A former governorship aspirant, Princess Hadiza Ibrahim, has called upon President Muhammadu Buhari to hand over the reins of governance to a female president in 2019, noting that the country is ripe for female presidency.
Princess Ibrahim, who sought to contest for the governorship seat of Kogi State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015, said this while speaking in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Thursday.
She said politics and the highest political office in the land should not be an exclusive preserve of men, noting that the womenfolk can help to enhance the socio-economic development of the country.
She however did not absolve women of blames for their seeming relegation to the background in the national political space, as she said, “We, women, are the problems of ourselves; we don’t believe in ourselves.”
Hadiza, who was also a presidential aspirant in 2007 and a delegate to the national conference held in Abuja in 2014, said, “I believe that politics is for everybody; being a weaker sex does not mean I should not be in politics.”
“Politics is meant for both men and women. I believe that what a man can do, a woman can also do a little bit out of it, I might not say better.”
“In 2007, I took the presidential nomination form of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) that I also want to rule this country because I have seen that some of the men have failed us. I have my seven-point agenda. I was determined to move this country forward. But I was not allowed and women did not give me that support.”
Speaking on why she thought the country was ripe for a female presidency, the politician-cum businesswoman said there are more qualified women who also have the capacity to move the country forward, adding that women were ruling in countries hitherto restricted by religious sentiments.
“Now in some other countries, even in Islamic countries where Islam treat a woman like a property that they don’t reckon with, more females are now in partisan politics. Women are coming up to be presidents in some of these countries.”
“If I can see such a thing happening in an Islamic country like Pakistan where, some two, three decades ago, it was a taboo, why can’t a female presidency happen in my own country too? Women should join hands with me so that I can become president. I have the will and I have my own agenda for my country,” she said.
Princess Ibrahim however warned President Buhari to be wary of some members of his cabinet, noting, “Baba has tried. There are a lot of saboteurs. He is surrounded by some that claimed to be sincere, but they are not. I thank his wife for telling him the truth. Baba cannot do everything.”
“If you look at what happened recently, Buhari was away for few weeks, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made the Naira to appreciate. This is because he believes in himself and he has some people that can advise him.”
“When somebody said he knows everything all, that is the problem. Baba is not 100 per cent perfect because he is not an angel; he is not a saint and he is not God. He is bound to make one or two mistakes, which is why he should take advice. Baba is not taking some advices that are needed.”
“Baba is not a thief. I can swear with my life that Baba is not a thief. He is not after accumulating wealth; Baba doesn’t have a vehicle that worth N50million. Baba is not after luxury and that is why I supported him. But if he is not after that, if he meant well for the people, what about the people that surround him? Are they like him?”
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