Women’s Groups Launch Pre-Election Sensitisation Programme, Urge Gombe Women to Vote Wiselythe Compassion

By Auwal Ahmad Umar

Two women-focused civil society organisations, Compassion for Women Initiative and Gombe Women Agenda, have launched a pre-election sensitisation programme in Gombe State to encourage women and youths to make informed and independent choices during elections.

The programme is aimed at reducing the vulnerability of women to vote buying and political manipulation while encouraging voters to look beyond campaign gifts and consider the long-term benefits of their choices at the ballot box.

The organisers said the initiative became necessary ahead of the forthcoming elections, particularly because economic hardship and poverty could make vulnerable women susceptible to inducements from politicians.

Speaking at the sensitisation programme, the Chairman of the Gombe Civil Society Network (GONET) and Convener of Gombe Women Agenda, Amb. Ibrahim Yusuf, represented by Auwal Ahmad Umar, said the initiative was designed to address concerns surrounding election preparations and the influence of campaign inducements on voters.

Yusuf said poverty and hunger had left many women vulnerable to politicians who use cash and other material items to influence voting decisions.

He identified money, food, clothing and other forms of material assistance as some of the incentives commonly distributed during election campaigns.

He urged women to assess candidates based on their capacity to provide good governance rather than the temporary benefits offered during campaigns.

“Any person giving you money to vote for him will not give you the dividends of democracy, which include security, quality education, healthcare and other development,” he said.

Also speaking, the State Coordinator of the Compassion for Women and Youth Initiative, Hajiya Fatima Abdullahi, said women and youths form a significant part of the electorate and must be empowered with the knowledge needed to make independent political decisions.

She explained that the programme was conceived in response to concerns that the prevailing economic difficulties could make some women more vulnerable to campaign inducements.

“We looked at the fact that the elections are coming and the preparations, as we know, for campaigns. The usual thing we are afraid of is the giveaways to the masses,” she said.

According to Abdullahi, women facing difficulties in providing food and other basic needs for their families could easily view money, food, clothing or other campaign gifts as an opportunity to address immediate challenges.

She, however, said the organisation’s strategy was not to condemn women for accepting such assistance but to ensure that receiving a gift does not dictate their choice at the polls.

“We cannot tell them not to collect. What if we make the mistake of telling them not to collect? We lose them. So, what we tell them is “collect, but vote rightly,” she said.

The Assistant Secretary of Gombe Women Agenda, Fatima Chadi, also urged women not to allow politicians or other influential individuals to dictate their voting choices through intimidation, religious sentiments or threats.

She particularly cautioned against attempts to make voters swear allegiance to a candidate in exchange for money or other benefits.

Chadi said the sensitisation programme was also intended to establish a trusted support system through which vulnerable women could discuss their challenges, receive guidance and seek assistance.

She described the initiative as a “stepping stone”, stressing that changing voting behaviour and addressing the socio-economic challenges facing women would require sustained engagement beyond a single sensitisation programme.

The organisers said they hoped the initiative would help women and youths become more discerning voters who would evaluate candidates based on their competence, policies, integrity and ability to deliver meaningful development.