Women in Politics, More Reliable than Men, Says Nigeria’s First Elected Female Senator, Chief Franca Afegbua

In the busy and ancient city of Benin, Chief Franca Afegbua, the first elected female Senator in Nigeria, seats on her comfortable black armed chair in her cosy home, recollecting to PLAC BEAM, her days as a politician. At almost 80 years old, her gait is unsteady, and her eyesight appears faint, but her mind and recollection of events is sharp. She shared her experience contesting for a seat in the Senate in 1983 and on the need to support women in politics.

 

Background

Chief Franca Afegbua was born in 1942 in Okpella, a town in Etsako East Local Government Area of old Bendel Sate (now split into Edo and Delta States). She was born into a prestigious family with a father and grandfather of royal heritage. She was a community mobiliser and greatly loved and respected by her people which led to them conferring on her, the chieftaincy titles, Aidotse of Onwoyeni Town and the Memisesewe of Okpella.

 

Chief Franca Afegbua was also a successful entrepreneur. She had run a haircare and massage salon in the highbrow shopping centre at Falomo in Ikoyi, Lagos which newspaper reports at the time described as “luxurious, classy and extraordinary.” The salon catered to high profile and expatriate clients in Lagos. Its opening in 1976 is reported to have attracted the crème de la crème of society. She had also run a haircare salon in London, modelled her own hair designs and done advert campaigns for major hair care product companies in Nigeria. It did not come as a surprise when in 1977, she came first place at an international hairdressing competition in London.

 

However, she would be ultimately defined and mostly known, not for her successful business, which is considered an accomplishment, but by her successful (although short lived) foray into electoral politics. She contested and won the Bendel-North Senatorial District election in old Bendel State in 1983 and had quite an interesting journey to this historic win. At a time when politics in Nigeria was completely dominated by men, she went against political heavy weights and came out victorious.

 

The political context

To set the context, 1979 was the beginning of Nigeria’s second republic. Between the end of the civil war in 1967 and 1979, Nigeria was ruled by successive military rulers, which included General Yakubu Gowon, General Murtala Mohammed, and General Olusegun Obasanjo who handed power back to a civilian President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, in 1979.

 

Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s National Party of Nigeria (NPN) controlled the Parliament having won 168 out of 449 seats in the Federal House of Representatives and 36 out of 95 seats in the Senate. The opposition parties were mainly Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP), Mallam Aminu Kano’s Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Waziri Ibrahim’s Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP).

 

There was no woman in the Senate at this time, but three women won elections into the Federal House of Representatives. These included Mrs. Justina C. Eze of the NPP who represented Uzo Uwani constituency in former Anambra State, Mrs. Veronica Nnaji also of NPP who represented lsu, Imo State and Mrs. Abiola Babatope of the UPN who represented Mushin Central II of Lagos State.

A new Constitution had been drafted for Nigeria which came into force with the new administration in 1979. There was no woman in General Murtala Mohammed/ Obasanjo’s 1975/76 Constitution Drafting Committee which was composed of what was then called the “49 wise men” by the media, much to the chagrin of women. The Constituent Assembly that finalised the document which became the 1979 Constitution had only 5 women out of 230 members. Apart from the granting of universal suffrage to every adult Nigerian, which constitutionally empowered women in Northern Nigeria to vote, it made no specific provisions recognising or remedying women’s political exclusion. The 1999 Constitution currently in operation is mostly a “copy and paste” of its 1979 predecessor.

 

Meanwhile, it was at this time that notable women scholars and activists such as Gambo Sawaba, Laila Dongonyaro, Flora Nwapa, Professor Jadesola Akande, Professor Bolanle Awe etc. were active and flourishing in their fields. The political activist women were outspoken and relentless in the quest for the recognition of political rights for women while their academic counterparts used their writings to challenge patriarchy and the subjugation of women by shedding light on the rich history and role of Nigerian women in public life. This brief context, which does not even scratch the surface of efforts to promote women’s political rights in Nigeria, is particularly important for modern day observers and analysts who often trivialise women’s battle for political recognition and equal participation.

History shows that the role of women in Nigeria’s pre-independence agitations and post-independence politics has not been adequately recognised nor rewarded. Although women were politically active in terms of political parties’ membership, campaigning and voting, they were never given equal opportunity to contest but were only allowed a supporting role to men. Despite massive support given to various political parties by female electorates, women organisations, market women movements etc., very few women benefited from their political patronage in terms of appointments and nominations. It was under this context that Franca Afegbua and other few women in the political space contested elections.

 

When another round of elections came in 1983, Chief Franca Afegbua had joined the ruling National Party of Nigeria, risen to the position of women leader in her state wing and declared her intention to contest for the Bendel-North senatorial seat. Unfortunately, her party, though leading at the federal level, was the opposition in her State. She faced a formidable opponent in the person of Senator John Umolu, described as a 64-year-old veteran Politician and Trade Unionist. He had an impressive political resume as the first non-indigenous Mayor of Port Harcourt; and former member of both the Eastern House of Assembly and Mid-Western House of Assembly. He was also once a regional Minister for Establishment and Agriculture. Most importantly, he was a member of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), which controlled Bendel State at the time. There was also Professor Ambrose Alli who was the Bendel State Governor. He was a UPN member, was popular for implementing several development projects in the State and was therefore another towering figure. Of course, there was the patriarchy and socio-cultural stereotypes against women in politics, which was very prominent then and also constituted a hurdle.

 

Apparently, the projections did not seem positive for Afegbua, and it is believed that very few gave her a chance of winning even though she was able to secure her party nomination. But like the story of the underdog, she triumphed against all odds, beating her rival in the election and securing the Senate position. While many lauded her historic win, others attributed her success solely to her personal relationship and marriage to notable Benue politician, the late Senator Joseph Tarka, while ignoring the fact that she mounted a strong campaign to woo voters in her community.

 

Her strategy focused on winning over female voters and she leveraged on her already local popularity and connection with her community to achieve this. In the face of initial scepticism over her ability to adequately represent them, she shared that she was able to convince the voters, who also included youths and older people, to support her because she was honest with them about what she believed she was able to achieve, noting that women make realistic campaign promises and very often keep to them.

 

Her experience is recounted below, in her own words.

 

On her motivation to participate in politics and eventually, run for Senate

First, I saw that my section of the country where I belonged, my people were not well represented and had nothing to show for what they do, so I decided to go in and help.

 

On how she secured her party ticket in a male dominated environment

I expected opposition so it was not a surprise. I just ignored it and went ahead to do what I wanted to do. I was able to get the party ticket the same way as everybody else. I was able to persuade people to vote for me by telling them why I was going into politics which was to represent my people and be a voice for them. I answered any question anyone asked. I was also up against other women and youths.

 

On whether she faced challenges as a woman running for office

Yes of course, I faced a lot of challenges. They said a woman will not have time; she will be busy attending to family. But I said, “a woman will do both and do it successfully.”

 

On the crucial factor that determined her victory

People know that women keep to their promises. That was a major factor, a major one. I intended to keep my promises to my people, and I made them understand that.

 

On women’s progress so far and recent agitations for affirmative action

I think there have been some improvement since my time. There was no woman in the Senate before me then but there are women now. Then, I was the only woman but now, there is more than one. I believe numbers will increase gradually. I remember the day I was sworn in. I felt fulfilled but that did not stop me from continuing to engage with the women and youths in my community. Agitations for affirmative action to enable more women get into the Legislature to address the low representation of women is good for women. I am happy we started something, and it is good others have built on our effort.

 

Advice to female political aspirants

My advice is that they should be determined and not lose focus. If they remain serious about their ambition to help their people, they should go ahead and run, and they can be successful.

 

Senator Afegbua conceded that money is a huge factor in contesting elections. She however emphasised on grassroots mobilisation as being key for election success. She was unable to recall the amount she spent on her campaign, but she noted she did not spend much. She also noted that “Not all men will support women. Some will support and some will not.” In essence, she stressed that not having the support of all men should not be a deterrent for women thinking about contesting.

 

The aftermath

Senator Franca Afegbua was sworn in as the first elected female Senator in the history of Nigeria along with elected male Senators in October 1983. Within the same period, about two or three other women were reported to have won seats in the House of Representatives. They included Olivia Agbajoh-Okedeji and Sa’adatu Kande Balarabe.

 

Unfortunately, this win was short lived as barely three months later, on 31 December 1983, Major General Muhammadu Buhari staged a military coup that overthrew the civilian government and ended the Second Republic. Nigerians will not experience civilian rule for another 16 years until 1999. Military incursion into Nigerian governance disrupted the effective development of political parties and consequentially, women’s participation and growth in politics.

 

It is important to note that while Franca Afegbua is noted for being the first elected female Senator, few women had occupied parliamentary seats before then but under different circumstances. In the first republic, (between 1960 and 1966) Chief (Mrs.) Margaret Ekpo, Mrs. Janet N. Mokelu and Miss Ekpo A. Young served in the Eastern Nigeria House of Assembly, while Wuraola Esan and Bernice Uwanugo Kerry served as nominated Senators in the Federal Parliament. However, Senator Afegbua’s win would be the first time a woman would successfully contest and win a Senate seat.

 

Almost 40 years later, very little has changed in terms of political exclusion of women and a male dominated legislature. Nevertheless, her story is testament to the fact that a woman can have political aspirations irrespective of her background or career.

 

With the continuing dwindling of the already small number of women elected to the legislature and the government’s failure to see this an urgent problem worth addressing, the history and struggles of female politicians such as Senator Afegbua who have dared to swim against the tide by contesting for office should be a stark reminder of the urgent work we need to do as a country to create an environment that will open up the political space for women.

 

 

Quick Fact: Studies show that governments in which women are well represented are more likely to fulfill campaign promises. Also, women leaders are found to react “more quickly and decisively in the face of potential fatalities.”   See: Homola, J. (2021). The effects of women’s descriptive representation on government behavior. Legislative Studies Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1111/lsq.12330

 

Photos courtesy of Chief Franca Afegbua’s family

 

References

1. ED Emeka Keazor (2014). Five Nigerian Electoral Case Studies, 1923 – 1983. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/EdKeazor/five-nigerian-electoral-case-studies
2. M. L. Beri (1979) Prospects of Civil Rule in Nigeria, Strategic Analysis, 3:5, 199-203, DOI: 10.1080/09700167909421517