Women can be successful presidents. Female leaders take responsibility, whether something is going perfectly or disaster strikes. Female leaders accept the consequences of their actions but there is no benchmark to articulate the best leaders Nigeria has ever had.
Over the years, leadership has always been in the hands of men and we have experienced tremendous achievements, such as collaboration between ethnic groups and mediation of other African conflicts, an end to the Nigerian civil war, propelling the national development plan and modernization of Nigeria building infrastructure, among other social, economic and political milestones.
Nevertheless, over the years Nigeria has been characterised by insurgence, corruption, bad governance and the fall in naira and oil prices.
Liberia has had a female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (2006 to 2018) and was able to develop the country’s economy. She secured millions of dollars of foreign investment and established a Truth and Reconciliation Committee to probe corruption and heal ethnic tensions, repairing the damage done by 25 years of violence and misrule. She established a right to free, universal elementary education, enforced equal rights for women, rights that were routinely ignored and abused during the chaotic years, built over 800 miles of roads, attracting substantial foreign investment in mining, agriculture, and forestry, as well as offshore oil exploration. President Sirleaf secured support from China for construction of a new national university.
Nigeria has a lot female icons that can lead the country. Florence Ita Giwa who was senator from Cross River south constituency; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former finance minister and current director general of the World Trade Organisation; Oby Ezekwesili, who is a major voice for the bring back our girls campaign, former minister of solid minerals and education, among many Nigerian women with strength of character, vision and decisive leadership.
Nigerians must recognise that for a woman to be able to handle a home, she is close to handling a country. These women have steered the course of history in a male dominated environment, which have brought them national and international recognition, through distinct impact, selfless works and ambition. We cannot continue to underestimate the power of women and what they can achieve.
Tony Ifeanyi-Mark,
Department of Mass Communication,
University of Maiduguri
