Gombe Women Summit: The growing influence of spouses in politics – Blueprint Newspapers

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Gombe Women Summit: The growing influence of spouses in politics – Blueprint Newspapers

September 11, 2026 Isa Yusuf Opinion 0
Politics in Nigeria is recording a positive transformation as wives of politicians, who, hitherto, did not participate in the processes that get their husbands elected, are beginning to play active roles, deepening political engagement and providing opportunities for vulnerable groups and underserved communities to feel valued.
For a long time, the political space was designed almost exclusively around the politician. The campaigns, consultations, rallies and negotiations revolved around him, while the family, particularly the wife, remained largely in the background. Where wives appeared, it was often at ceremonial functions, social gatherings or occasions where their presence was considered complementary rather than consequential. Increasingly, however, that reality is changing, and perhaps for the better.
Across Nigeria, the wives of political actors are beginning to find their own voices and platforms, engaging communities, mobilising women, supporting vulnerable groups and using the influence that comes with political association to advance conversations that may otherwise struggle to find space within conventional political structures.
The wife of the All Progressives Congress, APC, gubernatorial flag bearer in Gombe State, Dr. Jamil Gwamna, Hajiya Zainab Jamil Gwamna, is deepening that conversation with a remarkable demonstration of what political engagement can look like when it moves beyond rallies, slogans and the familiar arithmetic of electioneering.
Her decision to convene the first Gombe Women’s Unity and Progress Summit, which attracted more than 6,000 women from across the state, was not merely another gathering of political supporters. It was, in many respects, a statement about the place of women in society, their collective strength and the possibilities that emerge when they are deliberately brought together around a common purpose.
Held at the APC Square in Gombe under the theme, “Stronger Voices, United Women, Greater Impact,” the summit brought together women from the state’s 11 local government areas and 13 local council development areas. Entrepreneurs, professionals, community leaders, political stakeholders, wives of political candidates, changemakers and other women from diverse backgrounds converged on a platform designed around unity, empowerment and sustainable progress.
And perhaps that was where the significance of the gathering truly lies. In Nigeria, women constitute an enormous social and political force, yet their potential has not always translated into commensurate participation in decision-making.
They are the backbone of families, communities, markets and informal economies, but too often, their contributions are acknowledged only in passing. Political mobilisation has equally tended to view women primarily as numbers required on election day rather than partners whose ideas, experiences and capacities can help shape the society itself.
It was against this belief, that the Gombe Women’s Unity and Progress Summit sought, at least in its conception and message, to challenge that narrow understanding, to put women, their needs and contribution at the front burner of democratic and economic discussions.
Dr. Zainab Jamil Gwamna did not simply call women together to demonstrate political strength. She used the platform to encourage them to discover that strength for themselves and, more importantly, to understand that the progress of one woman should create possibilities for another.
The summit, according to her, is about bringing Gombe women together to discover our collective strength and understand that the success of one woman should open doors for another.
She sought to emphasise that empowerment cannot be sustained where success is treated as an individual achievement disconnected from the larger society. A woman who rises and deliberately creates opportunities for younger women contributes more than personal success; she becomes part of a chain of progress.
This perhaps explains Dr. Zainab’s emphasis on mentorship, particularly for young girls, support for women in businesses and professions, stronger families and meaningful contributions to communities. Her message was not restricted to politics in the narrow sense. It recognised that the political, economic and social lives of communities are interconnected.
A woman who is economically independent is better positioned to make choices. A young girl who has access to mentorship is more likely to imagine possibilities beyond her immediate circumstances. A woman who has confidence in herself is more likely to participate in decisions affecting her family and community. When these individual experiences are multiplied across thousands of women, the impact can be far-reaching.
Certainly, the optics around 6,000 women gathering in one place is politically significant, particularly at a time when the country is gradually moving towards another election cycle. It demonstrates organisational capacity, reach and, indeed, the influence of the convener. But numbers alone do not define the value of such an engagement. What ultimately matters is what happens after the crowd has dispersed and the banners have been folded away.
The real measure of the Gombe Women’s Unity and Progress Summit will be found in the communities to which these women return. It will be found in the young girl who receives mentorship, the woman encouraged to acquire a skill, the small business supported by a stronger network and the community where women begin to see themselves not as spectators but as stakeholders in development.
Dr. Zainab appeared conscious of this when she urged participants to take the knowledge and inspiration gained from the summit back to their communities. Her call for women to promote confidence and self-esteem, encourage skills acquisition and support economic productivity was an attempt to ensure that the summit does not end as a one-day event.
That admonition is very important because, Nigeria as a country has never had a shortage of conferences, summits and public gatherings, but we have had in abundance is the reality of zero impact afterwards. We have become accustomed to events with impressive themes, large audiences and colourful photographs.
But development does not happen because an event was well attended. It happens when ideas from such events are translated into practical actions that improve lives. The challenge, therefore, will be to sustain the networks and conversations that began at the APC Square.
Interestingly, the summit also received the support of the wife of the Gombe State Governor, Dr. Asma’u Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, who commended the initiative and reaffirmed the commitment of the state government to programmes aimed at improving the welfare, empowerment and economic wellbeing of women and youths.
Her presence and remarks added another layer to the gathering. Beyond party politics and electoral interests, the conversation was fundamentally about women and their role in the development of Gombe State.
Development cannot be meaningful where half of the population remains at the margins. No society can maximise its potential while women are excluded from economic opportunities, discouraged from participating in governance or denied the confidence and platforms required to contribute their quota.
The administration of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has continued to pursue programmes targeted at women and young people, and the summit itself provided another platform for stakeholders to draw attention to the importance of sustaining such interventions. But while government has a responsibility to create policies and programmes, individuals and community leaders equally have a role to play in mobilising people around opportunities.
This is where the intervention of Dr. Zainab Jamil Gwamna becomes particularly interesting. Because, although she is not the candidate in the race and therefore, not seeking election into any office. Yet, through her position and personal initiative, she has chosen to create a platform around an important constituency that has historically remained underrepresented in many aspects of public life.
There is something instructive about that. The wives of politicians occupy a peculiar space in Nigeria’s political culture. They are close enough to power to understand its workings and, in many instances, influential enough to mobilise support, yet they are not always constrained by the same formal political expectations imposed on their husbands.
That position can either be reduced to social engagements and ceremonial appearances or deployed as a bridge between political institutions and ordinary people. Dr. Zainab appears to be choosing the latter.
By bringing together women across political, professional and social backgrounds, she has demonstrated that political engagement does not always have to begin with the politician standing on a podium asking for votes. Sometimes, it begins with listening. Sometimes, it begins with bringing people together. And sometimes, it begins by creating a platform where people who have traditionally been spoken for are encouraged to speak for themselves.
This is not to suggest that politics can or should be divorced from electoral realities. The truth is that mobilisation of this magnitude will naturally have political implications. Politics is, after all, about people, relationships, trust and the ability to connect with communities.
Stakeholders at the summit were therefore not wrong to observe that the gathering could strengthen the prospects of the APC and its candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections. But therein lies the interesting intersection between politics and social intervention.
Political goodwill is often built when people feel seen. Loyalty is strengthened where engagement goes beyond election seasons. Communities are more likely to identify with political movements when they believe that their concerns are being acknowledged and that they are part of a larger conversation.
For the APC in Gombe State, therefore, the summit may prove to be more than an impressive show of political strength. If properly sustained, it could become an avenue for continuous engagement with women across the state.
And for Dr. Jamil Gwamna, the APC gubernatorial flag bearer, there is also a lesson in the growing influence of political spouses. While the candidate remains the central figure in any election, the people around him can significantly shape public perception, build relationships and expand the reach of a political movement.
A candidate’s campaign is stronger when it speaks to different segments of society in different voices. Women must hear themselves in the campaign. Young people must see opportunities for themselves. Professionals, entrepreneurs, community leaders and vulnerable groups must all feel that they have a place within the broader political vision being presented. The Gombe Women’s Unity and Progress Summit represents one way of building that connection.
For Dr. Zainab Jamil Gwamna, however, the greater opportunity lies ahead. Convening over 6,000 women is an achievement. Sustaining the movement, strengthening the networks and ensuring that the promises of mentorship, empowerment and self-reliance reach communities across Gombe will be the more difficult task. But every meaningful movement begins somewhere.
At a time when Nigeria is searching for more inclusive forms of political participation, perhaps the emergence of women like Zainab Jamil Gwamna within the political space deserves to be encouraged. Not because they are wives of politicians, but because they have the capacity to use the platforms available to them to create opportunities for others.
Politics is gradually changing. The days when the wife of a politician was expected to simply sit behind the scenes while the business of politics was left entirely to men are giving way to a more participatory reality.
Women are organising, mobilising, and mentoring. They are building networks and demanding a place in conversations that affect their lives. The convergence of the over 6,000 women in Gombe has demonstrated what is possible when they are brought together around unity and a shared purpose. The challenge now is to ensure that the energy generated at the summit does not disappear with the event.
If the conversations continue, if the networks remain active, if young girls are mentored and if more women become economically independent and socially confident, then the Gombe Women’s Unity and Progress Summit may eventually be remembered for something greater than the historic crowd it attracted.
It may be remembered as the point when thousands of women were reminded that they were not merely spectators in the development of their state, but active participants with voices, ideas and a collective strength capable of shaping the future.
And perhaps, for Hajiya Zainab Jamil Gwamna, that is the more enduring political statement: that sometimes, the strongest form of mobilisation is not asking people to follow you, but creating a platform that reminds them of the power they already possess.
Yusuf writes from Gombe