‘Brace up for elective-appointive leadership roles now’ – Ajimobi to women By; Bayo Akamo, Ibadan.

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‘Brace up for elective-appointive leadership roles now’ – Ajimobi to women
By; Bayo Akamo, Ibadan.
Governor Abiola Ajimobi has asked Nigerian women to brace up for elective and appointive leadership roles in the country in the next political dispensation.
The governor made this call at the 4th National Women’s Summit organized by the Oyo State Official’s Wives Association, led by the Wife of the Governor and Chairperson of OYSOWA, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, in Ibadan.
He declared that for a start, the Taraba governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Mrs. Aishat Jumai Alhassan would soon eventually be inaugurated as governor, saying,“though Taraba State has started, as long as we do not have enough and meaningful representation in the party hierarchy, women may continue to be praise singers and welfare managers only.  The ball, as they say, is in your court.”
According to Governor Ajimobi, “some of our women believe that to be seen as a successful leader, they need to be not only more intelligent than men, but must be seen to be strong and perhaps authoritarian in approach to earn any respect or credibility.
“History has shown that many women leaders are usually perceived as aloof, cold, tough, stubborn, unfeeling etc. This summit must, therefore, create new breed of women who would use wealth; material or experience, wellness; of mind and body, and wisdom; divine or acquired to infiltrate the political structure of our nation and have strong representation in the internal party structure as the key to getting  across to elective and appointive positions of leadership,” he said.
Governor Ajimobi while commending organisers of the event for their consistency in the last four years, said the gains of the two-day summit would impact on the social consciousness and political awareness of the womenfolk.
“The earlier summits had been significant and quite effective in moulding women in our society to adopt and adapt styles of leadership to suit the tasks and the situations that arise in everyday life and business”.
Speaking,Wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo asked Nigerian women to be proud of themselves because they possess indispensable intrinsic values crucial for human and societal development.
Mrs Osinbajo who was the Special Guest of Honour at the summit, said there was possibility of a systemic collapse in the country should all women professionals and traders decide to down tools for even an hour.
The Vice President’s wife maintained that women were indispensable members of the society, without whom the men could not function, urging women to “laugh your laugh, dance your dance, make merry and be happy.”
In her remark, the wife of the Oyo State Governor, Mrs Florence Ajimobi urged Nigerian  women to be prepared to take risks to have a say in governance, a step she said was necessary for women to achieve the desired change and relevance they have been clamouring for.
“I noticed with dismay the reduced number of women holding elective posts in the current dispensation, with only 22 women making it to the National Assembly, compared to 32 in the 7th Assembly. This is disheartening to say the least, as I honestly expected an increase in the number of women in elective positions. The situation is the same here in Oyo State where we have only two women in the House of Assembly.”

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