The Emir of Keffi, HRH Alhaji Shehu Yamusa III, has tasked women to be actively interested in taking over leadership from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023, saying he believes they can do so.
The royal father, who is the Chancellor of Nasarawa State University, stated this on Thursday when the members of the National Democratic Institute’s International Working Group for the SAGE programme, visited him in his palace, in Keffi.
Speaking, Yamusa III also said Nigerians, regardless of ethnicity or political affiliations, must separate cultural sentiments from politics for the best leaders to emerge in the country.
“Most importantly, I will like to draw the attention of the entire nation to the fact that culture and politics are two different things.
“We often mistake the two, and that is why most women can’t come out to contest for elective positions. But they are part of us, and we must carry them along.
“Going by their performances in our various houses, I think we should give them a chance in the next general elections. If women can manage families. They can manage the country,” he said.
The monarch, therefore, stressed the need for all political actors to respect the role of women in the struggle for power as “we all have something of value to offer”.
He also said women can provide the kind of leadership that Nigeria needs by supporting each other to win elections in 2023, and ensuring proper management and equitable distribution of the country’s resources.
On her part, the first female President of the Republic of Kosovo (Southeast Europe) and leader of NDI’s Supporting the Advancement of Gender Equality (SAGE) delegation, Ms Atifete Jahjaga, affirmed the rights of women to political participation and representation, economic resources as well as access to security and justice.
She also called for greater actions to make these principles a reality in Nigeria.
“We have a mission to support the government and people of Nigeria by contributing to the percentage of women in politics, working in the direction of gender empowerment,” Jahjaga explained