Nigeria should have female governor by now’ – Joke Silva

Veteran Nollywood actress Joke Silva has bemoaned the exclusion of women from leadership positions in Nigeria, especially in the political sector.

She said women were at the forefront of leadership in pre-independent Nigeria but have lost grip on leadership in recent times.

The legendary thespian said that by now, Nigeria should have had at least a democratically elected female Governor.

Virginia Ngozi Etiaba, who served as governor of Anambra State in 2006, was not elected. She had taken over the state’s affairs after Governor Peter Obi was impeached by the state legislature for alleged gross misconduct.

Speaking in a recent interview with TVC, Silva said: “In the area of leadership, especially political leadership, women have regressed. I mean, we had some really powerful women. You mentioned Fumilayo Kuti earlier. All these powerful women. There were so many of them spread around the nation. So, you expect them to grow in numbers by now.

“At least by now, we should have had a female governor. Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu for one, in contemporary Nigerian politics, is probably the most experienced female politician. She was just in the Senate for a long time and now she is the First Lady. But the thing is this: how many others? But we have so many male senators. It goes back to what late Chief MKO Abiola used to say: ‘A nation clapping with one hand.’ How do you clap? How is it heard?”