work for that progress. We knew there were women who already worked very hard in that direction. Our task therefore was to sift, find them and help enhance the capacity they already had.

If we say that women are an important equation in politics, how do we get women to organise across differences?


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Finding the women - Mata sai mata1 Family and friends who had firm networks in all the eight local governments of Ikara, Kubau, Kudan, Lere, Makarfi, Sabon Gari, Soba and Zaria led the way. They were our strategy team that set up appointments with various women’s groups to whom we explained our mission of encouraging women to vote for better candidates and to participate in all aspect of the 2011 elections beginning with the registration exercise. We exchanged contact details and built a database of the women we met on the campaign trail. We kept a careful record of their occupational group, size of membership, achievement and challenges and contact details. We assured them we will come back after the elections to find a way to address, together with them, the many challenges they enumerated. We ensured they knew our family homes in Zaria city and Sabon Gari in order to build trust. It is said that a person does not sell rotten melon in their neighbourhood for fear the stink will get home. Recurring needs which the women expressed include:

· Need for capital to grow their business. · Jobs for the children after completion of schooling. · Access to educational sponsorship. · Access to potable drinking water. · Health services that have good personnel and

medication. · Housing for Islamic schools. 1 It takes women to find women


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Economics and politics must go together Each time we talked with the women, we emphasised the importance of politics and economics. Our meeting with them during the 2011 election campaigns and the purpose of our meeting was to galvanise women for both economic empowerment and political participation. The probability was, therefore, high that the women we spoke with already had some political interest and awareness. This can be attested to in the section of this volume where the women shared their experiences and lessons on the 2011 elections. To further prove our commitment, we organised two key events on January 15 and March 8, 2011. The January event was a health talk where a female doctor spoke about issues of women’s mental and physical health – again this was spiced with a touch of politics. Women, it was said, will have need to worry less about their life’s situation if they had caring elected officers who ensured that the basic needs of life are met. The event also included distribution of work tool to women groups that have demonstrated political awareness. It did not matter which political platform you belonged to. We identified them using the following set of criteria that: · membership had voter registration cards; · some were card carrying members of political parties; · we were referred to them by people in their

community as leaders of women who mobilise for change; and

· they were aware of the political dynamics of their immediate environment especially women’s rights.


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An awakening On March 8th 2011, we launched the crusade on linking politics with economics. We organised an International Women’s Day event in Ikara Local Government, the first of its kind. The community women had never heard of a day specially set aside to celebrate women. We were humbled and sad. When Baaba, an old woman, said to us in (Hausa) with an attitude which belied a new awakening, Ashe kuwa mata nada daraja har a bamu tamu ranar?18 We were elated that we had shared this knowledge but equally weighed down by the gravity of the work we needed to do to meet new expectations. From Baaba’s voice, we knew things would change. An increased self-worth, an affirmation of something she has always known – women are indispensible – but to hear that the big worldwide agency many miles away in the world recognised her as a woman was an immense discovery. This was evidenced in the way she looked at the young men around her as if saying- young men, beware of the new Baaba.

Each time we talked with the women, we emphasised the importance of politics and economics, it didn’t matter which political party she belongs to.

Everything begins with self-awareness – the search for economic independence, the right to aspire, to lead, to

18 You mean to say the importance of women is so acknowledged that the world set aside a day to celebrate women, really?


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raise children; all are political choices: The state has a role to play in ensuring women’s empowerment. That awareness was captured in the simple yet profound saying:

Mata masu juriya! Da bazan mu ake rawa19 We learnt from Ikara that our methodology of linking politics and economics was the right one. Feminist have always known that the personal is political.

Women’s cooperatives - Kaga mai son ka a duniya shine alheri20 We focused on women’s cooperatives. These are socio economic groups which usually comprised of women involved in similar vocation and with similar class and geopolitical affinity. Cooperatives were vehicles that already existed, formed and tested by the women themselves as a way of working together. It showed a willingness to organise in order to take advantage of opportunities within their environment. The cooperatives were a manageable size of 10 – 30 women. They were economic vehicles for seeking loans, grants and other forms of financial contributions to help

19 Oh enduring long suffering women, the world can dance because we hold things together. 20 To find someone who loves you on this earth, therein lies goodness and kindness. Hajiya Ainau campaign trail 2011.


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each other. Working with the cooperatives meant that we would not be reinventing the wheel or forcing women to work with strange persons but will be enabling women use existing structures to better organise themselves. Our database captured over 300 women’s cooperatives across the eight KND local governments as at 2011. They have been organising, supporting one another since the 1990s. These women appreciate love, respect and solidarity. They are there for each other through thick and thin. This certainly applies in the community. This means the assertion that women are women’s worst enemy is a falsehood. First of all, religious and social rules make it mandatory for a woman to seek friends from amongst women. Secondly, you find empathy from a kindred soul – one who shares the same joys and travails as oneself. Therefore, at weddings, naming ceremonies, during child birth, illnesses; those defining moments in a woman’s life, a woman would hold on to a woman. That woman could be a mother, sister, daughter, aunt, cousin, friend or neighbour. Women, therefore, have self-help groups in the form of vocational cooperatives, social associations and other forms of societies. Such groups may equally comprise of male and female membership. That solidarity has been recognised and explored by government and non-governmental agencies wanting to help women. Where there appears to be friction is in resource competition principally because women are always left competing for small crumbs and because socialisation makes some women think that women should not have certain aspirations such as political participation or


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entrepreneurship. This means there is harmony on the biological role of women but discord on issues of social roles. Society however is changing and we must change with it. Women are now Presidents in many countries in Africa and beyond, they lead big companies and it does not make them less of a good wife, mother, partner or friend. What we need to do is broaden our minds and give our daughters and sons the chance to achieve more than we have and to respect each other as equal creatures of the Almighty.

This means the assertion that women are women’s worst enemy is a falsehood. First of all, religious and social rules make it mandatory for a woman to seek friends from amongst women. Secondly, you find empathy from a kindred soul – one who shares the same joys and travails as oneself. Therefore, at weddings, naming ceremonies, during child birth, illnesses; those defining moments in a woman’s life, a woman would hold on to a woman.


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Chapter

4

BROAD BASED ORGANISING TSINTSIYA KND – Kungiya Abune mai mahimanci Muhada kanmu mu zama guda Mu hadu muzama tsintsiya madaurinki daya21 Coming together again A key lesson on the trail was that even though each local government had cooperatives, cooperation across women from all the eight (8) local governments did not exist. Yet to make the most political impact, effective organisation across geopolitical and other differences is an imperative. This is the background to the emergence of Tsintsiya Kaduna North District (Tsintsiya KND). We encouraged women to form an umbrella body that connected women across the eight local governments of Kaduna North Senatorial District. Each time we met with women’s cooperatives, first we let them see this lesson and the values of organising. We then pledged our support as People and Passion to enable them design a platform

21 Cooperatives are a thing of immense value. Let’s unite like the broom that has just one band in solidarity-Saminaka, Lere Local Government - April 2011.


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provided they will lead it and manage the resources themselves. At the first meeting the women named the platform Tsintsiya. Tsintsiya is the Hausa name for broom. It has a symbolism of its own. A broom is a common and affordable tool therefore accessible to everyone. It is needed by all whether rich or poor because all must sweep their homes and surroundings. The broom comes in different shapes and sizes, hard, soft, designed or plain so that everyone can make their choice. The broom features prominently in Hausa folklore as a symbol of unity: Tsintsiya ma daurin ki daya (the broom: many broomsticks with only one band). Together we can achieve more because broomsticks are only effective when tied together by a string into a bunch. Even though one could break a broom stick with a few fingers, no one could break a bunch of broom with bare hands. At a time when the community was clamouring for change, the women chose the name ‘broom of Kaduna north district’ because they needed a tool to sweep away poverty and to usher in prosperity. The first decisive meeting towards the formation of Tsintsiya KND was held in September 2011 at Alhudahuda College, one of the first schools in northern Nigeria. It had the objectives to:

a. share experiences on the lessons that women learnt

from the 2011 elections; b. establish the connections between politics and

economic development;


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c. move forward our conversations towards establishing a more formal platform for working together as women cooperatives from the eight local governments of Kaduna North;

d. establish ground rules for enjoying loan and grant facilities.

The forum was designed to relate with women we had met on the field and whose data we collected during the 2011 elections. The following set of criteria was applied in selecting participants to the inaugural meeting:

· A known and existing women’s group. · Demonstrated affinity for political participation

through known ‘herstory’. · Geographical spread across the eight local

governments. · Careful attention to other diversities e.g. different

ethnic, religious, age, and occupational groups and political party.

Five cooperative groups from each local government, each with three representatives (commonly the president, secretary and treasurer), came together within the ancient walls of Zaria city. The exceptions were Zaria and Sabon Gari which were represented by eight cooperatives because of their high population and number of wards


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compared with the other six local governments.22 This gave an average of forty-six (36) groups with one hundred and thirty-eight (138) participants.

The broom features prominently in Hausa folklore as a symbol of unity: Tsintsiya ma daurin ki daya (the broom: many broomsticks with only one band). Together we can achieve more because broomsticks are only effective when tied together by a string into a bunch.

The letter of invitation had informed women about the intension of Pe-Pa to give a grant to their organisation. This will be used as a revolving loan with the support of AWDF. We also requested the women to come prepared with lessons from the 2011 elections. The letter of invitation specifically stated thus:

a. Come with details of your cooperative’s name,

account number and bank name. b. Evidence of cooperative registration. c. Evidence of past loan or grant received. d. Means of identification e.g. National ID card or

bank paper. e. Write out in Hausa or English, your interesting

lesson from the 2011 elections showing the strength of women.

f. Your original letter of invitation is important! 22 Zaria and Sabon Gari have thirteen and eleven wards respectively, each with very large population.


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g. Maximum participants from each cooperative are three persons and a minimum two.

Following our creed of balancing the economic with politics, a resource person, Mallama Murja, was invited to share skills on growing women’s income through animal rearing and food processing. 23 Agreeing on our values, deciding our leaders The Alhudahuda meeting was held between the hours of 9 am and 6 pm during which women interacted around the economic skills shared and worked in focus groups to address the various questions. Political lessons, rules of engagement and code of ethics were extracted and developed by the women themselves. The issues were identified and debated in Hausa and English with the required interpretation, in an atmosphere of collegiality. Six groups were formed through random selection of numbers 1-6. Two groups each grappled with the same set of questions, and one question was common to each group: What kind of political project can we start e.g. supporting a woman to run for councilor?

23 The presentation will be reviewed for publication in Hausa and English as a resource for women.


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There were three sets of group questions as follows: 1. Reflections on the 2011 elections – what did we

learn? a. General impression of the 2011 elections. b. How did women perform as voters? c. What can we do to help more women participate? d. Why violence and how did it affect women? e. Share two experiences that demonstrate your

lesson of the elections. f. What kind of political project can we start e.g.

supporting a woman to run for councilor? Political lessons, rules of engagement and code of

ethics were extracted and developed by the women themselves.

2. Code of ethics for a Kaduna North Women’s Forum

– our constitution a. Why do we need to come together? b. What name shall we call ourselves? c. What should be our method of operation e.g.

meetings, issues we talk about? d. Where will our support come from? e. Who will be our leaders? f. Who will be members? g. List some basic guiding rules. h. What kind of political project can we start e.g.

supporting a woman to run for councilor? 3


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3. Rules for loan facility - how do we pay back loan and revolve it?

a. Who should benefit? b. How much (min–max)? c. How do we make it go round? d. What should be the guiding rules? e. What reward if paid back? f. What penalties if defaulted? g. What kind of political project can we start e.g.

supporting a woman to run for councilor?

Each group elected a leader who coordinated the conversation and a secretary for feedback. Both chair and secretary stood together to make their presentation. After the presentation of each group, discussions and debates ensued. Everyone remained in their groups after the group work, as the feedback to plenary and consensus points were developed. The consensus Following a general debate in plenary, the following emerged as consensus: Reflections on the 2011 elections There are lessons from the 2011 elections: that women must stand together, work together and seek to build their economic base. There were some wins in the 2011 election and some pains too. This theme is further explored in the section of the volume on lessons from the 2011 elections.


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Principles and Participation a. It was agreed that an umbrella body will help

expand the influence of women in Kaduna North district.

b. The name Tsintsiya madaurinki daya Kaduna north district (Tsintsiya KND) was adopted.

c. It shall be registered with the office of the Kaduna State government on registration of cooperatives. The relationship between KND and Pe-Pa shall be one of mentee and its mentor. Pe-Pa shall continue to raise funds and help with other resources, which shall be given as grant to Tsintsiya. More funds shall be raised as the umbrella body shows commitment to utilising the resources effectively.

d. Pe-Pa shall open a bank account strictly for this purpose.

e. Regular meetings shall be called at intervals. f. Increase data base of women cooperatives. g. Membership shall be by cooperatives only. h. Each member shall pay an annual registration fee

to be determined by leaders. i. Maximum credit receivable in the early phase is

#100, 000 and minimum #50,000. j. Each grantee must have a guarantor. k. Each beneficiary shall open an account with a bank

that offers electronic banking. This is to allow for ease of credit transfer.

l. Members will support each other. m. Those who collect resources are duty bound to pay

or they will be expelled and prosecuted.


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n. Those who display integrity by paying up in record time should be rewarded and enjoy a bonus and another loan from the umbrella body Tsintsiya KND.

o. Only those who show a good credit history or demonstrate ability and sincerity to pay back will be considered for credit.

p. Each beneficiary shall be twined with another cooperative which will be the next beneficiary once the first cooperative has repaid its loan.

Between September and November, the women leaders met thrice24 and further streamlined the rules for Tsintsiya KND as follows:

a. Each grant/loan beneficiary member shall pay to the association, a sum of #1000 if obtaining #50, 000 credit or #2000 if obtaining credit of #100, 000 value. This being administrative support fee.

b. Those who do not have a loan history but can

demonstrate ability and sincerity to pay back will be considered.

c. Tsintsiya KND shall move beyond the present core

of women who formed the pioneer members and organise awareness and membership raising events

24 First meeting was immediately after the general meeting at Alhudahuda and then twice in Zaria city; (where was the first meeting before twice in Zaria city ) a meeting to plan grant administrative matters (is this the second meeting) and the third being post grant meeting.


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across all eight local governments within the shortest time possible.

Getting more women into politics Each of the groups agreed that women could and should identify women who are already leaders in their communities and can be encouraged to vie for political leadership. Some were of the opinion that women could only do this when they had economic resources, and this should be addressed first. The forum concluded that there are many strategic ways of women getting involved in politics, and these include:

a. joining political parties; b. emerging in the leadership of such parties and

taking key decisions that can transform the lives of women;

c. finding women who are loved and respected in the community and mobilising a support for them;

d. working at the local government level where women have already built networks and are enjoying goodwill. Working at this level will not require huge financial capital; and

e. continuing support to one’s community at all times. Nominating the leaders Thereafter, each focal group was asked to nominate two leaders who must be from different local governments to represent their group. The idea was to ensure that respect for diversity is internalised. Groups took their time


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discussing and negotiating on who to nominate. This eye on diversity meant that groups that were first to come up with their nominees may affect the local government of other leaders from the yet-to-decide groups. For example, if a leader from Soba has come up in an early nomination, a lagging group may not nominate someone from Soba until the equation shows a balance of leaders from across all the eight local governments. Of course large local governments such as Zaria and Sabon Gari invariably got at least two leaders. The following women emerged as leaders

S/no Name Position Local Govt 1. Murja Danjuma Chairperson Zaria 2. Aisha Bello Secretary Sabon Gari 3. Nafisa Hamza Member Ikara 4. Goshi Soni Member Kubau 5. Karimatu Nuhu Member Kudan 6. Ruth Isah Member Lere 7. Saadiya bala Member Makarfi 8. Aishatu Mustapha Member Sabon Gari 9. Monica Alokwe Member Sabon Gari 10. Rakiya Ibrahim Soba Member Soba 11. Suwaiba Mohammed Member Soba 12. Taibatu Sani Member Zaria 13. Umma Abubakar Member Zaria 14. Aisha Yarbaba Aminu25 Member Zaria

25 Later joined the leadership in her role as the person in charge of cooperative registration.


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Pe- Pa’s role Pe-Pa (People & Passion Consult) is a social entrepreneurship organisation. It aims to give voice to and connect communities to governance by bringing government and non-government actors together in an atmosphere that helps minimise conflict and negative competitiveness. People and Passion’s purpose is social transformation through institutions of governance that are driven by democratic organising and knowledge at all levels of society. People and Passion seized a political moment during the 2011 elections, to find and connect women in the communities across Kaduna North Senatorial District. It designed a project that gave an opportunity to help build women’s self-esteem, to lead and hold their leaders to account. A grant of #1, 000,000 was provided as revolving loan and for administrative purposes. Work tools such as tailoring, knitting, mats and bead making wares were also distributed. The first batch of credit was given under the umbrella body of Tsintsiya KND and not one kobo of what is repaid will be given back to Pe–Pa but it shall be kept in a dedicated account for as many women as possible to benefit.


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Chapter

5

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE 2011 ELECTIONS As part of the preparations for participating in the women’s meeting out of which emerged the umbrella body Tsintsiya, all cooperatives were asked to document their experience of the 2011 elections; some did in writing while some gave oral accounts.26 This section reproduces, with some translation into the English language, the accounts of some of the women’s cooperatives. All celebrate women’s agency in the 2011 elections. The stories show passion and collective indignation at the violence and pains women experience. Women believed that if women came out en–mass, they can change the face of politics. Therefore, majority of women were determined to see that their number translated into voting the best or most suitable candidate or a ‘chanchanta’. Women were excited at the potential that women’s active participation in politics could mean better condition of living and increased number of women in public life. Some called exactly for that – women supporting each other to emerge into positions of leadership. From some of the narratives, we glean that some women leaders feel the

26 This singular task was a criterion which was applied in determining those who received loans in the first batch.


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quality of participation of women may not be commensurate to the number that turned out to vote. This is because some did not know how or who to vote for while, some women aspirants were muscled out of the electoral process. Some voted for political parties only to realise afterwards that the candidates were not a ‘chanchanta’; others voted because they were given trivial gifts like soap or sugar. Yet some said, we will vote for only the right candidates; Chanchanta ake bi ba wani jamiiya ba.27 Making sense of it all: three key lessons There were two interesting variables that shaped the nature of politics in Kaduna in 2011. They are poverty and idolisation. Lesson I Poverty We came face to face with debilitating poverty in the peri urban and rural areas. Economic poverty, where women had little hope of any income, and eat from hand to mouth; poverty of expectations where women and men have political apathy. They do not have hope that any elected person will change their situation because they have heard too many promises that were never redeemed; poverty of knowledge where women and some men were not aware that there was a political calendar or elections

27 Dutsen Abba Zaria Local Government campaign trail 2011.


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coming up. They did not know the political parties that existed and who their candidates were or that they had a right to choose. But they knew elections meant resources and so they asked us ‘so what have you brought for us’. Some could not afford ten naira to buy soap or salt. So, anyone who met that need at that point in time is the good candidate who should be voted for. As a woman put it while trying to rationalise the logic of women collecting token soap, sugar and rice to vote for candidates:

Wani ya zo ya baka naira dari , ranan da baka da naira biyar, har abada bazaka taba manta wa da shi ba.28

At the same time, there were those especially from the Christian community who said to us, with or without any campaign ‘gifts’ our interest is to vote for positive change.

We came face to face with debilitating poverty in the peri urban and rural areas. Economic poverty, where women had little hope of any income, and eat from hand to mouth; poverty of expectations where women and men have political apathy. They do not have hope that any elected person will change their situation because they have heard too many promises that were never redeemed

28 “Imagine someone giving you #100 on a day when you don’t have #5 and are most in need, you would never forget the kindness.” A woman visiting from Jaba Local Government, campaign trail 2011 explaining how in a bid to reward a kind act, citizens may end up voting for the wrong candidate who uses small money to capture the people.


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Koda kaya ko ba kaya muna yi ne domin muna neman chanji.

- Aunty Dorcas, Kufena ward

Babu ruwan mu da naira sai yanci. – campaign trail 201129

Lesson II Reverence and symbolism There was the mistaken notion that anyone who was with a good and much loved leader would automatically be a good person too. Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) was a popular party because it symbolised change for many. It was also the party of a good man the respected Gen Muhammadu Buhari. Anyone not on Buhari’s platform was seen as being heretical. Many adored Buhari. We saw old women come to the polling booth and say ‘show me the pen’. They could neither read nor write but they knew the logo of the CPC which was the pen and they voted the pen. Youth made agent tags and stood to guard CPC votes at polling stations, pro bono. The phenomenon of the Buhari effect became known as Guguwan Buhari – The Buhari storm. The dynamics that phenomenon brought to Kaduna politics is covered by other documents elsewhere. Long after the elections were over and the unfortunate civil unrest that followed the loss of the CPC presidential candidate, people came to

29 We do not care about money politics we just want to protect our rights.


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realise that there were good candidates on other platforms and that not all who contested on the CPC platform were as selfless as the respected leader. A little too late except if it is kept as a lesson for another day in the future.

Women shared their pains at the loss of their children following the reprisal action from the security agents following the post presidential election violence which was most intense in Kano, Bauchi and Kaduna states. Kaduna State was under a twenty-four hour curfew for three days. Young people were killed and some locked up for questioning by security agents for their alleged role in the violence. It is believed that some never came back while some did return battered, badly hurt and psychologically damaged. Anyone who broke the curfew was corporally punished by the security agents regardless of age or gender. It was a trying time. Lesson III Perception about the platform The choice of platform and timing of that choice matters in politics. However, once you have made a choice of a party platform, except there is a fundamental reason to shift, its best you hold on and build that party. A less known party could actually be a tabula rasa - a chance to mold a new thing and affect the culture of politics positively. There is room for innovation and clean politics; where youth are given strategic needs such as scholarships and mentoring as opposed to bags of rice; where women are given a


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revolving loan to run by themselves instead of cubes of Maggi and yards of cloth; where young people are brought together through football as opposed to a ball of hemp. The lesson is a good-party leader does not a good party make. Citizens need to vote based on the record of persons no matter which platform they may be on. That may however require a sophistication, which Nigerian politics does not have at the moment. Educational level for one affects voting pattern. On the day of the 2011 elections for the Kaduna North Senatorial District, there were two other elections. The senatorial elections had been postponed twice due to inadequacy of election materials and other logistical considerations on the part of INEC/SIEC. This meant the senatorial elections for that district were held on the same day as elections for the Kaduna State house of assembly and some earlier differed House of Representatives constituencies. This meant that the electorate was given 3 ballot papers to cast their votes all at the same time. This brought confusion to those who could not tell the ballot papers apart and others who in the course of organising three papers botched their vote because the ink touched more than one valid spot on the ballot paper. Many of these were women.

Forging ahead No doubt there appears to be contradictions in the women’s experiences, women who say no to bribe and women who think politicians must give something to alleviate their poverty; women who know where to thumb


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print and those who do not; those who are fully involved in politics and those who are apathetic. We see in this situation an opportunity to organise and a privilege to work with women to confront their fears and pains, and to turn them to victories. A strategy to rethink what women mean by ‘winning’ and to make the point like we have made elsewhere that winning for women may not consist in making it to a political office, it might not even mean that you get your favourite candidate elected but winning begins with participation. Women were the ‘sheroes’ of the 2011 elections; coming out en mass, turning down election day bribes, defying the pains of childbirth to stand in line to vote, insisting that there must be adequate election result sheets or there will be no election. These may be small steps but they are huge in impact. They show that with consistent organisation, women can lead the change we want to see. A fundamental development in the 2011 election was religious and cultural leaders affirming the right of women to participate in politics. This may have different agenda but it is a starting point that can open doors for

The lesson is a good party leader does not a good party make. Citizens need to vote based on the record of persons no matter which platform they may be on. That may however require a sophistication, which Nigerian politics does not have at the moment.


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women. Women echoed the new development when they said:

Mace sai tayi siyasa Adinni ma siyasa ne Domin idan an tauye ka adini zata kare ka30

These thoughts and actions are the building blocks, the cornerstone for a formidable women’s socio-political movement of the future. Some of the most candid and useful advice which we got during the campaign came from religious and traditional leaders. These were both women and men. We took seriously conversations with the Mosques, Islamiyas31 and the church leaders to cultivate support and to make our intensions known.

winning for women may not consist in making it to a political office, it might not even mean that you get your favourite candidate elected but winning begins with participation.

30 All women must participate in politics. Why, religion is itself politics, because when you are exploited or violated you turn to your religion for protection. 31 Islamic-based curriculum school


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Chapter

6

THE VOICES

Here, we present some of the essays from the women’s cooperatives. Most of the essays in this section were translated from Hausa into the English language with some thoughtful and creative expressions retained in the Hausa language so as to keep their true flavour and nuance.

Essay I Muchia II Women Multipurpose Cooperative Society KDS/SG/7451 Sabon Gari Local Government Assalamu Alaikum – peace be unto you. Fellow women, one key lesson we figured out for the 2011 election is that really people love and cherish this country Nigeria. Why do we say this? People who had never heard or thought of politics much less participate, came out and registered - they stayed to register in spite of the initial hitches and frustrations encountered - they stayed the course. Similarly, more people than ever witnessed


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before came out to vote. Not hunger, nor thirst nor the scary postures of the security personnel was enough to deter the determined voters. They came out en mass. What was the motivation – people hoped and believed that this time they will elect the persons of their choice who will bring succour to the land. Women were fully conscious of their role in ensuring that the right candidates emerged. They were full participants registering, voting and mobilising others to do the same and showing them the right way to vote. We told them:

Dangwalawa a katin zabe Kar kuyi sama Kar kuyi gefe Kar kuyi kasa Kusa a tsakiya daidai.32 Women rose up, woke up their children, their grandchildren, their wards, took them by the hand and led them to carry out their civic duties. Neither the aches of pregnancy nor the pangs of childbirth deterred them. There was hope in the land and everyone wanted to play a part in that long awaited renaissance. Women stood firm in the face of the pains and the humiliations; they meant nothing, it was all part of the sacrifice. On the first day of the election which was later postponed (date), some people wanted to cause confusion – hoping to cause a stampede so they can do the usual (steal the ballot box). During

32 When you come to thumb print the ballot paper, no little to the right or to the left or the top or bottom, fix your thumb print dead centre.


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such moments, we saw at the election a woman who was pushed, she fell down, she got up, dusted herself and stood back in line to vote. Another woman sprained her ankle during the pushing. She came back the following week when the elections were rescheduled to hold. There was the amazing story of determination shown by another sister. She went into labour while queuing up to vote, after a while she went home, gave birth and returned to cast her vote. Everyone was awed! In the 2011 elections, from the cities to the villages, women showed that they are made of sterner stuff. A sore point during the election was ignorance which caused some frictions. The rule as we know is that if a candidate is declared to have got majority of the vote in a particular locale, then he/she is said to have won but some followers once they are told that their candidate got the most votes in a particular polling booth they begin to rejoice and conclude that he /she has won. If in the end they are not declared to be the winners, they stir up trouble. May the good Lord continue to watch over us.


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Essay II Banzazzau B Zaria City Women Multipurpose KDS/ZAR/CS/0331 In the name of Allah the most Beneficent, most Merciful. It is common knowledge that Nigeria held its general elections in April 2011; the elections included national assembly, presidential, gubernatorial and state houses of assembly elections. Like every project in life, the elections came with the following:

· Gains/achievements · Challenges or problems · Errors or complains · Lessons for the future.

First, let us give all gratitude to Allah for seeing us through the elections and let us salute the women for their courage and agency in the elections. No doubt women constituted an educational vanguard for mobilising their sisters to vote the most deserving of candidates and showing them how to cast their votes such that the ballot is not voided. Then they led by example standing firm and patiently to register and cast their votes. The perseverance of women is unbelievable. They came out immediately after the Asuba’i prayers (dawn) and waited until the Azahar (afternoon) prayers. We pray that the Almighty Allah bless and reward women for this act of patriotism.


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The gains of the elections In our voting locale, one key gain of the election was the preparation of separate queues for women and men. This minimised jostling and embarrassment women may face in such situations of heightened tension. Also, women voters were given priority space to cast their votes and go back home to their several other duties. We are proud of the firmness women showed in the face of corruption as they refused to collect the small monies agents of some political parties were handing out to voters in order to lure them to vote their unpopular candidates. This year saw a high turnout of women voters; as large as ten times over record numbers in the past. Women banded together in prayers asking God to guide and protect all and to help elect those who will care for the people. Challenges from the 2011 elections Despite large turnout of women, still, many more stayed behind for fear of the disturbance and violence that are peculiar to elections in Nigeria. In some instances the voters were ready and waiting but the electoral officers were nowhere to be seen. There were also those who did not know who to vote for. In some instances, the voters had too many ballot papers at once. For people who were not literate, it was hard to tell which ballot paper was for which position. Some agents influenced who they voted for, while some just thumb printed in whatever direction they fancied and some merely pushed the ballot paper without thumb printing into the boxes eager to leave the confusion behind.


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Due to inadequate education on how to thumb print, some invalidated their vote by thumb printing on the line between two logos or when the folding of the paper, the ink from their thumb print touched another party’s space and invalidated their vote.

Mistakes/errors from the 2011 elections Some of the well-meaning organisers made fundamental mistakes of not enlightening the women on how to vote for the best candidate rather than the party. Many people voted for the party only to realise at the end that some of the candidates standing on the party’s platform were no-good. The mistakes are summarised below: · Too few security personnel in some instances led to

electoral malpractices. · Inadequate enlightenment on how to thumb print. · Late arrival of electoral officials and voting materials. · The move to suppress the effort and agenda of opposition

candidates which was perpetuated by the party in government.

· The action by some party stalwarts who go from house to house on the eve of the election to bribe women with money to vote for their candidates.


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Lessons for the future A review of the 2011 elections to see what worked and what did not, and why it is crucial for forward planning and to guard against a reoccurrence of unhealthy developments is essential. If this is done, we can be guaranteed a better elections than that of 2011. This is our little contribution. Thank you.


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Essay III Integrated Sisters Sabon Gari ‘mu zabi chanchanta’ - Vote wisely KDS 004779

We appreciate the sacrifice you are making in shelving your personal and official engagements to make the lives of Nigerian women more meaningful and colourful. You are sharing a wealth of experience which will ginger the lives of women to usher in positive development in the entire nation in the political, economic and educational spheres. We must therefore reflect on the 2011 general elections to see how much Nigerian women contributed and what could be made better in the future. This will tell us how successful or otherwise our efforts have been. I shall begin with the performance of women in the previous (2011) elections. On 15th January 2011, at our first meeting, we selected the theme ‘ muzabi chanchanta’ and did we achieve that aim? Are we able to mobilise fellow women to come out and contest and be in government? How many women were allowed to participate freely without hindrances? The answer is few. In the end, it is only when we mobilise women among us to contest political office in both local and state levels that our aim will be truly achieved. Women contributed immensely in the 2011 elections but they were still sidelined in the minds of those who feel women are not supposed to participate in politics.


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Women need to cooperate and mobilise together. We must work hand-in-hand to see that women are treated fairly and with the utmost respect in politics. I advise the literate and more privileged women among us, with the cooperation of other women, to kindly push harder for women’s participation in government. This will bring about development for women. Shugabancin mata dole ya bambamta–women’s leadership must be better and different. We should work to hold high the dignity of women irrespective of ethnicity or religion. Thank you and God bless.


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Essay IV Shika dam II Multipurpose Cooperative Society KDS/SBG/CS/1279 Assalamu alaikum The incredible strength women displayed in the 2011 elections in Shika dam was their coming out en mass more than even the men to register and to vote. Some women voted for those who gave them soap, cream, salt and sugar. They did this out of need. This is, however, wrong because it amounts to selling one’s vote to the wrong candidate. The best way to give sustainable help is for each candidate to help women through their self-help organisations, to strengthen their vocations. Another lesson from the 2011 elections is that women are now the wiser because even if you gave them tokens they will vote their choice. Everyone wants change. They want help for themselves and their children. After all it is said, Duk wanda yace zai taimaki yayan ka toh aikam ya gama da kai.33 – No one wants his/her children to become ‘yanbangan siyasa’.34 Everyone desires a good future for his/her children.

33 Anybody who gives help to your children has you in their debt forever. Mrs. Helen Attah Field conversations Samaru 26th March 2011. 34 Political thugs.


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Why we set up our cooperative Our group is a self-help group with the aim to meet the everyday needs of women. Each member contributes a certain sum every week and this goes to one member to help boost their capital. That way, women meet the needs of their children such as school fees and help their husbands bear the burden of raising the family. Shika Dam Multipurpose Cooperative stands for love and unity. We enjoy support from our husbands. The cooperative has rules which every member is expected to keep.

· Women may join only if they have the blessing of their husbands.

· All members must attend meetings regularly. · Only women who had their political registration card are

allowed to participate in group’s events. · Members must show respect for leadership. · Late coming to meetings is penalised. · The affairs of the group must be kept within its confines. · Respect is mutual amongst all members. · The group encourages cooperation for progress to be

achieved. · The group celebrates as part of its values, commitment

and perseverance.


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Essay V Garuje Women KDS/ZAR/CS/1044 During the 2011 elections, women showed patriotism as they participated to the best of their ability. Women suffered: those with babies, the pregnant. This year’s excitement was unprecedented with women in labour going to vote. Our aged parent, youth – all those eligible came out. All our efforts were however in vain. Why? We gained nothing except regret and a lot of sorrow. Our children were killed by law enforcement agents all for nothing. Citizens were humiliated by the security agents. We lived in fear. We pray that Allah reward our efforts with the right leaders – the leaders that we chose. May Allah keep Nigeria safe and protect all its citizens. May Allah give us free, fair, and transparent elections in Nigeria. And grant all those involved the fear of Allah. If elections are not free and fair, people will regress to apathy. Even now some have concluded that for them ‘if its elections, heaven forbid, never again.’ I will like to salute the People and Passion team for their foresight and thoughtfulness in enabling us reflect on the past and think towards the future and even more importantly, linking politics and economics.


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Amina promised to return after the elections to work with women and so they have fulfilled their pledge. They have shown us that truly politics can be different and better in Nigeria.

May Allah strengthen those whose words are their bound.


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Essay VI Banzazzau III Women Multipurpose KD/ZR/S/0330 2011 elections and the challenges facing women All over the world, women are the foundation upon which electoral participation is built. Women always form the bulk of voters and Nigeria’s 2011 election was no different. Women came out in great numbers. From dawn to dusk on Election Day, all you saw was a sea of women.

I was impressed with a polling booth where there were not adequate elections materials. In this case, there was no result sheet upon which the outcome of election will be written. It was the women who stood and insisted that until the result sheets were provided, elections would not hold so as to forestall any election malpractices. There were places where women stood and worked with the slogan:

Mu kasa We Vote Mu tsare We Protect (ballot boxes) Mu raka We Escort (ballot boxes) Mu jira We Wait (for results)

In spite of these gains, we are yet to escape the hornet’s nest,

there are still areas of weaknesses. Putting little attention into the choice of candidate but rather falling for ‘Zaben tumun dare’35 an evil choice, has become the bane of the country.

35 A devil incarnate.


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Secondly, women do not offer themselves as candidates to be voted for. No doubt we have women who are very qualified to stand for election but we are missing this opportunity because of a lack of awareness and a full grasp of the dynamics of politics. It is about time, women knew to vote the right candidates who will deliver the change they seek because they are a strong majority, plus, participation in politics will enable them make the right choice of candidates who can assure their rights and meet their needs.


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Essay VII Kofan Doka Alhudahuda Women Cooperative KD/ZAR/CS/0952

Our society was born in 2008. We emerged from the Islamiya - Madarastatul Ihyaus Sunna as a platform to organise for the 2008 local government elections. We have a chairlady, assistant chairlady, treasurer, secretary, judge and an adviser. The 2011 elections were free but not fair. In some cases, the candidates announced were not those who won the elections. In other instances, some people were influenced and instructed by their Mallams to vote for a particular party. Women were active during the 2011 elections. They mobilised other women to vote for the right candidates and not to sell their votes.36 On Election Day, women came out en-mass outnumbering the men, endured the heat and the tediousness of waiting in line, to cast their votes. A pregnant woman fainted due to exertion and hunger and later lost the baby.

Women did come out to carry out their civic duties and exercise their rights. Alas those voted for were not the ones who

36 It was alleged that some political parties sensing that the candidates on their platform were not the popular choice of the citizens, went round buying up and destroying the voter registration cards of would-be voters in certain areas where they had no influence. It was thought that those disenfranchised will not be able to vote as they will have no valid means of identification. The plan, it was reported, was to rig the election by thumb printing ballot papers to the commensurate number of persons registered. Women intensified campaigns to advise other women to hold onto their cards. Civil society informed INEC which then announced that anyone who showed up even without a card could be checked on the original list which bore the ID and thumb print of each eligible voter.


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won the elections. However as it is said in Hausa ‘kan mage ya waye’, 37we now know better, we cannot be fooled again.

37 This is the equivalent of the proverbial English phrase fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.


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Chapter

7

CONCLUSION: SUB TEXT OF ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA There are many interesting and witty lessons that one can take away from the political field in Nigeria. Some require that you rethink and take a stand about your politics and the purpose of participation, others give you a new view into the minds and psyche of the electorates. Yet others help you understand what the people’s expectations of you are; or what some well-wishers would wish you to do or how you are perceived. The women who have shared the essays remind us of the following; The tenacity of women and the innate capacity we

have to negotiate space as shown in the demand for separate queuing arrangement and women defying great physical and biological discomfort to do their civic duty. This is a useful resource for politics.

Politics and economics must go together. Some

cooperatives have as criterion membership of a political party. That way government can be engaged to obtain economic prosperity.


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Women must organise for women. We need women emerging as political candidates. That must come from the best and not the rest of us.

Cooperatives are a viable platform for self-help and

for accessing other forms of opportunities. We will be hard pressed to grow as individuals seeking help, but as a group women’s voices are stronger and far reaching.

We all must keep our word. Pe-Pa pledged to return

after the elections to work with the women and it did. The women remember that and note it as a mark of leadership and goodwill which is reciprocated till this day.

Religious leaders are important Religious leaders

played a palpable role in the nature of the 2011 elections. They guided and in some cases influenced the voting pattern. They each in their way expanded the space for women by the pronouncement that everyone irrespective of sex must participate in the voting exercise. In some cases it was to genuinely allow for expression of civic responsibilities and in others it was to validate the perceived right candidates.


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To conclude this sharing, I have chosen a witty allegory about human nature and how a woman may make or mar an opportunity, which I was told in samaru during the campaign. Final lesson: Mace ce jagora

Hajiya Amina Madam Sanata Your Esselensi, ahaa ni ba ‘Excellency’ ba. Maigida shine Excellency Ina? Ai ke ma esselensin ce. bari in baki misali.

“Hajiya Amina, Madam Senator Your Excellency.” “Oh! No I‘m not Excellency, Lukman the candidate, is ‘His Excellency’” “Of course you are too. Let me tell you a story to illustrate why you are.”

The tale Once upon a time amongst the Bani Israeli (Israelites), there lived a man whom Allah bade to make three wishes and they shall be granted.

The perplexed and overjoyed man went home and told his wife who said “oh my darling husband, I wish you would give me just one wish”

“You will still have two.” The husband being a man who cared for his wife agreed.

Now this wife was an ugly woman who thought, well here is my chance to make myself beautiful so she made a wish ‘oh Allah, I want


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you to make me the most beautiful woman on earth. So her wish was granted.

The man’s pride quickly turned to pain because, the King saw this surreally beautiful woman and coveted her. He took her away to his palace.

The husband was saddened by this development and went to Allah to make a wish. He said, “Oh Allah make this woman as ugly as a monkey.”

To the King, she became the ugliest woman ever seen, so the King let her go.

His wife came back to him but she was sad every day and so was he because she was certainly worse than before the wishes. So he went to make his third wish. “Oh Allah, I want my wife to be as she was before”.

The moral of the story lies in the answer to the question ‘who took away all the wishes? – a woman. Never underestimate the role or the place of a woman in a man’s life. Only a woman can make things right, where a woman keeps to the right path, the family will excel, she said to me. I can’t help but think men also played selfish roles in the tale. The burden should never be only the woman’s to bear.

A woman is a pathfinder, where a woman keeps to the right path, the family will excel.


Page | 85

COMMUNIQUÉ

COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED AT THE END OF A TWO-DAY CONFERENCE ON WOMEN’S POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AT THE ALHUDAHUDA COLLEGE ZARIA ON THE 16TH-17TH, SEPTEMBER 2011 Introduction People and Passion Consult Ltd with the support of African Women Development Fund of Accra, successfully brought together credible women and cooperative societies in all the local governments in Kaduna North Senatorial Districts, to design and implement a blueprint for women’s economic empowerment and political emancipation. The conference was to devise simple practical stratagies for reviving the glory of the African woman based on strengthening the connection between economic independence and active political participation. Representatives from all the local governments’ areas in Kaduna North Senatorial District participated actively in the agenda-setting and implementation conference through exchange of ideas, experiences, proverbs, anecdotes and workable plans for the economic empowerment and political emancipation of women. Participants raised pertinent issues relating to the challenges of women’s economic and political future, out of shared experiences drawn from the 2011 general elections–issues that were hidden to the eyes of the media and election monitors. They captured the unique efforts of women in the 2011 elections, their degree of sacrifice and


Page | 86

increased level of awareness of the link between economic freedom and political opportunities. All of the over forty women groups at the conference agreed to galvanise themselves into action and to safeguard the economic and political future of women. Each of the speakers at the conference made very inspiring submissions on the level of economic difficulties that have so far worked against the political future of women. After lengthy deliberations, exchange of ideas on tips on various women trades, political-cum economic challenges and prospects of women in Kaduna North Senatorial District, the conference resolved as follows:

i. Those women in Kaduna North Senatorial Zone

will maintain the tempo of all their efforts during the 2011 general elections, to pave the way for a better and more effective participation politics, with economic empowerment as the launching pad.

ii. That all of the women cooperative societies at the

conference will speak with one voice under an enlarged forum, to be called Tsinsiya Madaurinki daya connoting ‘Strength in Unity’, with a view to vigorously pursue the objective of women economic empowerment and political emancipation by playing front-runner roles in the contest for elective offices.

iii. That People and Passion Consult Ltd will generate

resources under a Revolving Fund Facility, to


Page | 87

enhance the various trades of all the members, as a practical means of promoting their economic independence, preparatory to their active participation in politics. The first leg is the disbursement of #1million naira to the first batch of beneficiaries and repayment would be kept in a dedicated bank account for the next batch of beneficiaries. This process will, therefore, be on a turn-by-turn basis, until women’s economic fortunes grow strong enough to facilitate participation in mainstream of politics in the senatorial district.

iv. That the tough odds confronted by women of the

zone during the 2011 general elections will now serve as sources of strength and encouragement for taking centre-stage in politics, to safeguard the future.

v. That from this day, women groups in Kaduna

North Senatorial District will lead in the team work for fashioning out modalities for creating the right atmosphere for women to contest for elective offices from that of local government councilors (in the short term) to council chairpersons, states and federal lawmakers and ultimately the presidency, under Political Parties of their choice.

Signed People and Passion Consult Ltd.


Page | 88

TSINTSIYA KND BANK CREDIT BENEFICIARY ANALYSIS

BATCH ONE 29th Sept 2011 Society/

Local Govt

Name of leaders

Phone number Reg no. Loan sum

Code

SABON GARI THREE GROUPS N150,000

Integrated prog sis SABOG INTG

Mufuliat Ahmad Murja Abdulkareem

CD 086 / 004779

50,000 SABOG INTEG

Muchia II MPC

Aisha A Bello Aisha M. Mustapha Ramatu Bello

KDS/7451 50,000 SABOG MUCH

Shika dam II MPC

Hadiza Abubakar Talatu Yusuf

KDS/SBG/CS/1279

50,000 SABOG SHIK

ZARIA , FIVE, N300,000 Kofar

doka alhudahuda

Khadiza abdulrahman Halima Ibrahim Binta Ibrahim

KDS/ZAR/CS/0952

50,000 ZRX KOFAR

Rahama MPC babandodo

Aishatu Aminu Aishatu Sani Fatima Umar

KDS/ZAR/CS/0572

50,000 ZRX RAH


Page | 89

Society/Local Govt

Name of leaders


Code

Garuje women MPC

Fatima Yusuf Garuje Amina Isah

KDS/ZAR/CS/1044

100,000

ZRX GAR

A/Alkali NKS MPC

Murjanatu Danjuma Maryam Aminu Ruqayya Zailani

KDS/ZAR/CS/0177

50,000 ZRX ALK

Ban Zazzau III MPC

Binta Yakubu Maimuna Ahmad Hafsat Abdullahi

KDS/ZAR/CS/0330

50,000 ZRX BANZ

MAKARFI: ONE N50,000 Anguwan

galadima gazara MPC

Saadiya Bala Aisha Haruna Halima Lawal M.

KDS/MKR/CS/1438

50,000 MKR GAL

KUDAN, ONE N50,000 Women

Poultry Farmers Association

Karimatu Nuhu Salaha Abdullahi Aisha Balarabe

Subj to reg Kudlg/cd/32038

50,000 KDN WOPO

38 Registered 30th Sept 2011pe- pa received documents on 21st Oct 2011


Page | 90

Society/Local Govt

Name of leaders


Code

LERE 2 100,000

Saminaka Tinni Women Farmers

Victoria Nuhu Rhoda Denis Hannatu Luka

KDS/4504 50,000 LERE TINNI

Yan sana’a Farmers coop

Ruth Isah Rahila Daniel Alisabatu Ado

KDS/6896 50,000 LERE SANA

REGISTRATION Soba THREE (3) 24000

Kungiyan mata manoma SOBA MANO

For group registration

8000

Kungiyan talakawa SOBA TALAK


8000

Tsintsiya madaurinki daya Provision SOBA TSIN


8000


Page | 91

Society/Local Govt

Name of leaders


Code

Registration - Ikara 12000 TWO (2)

Kungiyan yan tuwo – tuwo IKAR TWO

Asabe Saidu 8000

Kungiyar Madinka/ saka IKAR MADI

Nafisa Hudu 8000

Tsintsiya KND admin sum

150,000


Page | 92

Afterword

All praises are due to Allah the most high who has right over all things. I am extremely happy with this book and the request made for me to write an epilogue about it. After reading this book carefully and so closely, I came to further understand the major threats and stumbling blocks surrounding the lives of women in our society; especially the northern part of this country (Nigeria). I wish to pray for the author of this book and all others that exert all their efforts to ensure the successful completion of this book. May they and their families be blessed now and beyond.

To ease understanding, this book has been divided into sections of relevance. Each section carefully deals with an all encompassing and important issue. The language was easy, the content flow very clear and the message lucidly explained. The discussion with women in this book is a pointer to the tedious task ahead of us all in so far as we want to further better the lives of women in our society. To achieve their goals and ease the responsibility of making a better society, women are saddled with; there is serious need for us all to rise above waters. Wise and religious sayings have repeatedly expressed that, “Society will be a better place if women are better and righteous” but the reverse is the case.


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Today, a large number of women folk in Northern Nigeria are reduced to home slaves and unproductive beings who contribute virtually nothing to the very development of their community. This trend must certainly be reversed, things have changed now.

The author was very meticulous in proposing and highlighting on the strategies needed towards shaping our politics and democracy. She also discussed the challenges being faced from efforts aimed at achieving the desired goal. On this point, I can say, this book is a wakeup call to all women in Northern Nigeria. Particular mention must be made of Northern Kaduna women for their untiring efforts towards creating an atmosphere of cooperation amongst them at wards and group level. This effort of Northern Kaduna women is worthy of emulation and is a first step towards advocating their relevance and incorporation in every democratic process just like any other citizen.

I greatly feel that, this book has thrown a challenge not only to women but, to the menfolk alike. It is a shining light that speaks for itself, it is a pointer to the fact that, women have come of age; their voices must be heard and listened to. In an overall assessment, I can authoritatively say that, this book is a ‘litmus test’ to all and sundry.


Page | 94

Finally, this book has brought to light the kind of efforts NGO’s and CSO’s are making towards impacting on the lives of women in our society. Some of these organizations include Pe-Pa and AWDF. It goes without saying that, “A new kind of dance” has arrived; truly, when the light comes, the darkness vanishes!!

Saudatu Mahdi, MFR

A woman receiving loan certificate from thespecial guest on behalf of her group

Leaders of Tsintsiya KND with Author (R) andZuwaira Aliyu planning ahead of launch

Cross section of women atPepa - AWDF forum Nov. 2011

A cross section of women at First Forum 2011

Front view of No. 34 Ang. Alkali Zaria, the Lukmanhomestead where the women's meetings held

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A New Kind of Dance

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