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2015: Why Not A Woman President

By Bisi Alabi Williams
12 April 2015   |   7:20 am
DESPITE that the population of Nigerian women is said to be higher than that of the men and that many of them are eminently qualified for the plum job, the country does not seem to produce a female president.

DESPITE that the population of Nigerian women is said to be higher than that of the men and that many of them are eminently qualified for the plum job, the country does not seem to produce a female president.

And it has not been for a lack of trying, because two women have made attempts to vie for the number one office. The many hurdles they have to scale are simply formidable.

Some Nigerians are of the view that women, going by their nature are not likely to survive in such positions. In the past, Sarah Jubril tried to clinch the position, but her best was not deemed worthy enough to secure the top position.

Prof. Remi Shonaiya of the KOWA Party is the second woman in the history of Nigeria to offer her services in the just-concluded presidential election, but again, her candidacy proved to be a joke.

And looking at the elections results so far, it can be deduced that women have not fared well enough. Yet, the country has never had it so good, judging by the number of women in appointive positions in the country.

So, why is the country not yet ready for a female president? What precisely are the factors militating against this ambition?

Ukpo

Ukpo

‘A Lot Goes Into Becoming A Female Politician’ Sally Ufuoma Ukpo, President/ CEO, Suffy Tours and Cruises My opinion on this subject is that at no time have Nigerian women been prevented from contesting the Presidency.

Nigerian women have taken part in politics even prior to our independence. The fact, however, remains that men and women that are bold enough to go into politics are viewed with a degree of suspicion.

This is because so much goes into being a female politician. We consequently have situations where no “right-thinking” man would allow his wife engage in active politics, for fear of being regarded a weakling, who cannot control his wife.

In the First Republic, before the advent of the military, women who engaged in politics joined as activists and were usually unmarried, divorced or widowed. They were viewed by society as radicals or “free Women,” who also provided sexual services to the men.

In our more recent political dispensation, a woman like Mrs. Sarah Jubril, who made the attempt to vie for the post of president, was treated with scorn and ridicule, not because she did not qualify, but because she launched into a male arena without adequate preparation, and gave up after the first attempt.

I believe a woman can be president in Nigeria in the future, provided she gets her political acts right. But first, she would need a period, even years of preparation, which will involve playing very prominent and active roles in party politics, to the extent that she would be widely respected by her party members, as well as have a large following.

A Nigerian woman aspiring to the highest post in the land has to understand that everything in life requires due process, and someone, whether male or female cannot become president of a country by just wishing it.

I want to believe that Nigerian women do not hate their fellow women, and would surely rally round to support their own fellow woman. ‘

Salami

Salami

Presidency Is For Competent, Confident And Experienced Women’ Saudat Salami, founder and managing director, Easyshop Easycook Services I believe that female aspirants are not given the opportunity to aspire to the highest position in the land because you don’t win a contest that you don’t participate in.

Politics is about showing up and participating. Women have to be active and sign up. They need to step out there confidently and openly sell themselves, their ideas and what they intend to do to those electing them to the office.

Women who aspire to that position or to any other position must do so based on merit, leadership abilities, competence, character and experience. Such women would do well at the polls. They must be able to convince the people that they’ve got what it takes to be in that exalted office.

I strongly believe that if Dr. Oby Ezekwesili or Abike Dabiri decides to vie for presidency, a good number of people will vote for them. We should vote for women and men that have shown competence. Not women that turn up every four years just to rely on women votes.

If any woman feels she has anything to offer she should be visible. Presidency is not about gender. If it must be a woman, she must give Nigerians regardless of age, colour, status or religion every reason to vote for her.

And if a woman desires to be president, she should have been participating in politics for a while. She should ensure her credibility is known, her competence cannot be denied and her experience is wide.

I do not believe that women are their own enemies. Neither is this a potent tool for perpetual male dominance or an instrument for continuously keeping women down.

Even the men find it difficult to choose female deputies for now, just because the women are not active in politics. It is only the lower class women that are mainly used for campaigns that are really active.

The desirable thing is for competent women to stop seeing politics as a dirty game and come out to join politics, if they want to benefit from it.

It is not enough for women to wait to be selected as minister or commissioner. I believe that women will be setting a bad precedence if all Nigerian women join forces and decide to vote only for themselves instead of the men. It is not different from voting based on tribe and religion.

We vote because the person is perceived to be competent. I believe that Nigeria is not ripe for a woman president because we women have not done what we should do. All the women that have put themselves up for presidency do not have a history of service. No one knows them.

The day an Ezekwesili or a Dabiri decides they want to be president, I am sure Nigerians will rally round them. ‘It Is About Having A Woman That Can Deliver’ Tracy Marshall–Uwom, CEO Saint Tracy, and managing director Celebrity Exclusive Service I believe that Nigeria is not ready for a female president.

This is largely because the male politicians do so many things that many women cannot readily do. For instance, they hold meetings in the night, and use different venues to deliberate and take major decisions.

How many women can afford to leave their families and be moving around in the company of men at night just because they are vying for political office? The kind of politics that is practised in Nigeria is different from what obtains in other climes.

Men have so much money to throw around, women don’t. Beyond these limitations, the work of a president is not an easy one. Which is why it’s not every man that can be a president, hence, if a woman is aspiring to that office, she must be prepared and ready for the job.

That woman will have to go through the ranks i.e. from counselor to House of Assembly, Senate, Governorship and ministerial position before vying for presidency.

I am the kind of person that believes in supporting women. So, I won’t say women are not supporting women. In fact, I see a lot of women supporting other women because they believe in their capabilities and abilities. The saying that women are their own enemies is an old fable.

Women are more committed to themselves today than ever before. There are many women’s groups and forums today that are encouraging women to support each other, but women must support themselves for the right reasons.

It’s about giving them a chance because they qualify not for them to come out just to be counted or to fill the quota.

So far, Nigerian women are happy with ourselves and with those that are representing us. They have done well in this regard. So, it’s not about having a woman; rather, it’s about having a woman that can deliver.

To be the president is about hard work, competence and experience. Women should understand that for them to do well in politics, they must go through the ranks like the men.

If the men go through the ranks, why can’t the women? In other words, women should not jump the gun and expect to do well at the polls. They must start somewhere and move around selling themselves to the electorate.

Maybe this is what happened in the case of Prof. Remi Shonaiya of the KOWA Party. We don’t know her. No history, no antecedent that people can easily identify with. How many women knew her? They were just seeing her for the first time.

She didn’t even try to move around and sell herself at women’s gatherings, meetings and conferences or even markets gatherings to sell herself to the women who are in the majority there. It’s not about women being each other’s enemies. It ‘s not about gender.

It is simply because she wasn’t well known.

Ebbi

Ebbi

‘Politics Is Deliberate, Intentional And Strategic’ Eyonne Ebbi, CEO, Ettiquette Place Female aspirants are not given the opportunity to clinch the exalted office of the President because opportunities are not granted, they are assumed. It’s like waiting for someone to take pity on you and give you a chance.

It won’t happen. Wake up woman, smell the coffee! Nobody will give you a chance. You just don’t wake up and take a chance. Politics is a game that thrives on visibility.

It is a strategic game and deliberate. You cannot just wake up and announce to the world that you want to vie for the highest position, the number one slot in the country when you have no political history, national recognition or global endorsement.

That’s the height of political naivety and sadly, many women are politically naive. Who knows you? Nobody knows you except of course the members of your “clan”. How strategic is that? That the first time we ever hear about you is when you are the head of a political party, vying for the number one position.

What do you expect would be the outcome? If a female candidate thinks she’ll gain sympathy from the women groups just because she is a woman, then she has to think again.

People naturally incline towards competence and vision. The era of gender bias is fast fading and we need to wake up to that reality.

The question to ask is: What’s your pedigree? How involved have you been in community development, national progress, and global interests? What causes have you initiated? These are crucial questions women must answer before dreaming of entering the murky waters of politics.

And if we want in it, we’ve got to toss the myths that limit us. These include such as, ‘Women should be seen not heard’. I’ll do a brief study on a Nigerian woman, who in my opinion understands the game of politics.

Oby Ezekwesili. She may not have political interests, but she definitely understands the game. She served as the Vice President of World Bank’s Africa division. She co-founded Transparency International— a global anti-corruption body based in Berlin.

She has served as Federal Minister of Solid Minerals, as well as a Federal Minister of Education, where she earned the nickname “Madam due-process”. She is at the forefront of the #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) campaign and has gained global recognition for that timely initiative.

She openly criticises societal ills and national anomalies. Oby Ezekwesili has built a strong personal brand of integrity and competence and has a natural philosophy that doesn’t permit her to dignify nonsense. She can go against the grain and defy the odds. She can walk alone.

She is a leader that commands strong media attention and she easily makes the headlines. That is hugely strategic. Politics is a game of numbers and we cannot afford to ignore this glaring truth.

We cannot afford the high price of obscurity and political ignorance. We must recognise opportunities early and seize the moment. We must be prepared, participate and ready to take the chance.

We must learn to negotiate endorsement and sponsorship. You cannot ignore these traits, if you want to succeed politically.

Oduseso

Oduseso

Women Are seen As Good Supporters, Not As Heads’ Titi Omodolapo Oduseso CEO of RoyalBridge International Company Ltd and Gapbridge Private School Lagos.

Female aspirants are not given the opportunity to aspire to the highest position because of the African belief that women should not be the head, but should be good support to men.

That has been seen in many areas and organisations. Men are still reluctant, if not rigid to entrust power into the hands of women. We are seen as mothers, wives, and second in command in home affairs and as good support to men.

In cases where you see women as heads of organisations, they are seen as too tough, which is to ensure that men don’t see them as being too weak to be in the position or in power.

Interestingly, women tend to even do better in these positions than the men. Sometimes, the same beliefs run in some churches, where men cannot even have women as head for some reasons best known to them.

Women’s population is more than that of the men. However, women don’t support themselves because not many women are independent.

Many still have to consult their husbands before taking decisions, even when offering ideas. This attitude goes with our African traditions to be submissive, even at home. Closely linked to this are cases where women envy themselves, instead of supporting each other.

This is not the case with the men. Some women prefer to be friendly with men than with women. We are not objective in thinking like them and we easily find faults with one another.

If all women join forces to vote for each other, there would be chaos. We can’t survive alone without the men, and men too need us once they are in positions of power.

But we are seen as supporters than being at the forefront. Nigeria is not ripe for female president at all. Men won’t give us any chance.

To them, it will be like they are all failures and this can be seen in homes where women are the breadwinners. The male ego is always in display, instead of men listening to us and giving us a chance their ego will not permit that.

Most nations are not ready for women president. Until the men are ready, I don’t see any way out for a woman president. Men need to look inwards and see our potentials, appreciate them and permit us to be who God had destined us to be.

They use our ideas to be in power, and are content with the popular saying of; behind every successful man is a woman, than the other way round.

Men simply love power all over the world, and when they get there, it’s another story entirely.

 

Jimoh

Jimoh

‘It Is Difficult For A Woman To Be President No Matter How Good She Is’ Titilayo Jimoh, managing director of Hadeart Petroleum I don’t think Nigeria is presently ready to have a female president. To have a woman in a position of authority takes a lot.

Although we have female CEOs and deputy governors, I don’t think we are ready for a female governor, not to talk of female president.

It is sad that a lot of Nigerians do not believe in the ability of a woman to lead this nation. If you ask Nigerians, they will tell you that Nigerians are not ready for a female governor, not to talk of female president.

If a woman comes out today and says she wants to be president of Nigeria, most women will not support her. And this is what happened in the last Presidential election.

It is like stabbing one in the back because when you are rejected by your very own, you feel terrible. As bad as it sounds, that is the scenario that a woman is likely to face when other women don’t support her, but they readily support the men.

To get a woman into that position is difficult no matter how good she is. This is the challenge women face. No matter how good a woman is those that take the decisions are men. This is not good for our democracy. In Nigeria’s politics, women are doing very badly in terms of numbers.

The number of women in politics in Nigeria is very low. This is because many Nigerian women are afraid of going into politics because of being scanadalised.

Others are not sure if they have what it takes. With our multi–tasked and compassionate nature, we have the ability to bring about quality change in the way things are done in the country.

As mothers of the nation, we can feel the insecurity in the country and bring it under control to restore peace. We need more women in governance, especially in elective positions across the country to make crucial decisions that will affect us all including our children and generations unborn.

Adeshina

Adeshina

‘Free And Fair Election Shouldn’t Be Based On Gender, Ethnic Or Religion’ Adeshina Denrele, CEO of Dainty Cocktails Ltd. The Issue of having a female president in a country like Nigeria will not come easy.

It will never come easy to Nigerian women because the men have been around for too long and are not willing or ready to shift base. Power is sweet, and that is why ultimate power corrupts absolutely.

I actually saw it coming. I knew that the Kowa Party presidential candidate, Prof. Remi Shonaiya didn’t stand a chance among the men.

I don’t know how she emerged in the first place or why she entered the race. But I am sure that somewhere at the back of her mind, she would have known that she wouldn’t go far.

It is high time Nigerian women stopped flashing the gender card. And the sooner the unhealthy preconceptions that are firmly rooted in our national psyche about women and their roles in society get erased, the better for all of us.

I dare say we are the ones allowing it to fester by conveniently hiding behind the shadow of being women when it suits us.

While many are quick to join the clamour for more women in politics, perhaps we should instead be addressing what we intend to contribute to the Nigerian political process.

In my opinion, any woman that wants to govern Nigeria must be strong, determined, focused, and grass root oriented. People must know her and love her. They must love her enough to believe that she can deliver. She must be a woman of great charisma, intelligence and experience gathered over the years in public service.

The woman that will rule Nigeria must be the kind that Nigerian men are desperately looking forward to vote for, even when there are so many qualified men on the queue.

That woman will have to move around the length and breadth of Nigeria campaigning, identifying with the people and winning their hearts. That is the kind of woman that can rule Nigeria. But the question is: do we have that kind of woman now? My answer is no, we don’t. Since we don’t have that kind of woman now, my conclusion is that the time has not yet come.

That is why I am charging my fellow sisters, and mothers of our great nation not to lose heart because our sister, Remi Shonaiya lost. We will get there someday very soon. But first, we must count our collective losses and re-strategise.

Secondly, we must work hard by identifying the lapses, and how to go. We must work together and look at how to achieve this desire in the next dispensation. Now is the time to begin to plan.It is possible.

Usman

Usman

‘Presidency Is Not about Gender, It’s About Competence’ Halima Usman, author and poetry performer The only reason anyone should ever vote for a woman over a man should be because she is the most capable for the job.

Such capability should not be attached to her gender but rather should follow from her proven track record gathered in previous official positions over a number of years. The question is: Do we have worthy female candidates who are both capable and politically sound? Do such female candidates have a proven track record of delivering sound, accountable and transparent governance practices? Or are our efforts simply to create more jobs for the girls so that the alleged benefits of corrupt practices filter into female purses? If the answers to these questions are anything but positive, then perhaps we are not ready to have any woman as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

I don’t think that Nigeria is ripe for that yet. Nigeria is a male dominated society and it will take a little bit of time for the men to fully accept the leadership of a woman. In fact, there are Nigerian men that cannot imagine a woman sitting in Aso Rock dishing out orders.

Also women have done well but they do not command enough number in government to warrant one of them becoming president. There are women who have the ability to lead at the moment, but before you say you want to have a female president, there must be a significant number of women already in government and in the corridors of power.

Although Nigerian women are more than the men, we do not have enough to get the critical mass that will make us ready for a female president. Politics is, indeed, a game of numbers.

As women, we do not have the political will or the kind of muscle that men display in politics to get us there. Another critical issue is that of stereotype.

People sometimes label female politicians as loose women or women that easily compromise themselves or their principles just to make a headway in politics.

This may not always be true, as most of the female politicians work twice as hard as their male counterparts just to be counted. So, politics is a difficult terrain for women and those that are visible should be given some kudos.

It is worrisome and somehow unfair that often time people use double standards to judge women. What is more, to contest elections in Nigeria, one has to spend a lot of money and women don’t have huge amounts of money to spend.

Nigerian women have tried for a long time to break through the male dominated world of politics, and have made progress in some respects.

Nigerian women recorded a great milestone, when the first female governor in the person of Dame Virgy Etiaba, was dramatically appointed and entrusted with the responsibility of leading Anambra after Peter Obi, the former governor was ousted. We already have women representatives and senators, but unlike countries such as Liberia, we are yet to have our first female president.

The problem with the two female presidential aspirants is that they tend to show up just when it is election time and expect everyone to know who they are and support them simply because they are women. Presidency is not about gender. Nigerian women must go back to our drawing board.

Gender parity cannot be resolved by forcing unqualified people in certain top position. Else they will disgrace us all and then we are back to square one. Invest in the young qualified Nigerians with character and good qualification and proven integrity, and over time, they will do well. This is the way to go.

We should vote for women and men that have shown competence. Not women that turn up every four years just to rely on women votes. If any woman feels she has anything to offer she should be visible. Presidency is not about gender. If it must be a woman, she must give Nigerians regardless of age, colour, status or religion every reason to vote for her. And if a woman desires to be president, she should have been participating in politics for a while. She should ensure her credibility is known, her competence cannot be denied and her experience is wide

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