we have a look at the 3 dates on the up on thursday. well above the average before some light rain comes in on friday. now the rain is set to dry up the southern areas of portugal as we move further south wednesday into thursday. things are looking much clearer across large areas of spain and portugal. it's a similar story for italy as well as greece, but it remains rather cold for eastern areas of takia. ah, african story from african perspective, short documentary from african filmmakers from ivory coast, just to lesson from chauffeur group one. but for, for a new thing found ed south africa, seeing if i can change. and it shows me that i am actually tracking and fire with africa direct on al jazeera nigeria. is it to

hold elections this month? so what's at stake and will africa's largest democracy and economy elect more women into senior political roles? this is inside story. ah welcome to the program. i'm ta mccrae. 93000000 people are registered to vote in nigeria election on february, the 25th. the country is the most populous in africa. it also has the continents largest economy and is its top oil producer, but with rising inflation, high unemployment and insecurity in the northeast. a lot is at stake. 18 candidates are running for president, including one woman with the front runners and the presidential bray saw the former gun. now of like all state 70 year olds, bowler,

amidst the new book. he's with the old progressives, congress. 76 year old former vice president's a thicker abaca is part of the main opposition party, the peoples democratic party. within his wealthy businessman and the former governor of an ambrose state 61 year old peter o. b of the labor party. and the one woman in the races, chichi o'shea from the allied people's movements. but she is not the only woman running for a powerful position in nigerian politics. one female candidate in the conservative north is raising expectations that she could be the country's 1st elected state governor, active assaye. if she wins, it could make a turning point for women in a male dominated society. we'll get to our guests in a moment. at 1st armitage us has this report from the eastern city of yala. ah, this is a moment female actress to night. jerry have walked for a woman from

a major political party becoming a candidate for governor. and she is a frontrunner. i should have been any overcame religious and cultural barriers in the patrick of society to get here. she says it's been worth the struggle. it gives woman it gives, so i had daughters and gives us says to the aunties, then why does the confidence that to yes or sole ah, who wore men can walk towards occupying what ever elective position the desired? although women make up half of nitrous population, they've long been on the fringes economically and politically. you know, also by virtue of the level of education, particularly in this part of the country, there may not be at the disadvantage compared to man, ah, but activists say changing attitudes of their strength in numbers could work for them. this time. it's really time for women and we don't,

we don't want to miss this opportunity. we don't know when we get this opportunity again. nigeria general election later this month is being keenly contested and closely watched women activists across nigeria. i'll beat the election of a female good and decades of the exclusion from that offers. if that happens, they say the process it could be within reach the outcome of the vote wouldn't be known for weeks. but what our supporters are celebrating, what they have already achieved on say, momentum is on their side. it reese, al jazeera eula ah, of a more on this i'm joined by august now in a boucher nigeria is diane hassan, director of the center for democracy and development. a policy advocacy and research organization focusing on development and west africa. and london is any

all are loc who to reba political analyst and specialist on politicized ethnicities in west africa. and in washington, dc is a marker on qu, hid of africa practice at u res eurasia group. a womb welcome to you will. thank you very much for being on inside story festival. i just want to acknowledge what a remarkable panel we have today was speaking with 3 nigerian women about women in nigerian politics. and if i can speak, start with you 1st. how significant is that? would we have even been having this conversation a few years ago? d? thank so you know, i mean, i think the struggle to get access for women and niger and politics has been an ongoing one last year. so, occupation for the national assembly by women after the national assembly rejected a bell for a minimum of 35 percent of women. but i definitely think that we're seeing some

powerful development, not least the election of the election campaign if i had to money. so me a conversation like this on the stage like this as, as significant. now, thank you for all being on inside story adat. can we just speak about what it would mean to finally have a, a woman and a powerful position in nigeria. how significant and symbolic would it be to have a woman elected for the 1st time? i think the to the quite an exciting time. it's been pairing for this personally, the young woman, the children they go child in the country with a very huge number of gal child, and even women was one very much in the life was politically economically anxious. and it's like this will be like a new beginning and the beginning of this, a feeling of the soviet speculation that this guy is just the beginning is what people will eventually feel comes to become the governor. amongst what chance do

you give of a woman being elected and in this election hook it's, it's really hard to tell. i think it's a close race i said to be benign. he has a lot of support from powerful families in the state. and as you know, she's not the 1st lady to try on a major party candidate ticket. so it is a close race. i think her chances somewhat depend perhaps on whether the presidential candidate of her party wins because incumbency. nigeria is a powerful thing, right? so the, the incumbent governor will have the advantages of incumbency, but if a cost race and she is, she's getting a lot of momentum. so i would say maybe it's about $5050.00 right now. any, i see you nodding nothing along there. what chance you give of banana winning and what do you think that she needs to do specifically to,

to get over the line after that is, that is a difficult question to ask us about. so i was not a, in that we've got a raise for the presidential election at the moment. and so everything is kind of up to me that me should. america was right to point out that having support. so i do has historically been a 2 parties. they've got a pc and the p. p. or progressive combat congress are backing. i shouted. and having that kind of party machine behind was really can make the difference in an election like this. and we're keeping a very close eye on, on her for i specifically i'm sure a dad and nigeria ranks extremely low and gender equality index writings. now women massively under represented when it comes to politics and nigeria, can you explain why that is? why it has been such a problem for so long? i think

a little challenge is actually responsible for bass. when you look at the current electra sec dad stream to it. governorship seats helpful graphs, and you have more than font rates out candidates vying for these on house of this. you just have 25 women with one vein on the main. one of the dominance. patsy's seeking to tell you the trends for us i just find because of the lack of structure, a little seems quite responsible for these. i think one of the very important is the role money in politics and niger and the fact that women are ready, i'm much analyzed on the kelly. they do not necessarily have to watch as divine religion is also a very important one. and this will be, jo, he's one of the facts, so that's masterly in puts the nannies imagines, as they call them. it is believed that religious it woman cannot need to pray. so how do you assess the demand? for instance, imagine how do the tradition now toby to santo dal santo point being meet with

tasks. what will that be easy to do? that's what a month. how will it be actually for a woman? so do all of religion and culture are quite important, but it's most important is the fact that the never gets the opportunity to fly from the platform of the dominant party. so that takes them how to magically, because vine on the dominance passive tickets means that they have just talked to, i believe, bits of them. they had the money to add all kinds of financial resources, human resources that gives them the opportunity to try all parts of the state or country. so when they do for america, how do we change that? then how does that change, you know, maybe not on this election, but in an election down the track. big guys can be quite some, but let me just come in one second and something i have found was saying, which is it's actually it's quite fascinating that in my area, the north east, which is a part of the country that people typically as associate with women being to the

mall and never presented, or sort of more subjugated, quote unquote, because of religion. actually if one of the most dynamic places so far in terms of women in politics, right, like they have the, the 2nd highest representation in parliament, seconds us out west, more than the parts of the south. and the 2 women who have vied on major political party, the kids have come from the north east. right. so i just think it's, it's interesting, it's fascinated to think about the role of religion, but also to see, you know, how that, how that's played out in, in nigeria. what will change it look, i think things like this taken from the right direction. i think people i've been, i me come in out whether she wins or not. right? by the time you know, this is the 2nd time that we've had a major run for governorship by a woman on a major party ticket. if she wins, it will break the grab the glass ceiling and it will start to change the narrative

. any, do you think that there needs to be a quote her to get more women into politics? do you think that that is a would be a positive for nigeria? so a lot of western countries of kind of formally are invalid me taking that approach . i'm not so sure when you're trying to build a i build a sense of faith in women's leadership that in the country like nigeria, it will necessarily be effective without at least some caveat. but ultimately, i do think also part of part of the move towards the quality empower team representation is women also having the opportunity to fail in an i had many governors. i never taken a test of their leadership, right. a test of that gender is cassie to lead. and so i think we do ultimately need more numbers. and we need parties to make commitments to supporting the talent

from women within the party. whether that's at the senate level or in the legislature or whether that's at the governorship level and executive pilot. and then then you can start to build a fund hope for, for women into the top position. so i think last of about having quotas in the here and now, but more about actually building the infrastructure for supporting and cultivating women's talent that you would just speaking earlier about some of the religious and cultural barriers that women and politics come up against. what do you think some of the remedies to those? how do they had a women nigeria overcome those? do you think? i think it's really going to be more about message and i'm, it's really about putting the right not receive in the public domain to show that to you. so we can women of participated in the political process either from de shantel lion is on the lake or i just seen the zakiria savvy accident states,

which is one of the big or politics. so could, so like all the coal mifflin fix, in fact, and more than one to have had very strong woman with their curriculum. and have been doing this for me here. and there is not him in the van which actually completely for the woman, for much him if i suspect and the fun in politics, we send a lot of the wife of the prophets himself. hi sharon, how she played a very huge william. it's like i'm, he's been in the, in the seminar. so what is currently happening is putting those kind of mattresses, and that is what has been done with the bananas campaign. so that we can change the mind, whole stick people look at seeing women in power in it and a powerful political position. what do you think that would do for the next generation of young girls and young women in nigeria? i mean, what, i being able to have a, someone to look up to what would that do for,

for the, for the younger women in nigeria, i think it, it center clermont says that the sky's the limit for everyone. whether you're male or female, right. i think it creates exploration. i think it would create more opportunity. it changes perceptions of societies in terms of how we're going to treat it in the workplaces. i do think it has an intangible impact, and that's why i have a slightly different view on quotas, right? what do you want to call a quarter encouragement? i think that if you look around africa, the countries that have some sort of a guidance, you know, i know a lot people don't like the word quote. if i don't like the, what put a to but the countries that have showed and intentionality around increase in women's participation, whether it's true laws or regulations, guidelines are doing way better than mine. j for africa has they're almost half of the parliament is women, right? they have no internal rules within the party, and as well as national laws in kenya, laws, they're not meeting those laws,

but they're way better than major in terms of representation. timing over 20 percent of the parliament is female. and well, several more governors. rwanda has those kinds of rules. finally have those kinds of rules. all of them are doing way better, right? so i do think you kind of have to push initially to get those numbers and then lead to intangible effects. take you across the line, just moving on from female candidates to female voters, or any of the main political parties or presidential candidates actually trying to engage with, with female voices. are they pitching policy specifically towards women any further over to you? so kind of look at the manifestos. there is certainly quite a bit in a couple of them. factors about mental health, which is a really big issue from nigeria and preventing the tunnel that unfortunately,

it doesn't seem that any candidates made any significant commitment to improving women access to kind of positions of security within society. whether that's in the private or the public sector. but ultimately i think that in the election like the weather is already so many different dynamics. you have a situation whereby margins are more man register to vote than there are women in the area. and you'll also have a situation where people have competing interests, right? it's sandoval, that that hasn't been the front and center of this campaign. however, i think the role of civil society organizations, women, ourselves as well as to push kind of to actually to stop speaking in specific and detail times about what they want to do for women. you know, we've had in the last 5 years, a number of women appointed to see suite positions to me, to ship and private companies. and it's not translating into the public sector. and

that's not translating into politics. and we really at the country have not much to show for it. much has been made about this election specifically that there's a huge amount on the line. can you explain what is it at stake for nigeria here? i think notice that it really because it cannot be false without horse one. when it comes to the issue of woman you had spoken in terms of that footage to central to register. the floaters has actually been women and they've women. the presentation is quite dis months in this elections, which projects on that is my as they handled the elections with just the total of 3 or 4 percent maximums with, as in taishan. so a lot is really, i think, gets in some of those seats and gets him to representation is very important. and it's also important because at this point in the life of the country, the question is to keep coming on in fact. so we are talking just inclusion of gender, we are talking about the inclusion of young people happening. 60 religion now seem

to be represented. the best way you can do is when the times find can all of these, and you have a non stuff that i would have with every segment of the size, included in the whole electron system. right? a market, i mean, do you think unemployment in the cost of living inflation, the shortage of bank notes even. i mean, is that leading to a greater engagement because it's actually impacting people's everyday life that you know, did their wallets, do you think that that is what has gotten more people engaged in the selection? i don't think it's, i don't think it's the bank notes. it's hard to tell how the, the most proximate, the most recent issues will impact the election because it could well make some people not be able to afford to travel to election. right. so it's, it's hard to tell. i think i think the bigger driver is just decades of other

investments in nigerians, in public health care, in infrastructure, in roads and people are disillusioned with the establishment. right. people are disillusion. what both political parties represents. right. so i think there's a, there's just that there's a high level of, it's been a while since we've been doing this democracy, right. it's been a while over 20 years, and it's time for the democracy to deliver some, some dividends, right beyond elections. so i think there's, there's a high level of frustration. i think it's great, we'll see, i hope that the turn out is higher than we've seen in, in previous years, because i think that will send a strong signal to the political elite. do you think any that there will be push back on the politically? does there a candidate that stands out that can step up against the establishment? so we're seeing a freehold phrase. we've seen a really strong movement emerge around a candidate, peter, be in the election now

a b came out of the pdp. so that's important to kind of note, but i think that more important the actual candidates in this election is the political engagement that we're seeing. right. and this can't be seen in isolation regarding right the way back to occupy nigeria, right? the way through to i think the last time i was here we were talking about and size, right. and so you've got a young population. i do have an incredibly young population who are engaging with politics and making demand the politicians that they hadn't previously done. thing regardless of what the outcome of the election and given that party machines are very powerful, it's not, it's not clear what the outcome is going to be. there is a really strong sentiment that nothing is going to go back to no more often selection. and if that energy is mobilized into the organization, youth organizations mobilized into holding whoever. when's the election to account? then what we're probably gonna see as if the max pass and fails to do the job and for your time they're going to get voted out broad. yeah, and get 11 shot at it

a day. it in previous elections, there have been times that there's been polls that have been rigged to vote buying . do you think this time the vote will be free and fair and there's not going to be as much or any corruption. i think this time around nigeria and that kind of very energized on behalf trust in the system compared to the previous election. and lots of reasons are responsible for each. for instance, the introduction of technology such as the by mood factor dictation system, be vast the result feeling platform as kind of impute some confidence in the system . and it's even making people want to turn out to exercise their franchise on that for protection, for buying in this will elections would be like a very huge strict because because of this new technology, what it also means that they will one who will actually pick a larger than life,

whoops, because they to not really know i've seen that fair, which is the best way you can influence the house phone is actually to bite the votes. this constitutes and i read my make it to be difficult to a bit difficult to bite, but thank you and for leticia are very adaptive and i just have i response seats. all i know we had al jazeera, we will be keeping a very close eye on that on how the election does play out. and just to broaden it out even further. america, you know, this election does have wider ramifications, doesn't you know, nigeria being one of the largest democracies in the world has consequences, foot elsewhere, and west africa. so how important is it in terms of sitting an example of how a strong democratic country looks like? and what can be done that's a lot of responsibility, but i do, i do think it is important in kenya, which is a much smaller economy. also had

a very close election last year. last august. the, the opposition come to who was actually the comment deputy president, right, if it was kind of fascinating race one, but it was very close. and so i and, but it was seen as an example of what democracy should be ready was close. the, the losing candidate can see that last it was largely peaceful. it was mostly run on issues very so i do think nigeria, the most populous country in africa, the largest black nation in the world. and if, if we can get this election to be seen as credible, i think we're, we're mangers, have the highest level of trust in the electoral process today in my viewed. and they've had since 1999. and part because of the change is it that was just

explaining. and so if i'm, but i think what's important is what happens after the election now in a very close competitive 3 horse race. but the, the electorate is divided, right? there's going to be a big chunk of people who feel treated in one way or the other because they didn't win. and it's very important what the media does. very important was civil society does. it's become of a very, it's become a favorite tactic of politicians to impugn the credibility of electro processes as a political tactic to keep the base energized. it's very important that my gillian was a fight media does not let that happen in this election. as long as if there is a, you know, if men join elections will not be perfect, there will be some, some incidents of violence. there will be some incidences of whether it's intention or unintentional errors on the, on the function from sheets. but if, as long as there is a general sense of, you know,

people being able to vote really into it in the way they want. it's very important for the rhetoric for leaders, not just the politicians were the media and it's all society to lift up and reinforce the credibility of the process. and just very quickly because i've only got a minute or so left. but how hopeful are you that these elections will be run in a, an, a fear and, and non violent way, especially in the mouth like a michael was saying with, you know, 3 really close candidates? certainly, i think i'm very trusting of the new changes. so in addition to the b last, we've also got a new electoral act which is much stronger on malpractice. and we've already seen that an action where you've had an election nullified in washington state that i think it really does hang in the ballot right. when you have people who are fully

committed to a different nigeria who believe, genuinely that which i've counted up a best recording is the best choice for nigerians and who maybe a fad information which undermine the credibility of the election. you have all of the seats that you need for incitement violence, right? and so there was a really heavy responsibility on everybody who is speaking about the elections, who's participating in the elections, not to, to step up. i do think however, that nigerians, after a really long period of under investment i'll tie it, i think the title i take. right. and i think that whatever happens, whatever is the outcome of the election and everybody play the role that they're supposed to, the people will be regardless of which candidate when ready to got in and ready to get the ball rolling and ready to move forward. thank you so much like you say there is a huge responsibility and a lot at stake writing on this election. thank you so much. i'm to out 3 gifts

a day at house on any local to reba and a marker uncle. and thank you for watching, you can see the program again any time by visiting our website, al jazeera dot com and for further discussion, go through our facebook page. that's facebook dot com, forward slash ha. inside story. you can also join the conversation on twitter. handle is as a inside story for me, toma crane and the whole team here. bye. for now. the news ah and

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