The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, is
renowned globally for championing the cause of
women. At her capacity building workshop for
female governorship aspirants, held in Abuja on
Wednesday, October 15, the issue of electing female
governors in 2015 was addressed. Present were three front-runners for governorship
in their respective states: Senator Chris Anyanwu
(Imo) Senator Nkechi Nwogu (Abia), and Dr. (Mrs.)
Esther Uduehi (Delta). These women echoed the
concerns of the First Lady about under-
representation of women in politics. Uduehi was quick to add: “In this century, we should not be
talking about man or woman, but rather whether
the person is qualified.” This also was a theme at a recent Women
Leadership Summit in Asaba where Governor
Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State was quoted as
saying “women must come together to win in a
man’s world.” Uduaghan, who was the host of the maiden edition
of The Sun Women Leadership Summit, added:
“They should refuse to be used to pull down or
limit their fellow women in whatever field of
endeavor. The women must agree to work
together, they will win in elections by refusing to be manipulated by men and not be used against their
fellow women.” Which state will show that it is progressive by
electing the first female governor? The First Lady
has been in the forefront of ensuring that women
are no longer marginalized with her global Women
for Change and Development Initiative (W4CDI),
which is “a socio-cultural organization that seeks to better the lot of the Nigerian woman economically,
socially and politically.” W4CDI is similar to African Women Leadership
Organization (AWLO), which recently held its annual
conference in Atlanta, USA under the theme
AFRICAN WOMEN: HARNESSING OUR STRENGTHS,
GROWING IN ALL SPHERES. AWLO mission is “to bring
together female executives, professionals and leaders to further advance the leadership status of
women in the continent and fulfill the objectives of
the organization.” Two specific objectives of AWLO are: “To challenge
African women to aspire to take up leadership
positions in their respective countries;” and “To
support and initiate strategies that improve access
to legal, political, economic, educational, health
services to advance the status of women in the region.” Clearly, ensuring that women have a level playing
field that ensures the election of a female governor
is within the ambit of AWLO, which is also an
extrapolated aim of W4CDI, which states on their
website that “Women for Change and Development
Initiative is committed to the creation of a movement that will engender the mass awareness
of women at all levels to their human rights and
obligations as citizens of Nigeria.” According to the South-East Zonal Coordinator of
W4CDI, Mrs. Uzuamaka Obianujunwa, W4CDI was
established in 2010 and since then “the First Lady
has been at the forefront canvassing for 35 per
cent participation of women in governance in terms
of political appointment and elective positions.” To achieve 35%, it means at least 13 states should
have female governors. In Delta, Uduehi, who is
partly Ukwuani (Delta North) and partly Urhobo
(Delta Central), appears poised to achieve the feat
of being the first female elected governor in Nigeria,
based on her intimidating qualifications . She has also achieved a lot of firsts in her life
including first female Sole Administrator of a Local
Government Area, first female CEO of state owned
companies as Permanent Secretary in Commerce
and Industry, first female Special Adviser to the
President, first female head of a State media house (Bendel Broadcasting Service) and first female
Deputy Treasurer of a political party. Uduehi’s pedigree includes the fact that her junior
sister is a professor and her elder sister was the first
female SSG in Delta State, a fact acknowledged by
the acting President-General of Urhobo Progress
Union (UPU), Chief Joe Omene, at a recent
consultation visit. Omene even said concerning Uduehi: “If Delta State
is ruled by a woman, it will be better for us. A
woman who has risen to your level, why can’t she
rule this state.” While the rest of the world has been very
progressive with women, including electing female
presidents, female Prime Ministers, Nigeria is still
lagging behind and the world is waiting to see if
2015 will be a watershed year that ushers in a new
Nigeria. Let us catch up!

"The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, is renowned globally for championing the cause of women."


Lie of the century. Her only contribution to the Missing Chibok Girls is some lame phrase - Na only you waka come, chai.