GIVING A CHANCE FOR A WOMAN PRESIDENT

Why can't a woman be president?

This question kept ringing in my head! Is it because they are not smart or strong enough, or intelligent enough to rule a country? It has always been argued that woman are not smart or strong enough to do certain jobs to accomplish and succeed. Woman are no less intelligent than men and it should go without saying that woman are capable of doing anything let alone holding a spot in the political system. Obviously, in most countries, we don't see a woman president because people have convoluted the ideology that women are not strong enough as men. Even though there are some obstacles and unnecessary reasons, it is possible for a female to take role in the political system. Nigeria is one of the country that never had a female president. There are countries like Liberia, Germany, Brazil that have female leaders. Most of these woman presidents are the first women to be elected and they serve for more than one term. There is no reason that a woman can't be president. Truly in some traditions a woman can be a leader but in a case like this, its a matter of future. In these 21st centuries, it is highly possible to have a woman president even though there are visible obstacles that prevent it from happening in a ubiquitous trend, therefore we need to educate the illiterate public about the issue.

The main obstacles female face before holding political office can range from the public's perspective to financial problems when running for office. The general public is not relatively educated enough to realize that women can do same office as a man which frames an implicit rejection when women run for office. This gender inequality is not only in politics but also in business. In the article "Women and Leadership" the authors mentioned that there were no women serving as CEOs in companies but now about five percent of fortune 500 companies have female CEOs. Having a female leader will change the people's point of view about a woman because in many societies women are considered minority group or women are not expected to perform as well as a man does. The main campaign donors these days are Conservative and don't want to allow more women in office.

The possibility of females in the office is explicitly being expressed in our world and females" performance has been equivalent if not better to their male counterparts. It is recoming more frequent than before for a woman to participate in the political system these days. There are more countries now than there were decades ago that have a female leader. Liberian presider Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was the world's first elected black female president and Africa's first elected fernale head of state. For her dedication to women's rights and strategic peace-building initiatives, she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. (Ward). Kent mentions, "According to United Nations data, "there are currenty 18 female world leaders, including 12 fernale heads of government and 11 elected female heads of state (some leaders are both, and figurehead monarchs are not included). Half of them are the first women to hold their courtry's highest ofice." (Kent. Lauren). As we can see, our world is takings haby steps in letting women into political positions but we need to work towards equality as far as the dominant political system is concerned. Moreover, the author stated that Southeast Asia and South America have been more willing to have female leadership which should be a wake-up call to the most developed countries like the United States.

We can overcome the obstacles that are preventing women from holding office by showing the public how other female presidents have done and encouraged women who have a desire to run for office.

For example, before President Barack Obama was elected, no one expected the United States to have a black president but to our surprise, he took office and did a great job in running the country.

Women are just as capable of taking over the Aso Rock as men are. They are equally as smart, intelligent, and strong as men. The Countries that are currently being led by a woman are flourishing and succeeding in so many ways. These women-led Countries are just a snall glimpse of what women are capable of doing to strengthen their Countries as well as their communities. Having a woman as a president will show that Nigeria is ready to move forward and pave a way for woman's voices to be heard. Furthermore, having a woman president shows how far the world ties come when it comes to gender equality, it so crucial especially in these day and age to let the women know that they too have a voice and their voice is important. Having a woman as a president will let every litle giri know in the world that she and her opinion and voice matters as well. There is a woman all over the world who have the education and mindset to make a change and reform the Country. It should be noted that there are women around the world waiting to showcase what they are capable of bringing to the table and how they can make a change to better the world. It is time or the world to step up in faith and allow a woman to have the opportunity to be a president.

AILERU MARIAM AYOMIDE