It does not take a political pundit to know that Dr. Sarah Jibril never stood any chance of winning the presidential primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). As one of the three aspirants for the party’s ticket for the April presidential election, the lady was hardly rated close to the other two contenders for the ticket – President Goodluck Jonathan, who won the election, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. This much was reflected in newspaper headlines that put the election squarely as a Jonathan versus Atiku contest. While the main aspirants had well-established campaign organisations, Mrs. Jibril lacked any structure on ground. Objectively, she could not muster the human and material resources to meet even the legitimate logistical requirements of the intra-party election. If she had any message she did not have the means of selling it to the delegates before the convention date.  Hence no serious political analyst could have given her any chance. This is certainly no good news for those who believe that women should play a greater role in politics. Here we are talking of not mere participation only, but also popular control of power.

The PDP primary election is now history, as they say. However, the role of Jibril in that history should interest us for at least for reason. She could be excused for not having resources to prosecute an election in the typical Nigerian way; but she could hardly be pardoned for her poverty of ideas. The sheer frivolity of Mrs. Jibril, which was egregiously on display at the party convention in Abuja on January 13, was simply untenable. Yes, she had no chance of winning the election, but she had a supreme chance of making a point historically.

Admittedly, party conventions are scarcely structured with any rigour for the contest of ideas and popularisation of policies and political platforms. In more serious climes the party convention would define the direction of the party beyond the nomination of the presidential candidates.  The gathering of the party faithful would also throw up new political personalities and draw attention to some fresh ideas and new tendencies. After all, it is said that Barrack Obama began to receive national attention with the speech he made at the Democratic convention in 2004 when John Kerry got the party ticket. Kerry did win that election, but four years later Obama was elected president of the United States of America. Unfortunately, serious discussions of programmes and strategies of governance at party meetings are not yet part of our political culture. Yet, the five minutes given to each aspirant to address the convention was a golden opportunity for Jibril to announce her purpose in politics to the world. In five minutes, Jibril could have made a statement for history encapsulating the essence of her political vision. The point at issue is that although the woman might not have won the election by any means, she could have conducted herself in a manner that she could be taken more seriously even by opponents.  Her carriage at the party convention was a disservice to the cause of advancing the gender question positively in politics.

The huge irony inherent in this should not   be lost.   Her participation in the election was pregnant with a lot of symbolism.

The gender question is an important one in Nigerian politics.  It is about the place of at least 50 per cent of the population in the political ladder. It is an issue of socio-political justice. You cannot talk of a holistic political development without resolving the gender question equitably. The affirmative action of setting a goal for 35% representation for women in the   political hierarchy is all part of the process of answering the question. To borrow the phrase of President Obama, her venturing into the arena of presidential primaries carried with it all the elements of “audacity of hope” of a woman one day becoming the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

That is why the woman politician ought to have carried herself in a way that would compel attention nationally. Instead of optimising the very little time she had to demonstrate the essential Sarah Jibril the lady was busy pandering to her fellow contestants. She danced to no identifiable tune. Her speech was incoherent. It was all gesticulation and hardly was any point made. She elected to stage   theatrics instead of engaging her audience and by extension the polity on her mission in politics. Now, this is a gross disappointment coming from a well-educated woman; a specialist in psychology with an admirable diction could not articulate anything before convention delegates.

Yet, Jibril is otherwise an engaging person. It would be uncharitable to dismiss her as an empty shell. If you doubt this assertion, you may wish to read her reasoned intervention in the Chinua Achebe Interview Series. She was asked what in her view would Nigeria need to have in place to be successful in the 21st century. Her response: “We all need what we call the rigour of an ethical system. This must happen in Nigeria for it to be successful”.  A politician with that kind of statement cannot be accused of not having a thought process guiding her political activities. It is, however, the rigour of articulation that was lacking in her political outing on the convention day.

Here is a woman who is veteran of national party conventions as a presidential aspirant. She was a contestant for the presidential ticket of the Social Democratic Party in Jos way back in 1993, which was won by Bashorun Moshood Abiola.  In 19 years of putting her self forward as an aspirant for the office of the president, Jibril ought to have mastered the game better.

The congratulatory statement made by former President Ibrahim Babangida after the primaries puts the matter in a wider context. Babangida, who also aspired for the PDP ticket before Atiku emerged as the product of the northern consensus, demonstrated his consciousness of history in the statement. He congratulated Jonathan. He also had some kind words for Mrs. Jibril.  Babangida pays the woman a tribute because of what he sees as the historical significance of her adventure in the aspiration to be president. According to Babangida, one day when a woman president is elected, it would be remembered that there was one Mrs. Sarah Jibril who aspired severally to the high office when no one gave a woman a chance. Even if it were a century from now that it happens, the memory of Jibril would be deserving of such a tribute. And that is the sense of historical purpose that Jibril ought to cultivate. For now she does not seem to be conscious of this history. Just like the theme of race was explored to bring out the historical significance of Obama’s victory as the first black man to be elected president in the United States, so would gender be the theme one day when a woman is elected president of Nigeria. After all, a continuum was established between the “audacity’ of Obama and the daring disposition of Rosa Park in the refusal to give up her seat in the Montgomery, Alabama bus and the subsequent Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.

The political establishment appears to be the only arena in which the rise of women still contends with a glass ceiling; in other departments of our national life women have demonstrated unimpeachable capacity for leadership. The evidence of this asseveration abounds everywhere you turn to in both private and pubic sectors. There are as many women as there are men equipped for leadership. Even, in some locales the girl child is said to be receiving more education. That is why the women presence should not be by default be perceived as a frivolous attempt. With a serious strategy and organisation for power, the day of the first Nigerian female president may be nearer than some prejudiced minds can fathom now.

What is more, the Nigerian woman has a rich background of exceptional women who showed leadership during their times. Eminent historian, Professor Bolanle Awe, edited a book of essays by scholars on some prominent women who were factors in our pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial history.  The book entitled  Nigerian Women: A Historical Perspective is published by Book Craft Ltd. in association with Sankore Publishers Ltd.

The essays deal with the life and times of women such as Queen Amina of Zaria, Queen Kambasa of Bonny, Heroines of the Women’s War, and Saviours of their Society, Omu Okwei of Osomari, Olufunmilayo Ransome-Kuti and others. In introducing the biographical sketches as a means of exploring different phases of Nigerian history, Awe argues that beginning from “the dawn of history”; development has always been the joint efforts of men and women. Like men, women have also played decisive roles in society, according to the historian. Her instructive conclusion: “… women who exercised leadership were those who were not prepared to be cowed by the constraints of a male-dominated society and who demonstrated their courage most effectively by their own achievements. Thus these biographies suggest a pattern for effective female participation national development for they demonstrate the strength and resourcefulness of Nigerian women in establishing a worthy place for themselves in their own societies. They show quite clearly that the recognition of women’s contribution to the society is not going to be conceded to them on a platter of gold. The doors are not going to be thrown open without an effort. Women must struggle for that recognition and prove by their efforts, that they deserve it”.

These words of exhortation should inspire women politicians to be   seriously organised.  Jibril had the opportunity of briefly demonstrating the possibility of this point at the PDP convention, but she missed it. What a pity.

copied frm Thisday

Nigeria una too talk,yet the country is in chaos,useless country