By Eteteonline
The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), led by Hajia Laila Dongonyaro, invited Chief MKO Abiola and Alhaji Bashir Tofa, the two torchbearers, to outline their agenda for women in the lead-up to the June 12, 1993, presidential election. Although the two candidates sent representatives to the meeting, they did not personally accept the invitations. The NCWS insisted on the physical presence of the torchbearers and rejected the candidates’ delegates. Chief Abiola then personally accepted the invitation.
During meetings with the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), MKO Abiola made explicit promises to Nigerian women. The fundamental promises he made were consistent and frequently cited at the time, even though the precise phrasing varied between meetings and media reporting. At the NCWS meetings, Abiola made a number of promises to women.
Women would be purposefully appointed to important posts in his administration, according to Abiola’s vow to represent women in government.
Women should be appointed as ambassadors, permanent secretaries, and board chairs; they should be included in the Federal Executive Council; and they should be acknowledged as partners in governance rather than as symbolic symbols.
He underlined that women’s marginalization would prevent Nigeria from achieving democracy or development. Abiola pledged to give women access to loans and economic empowerment. He pledged to support laws that would provide women economic power, particularly those working in the informal sector. These included facilitating women’s access to loans and credit facilities, supporting female farmers, artisans, and traders, and encouraging cooperative organizations in which women already held prominent positions. Members of NCWS, many of whom represented market and rural women, found great resonance in this vow.
He presented education as the cornerstone of both national advancement and women’s emancipation. Abiola gave the council his word that his government would place a high priority on the education of girls by enacting laws that would promote their enrollment and retention in school, provide equal educational opportunities for girls, and award scholarships and financial assistance to girls from underprivileged backgrounds.
Abiola promised to improve healthcare for mothers and children across the country. This would entail reducing avoidable deaths among mothers and newborns, improving access to prenatal and postnatal care, and expanding primary healthcare services. It was argued that this was both economically and socially necessary.
Abiola pledged equality and legal protection to defend women’s legal rights. He pledged to defend women from discrimination, uphold their civil liberties and dignity, and examine laws that systematically disadvantaged them.
He promised the NCWS that organized women’s groups would be closely collaborated with by his administration. He promised to recognize NCWS as a national development partner, including women’s organizations in policy discussions, and hold frequent consultations with NCWS and related organizations.
The agenda for women closely matched Abiola’s inclusive and populist stance. These pledges contributed to the June 12 mandate’s significant female support.
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