Nigeria at 53: Past, present and future of women leadership

                                                                      
Within the geographical space called Nigeria, women had been playing prominent roles even from primordial times.
Legends such as Queen Amina of Zaria, Moremi of Ile Ife, Emotan and Queen Idia of Benin Kingdom including the more recent heroines such as Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Sawaba Gambo, Margaret Ekpo, women of Aba who protested against imposition of tax on them in 1929 became famous due to the roles they played in their local communities and on the national stage.

Even at a time when majority of women had no voice, no say about what affected their lives such as choice of spouces and had no inheritance either through their paternal or matrimonial lineages, some women still rose to prominence through the traditional administrative system and subsequently put their footprints in the sand of time.
Titles such as Iyalode or Iyaloja in Yorubaland were often reseved for successful and outspoken women leaders in their immediate communities.
Queen Amina of Zaria, even in a male dominated society like the Hausaland of her time, became queen in a kingdom founded by her mother and led them to wars. She was not only respected, she was also greatly feared.
Moremi of Ile Ife offered herself as ransome for the sake of her kingdom to learn the secret of its perennial enemy after which the Ife kingdom prevailed.
In the modern era, there are heroine like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, a teacher, political campaigner, women’s rights activist, founder of the Nigerian Women’s Union and mother of the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti.
She founded several women groups and associations which objective was to fight for women’s rights in the area of representation and tax imposition.
In 1949, she led a protest against the native authorities, in particular the then Alake of Egbaland, Oba Ademola II, alleging abuse of authority which eventually forced the Alake to abdicate his throne.
In the 1950s, she was one of the few women elected to the House of Chiefs.
She was also the first Nigerian woman to drive a car and ride a motorcycle which at that time was like a taboo for women.
In spite of such feats by women across the country, they continued to make only very slow progress toward emancipation for the generality of women because it was not until the 1950s that three women made news when they were appointed into the House of Chiefs.
Funmilayo Ransom-Kuti was appointed into the Western Nigeria House of Chiefs while Chiefs (Mrs) Margaret Ekpo and Janet Mokelu were appointed into the Eastern Nigeria House Of Chiefs. There was no woman with such feat in the north.
It was also only in the 1950s that women in Southern Nigeria were given the right to vote. It did not happen in the north and despite the activism of a woman like Gambo Sawaba she could not vote or be voted. Therefore there was no vent for her activism as she could not represent women through any political platform like her contemporaries in the west and east.
During the Second Republic (1979-1983), there was further progress. A few Nigerian women won elections into the House of Representatives at the national level from their communities. Some of these women were Mrs. J. C. Eze of the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) who represented UzoUwani constituency in former Anambra State. Mrs V.O. Nnaji, also of NPP who represented lsu and Mrs Abiola Babatope of the Unity Party of Nigeria (LJPN) who represented Mushin Central II of Lagos State were in the House of Representatives. But, on the whole, very few women won elections into the various state Houses of Assembly at that time.
During the same period, only two women were appointed Federal ministers. They were Chief (Mrs) Janet Akinrinade who was Minister for Internal Affairs and Mrs Adenike Ebun Oyagbola, Minister for National Planning. Mrs Francesca Yetunde Emmanuel was the only female Permanent Secretary, first in the Federal Ministry of Establishment and later Federal Ministry of Health.
When in 1983 Ms Franca Afegbua became the first woman to be elected into the Senate her feat was well-celebrated.
With the return of military rule in December 1983, the Buhari administration directed that at least one woman must be appointed a member of the executive council in every state. All the states complied with this directive while some even had more than the stipulated quota.
In the early 1990s, two women were appointed Deputy Governors. These were Alhaja Latifat Okunnu of Lagos State and Mrs Pamela Sadauki of Kaduna State.
There was, however, no female minister.
In the 1990 elections into local governments heralding the Third Republic, very few women emerged as councillors and only one woman, Chief (Mrs) Titilayo Ajanaku, emerged as Chairperson of a Local Government council in Ogun State.
During the gubernatorial elections, there was no female governor but two female deputy governors emerged, namely: Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu of Lagos State and Mrs.
Cecilia Ekpenyong of Cross River State. In the senatorial election held in 1992, Mrs Kofoworola Bucknor Akerele was the only woman who won a seat in the Senate.
Very few women won election into the House of Representatives. One of these few was Chief (Mrs) Florence Ita-Giwa who won in the Calabar Constituency under the banner of the National Republican Convention (NRC).
Among members of the Transitional Council appointed by President Babangida in January 1993, only two were women, namely Mrs. Emily Aiklmhokuede and Mrs Laraba Dagash.
In the Interim National Government of Chief Ernest Shonekan who succeeded Babangida, two female ministers made the cabinet. In the five years of General Abacha’s regime a number of female ministers made his cabinet, including Chief (Mrs) Onikepo Akande and Ambassador Judith Attah.
During the military regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Chief (Mrs) Onikepo Akande (Minister for Commerce) also made the cabinet joined by Dr. Laraba Gambo Abdullahi (Minister of Women Affairs).
Since the inception of the fouth republic the Nigerian political terrain has witnessed an increase in the number of women political appointees but in elective positions there were only few. There was no female governor and only Lagos State produced a female deputy governor in the person of Senator Bucknor Akerele.
In the National Assembly, there were only three women in the Senate, namely: Chief (Mrs) Florence Ita Giwa representing Cross River State South Senatorial District; Mrs Stella Omu from Delta State and Hajiya Khairat Abdul-Razaq (now Hajiya Gwadabe) representing the Federal Capital Territory and only 12 women were in the House of Representatives.
As Chief Olusegun Obasanjo made effortsto comply with the Beijing declaration of September 1995, on increasedparticipation of women in governance and polity.
Gone were the days when women were used as tools to win elections and as dancers at political rallies at the end of which they would be given token fees and sent home.
Today, an enabling environment had been created which allow women to play active part in  Nigerian politics and policy. It should be noted that women today are not holding positions in government because of the active part they had played at political rallies, theyare holdingthe position because they earned and merited the posts because they are well educated,  experienced and competentin their various fields and profession. These experience and expertise coupled with the determination to create a better nation is why women who hold different ministerial and various appointments are excelling today.
It should also be noted that majority of these women were given ministerial portfolios;  because over the years, women are known to be prudent, careful and thorough in all they do, to get the best and they  get resuls.
The likes of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, heads the Ministry of finance;  Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi heads Ministry of Aviation,  Diezani Alison-Madueke; Minister of Petroleum Recourses, Mrs Omobola Olubusola Johnson,who had a new ministry created for her- Ministry of communication Technology, Hajiya Zainab; Minister for Women affairs.
Others include, Olajumoke Akinjide, Prof Viola Onwuliri, Hajia , among othersare  working hard to excel at their duties.
It is also worthy of note that, this present dispensation has a high regard for women and believes that a woman would always be fair in dispensing justice and issues related to it. This was proven in the appointment of  a female chief justice of the federation in 2012, in the person of Justice Aloma Mukhtar.
These are pointers to the fact that women are nation builders. Though encouraging, there is still room for representation more women at the helm of affairs of our great nation.