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Dr. Aisha Abdullahi, former Commissioner for Political Affairs at the African Union, has said that the heavy role of money in Nigerian politics makes it difficult for women to succeed. Speaking on an Electoral Reform Hour  Radio program, she pointed out that women not only make up 49% of registered voters but are also more visible during elections, enduring long queues, harsh weather, and physical challenges to cast their votes. Despite this, women remain significantly underrepresented in political offices.

She noted that across Africa, women are often the majority at polling stations but usually end up voting for male candidates. “Where money is involved in politics, women cannot perform greatly,” she said, explaining that most women do not have the financial capacity to compete with men in the political space. Even those who earn good money spend about 70% of it on household responsibilities, leaving them at a disadvantage when it comes to funding campaigns.

Dr. Aisha referenced Rwanda, a global leader in women’s political representation, where gender quotas and deliberate policies have ensured that women play an active role in governance. She recalled her interaction with Rwandan women, who credited their success to President Paul Kagame’s insistence on female inclusion in governance. However, they also pointed out that political emoluments in Rwanda are not as high as in Nigeria. “The emoluments are not that great. The service that is required is very high,” she explained, adding that this system encourages service over personal financial gain.

She also spoke about Senegal, another African country where women enjoy strong political representation. She dismissed claims that cultural or religious factors hinder women’s political participation in Nigeria, noting that Senegal, a majority-Muslim country, has achieved over 40% female representation in parliament due to gender quotas.

In Nigeria, however, women’s representation in parliament has remained stagnant between 3.5% and 5%, a figure she described as extremely low for a country where women make up nearly half of the voting population. “We hope that the current 10th Assembly will tolerate us and provide a quota for women to increase their representation,” she said, stressing the need for legislative action to create more opportunities for female politicians.

She also criticized political parties for limiting women’s access to leadership positions. “Unless we have regulations, guidelines insisting that there’s some kind of internal democracy within the political parties, we’ll never get there,” she warned, calling for electoral reforms to ensure a fairer political landscape.

Beyond electoral reforms, Dr. Aisha highlighted the work of her NGO, the Savannah Institute for Sustainable Development, which focuses on creating safe spaces for women. “We are operating in the northeast where it’s a very conservative area. We have not really started pushing for political participation, but we believe that from the very basics, including encouraging girls to speak out for themselves, to come to school, we can make a difference,” she explained.

She concluded by stressing that without deliberate reforms, Nigeria would continue to lag behind in gender balance, leaving half of its population without a strong voice in governance.