AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF NEWSPAPER IN MOBILIZING WOMEN FOR POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN NIGERIA

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF NEWSPAPER IN MOBILIZING WOMEN FOR POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN NIGERIA

chapter One

Foreword

1.1 Research background

Women in Nigeria make up half of the country’s population, but the constitutional policy of giving women her one-third of the seats remains a mirage. With only one-third of seats in the political arena, this misinformation is about marginalized groups. Statistics show that only 6% of Nigerian ministries and sub-ministries are women (Population Reference Bureau, 1998).

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Gender Audit and Parline Database (2011 and 2015) cited in Agbalajobi (2015, p. 88), in 2011 and 2015, the governor also There were no women’s seats in the 990-seat parliament either. The woman won her 36 seats and her 54 seats in 2011 and 2015 respectively. All of this shows that women participate in politics, but there is still an underrepresentation of women in Nigeria, even though women contest only one-third of the seats representing groups. it is continuing. Is it due to a lack of knowledge or a lack of awareness of the print media?

According to Klein (2005, p. 17), political participation refers to “the right of citizens to influence public affairs”. In line with this concept, political participation can be identified as actions taken by citizens of a country to influence or support government or politics. It flows from freedom to express, to organize, to unite. the ability to participate in the conduct of public affairs; and the ability to register, stand for election, be elected and hold public office at all levels of government.

In Nigeria, the role of women in politics is minimal. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chapter IV, Sections 30 and 40, guarantees basic and fundamental rights to all Nigerian citizens (both men and women). There are very few women in leadership positions. Onabajo for both men and women (2000, p.13).

Since the 19th century, women have actively participated in political struggles. Queen Amina Nikatau of Zaria, Madame Tinub of Lagos, Orhunmirayo Ransom Kuti of Abeokuta, Margaret Ekpo, Hajia Gabon Swabia and many others gave Nigerian Women Honor in History of Nigeria Luke (2011) have fought to give a place to In politics, these women, among other things, made an important contribution to the mobilization and raising awareness of women regarding their active participation in politics. According to the former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahil M. “Women should not be reduced to just voting and supporting male candidates who win elected offices,” Jega said. did.

1. Ensure that INEC policies, plans, processes and operations are gender sensitive.

2. Promoting gender equality and balance within political parties, especially when identifying candidates in accordance with the provisions of legislation.

3. Increase budgets and mobilize partners to effectively allocate funding for gender-sensitive action in areas of responsibility.

Four. Support a legal environment that can achieve gender equality and close the political representation gap in electoral offices at all electoral levels.

Print media cannot function in isolation in any society. They must operate within the state. crowd

From the above statement, it is seen that Nigeria’s democracy is not true democracy because not all citizens of the state have equal rights to the material and cultural resources especially for the women group where we still have all forms of stereotyping, Women who make almost half the population of the country are not able to air their views, leading to a low level of participation in governance. Therefore, there is a need to use the tool used for social change which is the print media to effectively sensitize this group of people (women) so that their views can be aired without any restraints and encourage their participation in governance, and not leave government in the hands of the few, but many.

1.2 Statement of Problem

It is not a hidden fact that women are under represented in the field of politics. In agreement with the assertion of Luka (2011), that “Politics is too serious a business to be left solely in the hands of men, the continuous low political participation of women in Nigeria becomes a major concern. In 2011, out of 109 senatorial seats available in Nigeria only 20 seats were occupied by females, same goes for the House of Representatives as only 24 seats out of 362 seats were occupied by women. Additionally, Nigeria’s 36 states do not have a female governor in the country, nor do they have a female president or vice president.

Countries such as the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Brazil, Liberia and Germany have and still have women in high political leadership positions, but the opposite is true in Nigeria. Women are also called upon to be leaders, not mere followers, as they have equal rights as stipulated in the 1999 Nigerian Constitution. Mass media, especially radio, play an important role in mobilizing women for political participation as they are one of the main functions of mass media.

1.3 Purpose of the survey

Therefore, the purpose of this study is formulated as follows.

1. Describe the role of print media in mobilizing women for political participation.

2. To know how sociocultural and norms influence women’s political participation in Nigeria.

3. Examining the influence of the media on the mobilization of women for political participation. 4. To identify some of the problems women face in participating in politics.

1.4 Research question

This survey will attempt to adequately answer the following questions:

1. What is the role of print media in mobilizing women for political participation?

2. To what extent do sociocultural and norms influence women’s participation in politics in Nigeria?

3. What influence does the media have on mobilizing women for political participation?

4. What are the problems women face in participating in politics? 1.5 Survey scope

This research essentially focuses on assessing the role of print media in mobilizing women for political participation.

1.6 Validity of research

At the end of this research, it is hoped that knowledge will be updated as part of the research. In particular, I support people’s views on the usefulness of print media in mobilizing women’s participation.

Governments should promote the welfare of women in general. The federal government should also promote women’s full involvement in human resource development and enforce their acceptance as full participation in all stages of state development with equal rights and corresponding obligations. I have.

Another important implication of this is that elections are held according to rules in which all eligible persons, especially women, are free to vote or be elected without restriction by manipulation.