NIGERIA: We are the Change We Have Been Waiting For

After launching her campaign for office and winning her election in Nigeria’s Kajuru ward, Hawwah4HoR persists in bringing more women into politics.

"By midnight, the whole town was agog with youth chanting my name." –Hawwah Jiddare

What started like a joke slowly and steadily put me in first place among African Democratic Congress candidates in Kaduna state for the House of Representatives Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency. There were countless challenges along the way before we cast our votes on Saturday, 25 February 2023, and though I didn’t win the seat — I won the election.

I had traveled to my village of Kajuru the day before the election for last-minute campaigning. From the moment I arrived in the mid-afternoon until around 3 a.m., my team and I made our way through every nook and cranny of Kajuru. 

Dawn came, and before 10 a.m., the town filled with sons and daughters from different parts of the country who came home to cast their votes. I later learned that no election period has brought as many people home to cast their votes as in the 2023 election. 

Voting was supposed to commence at 10 a.m. but started around midday due to voting materials arriving belatedly and continued until 9 p.m. Vote counting tarried past midnight.  

I was excited, unable to stay still until I was strictly advised to remain out of sight at home. I initially thought I could mingle due to my security, but my campaign advised me against it. By midnight the whole town was agog with youth chanting my name. That was when I learned that I had won my ward. The win was remarkable because Kajuru had been a People’s Democratic Party stronghold for 23 years. That was how the defeated member had remained in power.

Not only am I the first female to ever stand for election for the seat I contested, but also the only one from the Kajuru ward who has succeeded in going to the polls with the former representative. All the other men who had attempted in the past never got past the primaries. He held onto power through the use of money and tribal and religious politics.

I came in at a time when the youth and women were awakening to these instruments of manipulation and control, hence welcoming me with open arms.

Twelve candidates contested for the seat of the House of Representatives Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency, with me as the only female candidate from the Kajuru ward. Ultimately, the Labour Party candidate Abubakar Ekene Adams won the election after contesting four times.

I was not upset with my loss. I was happy at how far I had pushed my campaign and mandate without any support from my family. They told me I could not do it, standing back and watching while I crowdfunded and campaigned. With more funding, I could come in first next time.

My funding ran dry five days before the elections. It is a well-known fact that the most significant campaign is done on the eve of election day. I could barely afford to cover the logistical expenses for myself and two members of the technical team and security (Vital Voices allocated funds for my personal security).

I stayed back in my village for two more days, visiting with people of the Kajuru ward who are all related to me in different ways. We exchanged ideas and began talks about 2027. They asked me to ensure I returned bigger, better, and stronger four years from now.

Two days after the elections, I went home happy and fulfilled. We delivered my ward from the Peoples Democratic Party for the first time since 1999. Hence, it was a massive win.

Now I reflect back and recognize that I could not have pulled this off alone. When I started, I felt overwhelmed and isolated. After all, I am the first person in my immediate family to venture into politics. But eventually, women from all over the world supported me. 

I am here to say thank you to World Pulse, WISCAR, Vital Voices, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Lumbie Mlambo from Vital Voices Leadership Journey 2022, my United Kingdom friends, and many friends in Nigeria who donated anywhere from N1000 to N1000000 to my campaign. Thank you for believing in me, supporting me, and encouraging me to go on. For standing by me through this journey. I would not have done this without you.

This is no doubt the most exciting thing I have ever done in my life. I have learned a lot, met many people I would not have ordinarily, traveled to new places, and grown more grounded. Now more than ever, I am convinced of the need for women in leadership spaces, because the void is too vast. 

I have hibernated for the past two months, resting, rejuvenating, and recouping my strength. My initial plan was to return to school for a doctorate, but my constituents would not have it. They insist I must remain in the system because they would not want me to miss contesting in the next election. Now that we are recovered, we re-group, realign, and re-strategize for 2027.

For years, women have stood on the sidelines watching, hoping, praying, and wishing for things to be different and better. With each electoral circle, we would go to the polls with our hopes held high, but nothing changed.

Things will only change when we get the right people, especially women, into spaces where decisions are made. We are the change we have been waiting for.

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