Constitutional Design in Nigeria: An Imperative for Eliminating Energy Poverty of Women

Traditional gender roles and cultural expectations in Nigeria push women to thefront lines in the quest for energy but they remain sidelined at decision-makingarenas concerning energy transition initiatives. A closer look at the compositionof the policy-making and regulatory agencies of government in the energy sectorreveals that 14% are women and 86% men. As a corollary energy transition lawsand policies do not effectively reflect the energy needs of women in Nigeria.Consequently, women are not adequately enabled by the government to accessclean-energy sources and are left with no option than to continue theindiscriminate use of biomass thereby risking their lives. Accordingly, the aim ofrealizing carbon-neutrality is increasingly difficult for Nigeria. An attempt toforce a constitutional amendment which was aimed at creating reserved seats forwomen to increase representation of women in the National Assembly wasstillborn. This paper seeks to proffer a solution to the problem of women’sunder-representation in the energy transition dialogue and, ultimately, theproblem of poor access to clean-energy. Utilizing the doctrinal researchmethodology, this paper examines available literature including the Nigerian,Rwandan, and Zimbabwean Constitutions, and finds that a democraticconstitutional design process that is well managed and given enough time to seepinto the social, cultural and political life in Nigeria would lead to a more durableand democratic constitution which guarantees equitable representation andaddresses the energy needs of women. The process adopted in Rwanda andZimbabwe provides insight into constitutional drafting and affirmative action forwomen in governance.