Mentorship And The Rise Of Women In Leadership

Is the world titling towards female domination in leadership and governance? Will the subtleness of a woman bring about peace in today’s world that is full of chaos? Who will be the next female president and what country would it be?

Barely two weeks ago, Theresa May assumed office as the Prime Minister of Britain, the second woman to take the position in the history of that country. Angela Dorothea Merkel’s position as the first female Chancellor of Germany since the establishment of the original office in 1867, is also regarded as one of the highest status currently attained by a woman as the real power is held by the chancellor while the president is the symbolic head of state.

The feat has also been repeated other nations like Argentina whose female President is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Liberia has President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Bangladesh female Prime Minister is Sheikh Hasina Wajed and the world awaits with bated breath as the United States of America (USA) itches closer to electing its first female president in Mrs. Hilary Clinton.

The maritime industry in Nigeria has also seen a similar accomplishment as Ms Hadiza Usman recently emerged as the first female Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority. However, the truth is that these women had someone to play an essential role of a mentor to enable them attain such heights.

Hilary Clinton is blessed to have Bill as her husband who is can offer sufficient mentorship, while the Nasir El Rufai is believed to have tutored the new NPA boss Ms Hadiza Usman.

This role of mentorship and the need for women who have attained leadership status to seek to develop younger ladies was the crux of Hajia Lami Tumaka’s speech titled, “the power of ‘I Am’ Self Worth, Self Confident, a precursor to being a successful woman” at the 4th Women in Logistics and Transport, Nigeria (WiLAT).

Tumaka, who is the Head, Corporate Communications Team of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), urged Nigerian women to develop themselves properly and challenge men in all areas of human endeavours rather than clamouring for gender sensitivity.

Tumaka revealed that while her mother had been her first role model and mentor, in the maritime industry she had Mrs. Chinwe Ezenwa, Chief Executive Officer, Ocean Serve & Logistics Limited, former Director of the Maritime Service Department of the Ministry of Transport and also the former Managing Director National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) as her mentor.

According to Tumaka, Hillary Clinton has emerged the Presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of the United States because of her self-confidence but it is also pertinent to note that Hilary had been sufficiently mentored and trained by Bill Clinton and her willingness to serve in various capacities in governance in USA.

This is a fact that the US President Barrack Obama attested to when he told Bill Clinton that Hilary was more prepared for presidency than Bill or Barrack (himself).

The refined NIMASA Public Relations veteran told MMS Plus that she could foresee a time when women will indeed take up more positions of authority in Nigeria and she asserted that a woman’s compassion and care, would no doubt that will her a better leader.

“The opportunities are there. All we need to do is to take it. Hillary Clinton’s tenacity is an example to learn from. From WiLAT, you can look at Hajia Aisha Ali-Ibrahim and see how much there is to learn from her

“I know how WiLAT started. I was there when it all started but WiLAT has grown so big and spreads across several frontiers because of the push of one person and that is the founder Hajia Aisha” Tumaka said.

“The world is changing. Women are changing and they are beginning to make a mark globally. Women are now fighting to make an input and I see WiLAT becoming bigger and more successful in the next few years”, she added.

While speaking at the event, WiLAT President, Hajia Aisha Ali-Ibrahim noted that, “WILAT serves as a pool for competent women in the industry and the association also sources, grooms, sustains and recognizes women in the male- dominated industry”

She maintained that WILAT is a unique group and the first of its kind in Nigeria, with members cutting across various disciplines in logistics and transport and she remained optimistic that the participation of women in governance in the country would continue to increase as they assumed more significant positions in governance in the country.

Similarly, the Chairperson, WILAT Sri Lanka, Mrs. Gayani De Alwis also emphasized that there was need to empower more women.

De Alwis, who spoke on “Mentoring: The Irreplaceable Ladder to Sustainable Development”, said that it was good to have professional women in place for the economy to flourish.

She said that women should endeavour to mentor their young ones to climb the ladder. She said that the stages of a mentoring relationship were goal attainment, working together, setting expectation and pairing.

“If a mentor does not have the right partner to mentor, there will be problem of understanding one another” she added.

On her part, the Chairman, Logistics and Operations Committee of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Hajia Amina Zakari, urged WILAT to encourage more women to embrace logistics operation as a business.

Zakari who brought four ladies from INEC to be inducted into WiLAT, said that the group should engage more members in training and also assist members to access soft loans to enable them excel in the profession.

She urged WILAT as well as similar organizations to sponsor bills and amendment to existing laws that would enhance logistic operations and admonished WILAT executives to always be abreast of information on change in the International Rules, Conventions and Agreements with regard to logistics operations.

The influx of women into governance is seen as a development that will impact globally, regionally and also nationally. In the entire international space there has been a lot of clamouring, advocacy and demands through have several instruments, such as; guaranteeing women’s right, promoting women’s inclusion in the political space but a lot of those instruments have not been adequately addressed or enforced within the context of laws and legislation.

Perhaps, women have decided not to be left behind and they have decided to take the bull by the horn. Watch out for the continuation of this write-up next week.

By Kenneth Jukpor