Bridging the Gap: Why the Reserved Seats Bill Matters
In Nigeria, women make up approximately 49.4% of Nigeria’s total population, and a greater percentage of the actual voting population, yet their visibility in governance remains alarmingly low. Out of 469 seats in the National Assembly, fewer than 6% about 25 seats, are held by women. The States present an even worse picture. This persistent imbalance has little to do with competence or capacity; it is the direct outcome of a political system that has never offered a level playing field.
Social barriers, cultural biases, financial constraints, political gatekeeping, and hostile campaign environments have all contributed to silencing women’s voices in public leadership. This exclusion is not only unfair; it weakens democracy and undermines the quality of governance.
A Necessary Correction: What the Reserved Seats Bill Proposes
The Reserved Seats Bill (House Bill 1349) seeks to correct this long-standing imbalance. It proposes 37 additional seats, across the Senate, House of Representatives, and State Houses of Assembly exclusively for women. These seats do not replace existing ones; no one loses anything. Instead, they expand political inclusion and strengthen representation.
By creating a fair entry point, the Reserved Seats Bill ensures that areas where women carry national burdens, family welfare, agriculture, education, health, and community development benefit from their leadership, insights, and lived experience. A democracy that excludes half its people cannot grow. This bill is not about favour; it is about fairness, balance, and national progress.
Are Women Ready for Leadership?
Every election season, predictable comments arise:
“Power is taken, not given.”
“Women don’t support themselves.”
“Are women even ready to lead?”
These are not genuine questions. They are echoes of doubt rooted in outdated narratives. When examined closely, they reveal the barriers society has built, not the shortcomings of women. In truth, women of all demographics have been leading albeit quietly, consistently, and effectively all through the ages.
Women naturally support each other in families, markets, cooperatives, workplaces, and community networks. The real question is not about women’s readiness but whether the system is ready to make room for women.
Readiness Is Not the Issue — Access Is the problem.
Across sectors, education, health, business, civil society, global leadership, Nigerian women have demonstrated excellence. From Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala leading the WTO to thousands of market women running complex financial networks, capacity has never been the problem.
Politics in Nigeria remains extremely expensive, exclusionary, and hostile. Women face cyber and all manner of bullying, character attacks, underfunding, physical threats, and political party structures that rarely support their aspirations. Subtle cultural and traditional persuasions have also inadvertently suffocated women’s political ambitions. Asking if women are ready while keeping them outside the room is like locking someone out and blaming them for not being at the table. The Reserved Seats Bill is therefore a timely structural remedy. To dismantle systemic barriers, we must implement systemic corrections.
Abia State: A Case Study in Progress
Abia women have long excelled in public service, academia, political organising, and development work. Yet their representation in elective offices has remained low. From local government councils to the State Assembly, female voices are still scarce despite the abundance of talent.
Encouragingly, the gender-responsive leadership of His Excellency Dr. Alex Chioma Oti, has begun reversing this trend. His administration recognises competence and capacity, with appointing more women to lead SDGs, key parastatals, and critical development agencies.
For Abia women, the Reserved Seats Bill represents a powerful opportunity to unlock leadership capacity that already thrives in markets, communities, and professional sectors. By supporting this bill, Abia can lead by example, demonstrating that inclusive governance produces more effective and compassionate outcomes.
The Unity Question: Are Women Truly for Each Other?
A commonly repeated myth claims that women do not support one another. But who benefits from this belief? It is one of patriarchy’s most effective tools shrinking the space available to women and turning natural competition into conflict.
Women are not uniquely divided. Male politicians betray one another every election cycle, yet no one generalises it to all men. Political alliances are made and unmade, some in very vicious manner, yet it is termed to be all about interests, nothing genderised.
Historically, Nigerian women have a strong legacy of solidarity from the Aba Women’s Riot of 1929, to today’s associations, cooperatives, and advocacy groups. When space is narrow and only one woman is permitted into leadership at a time, competition is inevitable. The issue is not the women; it is the limited space the system allocates to them.
Implications for Inyom Arochukwu Elections: Leadership as Service.
As the Nzuko Arochukwu Women’s Wing prepares for its general elections, this national debate offers important lessons. Leadership among Inyom Arochukwu must reflect new values; collaboration over rivalry, unity over division, and service over self-interest.
What should matter most is how a leader leads:
- with integrity,
- with humility,
- with a commitment to healing divisions,
- with a vision for collective progress.
When we practise inclusive leadership internally, we gain the moral authority to demand it nationally.
Women Are Ready. The Nation Must Be Too.
Across the country, women are stepping forward contesting elections, mentoring others, shaping public policy, and refusing invisibility. But they should not have to climb a mountain that others only walk across.
Nigeria must build a system that reflects its full population. This requires opening political doors wider, moving beyond tokenism, and embracing genuine inclusion.
The Reserved Seats Bill is not a handout. It is a hand-up, a structural correction that strengthens democracy. And here, we strongly advocate for men to rise as allies. This is not a women’s issue; it is a national issue. When women advance, Nigeria advances.
So let us stop asking whether women are ready. They are. Instead, let us ask:
- Is Nigeria ready to let women lead?
- Are our institutions ready for true inclusion?
- Are Inyom Arochukwu ready to model the leadership we demand nationally?
The Time for Action Is Now
This is a rallying call to all women to prepare yourselves for the doors that the Reserved Seats Bill will open, from councillorship and local government leadership to state and national decision-making spaces. The opportunities ahead demand readiness, unity, and vision.
More importantly, it is a clarion call to all our elected representatives in Abia State and across Nigeria: rise above partisanship and stand on the right side of history. Supporting the Reserved Seats Bill is not just supporting women, it is strengthening our democracy, deepening inclusion, and building a Nigeria where everyone has a fair chance to lead and serve.
In conclusion, The Reserved Seats Bill (House Bill 1349), is not a women’s bill; it is a nation-building bill. Supporting it is a vote for fairness, progress, and a Nigeria that works for everyone not just for the few who already hold power.
Support the Reserved Seats Bill.
Support a stronger, fairer, and more inclusive democracy.
Nyenu nde inyom opoto, ka wo tinye aka mezie ali anyi.
Chooo Inyom Okeigbo; Mmamma nu!
Chooo o so di wo eme nka; Kweeee!!
Chooo o muta o zi mba; Kweeee!!
Chooo o mere nke wo ka; Kweeeee!!
Inyi mepuru’m onu; ihe oma e meziri emezi, ava ya za nwanma!!
Ayooooooooo!!!
Lady Ijeoma Nnennaya Udensi, PhD, CPLP. Adaukwu Aro, is a Feminist and Gender Rights Expert, with years of practice as a Project Management, Hospitality and Tourism Professional. She is currently the National PRO of the National Council of Women’s Societies Nigeria.
