as long as elective positions are concerned, not many women were elected. The culture and religion have so intimidated women it takes a lot of courag… - Chinyere Stella Okunna

Do you remember the gender bills that were proposed recently? All of them were dropped; none of them were passed. I used to say I don’t believe in tokenism or quota system but it seems ideal in Nigeria now and women need encouragement and support through the quota system or policies to include them in governance or leadership.

You have to decide where to belong as regards professionalism in reporting because ethics in journalism is not negotiable. It is either you decide to do the job ethically and with best practices or not because truth, accuracy, balanced reporting, impartiality and objectivity are the hallmarks of journalism.”

Many people see women politicians as wayward, irresponsible which is terrible; and that belief even among the educated men in Nigeria is still common. Many men will not encourage their wives and even their daughters to go into politics and that is a major handicap. So both before and after the last election, I’m disappointed. I’m even heartbroken. There are two ways women can go into politics. Either by election or through appointment. In many states like my own, the governors do not appoint enough women and there are capable women. Suppose women don’t have the courage or the finances to go into elections, don’t they have the capacity or the brains to be appointed by governors or by the president to support them through appointive positions? So, whether it is through elective processes or through appointment, the number of Nigerian women in politics and leadership positions has not been impressive