Former
President, Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday, advocated for the election of a
female president for Nigeria.
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| Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria |
Obasanjo made the remark at the 5th edition of the Egba
Dialect Debate and Choral Competition for Secondary Schools in Ogun Central
Senatorial District, in Abeokuta.
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| Dr. Lanre Tejuoso, Pro-Chancellor of University of Lagos |
The event
which featured a debate session with the theme: “Nigeria is ripe for a female president”,
was organised by the Pro-Chancellor of University of Lagos, Dr. Lanre Tejuoso.
According to Daily Trust, in his remarks, Obasanjo said he
supported the motion, saying the female folks should be given a trial.
According to him, it’s only when power is being passed and
shared equally among both genders, will the country stand strong again and
develop.
Obasanjo said, “From my own view, if we want the country to
grow, we should consider both genders, because a hand can’t carry a load to the
head alone.
“You can do it as you want, but it should be done as it is
supposed to be, we can gain experience from both genders, what’s the difference
between the genders? Only that the female can get pregnant for nine months and
a male can’t. That’s the only difference in us.
“As for me, there’s nothing preventing the female gender to
be the president of our country.”
Corroborating Obasanjo , the deputy governor of Ogun State,
Naimot Salako-Oyedele, also called for the need to bring in females into
politics.
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| Naimot Salako-Oyedele, the deputy governor of Ogun State |
According to her, only few females are in power in the
country, adding that same is applicable to Ogun State.
She said, “We can’t give someone power, it has to be fought
for, and we have to start bringing female into politics, even if it’s from the
grassroot level, so that they can gain enough experience to lead the country.
“If she can start from being a councillor and we see that
she’s capable, then, she can move to the next level.
“In Ogun state, we have 236 councillors but only 18 are
females, we have 20 Chairmen, only two are females among them, we have 26 seats
in the house of Assembly, only two are females, house of representatives, we
have nine, one is female, we have three senators, no female and we have the
deputy governor who is also a female.”
Salako-Oyedele who represented the governor, applauded the
promotion of the indigenous language, adding that the state is also doing
everything to promote the Yoruba culture.
She added that the state government is supporting the Yoruba
cultural center that is being proposed in the University of Ibadan, to boost
the indigenous language.