Why Nigerian Women Are Standing ‘Gidigba’ Behind the Great White Shark

Every four years across Nigeria, a familiar and insulting script plays out in rural wards and urban communities alike: political convoys roll into towns, campaign agents unpack bundles of faded wrappers and miniature 1kg bags of rice, clap for women as the “backbone of the party,” and the moment the final ballot is counted—fiam, they vanish into thin air.

For decades, the political establishment has treated Nigerian women as seasonal cheerleaders to be rented with perishable handouts and dismissed until the next election cycle. But as captured in a viral campaign video produced by Aju Global Media for the Women for 35% movement, that era of political deception has met a brick wall.

The women of the Niger Delta and across the federation are declaring that their eyes are wide open. They are drawing a sharp line between politicians who offer temporary food for the belly and a proven statesman who gave them lasting power to lead: former Bayelsa State Governor and Senator representing Bayelsa West, Henry Seriake Dickson—affectionately celebrated as “The Great White Shark”.

Watch the Video

— Political Razzmatazz (@Politicalrazz) October 4, 2026

“Competence Pass Gender”: Shattering the Glass Ceiling

In the video, grassroots women contrast the empty rhetoric of typical politicians with the record of Dickson during his eight-year Restoration administration in Bayelsa State.

When Dickson took the reins of power, he rejected the notion that women belong only in campaign fields or kitchen corners. Guided by the philosophy that competence pass gender, he opened the highest chambers of institutional authority to women based strictly on merit:

• Judicial Leadership: He upheld the constitutional elevation and independence of the state’s judicial bench, working alongside pioneering female legal minds, including long-serving Chief Judge, Justice Kate Abiri.
• Administrative Command: Women were appointed to head key ministries, parastatals, and the state civil service as Head of Service, dismantling the patriarchal assumption that administrative command is a male preserve.
• Policy Inclusion: Female professionals were brought to the center of executive policy formulation rather than being relegated to tokenist “women leader” rally mobilizers.

Safe Motherhood and Free Education: Life-Saving Governance

Beyond appointments, the video highlights how Dickson’s governance model protected women at their most vulnerable moments.

At a time when maternal mortality was claiming thousands of lives across riverine communities, Dickson instituted the landmark Safe Motherhood Scheme. The initiative did not merely preach healthcare; it directly paid pregnant women monthly stipends to ensure they attended antenatal clinics, gave birth in safe medical facilities under professional supervision, and received free maternal medications and delivery kits.

At the same time, his administration tackled generational poverty at the root:

• Free Boarding Education for the Girl-Child: Building modern model secondary schools where young girls from remote fishing settlements received tuition-free, fully catered boarding education.
• Foreign and Postgraduate Scholarships: Funding overseas university scholarships for brilliant young women to study medicine, engineering, maritime studies, and law across top global institutions.
• Economic Seed Capital: Providing direct business capital to female traders and agricultural cooperatives to foster financial self-reliance instead of dependence on seasonal political handouts.

As the narration in the video notes: “Other politicians they give women temporary food for belly, but the Great White Shark give women lasting power to lead”.

“We No Be Seasonal Workers”: The 2027 Awakening

The emotional core of the message delivered by the Women for 35% movement is dignity. Women are pushing back against the degrading culture of being treated as cheap electoral labor hired with yards of fabric and cups of grain every 48 months.

“Our eyes don open,” declares one of the women in the video. “We know who genuinely respect us. We know who protect our children and elevate our daughters to sit down where leaders dey talk”.

As Nigeria grapples with escalating economic hardship, ₦1,900 petrol shocks, and hyperinflation that hits mothers hardest, the demand for authentic, tested leadership has never been more urgent. By championing affirmative action, backing the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a platform of inclusion, and consistently standing by constitutional principles, Seriake Dickson has proven to be an ally who amplifies women’s voices rather than talking over them.

When a leader spends his career elevating women, protecting maternal health, and educating the girl-child, he does not need to buy loyalty with emergency palliatives. The verdict of the women is resolute: anytime, any day, they are standing gidigba behind vision, behind character, and behind the Great White Shark.

What Do You Think?

Have Nigerian political parties historically treated women as mere campaign cheerleaders rather than governance partners? What specific policies must leaders implement ahead of 2027 to move beyond seasonal food handouts and achieve true 35% affirmative action?

Share your candid thoughts, observations, and perspectives in the comments below!