Princess Uzochi Aghasili, an indigene of Nnise Awka in Anambra state, is the National Coordinator of PDP Female Youths and Students Development Initiative. In this interview with ENE OSANG, she stresses why women should be given the opportunity to showcase their talents, saying they should work side by side with men for Nigeria to grow
Tell us about your synergy with grassroots campaign group?
We taught it wise to join a formidable campaign group so as to enlighten them about elections because we have been opportuned to learn so much through the workshops and seminars we have been attending.
We picked the Grassroot Campaign Group for Goodluck Jonathan/Namadi Sambo they have been on ground since 2011, we studied their background and we believe they are worth for us to synergize with.
Our primary aim is to sensitize the female youths and encourage them to participate in all the areas election. We are well equipped through series of sympozia’s and conferences we believe we have a lot to impact on the female youths who are most likely to vote. As a team, we have to make sure we get eligible voters with voters registration cards and help them ensure their votes count. We are not in the habit of gathering crowd, underage, or people that are not serious when it comes to election we try our best to encourage them to vote for our candidate of choice.
Who is your candidate of choice?
Anybody we screen and finds fit under the umbrella of the PDP is definitely our candidate especially the female aspirants.
How would you assess the young female aspirants?
We are not in the habit of assessment but we believe that for them to have gotten this far, they have gone through the normal screening process and has been showcased to us the supporting group but we believe they are competent enough.
What do you mean by equipped to sensitize the female youths?
Since early this year there have been series of activities going on, we are now in november but if am to mention a few, we have been involved in conferences like the forum on mainstreaming gender in governance jointly organised by NOA and National Council of Women Development where issues of gender were discussed. We were also at the national Nigerian women conference which held on the theme; building bridges of opportunities in 2015 and beyond, where honourable Mulikat Akande Adeola led the convention, recently our group participated as members of PDP E-women network; a capacity building workshop for female aspirants where strategies for the increase of competent women in the upcoming elections were discussed and aspirants like Kate Henshaw and others met to chat ways forward. With these we got to know our competent female aspirants under the PDP.
We are interested in sensitizing the female youths to get their voters card ready for the election and the only way this can be achieved is to synergize with a formidable grassroots campaign group which has been on ground since 2011 that was why we chose the grassroots campaign group for Goodluck Jonathan.
From your experience with grassroots people, what are their challenges when it comes to politics and election?
Their challenge is the fact that they are not well informed, and that is why we have decided to collaborate with campaign groups so as to transfer most of the knowledge we have gathered from the various youth conferences we have attended. There has been several programmes on electoral reforms and violence free elections, we participated in the youth conference which held on the theme; roadmap for 2015 election, we also participated in the youths campaign against election violence. I was among the marshals trained for the training of the trainers programme and the idea was for us to train lieutenants for the campaign. We were also at national youth peace conference organised by the Firs Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan where we learnt much about peace. So we chose to disseminate all we have been equipped with to the grassroot people to make them understand in plane language how to do things right for their votes to count. Most of them have no opportunity to attend these conferences and workshops but we that have represented them deem it fit to try our best to bring it down to their level for us to have a common goal which is electing the right candidates come 2015.
Do you think eligible voters are ready to vote again considering government representatives not meeting their expectations?
Individuals may change but policies and constitution and other basic things we want them to achieve for us will remain. We need a voice that will speak out for many voices and the best way to reach such voice is to go through the normal places where you have to tender all your necessities and needs especially when it comes to education of the girl child and their likes, how can we pass this legislation and get it across? Then hoping that anybody that comes on board will imbibe that agenda and carry it forward. If some people were not able to represents the youths as they thought they should, we have to re-strategise to ensure we have vibrant representatives.
Have you seen these qualities you mentioned in the aspirants?
Let me use an example of those that came out before, we have seen the present administration exercise the powers to grant women opportunities to showcase themselves. This is working perfectly, and it is part of the achievements we believe can be reproduced. This time around it is for the youths to achieve 30% inclusion in governance. Youths that were picked in the past like PDP youth leader Abdullahi Maibasira, has represented youths very well. Because he started with the youth parliament and so knows the plight of the youths.
Where do you see women come 2015?
Women had their fair share in 2011, female youths will have their fair share come 2015 by God’s grace.
Why are women now interested in politics unlike before?
The gender mainstreaming have been from time immemorial from the time of mummy Kut,i but this time around we decided to come out from our enclave and backsit to work side by side, not in front of the men. Since we have gone round to pin point such competent women we need to give them the opportunity to showcase what they have to offer.
What inspired you to work with grassroots people?
There is a huge number of people in the grassroot and I think the time for them to use their voting power to change Nigeria to what we all desire is now. The grassroots are the real masses and we need to enlighten them to also be interested in the election process, and we are telling them to encourage the young female aspirants.
What message do you have for female youths as 2015 draws near?
Female youths should know that PDP is the platform on which unity and progress lies and with our vibrant National youth leader, we can work hand in hand to actualise the 30% inclusion in government, this will help our votes to turn into voices and our voices to power.