The Lipstick Revolution (Women and Political Power)

[4 min read]

So, can a woman really rule the Federal Republic of Nigeria? Can a woman make a good President? Will the Nigerian state bow to the authority of one with the XX Chromosomes? Will the marbled floors of the home of Nigerian political power ever experience constant assault from the heels of a woman?

Ever debated the central point of these questions with yourself or someone else before?

Can a woman make a good President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

Good news. I have arrived but without an end to the conundrum. Without an answer whatsoever. Just some more focused thinking excursion. Any side taken in this debate will largely be determined by sentiments (religious, ethnical et cetera) or/and facts.

What is the exact problem with women and leadership generally? Why does a woman in some form of power unnerve mankind (yes both men and women)?

Believe it or not, the world has some supernatural beginning, most of the world and the people therein thrive on some supernatural essence. You can’t detach the supernatural from man. This supernatural and man twinning was what necessitated the birth of religion of various brands and spices.

Here’s a point in all of that, the constitution of the majority of the religions hands some form of authority to the male gender. The world became patriarchal because the religions dictated that. For instance, I bet “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour” sounds pretty familiar.

The constitution and dictates of the major religions of the world hands leadership one way or the other to the masculine gender

(The roles of the religions and their dictates is ABSOLUTELY NOT THE SUBJECT OF THIS ARTICLE. Just laying down some history. BE NOT DISTRACTED).

Even the central figures for most of the different brands of religion are masculine characters. The traditional societies took over. Leadership remained of the bloodline of the XY whether or not they knew what they were doing.

The long line was broken on few occasions by people like Cleopatra VII Philopator of Egypt and a later on Empress Catherine II the great of Russia.

One of the groundbreakers: Empress Catherine (the great) II of Russia. (1762-1796) 

Fast forward to centuries after and we are here. Changed civilization, changed people and most vital, changed mentality.

As a toast to this new age, let’s debate based on logic shall we? Nigeria is in its 58^th year in the journey of being an independent nation, 55 as a republic and if history is correct, 105 as an amalgamated entity. This is no kid we’re talking about. Nigeria is way past puberty.

To believe for instance that the nation would do poorly with a woman at the helms of affairs will be to stand on the assumption that so far, the 13 “boys” who have ruled since 1960 have done an excellent job. That’s a proper joke right there. A joke that is not very funny.

Believing that the men have in fact done anything close to an excellent job since 1960 is a joke that attempts to be funny but fails

Here’s a summary of some of their exploits: A senseless 3+ years of Civil war with thousands of lives lost and innocent children caught in the crossfire, coups and counter coups like kids keeping malice with wisdom, corruption on competing levels, terrorism, economic hardship, dysfunctional educational and health sectors and so many other great and mighty miracles wrought by their hands.

Again, I’m not saying if a woman steps in the country will become some new global site of attraction or even the Giant of Africa it claims to be, the thought I’m sponsoring is, Nigeria will not necessarily get worse than it is because someone with a lipstick is Commander-in-Chief.

I mean, on a lighter note, what’s the worst that could happen should we have a Madam President? She’d sell the country? Oh please. Just so you know, Nigeria is fast track on its way to becoming a Chinese annex with the magnitude of the debt we owe China. Folks, wo men shi zhongguo ren. You should start taking your Chinese/Mandarin classes serious.

And the “Nigeria’s at war against terrorism and a lady can’t lead the war” argument is an unforgivable act of making out with the dark ages. In case you didn’t get the memo, leaders don’t lead armies on chariots at the forefront of wars anymore. They stay in air conditioned rooms surrounded by Generals they have appointed who do the thinking, advising and strategy development.

So yes, to command a war, a smart leader is the requirement. Not six prominent rectus abdominis muscles and rocket-high testosterone levels.

Oh, by the way, during the Falkland war of 1982, the Argentine Military Government led by Lt. General Leopoldo Galtieri and its troops had their backsides handed to them by a British force commanded by- guess who?

Yeah, you’re right, the Rt. Hon. Lady Margaret Thatcher. The Iron Lady and longest serving British Prime Minister. Isn’t that kind of funny?

The First Female and Longest-serving British Prime Minister: Both affectionately and unaffectionately called the The Iron Lady. She served the Argentinian Military Government with the humble pie by leading the British to victory during the Falkland war. Absolutely ruthless and no-nonsense kind of leader she was.

Did I forget to tell you another woman currently occupies that same role (British Prime Minister) today as we speak? Or that Germany has been led since 2005 by one woman! (Democratically by the way, not the Mugabe style). She’s also the European Continent’s Mummy and has been for years.

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel celebrating with the 2014 World Cup winning German National Team. She's been Chancellor for the past 13 years!

Her Minister for Defence is a Medical Doctor with a minor in Economics and wait for this, she’s also mother of 7 children! A minister of defence! Ursula von der Leyen has been minister of defence for the past 4 years and is on consideration for the top job of the Secretary General of NATO (a testimony to how well she’s performed).

A Medical Doctor. A degree in Economics in the bag. A Minister of Defence and a mother of 7. Ursula von der Leyen is the very height of badassry. She's taking no prisoners!

Wherever the political ceilings are these days, women are locating and shattering the living daylight out of them. Hillary Clinton may have failed in her bid to become the first female President, but Nancy Pelosi is the current Speaker US House of Representatives (Number 3 in the government).

Official Title: Speaker, US House of Representative and Number 3 in the government. Unofficial Tittle: Head of the "Donald Trump tormentors' brigade". Nancy Pelosi is 78 years old. Her Second time as Speaker.

Make no mistake, women are beginning to see that almost nothing is beyond them. Just last year, New Zealand’s 37 year old Female Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern conceived and delivered a baby girl while running the affairs of the country and the heavens did not fall.

(Prime Minister and Mother on duty). With not one single miligram of a damn given, New Zealand's 37 year old Female PM conceived and delivered a baby girl while in office and brought the 3 month old infant to the United Nations' General Assembly. The Heavens did not fall.

The late Benazir Bhutto became the first woman to head a democratic government in an Islamic nation when she headed the Pakistani government for 2 years. That’s the tip of the iceberg for that nation. Malala Yousafzai, a 21 year old Nobel Prize for peace winner (the youngest ever to win that prestigious prize) is well on her way to making a huge impact in Pakistan.

Being a Woman in power is one thing. Being one in a predominantly Islamic Country is stuff of legends. The Late Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto earns our absolute respect.

Now whether or not Nigerians would vote a lady or whether a lady can surpass Sarah Jubril’s feat of scoring only one vote in the PDP presidential primaries of 2011 is a different ball game entirely.

Sarah Jubril may have scored only ONE vote during the 2011 PDP Presidential Primaries but as pacesetter, she gets a reserved seat in the gallery of history. It's only a matter of time though before she has some company.

The idea of this write up is to clear any residual doubt and reiterate that being female is not a synonym for reduced ability in the corridors of political power. Would be nice if both men and women had this as a mindset. Would even be better if the stories of those who reached the very summit of political power encourages the Nigerian lady.

The one we fell in love with: Football-loving Croatian President (Dressed in her country's jersey), Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, providing emotional support for the National Team Captain after Croatia lost to France in the 2018 World Cup Finals.  

The lipstick revolution is here and boy is it gaining unstoppable traction. It’s only a matter of time. I know for a certain I’d be teaching my daughter (if I have one) that there’s absolutely no limit to her prowess.

Honorable mention of nations currently led by women is particularly impressive and crosses continents. Presidents of Malta, Lithuania, Nepal, Marshall Island, Taiwan, Estonia, Georgia, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago and an African representative, Ethiopia.  

There are also Female Prime Ministers in Norway, The United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Iceland, Romania, Serbia and an African representative, Namibia.

It's a brave new world baby!

Malala Yousafzai (21 year old Pakistani): Youngest Nobel Prize Laureate. Shot in the head in  October 2012 by Taliban extremists for her activism and insistence on education for the girl child. Recovered and her since aggressively promoted peace and the rights of the girl child to education all over the world. She claims Benazir Bhutto is her biggest influence. Future Pakistani Prime Minister? 

Folks, getting things done and done right with political power is not the function of the type of genitals but of what is up there in the head and what is in there in the heart.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also doubles as de-facto co-leader of Europe together with the French President. Basically, She's the continent Europe's Mummy. Nothing happens politically in Europe without her say so. 

I hope to God you didn’t get the central theme of this article twisted. May I reiterate that it has nothing to do with placing of one gender over the other.

This is an opinion piece which absolutely means I’d be delighted to hear yours (very nicely and constructively) in the comments section.

Cheers!

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