Obasanjo made the remark at the 5th edition of the Egba Dialect Debate and Choral Competition for Secondary Schools in Ogun Central Senatorial District, in Abeokuta.
A debate event theme: “Nigeria is ripe for a female president”, organised by the Pro-Chancellor of University of Lagos, Dr. Lanre Tejuoso on Thursday.
in his remarks, Obasanjo supported the motion, saying the female folks should be given a trial. That, it’s only when power is being passed and shared equally among both genders, will the country stand strong again and develop.
He said “From my own view, if we want the country to grow, we should consider both genders, because a hand can’t carry a load to the head alone.
“You can do it as you want, but it should be done as it is supposed to be, we can gain experience from both genders, what’s the difference between the genders? Only that the female can get pregnant for nine months and a male can’t. That’s the only difference in us. “As for me, there’s nothing preventing the female gender to be the president of our country.”
The deputy governor of Ogun State, Naimot Salako-Oyedele, also called for the need to bring in females into politics.
She Noted that, only few females are in power in the country, adding that same is applicable to Ogun State. “We can’t give someone power, it has to be fought for, and we have to start bringing female into politics, even if it’s from the grassroot level, so that they can gain enough experience to lead the country.
“If she can start from being a councillor and we see that she’s capable, then, she can move to the next level.
“In Ogun state, we have 236 councillors but only 18 are females, 20 Chairmen, only two are females among them, we have 26 seats in the house of Assembly, only two are females, house of representatives, we have nine, one is female, we have three senators, no female and we have the deputy governor who is also a female.”
Salako-Oyedele who represented the governor, applauded the promotion of the indigenous language, adding that the state is also doing everything to promote the Yoruba culture.
She added that the state government is supporting the Yoruba cultural center that is being proposed in the University of Ibadan, to boost the indigenous language.
