‘Entrench affirmative action in the constitution’

Briefly tell us about NAWOJBy next year NAWOJ will be 25 years old as an association. It came through the effort of some men journalists, stakeholders in Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and some female journalists who were very few then. They worked hard to have an association that will cater for female journalists who […]

Briefly tell us about NAWOJ
By next year NAWOJ will be 25 years old as an association. It came through the effort of some men journalists, stakeholders in Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and some female journalists who were very few then. They worked hard to have an association that will cater for female journalists who go through trials and difficulties while performing their duties.
At the end, Aunty Brenda Akpan from Cross River State and the only female in the EXCO of NUJ then emerged the pioneer president. The NEC members of NUJ then having seen how hard working she was, and the way she  faced  challenges supported her but it was also difficult because it was not all of them who  really wanted NAWOJ to be there.
Aunty Brenda stood her ground, and with the commitment from members then because when they called for a meeting, everybody will look for transport money from their own pocket  to come, no one was thinking about benefits but at least to come together as a family, and sit together  to chat and strategise the  way forword.  They discussed, encouraged, and prayed together  that was the NAWOJ I met when I was coming up.
NAWOJ was also established to cater for the needs of Nigerian women who are being marginalized and don’t have access to the media. 2015 is around the corner and everything including committees set up is men, men, men. Where are women politicians, philanthropists, business women? Where are women to support the voices of women who are there? So NAWOJ is there to bring women out, support them and go with them to the later.
It is also to give our own contribution as female journalists to nation building, peace and security. These are just few of so many reasons why NAWOJ was established. Truly NAWOJ has fared very well with the past seven presidents, and me as an incumbent.
There have been difficulties and challenges since NAWOJ’s inception. We don’t have a secretariat, of our own till date. The Assistant Secretary is  in Akure, Ondo State, the President is in Gombe, while the Vice President and other members of the EXCO are in their various states.  So coming together has been a bit difficult. Particularly since we are workers and parents, but then there has been commitment so  I want to thank Nigerian women journalists for their strength and efforts so far.
 What challenges have you faced as the President of NAWOJ?
Some of our members lack the spirit of team work. As president it has not been easy, I had challenges the first and second year of assuming office.  I am always faced with the challenges of which way to go, whether east or west and maybe when you miss your way you have to come back again to the west  but by the grace of God I had strong people who stood by me,  are still standing by me and  are very interested in the association.
I urge our members not be destructive, or show nonchallant attitude to meetings, or things concerning the association too. For instance we recently had a round table meeting with other stakeholders under the sponsorship of DGD/UNDP, our strong pillar and were asked to develop a three year work plan for the association.
Since that meeting most members have not made any contributions. We have written to some stakeholders to support us and we will soon have a compendium on female journalists all over Nigeria.
More so, we are going to have a NAWOJ week soon. We will also have our first national wrapper like National Council of women Societies(NCWS) and it will also serve as our identification where ever or whenever we have programmes.
Some people have the perception that female journalists are loose, what has NAWOJ done to change this perception?
We have been saying it at every given opportunity that it is not easy for a woman to be a journalist and she should be respected rather than derided. You can remember vividly in the past that nurses faced the same challenge, you hear things like ‘ah she is a nurse o,’ ‘she will kill all your children, she will flush them out’, ‘she is promiscuous,’ we cannot continue to talk like that or hold that kind of perception in this age. Nigeria is a great country and has come of age.
Those people and the society in general should know that for a woman to work from morning till night as a journalist, still take care of her children, husband and home if married, shows that she has power and is special. Men who are opportune to have journalists in their houses as wives know their values so also are journalists who married among themselves, they are very happy. Women journalists have values and dignity. We will continue to advise and advocate that women journalists be looked up to and appreciated because they are better mothers and home makers.
Female journalists complain of being discriminated especially when it comes to sharing beats saying there are some beats that have been reserved exclusively for men like defence, the presidency, National Assembly among others, What has NAWOJ done towards that?
We are still advocating and talking to media houses. The management staff and editors of most media houses are men. But inspite of all odds we are beginning to have female editors coming up in media houses both public and private. We are still g calling on media houses to give women opportunities in the serious beats because they always do well when given.
Look at our sister who happens to be one of the very few to be given defence beat. See how well she is working, sometimes in army regalia working side by side with Mohammed of NTA, and she reports effectively.
We have even confronted media stakeholders on this issue during our meetings with them and they often say women give excuses like their husbands, pregnancy, their children and giving birth and I often tell them that even if we give birth we still do our duties well.
So women journalists should be given those serious or hard beats, let us fail on the beats first before  they  say we told you you cannot do it. We promise the men that  women journalists cannot fail on those beats.
What is your take on women and governance in the country?
We are not satisfied with the number of women in politics.  More women need to be involved in decision making and governance. We were also pained when several women had to go during the last cabinet reshuffle added with the special adviser on National Assembly. But we are really appreciative of this administration for given us 33 percent affirmative action. We had 13 female ministers before the reshufflement   which has never happened in this country before. So we are appealing that the presidency and stakeholders concerned replace the ministers who left with women.
Government should also make the 35% affirmative action into law by entrenching it in the constitution. If it is made into law then definitely affirmative action will be better achieved.
Some countries in Africa have female presidents now. When you go to Rwanda you see beautiful young women being introduced as commissioners, ministers  among others and Nigeria is the giant of Africa.
Stakeholders need to dialogue so that Nigerian women are not left behind but allowed to contribute their quota in development especially with 2015 around the corner.
For us to have a female president women must also do away with pull me down syndrome and stop being enemies of each other.
We should learn to make constructive criticism not because we are not the ones there, don’t like the person’s face or just to destroy the other person.
What is your advice for parents and youths?
Parents should be able to correct their children when they do wrong. They should know what their children do, where they go, and also know their friends. This is important in protecting them from abuse, abusing others, resorting to violence and drugs among others. It is the responsibility of  parents to bring up their children in the ways of God, teaching them what is right and catering for them the best way they can.