The Nigerian Girl Who Rocks New York Modelling
are beginning to pick up the pieces and start their lives again. The state is already doing a lot of work in reconstruction and rehabilitation. We, the NGOs and the civil society need to get involved. We have been able to meet people and travel. We have flights now to Maiduguri. We are able to go in and out and meet the stakeholders. market and inputs for their farms. We have registered 1,000 farmers and we are going to use 1,000 hectares of land to access this facility at the Central Bank of Nigeria. We have established the INARA Foundation. We have partnerships with many organisations that work with us because we are on the ground and in touch with the grassroots. My father, the late Waziri Ibrahim, is the reason I am using the slogan of politics without bitterness. My father believed in girl-child education. He believed that women could do more and always encouraged us to fulfil our dreams. I never felt restrained or limited because I am a woman. It was actually a plus as far as my father was concerned. He had a lot of girls and treated us the same as the boys. I am well-travelled. I went to Queens College, Lagos for secondary school and had that exposure of being outside the North. Subsequently, I went to the UK and did my A Levels; then my law degree. All that time Western education and lifestyle opened your mind. My working with FSB International Bank also helped shape my thinking. I was always thinking ahead because that is what you do when you have a business. At the end of it all, the only place left I had not touched was the grassroots. I ended up going to the grassroots as a humanitarian worker. The moment I got there, I realised
I think that it has become very obvious to Nigerians that women have emotional intelligence and they are more likely to have empathy. Emotional intelligence and empathy are the most important criteria in leadership. This is the new type of leadership and it has to do with times. At a time like this, we need leaders with emotional intelligence. Indeed, this is something the women possess naturally. That to me is important for more women going into politics or elective offices. I don’t even think that 35 per cent is enough. I think we should aim for 50 per cent. But if we get 35, it is far too low. We are in a time of crisis in this country. At times like this, we want to uplift people. We really need women who have the kind of characteristics in a period of crisis.
First and foremost, I think the National Assembly should focus more on their actual role. The rate at which they make laws now is so poor that we waste a lot of resources. I have an issue with the amount of funds that are channelled into the National Assembly. To me, it is just putting money into a black hole and we are not seeing the results. The first thing that I would do is that I will challenge and champion transparency. I really think that we need to be transparent about the value for money. I am not seeing tangible results from the National Assembly.