Legal icon and former Chairman of the Body of Benchers, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), has urged Nigerian women to
to aim higher than ceremonial positions.
Olanipekun, who spoke on the role of women in nation-building while delivering the 13th Convocation Lecture at the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti(ABUAD), made a strong case for gender balancing in governance.
At the lecture entitled : “Nigeria-Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Imperative Of A Sober And Infinitive Recalibration”,the erudite Lawyer urged Nigeria and other nations to deliberately promote women into critical positions of leadership across sectors.
Olanipekun emphasized that leadership is not the exclusive preserve of men, arguing that women have demonstrated remarkable competence and character in leadership from biblical times to modern democracies.
The respected jurist maintained that Nigeria must consciously and courteously promote women into leadership positions, asserting that their empathy, sensitivity, and nurturing nature would contribute immensely to national development.
According to him, the era when leadership was viewed as a male preserve is fast fading, and societies that fail to harness the intellectual and moral strengths of women risk stagnation.
While commending women for their growing dominance in the legal and medical professions, Olanipekun urged them to aim higher than ceremonial positions.
“In the beginning, God created man and woman and placed them in the Garden of Eden. While the Bible affirms that the woman was to be a helpmate to the man, it does not forbid her from aspiring to leadership.
“With their kind and tender touch, sensitive motherly mien, empathetic and sympathetic disposition, and natural capacity to nurture, women will bring about a better Nigeria whether in the academia, private sector, administration, politics, or governance.
“My admonition to the women is that they should stop thinking that the highest aspiration is to be First Ladies. They should aspire and strive to be First Citizens, and let the men, their husbands, find titles for themselves maybe First Gentleman”.