Hajia (Dr.) Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu is the National Woman Leader of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with BODE GBADEBO, she speaks about the wind of change, which the party brings to bear and how it will impact on the nation, among others
Given the fact the APC has taken over leadership of the nation, what should we expect from you as the woman leader?
Normally, they say when the head is rotten, the entire system is rotten. We now have a President and a Vice-President that believe in discipline, in the nation, in development and in the sanctity of human life. In totality, when you look at the package now, you will see that the party will bring about development. This development cuts across all sectors. How do you talk about development without curbing corruption? The curbing of corruption will be there as well the fighting of terrorism. We have the “3R” in the party’s policy- the Reform, Relieve and the Recovery processes. All these we have in the package. Basically, during the campaign, the President was talking about the curbing of corruption. In this now, we will push the anti-corruption crusade to the domain of the guilty. For citizens with inexplicable wealth, we are not going to come out to say that we are going to crucify you but we are pushing it to you to explain how you get the money and you should be able to exonerate yourself; you should be accountable.
What would you say the APC women will be doing differently?
The APC women will first of all believe in themselves and their capabilities and come out of the shells. You must be a master of whatever game you play; that is the preaching of the APC. Giving succour to the downtrodden. What is it you do and how can you do it better through the micro credit facilities? We will facilitate them to perfect what they do. We will get ready markets for them and they will continue to come out. For instance, under the education scheme, we’re saying there should be at least one male for one female. At the primary and secondary schools within our localities, every woman there eventually who get busy constituting themselves into any kind of group that will embark on catering services of their localities. In that way, they also perfect the art which they are used to. Even the dish washers will be perfected because they will have to do it with every sanity.
You look at the people who engage, for instance, in the processing of garri, down to the local communities- because ours is all-inclusive, it is not the celebration at the top which we are used to. We will encourage the local woman to produce that garri by giving them the mechanized support and the financial support through the micro credit facility. We get the collateral eased out for them to acquire within the system. It is going to be a circle and before you know, we have curbed poverty by 75 per cent.
Then the labour of catering for the children will be reduced. What we have been having in this country is a situation whereby the children will be hacking some products to get money with which the mother will use to support the family or helping out in the farm to do one thing other. In this government, all thing equal, after the eradication of poverty, you will have a situation whereby the child is not only encouraged to go to school but there will be free education enticed with balanced diet to enhance brain development. This means the burden of training these children alone will be relieved from the mother.
This will go a long way in giving her that satisfaction. It makes a mother happy to know that her child can go to school without fear of being killed or maimed, that he returns without her having the anxiety of what the child will eat as food, books and uniforms will be provided for them. She knows that her children will be admitted into the university and graduate. We will get them into a kind of scheme we are bringing about where graduates will be accommodated. We call it “Get them Ready” for a kind of job system. It is a kind of scheme where graduates are paid grants to keep them going. It is certain that there is a job for that child of hers. What a joy it will bring! It will curb about 75 per cent of most of the vices we see in the society.
The health sector will be boosted to reduce the high level of maternal mortality in the nation. The Land Use Act will be revisited to allow women acquire land either by inheritance or purchase of properties just like the men. And so many other things we have.
This 35 per cent Affirmative Action, what is your take on it given that we have fewer women now who won election into the National Assembly?
Generally now in the nation, it is not all about APC. In the Senate we just about seven women but fourteen in the House of Representatives and that is telling a total drop in the entire system. The APC started a system whereby we are encouraging women no matter your level of education to become card carrying members of the party and partake of the society. It is democracy and you do not impose candidates on people. So if they are not card carrying members of the party, even when they are brought to contest party primaries, they will certainly lose because they do not have the people that will give them the support. And thank God we have got several women registered in the party from different sectors of the society. So long as women do not do this to get them stabilised and emerge as delegates for primaries, they get dropped before it even started. From the beginning, they don’t even emerge as candidates. As much as we make the forms free, we will not force people to vote for them. As it, you will find out that the 35 per cent normally come from appointment. So we want to get them to gain by contest as it gives you more stability without intimidation and victimization.
Beyond the elective posts, will President Buhari make appointments to achieve this 35 per cent affirmative action?
Absolutely, we are looking up to that. In fact, the demand of the APC women is for 45 per cent because we believe that more than 55 per cent of the votes that ushered him came from women. But then there is the caveat in the constitution of a competent and capacity driven affirmative action. So it slows the process because you must be somebody who is responsible and accountable before we can appoint you a minister not just because you are a minister. Definitely, we know within us that the 35 per cent affirmative action will be met
It is unfortunate that in the North-East, some of the women have suffered a lot as some of them have become widows. What plans do your party have for such women?
In our constitution it is there that there will be the formation a committee that will look into the matter of the displaced people and a total rehabilitation of some of these people. Also, the girl child who is affected will be resettled and be given the basic education. We also have the peace and reconciliatory committee that will ensure such issues do not recur in that environment. Within the country, in schools we will begin the inculcation of the teachings of religious and ethnic tolerance on our children to curb ethno-religious violence across the country.
A fundamental message for the women is that they should know that every woman is a human being on her own right. There is no one that is superior, so they should never feel intimidated under this government.
This is an administration that has come with open hand and they are free to move into the party and move close to the government because it is a government for the people and by the people. If they do not come out and voice out their opinions, how do expect this government to serve them better? We are also looking up to the women because they are the first instrument in the resuscitation of family values.
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