Rt. Hon Felicia Bassey, Deputy Speaker, Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, on February 20, 2021 has advocated that the change in Nigeria can only come when a woman is elected as the president of Nigeria. Bassey made this known while speaking in an interview on the issue of rising spate of insecurity and economic downturn in the country. As such, Ex-Presidential candidate of Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA) in the 2019 election, Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies (PMA) has declared her interest to contest during the 2023 general election for the President of Nigeria on December 8, 2021, under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday, in Port Harcourt.
Felicia Bassey said all these challenges would be a thing of the past if women are given prominent elective positions as they have the capacity of restoring peace in the country. Bassey made the call following the emergence of Ngozi Okonjo Iweala as the head of the World Trade Organisation and Kamala Harry as Vice President of the United States of America, USA.
She noted that Nigerian women have the intellectual capacity and other endowments to lead the country. Adding that, ‘Nigeria should emulate the United States of America by considering ceding the presidency to women if the eluded development is to be attained.
“We, the women are ready to make a big difference. Try us; try a woman and Nigeria would be better. If the world can accept Ngozi Okonjo-iweala, a Nigerian, a woman, a black as the head of WTO, we are not talking of Nigeria or even African organization here, but the whole world organisation, then is it Nigeria that we cannot rule?
“We have intellectuals; we have women with fear of God; we have women with conscience. All these cabal issues are not for women. We are mothers; we know what is good for our children and we know if Nigeria is in a woman’s hand, peace would be a priority. We will not be party to anything that would lead to shedding of blood. It wouldn’t be war upon war all the time but peace all through. And where there is peace, there is progress.
“Nigeria should try a woman and all will be well; economically we will manage well; there would be zero tolerance for corruption. Let Nigerians know that we, the women are ready. They should try us as State governors or even as vice president and let the men listen because women would not go there for competition rather to bring peace when the heat is on.”
She also expressed hope that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would take over power at the federal level in the nearest future, adding that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is already exhausted.
“There is the tendency for us taking over our power. People in APC are even tired; they know. APC has realized that their soup is salty, and they cannot swallow it. Forget about any name someone answers. Nigeria will speak with their votes and that would end the suffering we are in today because both the APC and PDP are crying due to the current bad governance.
“So PDP is coming back, and I’m warming up to celebrate,” she said. We thus present the only current PDP female aspirant who has so far declared as 2023 presidential hopeful. She is the Ex-Presidential candidate of Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA) in the 2019 election, Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies (PMA) who declared her interest to contest during the 2023 general election for the President of Nigeria on December 8, 2021, under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday, in Port Harcourt. While speaking to a group of journalists, she also urged all Nigerian women to participate actively in the political process at all levels in 2023.
Adesanya-Davies said, “I will contest! I have a dream, that one day, a woman will emerge as the President of Nigeria, and the dream is now!!! “We, women shall try our best in 2023 at all levels and this we promise. From now onwards, she admonishes, every woman should endeavour to speak to at least fifty women to vote for a ‘woman President,’ in Nigeria. Tell five women daily from now till 2023 elections. Remember, Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Your happiness starts from you and not from someone else.’ So should all the Nigerian youth and all the ‘he for she’ and all the men campaign and vote for the first female president in Nigeria in 2023. This could and would be the only functional approach.” She added.
Adesanya-Davies is the current Country President and International Director of United Nations Positive Livelihood Award Centre (UN-POLAC) International Peace Advocates. She stated that when intelligent, dedicated and women of excellence are empowered and put in top political positions, corruption, lack of development and all forms of vices and violence in their entirety can completely be exhumed from Nigeria. As such, towards 2023 elections, she explained, we need all hands to be on deck to mobilise all women in the country from the state level to the grassroots, educated, illiterate, northerners and southerners, Christians and Muslims to vote for ‘a women president,’ and also vote for women at all levels. Though the educated women who realise this are fewer they should drive their non-educated women in the larger community in the grassroots to achieve this goal and vision.
Professor Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, a linguist and educationist, has served as a university lecturer and administrator for 36 years. She is also a consultant, researcher, activist and a frontline politician. We would recall that towards 2019 elections, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) had endorsed her Presidential candidacy on the 8th day of June, in Port Harcourt and at the same event, she was awarshed with an Award of Excellence in Service and Outstanding leadership; with the inscription on the plaque “In recognition of her consistency, steadfastness, developmental strides, motherly disposition and mentorship towards the students community and society at large.”
In words, “My AGENDA is named “PMA – ADVANCED RESTRUCTURING AGENDA”. As an academic, Nigeria will witness functional, effective, efficient, accessible and affordable education, as well as better governance, delivery of dividends of democracy, massive employment, accelerated economic development, improved health delivery, massive human capital development, massive infrastructural development, aggressive fight against corruption, improved welfare for Nigerian workers, and the masses, when I, PMA – CHOICE, becomes the president of Nigeria. As a detribalised Nigerian, services of technocrats shall be fully utilised to its maximum.”