Men in Nat’l Assembly not good sportsmen, they are brutal, selfish –Tinubu

The senator representing Lagos Central, Oluremi Tinubu, has lamented the supposed insatiable quest for positions among male senators at the National Assembly.

The female senator, who noted that the National Assembly is gradually turning into an “exclusive gentlemen’s club”, accused her male counterparts of not exhibiting good sportsman’s spirit, adding that they are vicious and selfish.

The senator nonetheless blamed the situation on women over their apathy in running for elective political positions.

Mrs. Tinubu, wife of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, spoke on Monday in Abuja at her induction and 21 other female icons into the Hall of Fame.

“I hardly do award ceremonies but this one is quite different in the sense that it is like raising the bar higher for the younger generation that if God can allow me achieve this feat, then they can do better in a world where you hardly see women getting into elective positions. I think it’s a rare privilege and I believe that they shouldn’t be discouraged; they should keep aspiring and striving until we get there.

“Do we need women in the public place? Yes, that is why I am here to encourage the younger generation to reach for the sky. It has always been seven or eight women in the National Assembly, the National Assembly is turning into exclusively a gentleman’s club and I think that if we are not careful, that is what it will turn out to be and it is quite sad.

“I don’t think they are not being good sportsmen; they are quite vicious when it comes to positions; everybody is striving and I think we women have to start raising boys that are gender-friendly. We raised all these selfish men and this is what we pay for that.

“The coming generation should begin to raise men that would not feel threatened by a woman who is in a top position, so we still have a lot to do but the current men that are here are very vicious when it comes to seeking for top positions.

“Not that they don’t allow women, it is just that everyone is striving so hard and you can see that the violence in politics is keep women back, there are a lot of things keeping women back but the point is that the men are not just gender-friendly. I was just looking when we went for registration today and I was just looking because it was just a sea of men.

“We are still watching and hoping that maybe, the President will be magnanimous enough to appoint a lot of female ministers but they should be ministers who will not disappoint us and do the work; not to go there and embezzle money. You know the last experience was not actually pleasant, it should be women who are ready to serve and make the necessary sacrifice,” she said.

Speaking earlier, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha, in her opening remarks urged Nigerian women to make efforts that will help salvage the country from the grip of greed and corruption.

Aisha was represented by a Senior Special Adviser in her office Dr. Hajo Sani.

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“This should be an increasing exercise that will create the opportunity for women to be recognised. I want to call on the inductees to realise that there are young generation of women leaders looking up to all of you as role models hence it becomes important for you to take up this great challenge of mentorship so that the legacy will form an important foundation.

“As women, it is our collective responsibility to continue working in our different specialty towards nation building, I call on women in leadership positions to operate under the confines of transparency, honesty and integrity that are the core values of this administration so that we can also contribute in bringing Nigeria out of the shackles of greed and corruption.

“The next generation of leaders will be looking up to us in making our country a better place to live in,” she said.

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