Women Politicians In Nigeria

"I think people like the Arch and Madiba [Nelson Mandela] always recognized their failings. And so people didn’t have a chance to throw any stones at them. What came out was ‘okay, I’m not perfect, I’m not God, but these are the things that I believe in, these are the things that I will fight for’. So as human beings, what we look to is what they stood for. And I’m not sure today that we give so much grace to leaders. And I think that we have to think and listen to what the leader is saying and doing, rather than judge what’s in the closet."

"And this is our leaders, and I’m saying leaders at different levels, because the leaders that we point to and look to as inspirations and heroes, they’re all gone now. And I don’t know who we point to, to replace them. Because today, we’re so critical of the person, we’re so judgmental of the person, and we miss the message that that person carries."

"I think essentially, we’ve got to have a few conversations with ourselves. And there has to be a huge amount of courage that what you’re doing is shaping the future. I mean, concretely, shaping that future for your people with what you know is the right thing."

"And that’s what really draws me to the Arch [Desmond Tutu]. Because I think he really taught us how to respect what’s behind our skin. It’s us, it’s human beings. And as you’re born, you’re incredibly free of everything, and depending where you land, is what shapes you."

"And as such, each thread matters, each thread makes the fabric stronger, not weaker. So the less threads we have, that we leave behind, the weaker that fabric. And I think if you say that to people, then they see themselves in the fabric. It’s not you against us."

"The diversity piece has lost its meaning, because we’ve sort of pigeonholed different parts of our society that are different, and will choose to live differently. And what we need to see is healthy respect, and that these are the threads of our human fabric."

"And I think that we are richer for it if we identify with what we really are. The question of diversity for me is far deeper than the narrow, silo approach that we are seeing on diversity now."

"I do this because I was part of an education system that did this, although I have to say that we had a broader education. But as years have gone on, that curriculum has become loaded. It has lost its core. And I think people are struggling with who they are, and who they are is such a contradiction to people who want us to join this global family."

"What I’m trying to say is that as we learn to have pride and independence of one’s being, how that contributes from the inside out. So you’re not just looking at capacities and skills to connect to the outside world without understanding anything about who you are, and the part that you play in your own ecosystem."

"Our ambition is for each child, as a global citizen, and not just an African citizen, but to bring that whole technology and learning into an environment."

"And that we move on from things that we did not know were so harmful because they were so cultural, or so male-vested. And we need to move on. But there are some good things there."

"Then, building on that, the primary and secondary education that we need. One that really looks at that intrinsic value of education to a person, a person’s identity from their cultures, their religion, the good practices – so we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater – we’re always referring to harmful cultural practices, and we never look at it from the positive side."

"So I think that we need to find creative ways of bringing education into the home, and not taking kids to institutions at that early age. So early childhood education, for me, is one transformation that happens together with a mother [for] that bonding in the community, where we say that Africa is brought up by a village and not by a couple of people. So, really bringing that community learning into early child care."

"I think it starts first of all for from where we create access to education, and the curriculum that we put in place for it. And we talk about the scientific basis that we find we must have in early childcare. I think early childcare is not in a classroom, but very much in Africa today, it needs to start with adult literacy and mothers because as African women, and in our cultures – our children are with us until they’re three, attached at the hip, if you would."

"Wow. We have so many young women and people around the world and around Africa that I come across and I also look up to them. A New African Woman is strong and is at the top of her game in informing and shaping the future of Africa on every level: economically, politically, environmentally, because we are there in all these fields. It is also about African women’s rights and aspirations. African women are closing the gap between the realities of today and our aspirations for tomorrow."

"And in the DRC, where Goma was once known as the rape capital of the world, they have made strides and put in place people who are responsible for trying to reverse the tide. Working with UN Women and our special representative on sexual violence in conflict, we have seen a huge reduction, although not enough, because we said zero tolerance. However, we need to scale this up and share the best practice."

"Regarding gender-based violence, I believe as a human family, the first thing we have to do is draw up our sphere of tolerance. And then to look at what we need to put in place to ensure that tolerance becomes a sustainable part of our community. In Nigeria, for instance, gender-based violence takes many different forms depending on cultural practices. And there’s been a lot of work that the United Nations has done to overcome some of them. But new incidences are being seen, as we face the complexities of some of the conflicts we have in the northeast, for instance, with Boko Haram kidnappings, the rapes and the sex for food. These are unacceptable but again, you have some gains in other parts of the country where we have greatly reduced some of [the harmful] cultural practices."

"The MDGs are still unfinished business but what this new framework has done is provide, first of all, the recognition of building on the MDGs with a little bit more ambition. But to do so, we do have to look at strong governments and institutions. We need strong partnerships and the funding that comes with that. What we have is a response that is still valid, even more today because of the kind of political turmoil we see ourselves in."

"The response to that is so complicated; it’s not a neat number, it’s not a neat set of targets. I think that, first, we should acknowledge that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were a really good effort. It was the first time the world came together to set a number of integrated issues together. We might not have achieved all of them everywhere but we knew that it did work and therefore, what we did was take it a step further."

"We also have a lady who is heading up the Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe, and I think that this is amazing because she’s going to bring a different kind of vision to supporting Africa’s agenda; making sure that we integrate the economy; women’s issues, youth issues, technology, across some of the promises that have been made by African leaders. So, in short, I would say the rubber is about to hit the road and what we need to see is that rhetoric and those frameworks are turned into action."

"I do think that we have an opportunity now. What we have to do is to make sure we get behind the leadership. Let me just say that on both Agenda 2063 and the SDGs, Africa is the only region that has a common position – a 10-year plan."

"I think both in the global community and in Africa, we have the right rhetoric, we have the correct framework. But it’s when that rubber hits the road that action comes into play. I think in the case of the AU, what we have seen the African leadership do in the last few months is to, first of all, get behind the reforms that are needed and make them happen, and ask and take the tough questions on how to reform an institution to take responsibility for the decisions that happen to get the results, both in terms of the AU’s Agenda 2063 and Silencing the Guns. We have also seen that they made progress in taking responsibility towards financing the AU itself. These are all works in progress at different stages but I believe the leadership right now is incredibly serious about it and we are redefining our relationship with Africa on the basis of respect and solidarity, as the [UN] secretary general says."

"Depending on the context of my means, this may be two children or six children. I think that the bigger, inestimable problem, is the ability to make sure that we can provide for those that come into the world. So, on the population issue, I think there are many dimensions to it and health and life is a very big one."

"First of all, I think that any population should be seen from the perspective of being an asset to a country and we need to make the investment to make sure there is quality and that everyone has equal opportunity. Today we have populations growing without the ability to service them and therefore, women and children take the brunt of this and are suffering. We have to go back to those policies and see why that is happening. In many cases, it’s because we don’t have the choices around population issues to make those decisions and I think that’s what we should be given, the free choice to make the decisions we need to, to have a healthy family."

"The UNGA theme, tried first of all, put the emphasis on the need to bring the resources and the political commitment. We are going to discuss the problems we have and addressing their root causes, but at the same time, we have to find the resources and financing to put into development and unless we ratchet that up, then we will be losing the gains of peace as quickly as we are putting our resources at the problem."

"We don’t often look at the fact that root causes can require to be addressed over the long-term. We have to have a balance on what we do in the short term; what can we do in the long-term, and there are some of those low-hanging fruit that give a sense of the possibilities of achieving the longterm objective. But people often want to have things done yesterday."

"But while you are right that we don’t see as many conflicts as before, we do, however, in those pockets, see much more larger scale conflicts, which have larger regional implications. I therefore think it’s much more challenging because they are bringing cross-border issues. Here again, the mechanisms are around putting mediation into place, ensuring that there is a plan straddling the peace process with development. And clearly addressing the fact that when we talk about the humanitarian development nexus, in theory, we have so many red lines. But in practice and on the ground, people are dealing with this in the same context and trying to move the humanitarian crisis to reintegration on a development trajectory that achieves the SDGs. So, it is difficult."

"I think in the short term, as you will have seen in the last six months, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations have defined their frameworks for peace and security. Again, this is to bring more coordination and coherence, a more efficient way of looking at the results, and get them around the continent. What is important here is to align the AU’s Agenda 2063 and the UN’s Agenda 2030. So, in the short term, we are getting the partnership frameworks right especially on roles and responsibilities."

"The UN’s approach to that, as the secretary general firmly puts it in his vision, is: We have got to look at how we prevent conflicts and once we come out of them, how do we sustain the peace and development. And in the middle of this, we are saying that the SDGs are the frameworks that we need to invest in. There are therefore no quick wins in this discussion. If we are to have sustainable development, we cannot put a band-aid on things. And if you don’t address the root causes, we are never going to have sustainable development. Therefore, we have to go back to the drawing board and we have to be courageous about it; and the UN has to come together and be much more responsive in the way in which it supports countries, in order to move them forward."

"Yes. In the context of many of our countries that are experiencing different types of conflict and humanitarian challenges, it’s difficult to address some of these goals."

"I think it’s a real struggle and the response that we are seeing right now is how countries are grappling with what they are going to do about the current order. Let me just underscore here that we are in transition time with the SDGs. As we have always said, it would take a couple of years to transition from the MDGs to the SDGs."

"Most certainly, these are challenging times. But I think the ownership and the process that we started to get in this incredibly ambitious framework took into account context and recognised the different complexities of our world today. And also, the context of political upheavals, of conflict, of migration, and of terrorism. It really did take everything into account."

"And what the SDGs tell us is: Let’s take a step back and let’s ask people to set the foundations on which we are building sustainable development. Let’s get them right; let’s take the time to do that and not be in a hurry to fail."

"However, gender parity is at the top of the agenda in the United Nations and everybody buys into gender parity in terms of aspiration. But the realities of how you move men out of positions in order to make room for women to get gender parity is a tough discourse and it has to start at the entry point – into parliament, into jobs, into institutions."

"When we are talking about women in politics, what we need to see is opening up those opportunities at all levels and institutions and that, I don’t think is happening. Men aren’t just going to step aside."

"I think men have to recognise that in every home, the woman has a right to participate in the economy and has the abilities to contribute to that. But that should not be done to the detriment of the home, and it should be a shared responsibility."

"For many, the health pandemic has been a tragedy, particularly in developed countries, but for developing countries it has a socio-economic impact that will take so much longer to recover from."

"Until everyone gets the vaccine, we will all be at risk, and we will not be able to take the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to where they ought to be by 2030."

"Young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow. They are the partners of today."

"Leaving no one behind means reaching the furthest behind first."

"We cannot afford to exclude half of humanity from the solutions that will shape our future."

"Sustainable development is not an option; it is an imperative."

"It's very important that we don't withhold aid from people that it matters most to."

"Gen. Sani Abacha heard all these great stories about the good work I was doing at UNN and in Anambra State and he picked me. That’s the honest truth, before God and man. It was purely on merit. Don’t listen to what my enemies are saying."

"We set up the Foundation in memory of our parents. For something like that, you just have to pick people you trust. You don’t want the wrong people to come in and mess things up."

"Yes. That’s my very dear brother in whom I’m very pleased. He was suffering as a teacher at a community college in Virginia when I advised him to come back home. I told him that the miserable life of a teacher was not his divine portion. He listened to me and came back home. He started Solid Base Contractors LTD. When you have a big sister like me, your problem will never be cash but how to spend your money. I hooked him up and the rest is history."

"But being a miser does not mean he is using government funds well. He is not a miser when it comes to stuffing the funds in his pocket. The first time you meet Gov. Obi he swears to you in that innocent voice of his: “If I steal a kobo of government fund, may God punish me and my children.” Like most people, I believed him. Then, right there in your face, he goes on to stuff his pocket. He is such a fake."

"Who told you that Gov. Obi brought the money used to buy them? They were all bought by my brother, Anayo. Gov. Obi knows only his pocket. He won’t even give anything to Catholic priests who received and transmitted the message that he was the pope’s candidate last year. The man is just a miser."

"Well, my only regret was going to Anambra State to partner with Gov. Peter Obi. You see, when you’re away from home and you depend on the newspapers for your stories, you’re setting yourself up to be fooled. I thought Gov. Obi was a good Catholic because I heard that the Pope endorsed him in last year’s gubernatorial election – and that God then ratified. In fact, I believed he was almost a holy man. Then I got to Anambra State and saw that he was a hypocrite. He carries around the rosary but he is just another crooked politician. The man is a creation of the media. He has a group of media men cleaning his image. The one that really shocked me was my discovery that he is not even popular in Anambra state. I could not believe it. If I had known, I would have remained in PDP and run for the senate seat under PDP. I would have won the election hands down. I was fooled by Peter Obi. He is surrounded by sycophants who won’t tell him a single truth. They deceive him by calling him “Okwute,” Rock of Ages. Meanwhile, he is just a mound of dust. Uche Ekwunife did the right thing – she did not allow Obi anywhere near her campaign. She kept her distance. She knew Obi was toxic. I did not know that. The man lives a fictional life. He is just a fraud sold to the public as a man with a great narrative."

"Tufiakwa! Not at all. The Dora brand is still the gold standard. It is as solid as coke. No shaking. My enemies can concoct stories about me but none of their evil stories will stick on me. God forbid! (She signs herself and mutters the Hail Mary)."