The women of the 10th Lagos House of Assembly
What can we learn from the women in the 10th Lagos House of Assembly?
The dearth of women in Nigerian politics is a tale as old as taxes. One analysis puts the number of women who have been elected into Nigeria’s National Assembly at 157, compared to 2,657 for men.
In Lagos, the country’s commercial capital, the story is not much different. Despite being elected as deputy governors, women continue to play a tiny role in state politics. Nowhere is this as stark as the State House of Assembly. Out of 40 legislators in the recently installed 10th House of Assembly, only four are women.
But who are these women? How did they gain access into the ‘men’s club’? What can we learn from them?
Fighting for power
Hon Mojisola Meranda, 42, is the APC lawmaker representing Apapa 1 and the Deputy Speaker of the House.
According to one account, she was born into the Akapo family in Lagos. Her father was the late Chief Taoreed Akanni Lawal Akapo, a legislator at the local …
