Nigeria should have a female governor by now – Joke Silva

Joke Silva, a veteran Nollywood actress, expressed her dissatisfaction with the way women are excluded from obtaining top leadership positions in Nigeria, particularly in the political sector.

She pointed out that women were at the forefront of leadership during pre-independent Nigeria but have lost their hold on leadership in recent times.

Silva added that by now, Nigeria should have had at least one democratically elected female governor.

Speaking in a recent interview with TVC, Silva said: “In the area of leadership, especially political leadership, women have regressed. I mean, we had some really powerful women. You mentioned Fumilayo Kuti earlier. All these powerful women. There were so many of them spread around the nation. So, you expect them to grow in numbers by now.

“At least by now, we should have had a female governor. Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu for one, in contemporary Nigerian politics, is probably the most experienced female politician. She was just in the Senate for a long time and now she is the First Lady. But the thing is this: how many others? But we have so many male senators. It goes back to what late Chief MKO Abiola used to say: ‘A nation clapping with one hand.’ How do you clap? How is it heard?”