When it comes to which gender should preside over the affairs of Nigeria, qualified Nigerian women have not yet had the privilege of steering the ship of state and taking the pulse of Nigerians into consideration, it seems that even beyond 2027, the elusive victory in a presidential election might continue to evade the grasp of the country’s womenfolk.
In Nigeria, the call for a long overdue female president is more often than not prompted by the perception in some quarters that women are better managers and that they can effectively lead a nation and turn its fortunes around because they are mothers.
There are Nigerians who, however, disagree with those making the call.
Those on the other side of the divide often use Liberia’s first female President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, considering the public outcry that greeted her government, to paint a gloomy picture of women turning out to be “presidential disappointments.”
Sirleaf’s “sins” notwithstanding, many countries, not only Nigeria, are still fixated with having a female President.
In the United States of America, some people’s dream of having a first female President did not materialise during the country’s November 5 presidential election.
The President-elect, Donald Trump, defeated America’s female Vice President, Kamala Harris, and some Nigerians were quick to say it is a man’s world. But the truth of the matter is that Harris’ policy flip-flops and male voters’ reluctance to vote for a woman contributed heavily to her defeat.
Despite the setbacks and obstacles, the call for a female President has continued to resonate in Nigeria and it is buoyed up by the recent election of Namibia’s first female President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72.
Nandi-Ndaitwah was declared the winner in a keenly contested election on December 3, 2024, and her party, the South West African People’s Organisation, which has been governing since 1990 when Namibia gained Independence, won about 57 percent of the popular vote.
Namibia is a relatively young country in the African continent. It gained Independence from South Africa, and commentators say that gender parity quotas, which were put into its (Namibia’s) constitution, make the Southern African country a fertile ground for competent female political leaders that are hungry for success.
Nigeria, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish.
The hope of seeing a female President has remained a pipedream. And to a considerable degree, the gender biases against women who aspire for political offices are to blame.
The daunting societal challenges faced by women notwithstanding, some analysts insist that those noticeable prejudices and whatnot against women may even be the least of their worries.
The big issue for women, the analysts have opined, is the bitter truth that the current President, Bola Tinubu, would most likely be seeking reelection in 2027 and there is a high probability that he would beat all comers.
And even if Tinubu found it hard to do so, the main opposition figures in Nigeria, Peter Obi of the Labour Party; Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party; Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party are all men who have what it takes to clinch the presidency.
Analysts say it will take a miracle for a woman to dislodge any of these battle-tested men, even at the party level and Nigerians have, thus, resigned themselves to fate, believing that electing a female President would, for the time being, just be a distant mirage.
To set the record straight, it is not as if women have been folding their arms, waiting for a voice from heaven that would compel their male counterparts to stand down or take a back seat in the race for the presidency.
This is why for students of politics worth their salt, the name “Sarah Jibril” will ring a bell. She is the first Nigerian woman to run for presidency. She did this way back in 1992 and succeeded in becoming a Nigerian sweetheart.
Jibril took another shot at the presidency in 1999 when the Fourth Republic kicked off in Nigeria. She, again, did not succeed but that did not discourage other women from attempting to make the presidential spotlight their own at subsequent elections.
In the presidential election that was held last year, about eight women declared their interest to contest for the office of President. Tinubu’s former Women Affairs Minister, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, was one of them.
She later stepped down for the president before the APC primary and only another female, Chichi Ojei, the flag-bearer of the Allied People’s Movement, braved the storm to get her party’s nomination so that she would contest against Tinubu and the other male presidential candidates at the polls proper.
Despite her best effort, Ojei’s party, the APM, later dumped her, preferring to endorse the candidate of the PDP, Atiku.
Interestingly, the population of women in Nigeria, according to census figures, is almost at par with that of men and when it comes to leadership, there are many Nigerian women that are educated and well-equipped to handle the pressures of public offices, including the presidency.
However, women have not been able to translate their numerical strength or the stockpile of experience they have in their respective fields into victories at the polls and analysts say the society also stereotypes women.
Nigeria’s political arena is a male-dominated one. Women are usually asked to take their place in the kitchen or the “other room” and as torrid as it may sound, even a former Nigerian past President, Muhammadu Buhari, was caught in the act using the same condescending expression.
Buhari said this much in 2016 in Germany after his wife, Aisha Buhari, questioned his leadership and also criticised him by stating that he did not know most of the top officials he appointed in his government.
The former President, while meeting former German Chancellor, Angela Merkel – a woman – replied to his wife by telling foreign journalists that he did not know which party his wife belonged to. He added that Aisha belonged “to my kitchen and the other room.”
A current affairs analyst, Michael Eboh, told The Point he was not sure that a woman would be sworn in as President “in my lifetime.”
He, however, also said that women nursing presidential ambition should not be discouraged by what happened to some women who served in Tinubu’s cabinet.
“In my lifetime, I am not sure that I will experience the swearing-in of a female president in Nigeria. The chances are really slim.
“Any woman that wants to be president in 2027 or 2031 must be ready to do the extra work and win the hearts of Nigerians. It won’t be easy and I don’t think there’s any woman in the country that is ready for this herculean task.
“Any woman that wants to be president in 2027 or 2031 must be ready to do the extra work and win the hearts of Nigerians. It won’t be easy and I don’t think there’s any woman in the country that is ready for this herculean task”
“In my opinion, 2027 will be out of the reach of any woman thinking of unseating Tinubu. Let the women focus on 2031. And while they are at it, they must not be discouraged by what happened to some women in Tinubu’s cabinet.
“You know that Betta Edu, former Poverty Alleviation Minister, was unceremoniously kicked out while Uju Ken-Ohanenye was booted out for delivering too little. I think all women need to do is restrategize for 2031 and hope for the best,” Eboh said.
Another analyst, Collins Ugorji, said, “I don’t think Nigerian voters will elect a female President anytime soon. Many Nigerians still believe that a woman’s place is at home in the kitchen.
“Although I personally believe that women have what it takes to run the affairs of this country, the political and cultural equilibrium of the country, unfortunately, will not let them be.
“Women have to be supported so that they can give their best. And with the increasing demographics of Nigerian women, sooner rather than later, one of them will do the unthinkable by winning a presidential election.
“With that all being said, I advise women to learn to support fellow women. If women want to be taken seriously in a country like Nigeria, they must show everyone that they are willing to rally round one of their own.
“And because a country like the US has not elected a female president does not mean that Nigeria cannot have one before them.
“Kamala Harris did not win simply because of her policies. If the right woman with the right policies comes around here, I am sure she will win.”
