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The concurrent emergence of two women at the helm of national affairs in Liberia and Germany must serve as a beacon of inspiration to Nigeria's female politicians.
The concurrent emergence of two women at the helm of national affairs in Liberia and Germany must serve as a beacon of inspiration to Nigeria's female politicians. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-educated economist and former finance minister in Liberia, defeated soccer star George Weah in a run-off poll to become the first woman President in Africa. In Germany, Angela Merkel defeated the outgoing leader, Gerhard Schroeder, to become the first woman Chancellor.
Apart from gender, Merkel, 51, and Johnson-Sirleaf, 67, share a common challenge of cutting growing unemployment in their countries. Chancellor-designate, Merkel, has said the provision of jobs and checking Germany's budget deficit within European Union limits will be her priority as leader. 'Unemployment must fall in this parliamentary term," she promised. Indeed, she has to perform for her government to survive. Schroeder once promised to reduce the number of the jobless to below 3.5 million, only for the figure to balloon beyond 5 million.
In effect, Germany's persistently high unemployment rate, currently put at 11.2 percent of the population, helped to bring down Schroeder in the recent parliamentary election. Merkel intends to increase Value Added Tax, and the money raised would be used to cut unemployment benefit contributions paid by workers and employers. Merkel, an East German, has a doctorate in Physics. She is expected to bring about reforms to revive a sliding economy within Europe. She believes what counts isn't the superficial question of man or woman, but for a party to have a clear concept of how to solve problems.
In Liberia, the tasks before the new President require the experience and intellect of Johnson-Sirleaf, nicknamed Iron Lady, like Merkel. Apart from tackling joblessness, Johnson-Sirleaf has said 'zero-tolerance for corruption will be the bedrock of our administration." With her international influence, she plans to set up an international office dedicated solely to fighting corruption. Indeed, without stringent anti-corruption policies and strong political will to enforce them, Johnson-Sirleaf might fail to make any meaningful difference in the life of war-weary Liberians.
For, thieving past leaders and their cronies have stolen the nation's abundant natural resources of diamond, timber and iron ore, leaving the people impoverished. Indeed, the wild scramble for the nation's resources plunged Liberia into prolonged civil wars that decimated schools, hospitals, industries and infrastructure. Although rich in forests and minerals, Liberia, today, relies heavily on foreign aid.
A major challenge before Johnson-Sirleaf, therefore, is healing the wounds of a 14-year civil war. Buildings are in ruins, as about one-third of Liberians live in relief tents; while electricity is unavailable and less than a quarter have jobs. Rehabilitation of the large army of emasculated children soldiers is crucial. With the experience from key jobs at the United Nations and the World Bank, Johnson-Sirleaf is honed for the challenge of reviving Liberia's battered economy. As a human rights activist, she spoke against the former leaders and was imprisoned for treason.
No doubt, the socio-economic situation is grim and requires tough policies and decisions to get the country back on track. All hands, including that of the opposition parties and that of ECOWAS, AU and international agencies, should be on deck to sustain democracy in Liberia. Liberians, in particular, must collapse their ethnic differences and unite for the great challenges of reconstruction. The emergence of both Merkel and Johnson-Sirleaf should assuage all fears of gender discrimination and inspire Nigerian women to aspire even to the highest office in the land.
THE PUNCH, Friday, December 02, 2005