WOMEN AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN NIGERIA’S FOURTH REPUBLIC: A CRITIC

It is without doubt that participation of women in Nigerian's politics is not easy. This is so because Women often do not receive the support and mentoring they need to compete favorably with their male counterparts. In turn, many voters do not fully appreciate the benefits of having a mix of men and women in government. As a result, there is currently a low representation of women at all levels of government in Nigeria. In the country's general election in 2011, female candidates fared poorly, with only 32 women elected to the national parliament out of 469 members, which is barely 8% representation. In view of this, therefore the paper suggests providing potential female politicians with training and support, complemented by community enlightenment campaigns. Through this medium, Nigerian women, will now be better equipped to favorably participate in elections of all sought be it local, state or national and thereafter the issues of masculinity and marginalization will have no place in the Nigeria political terrain.