Africa needs more female leaders, not great men.

For many years, Africa has grappled with establishing a continent-wide democracy that would shove her population into social, political and economic sumptuousness. A number of interventions have been made at macro and micro levels to achieve socio-political and economic transformation but the results have not been proportionate.

It seems the fissure in this endeavor is lack of full involvement of women in the management of political and non political enterprises. Yet, Desmond Tutu, a South African Clergyman and human rights activist reminds us thus: “If we want to see real development in the world then our best investment is women.” It is this strength that women richly posses that Orville Richard Burrell aka Shaggy reiterates in his famous musical hit ‘strength of a woman.’  

The strength of a woman is a historical precedent. When society entered Neolithic age from monolithic era, women took up the responsibility of attending to agriculture (gatherers).  Men continued to live as hunters. Here is the thing. With agriculture, you have to invest in the garden, take good care of it in order to get a good harvest. With hunting, you do not need to invest at all. You just go to the grassland and poach. It is in this reality that the view that women are naturally investors and not exploiters, service providers and not plunders, and caregivers/takers and not opportunists, finds a home.  Because of this natural knack to facilitate life, women in sub-Saharan cultures are considered to be ‘the custodians of the earth.’

From a theological perspective, it is women who gathered bits and pieces of bravery to approach the tomb in which the great spiritual giant, Jesus Christ, had been buried. They are the ones who broke the news that the tomb was empty, the man had resurrected. Therefore, it is women who midwifed the highly celebrated EASTER holiday.

Fast track to politics. The continental political barometer indicates that women, if given chance can preside over the much needed change. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberian president has been able to pull the West African country out of trenches of political instability that Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor, her predecessor, had dumped it into. Liberia had become the ‘mad-man of West Africa.’ Taylor was sentenced to 50 years in prison by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Hague for masterminding military and political mayhem in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

But nobody has captured the eyes and hearts of her admirers and adversaries than Maama Joyce Hilda Banda, the president of Malawi. Maama Banda rose to political acme after the sudden demise of her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika. Banda was Bingu’s vice president.

When Banda fell out with Bingu wa Mutharika, her former antecedent and boss over political management of the country, politics reared its ugly head.  The president opened the political den, and let out sharks to slice Banda into pieces with aim end her political ambitions. The vultures persistently hovered over Banda’s political umbrella

Malawian President Joyce Hilda Banda

Like a serene wife in an abusive marriage, Maama Banda let patience, calmness, and judiciousness prevail over emotional fury and political anguish. She was saved by her levelheadedness, and the constitution - which bared the President from firing the vice president.

As fate and luck would have it, President Bingu wa Mutharika succumbed to heart attack, and the constitution delivered Maama Banda to the highest office in Malawiland.

In office for hardly 3 months, Maama Banda’s desire to make sagacious reforms leaves even the most vigilant person to doze in complacency. She knows very well that you cannot have a starving/malnourished family and line up to buy a pet – a German shepherd. Or, you cannot be a vagabond and live like Kim Kardashian.

Maama Banda has moved to sell of all luxurious coupés that the former president had invested most of Malawi’s little money in. She is also determined to sell or lease the $13 million presidential jet, which Bingu wa Mutharika, her late predecessor, had bought in 2009. “I can well use private airlines,” she reportedly said. She has a master plan to inject all the proceeds in grassroots projects that will kick start transformation of Malawi.

The recurring excuse that the women that have proved themselves as able leaders are too few to warrant assurance that women can deliver Africa is tired, spurious, and tenuous. It nauseates. It must be retired. The point here is that the number of men who have wrecked havoc, messed up, and violated the political power vested in them by masses is overwhelming.  

 

  An interior view of the multimillion mansion of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe

Africa’s male presidents are experts in immersing themselves into privilege of living. Their political survival is fundamentally dependent on corruption and patronage, and not delivery of public goods and services. Of course, there are some male leaders that have caused the much needed change. But these visionary leaders have been let down by their counterparts, the vast majority, who plunder their countries to facilitate their gluttony for luxury and self economic aggrandizement. 

They live a deluxe and snobbish lifestyle that would make dotcom celebrities such as Kanye West, 50 Cent, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Nikk Minaj, David Beckham etc to faint in envy. These charlatans are never bothered about the plight of the people that they lead. 

Africa is yearning for not only the mindset of visionary ladies like Maama Banda but also their active leadership in body politic, social and economic bureaucratic at all levels. The last bullet that Africa has in her chamber is women. Men have had their opportunity and they have flagrantly squandered it.

Let the continent give women a chance!