Remi Sonaiya, a professor and former presidential candidate of the KOWA Party, has decried the confinement of the womenfolk to the backwater when it comes to political leadership, reducing them to mere spectators even though they possess all the competencies to occupy the highest position in the country.
Sonaiya made the observation in Lagos while presenting a keynote address at a conference tagged, ‘Roadmap to electing Nigeria’s first female governors in 2027.’
Although she totally did not agree with the insinuation that the highest office women should be angling for in 2027 should be governorship, she pointed out that it was time for more women to go into politics to rescue the nation, stressing that women possessed all the competences needed to lead Nigeria.
Citing instance with Ellen Johnson SirLeaf, who was elected the first female president of Liberia and indeed in Africa from 2006 to 2018, Sonaiya said that SirLeaf was even voted president at a very difficult period in Liberian history.
“The people of Liberia understood their condition; that they needed a nurse to nurse them back to life after a devastating civil war. Nigerians must learn to recognise where we are as a critical moment. A country must recognise their needs in order to make right decisions and choices. Liberia understood that very well.
“Nigeria is at a critical situation that needs a true leader to pull her out of the situation; if SirLeaf could do it in Liberia, we have more than enough women here in Nigeria that can do the same,” she said.
The professor decried Nigeria’s situation, saying that a country that has its sons and daughters occupying great positions on the global stage is lacking quality leadership internally, which has been responsible for the poor state of the nation.
She wondered why a country that parades the likes of Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General, United Nations; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general on, World Trade Organisation (WTO); Akinwumi Adesina, president of Africa Development Bank (AfDB), and many others is tottering in all aspects of governance.
Sonaiya said that the country owed the world an explanation why, with all Nigeria has- the abundant human and material endowments- it is still not doing well which she noted is very obvious to the world.
On the missing link in the leadership selection process, the keynote speaker said that Nigeria was not being pro-active.
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“Look at what is happening in the campaign ahead of 2023. We are talking about the need for issue-based campaign. But what have we been hearing? Where is the robust conversation; when even some candidates refuse to participate in debates? These debates should offer us the opportunity to listen to them and compare them to be able to know who is suitable and who is not,” she said.
She further said: “We have a country ravished by serious insecurity. Disunity, corruption, among others; what the question should be is what kind of leader do we need now? But what we see in our country is those aspiring to lead ignoring the major challenges. They term those who are calling on them to address the real need of the country as disgruntled. That is what we see.”
Sonaiya said that Nigerian leaders were not being elected on merit but on other considerations that have made it possible for wrong leaders to emerge. Lamenting the backwater status of women in politics in Nigeria, she said that the womenfolk, despite their verifiable contributions in society and their recognition on the global stage, they are not being given the opportunity to lead in the political space.
On how to chart a new pathway for leadership recruitment in Nigeria, she said: “We must prepare a new breed of political leaders and make sure that we select based on capacity and competence; we must also raise minimum qualification for political leaders.
“Issue-based campaign must be the way to go. There must be thorough scrutiny so as to select people with character. I am ashamed of being represented by people who are criminals. Do we think they reflect our ways of life? How can such people represent us? These are the questions that we must begin to ask in our leadership selection process,” she said.
Lending their voices to the topic of the day, the panelists, Ahmed Buhari, vice presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC); Rhoda Olubusola Ayinde, a retired permanent secretary, Lagos State government; Busola Jegede, founder/president, Daughters of Destiny Interdenominational Fellowship, and Vera Oberabor, managing director at Denoma Nig Ltd., touched on some of the limiting factors against women in Nigeria, including finance, stereotype, and lack of opportunity.
They however, expressed the optimism that the factors would soon be eliminated with the growing awareness in the nation’s political process.
The panel session was moderated by Zebulon Agomuo, editor, BusinessDaySUNDAY.
The event, organised by Africa Agriculture Agenda (a subsidiary of Surveillance Media Limited), also featured the launch of a book titled, ‘God’s Diamond Called Woman.’ It was authored by Nathaniel Akhigbe, MD/CEO, Africa Agriculture Agenda (AAA).
