By Bolade Omonijo, Deputy Political Editor
Posted to the Web: Monday, November 07, 2005

WHEN, for three days in September, 13 ambassadors of European countries in Nigeria chose to call attention to the political and economic development in Enugu,  many Nigerians thought it was all a publicity stunt. A number of leaders, including some state governors, wondered what that could mean, whether it did not amount  to seeking colonial endorsement.

Although they chose to wear the cloak of anonymity, they expressed the hope that the project would boomerang and Governor Chimaroke Nnamani would be  permanently silenced. They based their expectation on the very high standards in Europe and the fact that the ambassadors would say it as they see things. They also  based their expectations on the suggestion that, given the paltry N1.2 billion that the state rakes in from the Federation Account monthly, little could really have been  done that would impress the ambassadors.

In the views of the ambassadors, what really informed the assessment visit? According to the leader of the delegation, the British High Commissioner, Mr. Richard  Grozney, “we have worked with His Excellency, the governor and others through the Department for International Development. The United Kingdom is the  chairman of the European Union for a period of six months between July and December 2005, so we wish to work with a state government for a visit of this sort.”
The British envoy explained further that, “the reason I suggested Enugu was because I knew a little bit of what it was like here because I come down because of the  DFID programmes and I wanted to show them how exceptional and dynamic Enugu was...”

In summing up the impressions of the foreign envoys, Grozney also had this to say: “I see dynamism, optimism and the ambition to be different and to introduce  programmes, infrastructure and other elements for the future that will make this state a driving force, a motivating force in this part of Nigeria and perhaps for Nigeria  as a whole.”

That was a powerful endorsement. At a time when many governors would travel all over the world canvassing the strong points of their states for elusive investment,  the governor of Enugu State, without leaving his state capital succeeded in selling his state and drawing powerful envoys to act as his salesmen.

Perhaps the most striking point made by the visiting ambassadors was the place of women in the state. The women on the team were particularly impressed that they  brought out the point. Maria de Perestello of Portugal was full of gratitude to the governor for the pride of place he had given to women in the state particularly in the  legislature. She said: “I thank you for the wonderful status you gave to us in your state.” Asked the position of women in the state to which the Portuguese  Ambassador referred, the state Commissioner for Information. Mr. Igbonekwu Ogazimora said five of the elected parliamentarians in the state were women.

The Finnish Ambassador, Anna-Lisa Korhomen, another woman was even more surprised by what she called the giant strides taken in the direction of involving  women in the affairs of the state. She said: “I am a bit curious to know how you have been able to attract all the people to come together with you, for you have so  many women organisations that are so active in this part of the country who are not anywhere else.” Addressing Governor Nnamani, she asked directly: “I would like  to know how you do it?”

Again, Mr Ogazimora explains: “We consider this a special state. We are here on a mission, of course the vision is the governors. He believes that women have a  whole lot to contribute. He has always maintained that a half of the population cannot be held down and we expect any meaningful development. Here, as a result of  the governor’s convictions, for the first time in the history of the state, we have seven female customary court judges. Eight of the 17 local government chairmen are  women and 17 of the 39 development centres have women as chairmen. Here, we don’t believe in paying lip service to women development and empowerment.  When other states shied away from nominating women to the National Political Reform Conference, we chose to do so. Not only that, we complemented it by  sending mainly younger person for that assignment.”

The ambassadors must have been surprised by the level of women involvement at the grassroots, since even in the most developed parts of the world, women are  only just being fully integrated into public life. At the lower rungs, the societies that have admitted women into leadership positions are already ahead in terms of  development.

However, although women have made some appreciable progress in terms of political leadership in the West, only in a few have they attained the highest point at the  highest level, even in the United States of America which is regarded as the headquarters of the Western world, no woman has emerged President or Vice President.  In the United Kingdom, about the oldest democracies in the world, no woman emerged the Prime Minister until Margaret Thatcher, popularly called the Iron Lady  broke the jinx in 1979. She was to add another first as she later emerged the first Prime Minister in the 20th Century to be elected at three consecutive elections.  Given the opportunity, Thatcher made the Conservatives that had consistently lost to the Labour party electable once again.

Anther woman who succeeded in climbing to the peak of the political ladder were Indira Gandhi who ruled India between 1966 and 1977, defeated 1977 but  bounced back in 1980. Golda Meir of Israel was called to duty in the most difficult period of the survival of that country. She emerged the prime Minister in 1969 and  the task of prosecuting the Yom Kippur war of 1973 fell on her. Although she eventually had to drop off the political scene as a consequence of public disavowal of  the country’s performance, Meir is regarded today as one of the greats who once ruled the Israel. Another contemporary woman leader of note is Mrs Corazon  Aquino of The Phillippines. Following the death of her charismatic husband, she was procured for the seat by popular demand.

The most recent example was the emergence of Mrs. Angela Merkel in Germany at the head of a coalition government in which the former ruling party is a partner.  There were many things that could have served as obstacle  to discourage the woman. She hailed from former Eastern Germany which had never played at that level.  No woman had ever been so lucky to give a serious challenge to the ruling order. She did not join the political establishment until 1990. Yet, at 51, she gave the  necessary push and won. She has since gone into history as the first woman to rule one of the most industrialised countries in the world.

In history, women have proved time and again that, given the opportunity, they could perform the eighth wonder of the world. Names frequently mentioned include  Queen Cleopatra of Egypt who ruled between 68 and 30BC, Queen Victoria of England (1819-1901), Joan of Ark who led the French Army between 1412 and  1431 as well as Nigeria’s own Queen Amina who commanded the Zazzau Army and lived from 1560 to 1610.

If these women could achieve distinction many centuries back, it is an indication that the Nigerian woman today, given the level of exposure, education and the  generally more liberal environment could do much more.

This is where the “revolution” in Enugu is important. Women who have served as judges of Customary Courts (a rare occurrence in Nigeria), local government  chairmen and development centre chairmen are expected to gain the necessary experience, confidence and exposure to lead at higher levels. perhaps from the ranks,  Nigeria’s own Thatcher or Meir or Indira Gandhi or Merkel could emerge tomorrow. For this to happen, there is however, a whole lot more to be done. In the spirit  of the Beijing resolution, the number of women in the cabinet will have to be jerked up from the present level of two commissioners  and three Special Advisers to the  recommended 30 per cent. The lower percentage might have been due to the low level of participation of women in politics. This is where the women  non-governmental organisations should play a rigorous role. As observed by the Finnish Ambassador, the fact that there are many women organisations in the state  should help in this process. The task should be shared by the state government, the women NGOs and the citizenry.