Speaking at the State House in Abuja after a meeting with women leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the First Lady urged female politicians to shift their focus toward structural engagement and community building if they wish to bridge the country's stark gender representation gap.
Addressing the realities of local political battles, Senator Tinubu emphasized the absolute necessity of working within established frameworks:
"Party structure that you have to acknowledge. And if you don't understand that politics is not about gender, it's about number to start with."
The First Lady drew on her extensive legislative experience, noting that she had long pushed for institutional pathways to uplift women before finishing her three terms in the Senate.
She also dispelled common international comparisons, such as Rwanda's high female parliamentary representation, pointing out that historical crises not standard democratic competition drove those shifts.
"But that was why I started speaking about special bill before it became very big before I left the Senate. I did there was I said you can't if they are quoting Rwanda is because most of their men were killed."
Senator Tinubu warned that women in politics face aggressive competition from male counterparts who will treat them as equals on the political battlefield without granting special concessions.
"A man will fight you as if he's fighting another Man. And you all know that. And we hope that when you have something use it to get to earn the respect of your people."
To overcome these barriers, the First Lady stressed that grass-roots loyalty is the ultimate currency in Nigerian politics.
She challenged female leaders to leverage whatever platforms they occupy to serve and actively communicate with their base.
"The people that have voted you. You have to connect with them."
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