Women Should Never Play Second Fiddle – Tejuosho

As a ranking member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Funmi Tejuosho, does not feel intimidated by men. In this interview with Taiwo Ogunmola-Omilani, she discusses her views

How did your journey into politics begin?

It has been sometime. Initially when I started politics, it was more of going out with my friends that were politicians and going back home to complain. But what I realized was that after all the complaints, we went back home to put on our generating set to pump our water, and after sometime, we got matured and discovered that we had to make a difference and that you could not make a difference from outside by complaining, so I decided to start going for elections. Then I ran on the platform of the defunct Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM), I ran for the House of Representatives, but unfortunately, the late General Sanni Abacha forcefully imposed himself on the party as the Presidential Candidate. So, I had to withdraw because I couldn’t be an honourable in a dishonourable environment.

So, my interest grew because when you campaign in certain areas, you will see the poverty level that we have inherited from the military, back and forth the civilian, and later military government. The poverty levelwas really bad and I said I wasn’t going to give up. With the Alliance for Democracy, I ran for the Lagos State House of Assembly and I got the ticket, which was how the whole thing started. I thank God that I am doing it; it hasn’t been easy, you know, satisfying a lot of people is not an easy task, people have different desires, needs and aspirations. Another thing is to explain to people the difference between the legislature and the executive; it is what they are not used to because of instability. But with democracy coming into stay, we have been able to educate our people and our constituents and let them know that the executive arm is the one that executes, we let them know that the legislative arm makes laws.

We have our own functions and we cannot take over the job of the executives, but we make sure they understand the whole thing. If you go to campaign as a lawmaker, they would ask you to do their roads, to do their drainages, but now it is less. We have explained that it is not our job to do those things, but the Lagos State Government has done so much, it is easier for us to campaign and we let them know that the work of the legislator and the executive is what they are seeing. We let them know that if we don’t pass the necessary laws to give the executive the backings for what they are doing, it might be difficult for them to perform. If we don’t support the development, they would not be able to do it and that has made them to understand the importance of what we do and they give us more respect. I have to thank the people of Lagos State for their support and for appreciating what the Lagos State Government has done for them.



Do you think gender is a strong factor in Nigerian politics?

Gender should not be a barrier, we don’t have many women in the position of authority, we want more women in positions of authority. Gone are the days when the position of the woman is in the kitchen. Yes we have our chores as women, we still cook for our husbands and children so that they could feel our positions as women. But we must get to the position of authority, we are dedicated, we are loyal, we are trustworthy, but we want the people of Nigeria to support us, we want our leaders to support us. A woman that you entrust with position would give you day to day accounts and because we have a lot to prove, we even work harder, there is need for women to hold important positions.



What challenges have you faced as a female politician?

Well, everybody faces challenges; I don’t think there is any woman that would tell you that she doesn’t face challenges. I think it has to do with you. I have always worked with men as a lawyer. In law terms, there is nothing like a woman; we are all gentlemen of the bar. Also, my parents didn’t train me to be weak; my mother would ask the men and women to do stuffs together, it is not that the boys are playing football and the girls are in the kitchen. My father was a medical doctor, who worked for the Federal Government of Nigeria, he believed in the equality of the male and female children. I have never had that problem before, I don’t feel inadequate, and I don’t feel there is anything the men can do that I cannot do. I always tell the young girls that I mentor that what a woman cannot do cannot be done. We should stop saying that what a man can do, a woman can do better.


What type of empowerment do you think women need to fit into the country’s political terrain?

We need to be given the opportunity to excel, like the APC gave us free forms for the last general elections, which is a very good thing. It encouraged more women to vie for elections. We also need to help the women; we have laws in place, which talk about domestic violence. With the laws, the police are attentive and do what they are supposed to do.



Would you advocate for higher percentage of women for political appointments in Nigeria?

Yes, of course, I don’t want them to give it to us because we are women, I want them to give us the opportunity because we are capable. We should be given the opportunity because we are educated just like men, even sometimes more. They should not short-change us just because we are women, we are qualified, we are capable, but they short-change us because we are women. We should be given the same opportunity just like men so that we can thrive because I know that the women are capable. We have women that are judges, medical doctors, and all that, we have all sorts of people in unique positions that are women. There is nothing the men are doing that we cannot do, it is like a seed, when you have a seed and you throw it into a rock, it would not grow, but when you throw it into a soil, it would thrive. So, give us the opportunity to thrive even better than the men.



What do you have to say to your constituents for their support for you so far?

I have to thank them for their support, the people of Mushin Constituency 1 in Odi Olowo/Ojuwoye, LCDA. I thank them so much because they really made me proud, they were there for me, I didn’t have to stretch myself so much. If you look at the primary election, I scored 254, the second person got three and the next person got one, and then, in the general election, I got over 18,000 votes, even better than the House of Reps. candidate. They showed that they love me and they appreciate what I have done for them. I love them very much and I believe that we must work together to move Mushin Constituency 1 forward and I pray that God would give us the desires of our hearts in Mushin. We worked very hard because we had over 50,000 votes for the governorship candidate of the APC and the PDP got over 30,000. We have done well compared to other local governments. We have done well for our party. So we thank our people very much for making us proud.



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About Unknown

Deji Sadiq, a.k.a DEJI OF LAGOS is a LASU trained Economist turned freelance journalist, a Blogger, an information strategist, a public affairs analyst and a committed activist with a passion for equal opportunities.