Special Legislative Seats for Nigerian Women in Politics: Penny Wise or Pound Foolish?

Abstract

The gender gap in Africa’s patriarchal political space has received significant investigative attention in recent times. Recently, Nigeria's Green and Red  Chamber ratified the amendment of the constitutional provisions for advancing more legislative seats for women in politics. Yet, constraints which  surround this phenomenon go beyond what the local legislative scorecard generates. This is neither an option that aligns with the existing first-past-the-  post electoral arrangement nor gives more room to full implementation of the 30 percent Beijing affirmative action as entrenched in the country's  National Gender Policy for 35% positions to women. Through a descriptive-qualitative research design and documentary analysis, this paper gives  valuable pointers on the supposed inventions of the 9^th Assemblies by exploring the fits and misfits of special legislative seats for women in inclusive  gender space in Nigeria's democratic experiment and why the invention may add –up to the existing congested budgetary woes. The study concludes  that enforcement of the ratified sections is still far below the global recommendable affirmative quota for women's inclusion, especially in Nigeria's 10^th  law laboratory. This underscores the dense patriarchy of Africa's political landscape, a feigned breach of the international gendered standard.