It all started like a mere desire, but the passion to impact on the society positively enabled us to pull together our thoughts, ideas, resources to birth the WIM and partners monthly Town meeting which held on the 6th of October 2022.
For us, the principle of giving voice to the voiceless cannot be effective in Taraba State if the Women are not given a space at the decision making table.
Discussions leading to the interactive session even though it sounded a bit elitist considering the careful choice of the guest speaker, an intellectual per excellence, it was not difficult for him to adjust his presentation to suit the audience who were mostly drawn from the highly marginalized members of the society, talking about the women from the grass root.
Then came the question and answers session, the enthusiasm in the hall was what humbled us all, almost every woman’s hand in the hall was raised, itching to ask question about pressing issues that could have hindered in one way or the other their participation in the fourth coming general election.
The entire hall was moved when a visually impaired woman asked the INEC official why someone like her is not given a chance to truly elect leaders of her choice, narrating her ordeal at various elections she has participated in, how because she cannot see, each time at the polling box, some else ends up holding her hand to thumb print without her been able to tell whether or not her choice which she stated is what was eventually done.
.another eye opener at the meeting was that our politicians must have some level of interface with the electorates at the grass root way before the year of an election, how can you expect a constituent to know you enough to want to consider you as his or her choice to represent them at a decision making table when you must have lived your whole live in the diaspora, showing up only when a need or vacancy is approaching, but you expect that they should trust you with their votes even if your placenta was buried there.
Was I surprised when another woman beckoned me shyly to ask if the man who has been talking to us on the stage there is the only governorship candidate for the forth coming elections, at that point we all told ourselves, we cannot afford to go back on our promise to hold this WIM and Partners Town Hall meeting every month until after the elections, else we will be also depriving the underserved the only privilege to also seek answers to their pertinent questions that often time, before now live with them unattended because they do not have “a voice” we hope to have you join us on the next edition as it is indeed an eye opener
