Nigeria Election 2027: Why are so few women on the ballot? | The Conversation | Focus on Africa

In January 2027, Nigeria will be heading to the polls. But there’s one thing still largely missing from the ballot - women. Nigeria has one of the lowest rates of women’s political representation in the world, according to the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, a Nigerian civil society organisation. In fact, women make up less than 5% of members of parliament. And currently only 54 women hold positions across 990 seats in State Houses of Assembly, and 15 states have no female legislators at all. But what do these figures mean? what’s stopping women from taking their place in Nigeria’s political leadership? And what can be done to change that? Focus on Africa host, Nkechi Ogbonna, spoke to Ufuoma Nnamdi-Udeh, the Executive Director of Enough is Enough, a civic society organisation and Zainab Buba Galadima, a politician based in Abuja. 00:00-00:50 Coming up 00:50-03:15 What is preventing women from making it to the ballot? 03:15-06:10 The cost of running for office and how that impacts women 06:10-07:45 Financial support for male candidates 07:45-08:35 Would young people vote for a female candidate? 08:35-11:50 Hearing from politician Zainab Buba Galadima 11:50-15:15 The reserved seating bill 15:15-17:00 How citizens can advocate for female leadership 17:00-19:00 The place of women in society 19:00-21:00 Is Nigeria ready for female leadership? 21:00-22:50 Why do other African countries have more female leaders? 22:50-24:30 The decline of third spaces Subscribe: http://bit.ly/subscribetoafrica Website: https://www.bbc.com/africa Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bbcnewsafrica/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/bbcafrica/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bbcafrica/