NAWOJ and SALTi push for the inclusion of women in leadership

Stakeholders have called for greater representation of women in Nigeria’s leadership and decision-making spaces, stressing that the country cannot achieve meaningful development while women remain largely excluded.

The call was made during the SALTi Conversation Series organized by the Strategic Action for Leadership Trust Initiative (SALTi) in collaboration with the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Zone D, on the theme: “Why Nigeria needs more women at the table”, held in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, Regional Director for West Africa at the Ford Foundation, Dr. ChiChi Aniagolu-Okoye, said Nigeria must prioritize inclusion, noting that women currently hold less than 5% of parliamentary seats despite making up about half the population.

“This is not a time when we must suffer gender, ethnic or racial discrimination. It is a time when we must go to the proverbial ends of the earth to find the best hands,” he said.

According to her, excluding women from leadership spaces comes at a cost to national development.

“When women are excluded from these spaces, society loses access to a significant part of its human capabilities,” she said.

Aniagolu-Okoye made it clear that the call for inclusion is not about replacing men but about achieving balance.

“It’s not about replacing men with women, but about creating balance, the kind of balance that reflects both natural design and practical governance,” he said.

He added that leadership outcomes improve when merit and inclusion are prioritized.

“Societies work best when merit dictates and both halves of the population are adequately represented,” he said.

She also highlighted that Nigeria’s poor representation of women in governance remains a major concern.

“Nigeria definitely needs more women at decision-making tables to close a huge gender gap, as women currently hold less than 5% of parliamentary seats, despite making up half the population,” the keynote speaker said.

Aniagolu-Okoye also stressed that inclusion is key to addressing national challenges.

“When we find ourselves in situations like this, we need everyone to be able to solve these problems. That’s why inclusion is not optional, it’s necessary,” he added.

SALTi founder Dr Nkem Momah said the initiative was focused on building capacity and supporting conversations that would drive social change and national development.

“We’re trying to build capacity as a source. A lot of these things you see here today were not put together by me. Many years ago, we didn’t do a lot of these things, but today we have a younger team putting it all together,” he said.

He added: “We are evolving, we are improving and we are moving forward slowly. We want this to be an entity in your lives and in Nigerians’ lives. We want to make an impact. We want to see a better Nigeria.”

Momah expressed optimism about the future, saying: “I want to see Nigerian presidents in my lifetime, female presidents in my lifetime. I think it’s possible. The journey has just begun. Let’s be optimistic about it.”

Also speaking, the Deputy Editor of Blueprint Newspaper and National Vice President of NAWOJ (Zone D), Chizoba Ogbeche, highlighted the structural, financial and systemic barriers that limit women’s participation in leadership.

“Beyond simply discussing, we must remain cautious and change our orientation. Because during campaigns, it is women who come forward. We dance, we mobilize, and yet we are not the ones dictating the conditions,” she said.

Ogbeche noted that while many women are interested in leadership, access remains a major challenge.

“It’s not that women can’t run, but how many of them actually get tickets? Women are interested in becoming leaders, but many don’t have the financial strength to secure party tickets,” she said.

She further explained that although most political parties have constitutional provisions for the inclusion of women, implementation remains weak.

“Most parties have a percentage for women, but if you look at how they apply it, many of them don’t respect it. Most women have given their consent, but they don’t want to go further than that. That’s why the issue of litigation is something we need to start looking at,” she added.

She said legal action could help enforce accountability within party structures.

“Yes, litigation is expensive, but there are some people who offer pro bono services. The challenge is that they can’t pursue many cases. But it’s still a tool we need to start exploring,” he said.

Ogbeche also highlighted that decision-making spaces in Nigeria remain dominated by men.

“When it comes to policies, the people who make them are mostly men. That’s the truth. The system is dominated by men and their orientation reflects this reality. That’s why we need to start advocating for policies more deliberately,” she said.

Event participants also identified political violence, lack of financial resources and social conditioning as the main obstacles preventing women from taking on leadership roles.

They called for targeted policies, stronger support and grassroots outreach to promote gender equality and encourage more women to actively participate in leadership spaces.

Stakeholders agreed that sustained commitment, institutional reforms and collective action are needed to close the gender gap and ensure inclusive leadership in Nigeria.