The most powerful man in Nigeria is a woman!

The news of the appointment of a woman as the minister of petroleum was exhilarating at first. I whooped for joy and hastened to see which woman just became the most powerful man in the arch-patriarchal society called Nigeria . The last item I read about a Nigerian woman demonstrated how far we still have to go in achieving true freedom. (Hence, my secret admiration of Her Turai-ship for the ”pepper” she‘s dishing out to Nigeria ‘s Men in Power!)

I read this interview with Dr. Karima Sani Yerima in the Sunday Punch of March 28, 2010. She is the wife of former Zamfara governor, Mr. Ahmed Sani Zamfara, currently a senator. Her profession as an MD attracted me to the article. However, the more I read, the less excited I was. I am reminded of this experience as I know more about the new Nigerian Minister of Petroleum, Ms. Deziani Allison-Madueke.

Dr. Yerima‘s assertion that Sharia is woman-centered initially intrigued me. She claimed there‘s nothing in Sharia that says a woman should go out and ”look for food.” For a moment, I fantasized about life as a woman of leisure, idling at home and looking pretty while Megida goes a-gathering and a-hunting for food. I could even make a case for not cooking at all. As the ”weaker sex,” I must be protected from every danger, namely the kitchen heat and hours on my feet wrapping the perfect ekpang-nkukwo - for instance.

Dr. Yerima should have settled into that leisurely life rather than attempt the unthinkable - have a career! She more than paid the price. ”Though my husband is liberal, I remember the day he brought my crying baby to the hospital when I was on call and he asked me to come home because my baby was crying … Whenever he travelled, returned and didn‘t see me at home, he would drive down to the hospital and stand at the entrance of wherever I was - theatre or consulting room - until I came out to meet him.”

Wondering why a ”liberal” man would be so socially conservative, I looked up information on Senator Yerima. What I found explained his wife‘s laborious effort to extol the greatness of Sharia and her ”liberal” husband. He made Sharia the prevailing jurisprudence in Zamfara in 2000, a decision that led to violence and loss of lives in the state. He was once charged with corrupt practices by the EFCC, but not indicted. He recently ”married” a 13-year-old Egyptian child for whom he paid $100,000 as bride price. He reportedly flew in 30 members of her family to Abuja for a lavish ”wedding” attended by many elected public officials. Perhaps paedophilia is not a crime in the Nigerian legal system (Sharia or English). Elsewhere, this man would be sitting in police custody, rather than the Senate, waiting for judgment. Just the sentence for buying a child for the purpose of sex would be gazillion volts of radiation to his old thingy!

My virtual encounter with the Yerimas has everything to do with our brand-new minister of petroleum. Things are not always as they first appear with Nigerian politicians. It doesn‘t require too much digging for the initial glow to fade.

I now know that Ms. Allison-Madueke worked for Shell for 16 years, the last two of which was as an executive director. The appointment (promotion?) was hailed as huge because it was the first time that the company would have a woman in that position in Nigeria. An executive director is not the managing director, but it must have been significant enough to shoot Ms. Allison-Madueke to national limelight. Just a year later, she was appointed to the Ministry of Transportation as its minister. After 15 months, she was transported to Mines and Steel Development. She was in this position until her reappointment to head a ministry in charge of petroleum - the only ware that Nigeria takes to the (global) market.

The buzz on the internet (the technology of good and evil) is that this sister moved around so quickly because of her marriage to Mr. Allison Madueke, a retired navy admiral and former governor in two states. The utility of her husband‘s influence is reflected in the unusual hyphenation of his first and last names as her last name. There is also the view that Acting President Goodluck Jonathan is positioning his ”countrywoman” in a portfolio important to their compatriots in the Niger Delta.

These issues are easily dismissible. It deeply upsets me that whenever a woman achieves something in Nigeria , she is accused of using ”bottom power,” thus discounting her qualifications. It is inconceivable to many that a woman can be Somebody outside the shadow of her husband, boyfriend, sugar daddy or father. The other buzz point is also a non-issue because everyone comes from somewhere.

Nevertheless, there are genuine concerns about this appointment. Her work in Shell might not have sufficiently equipped her to run a ministry as economically vital as petroleum, but this does not disqualify her. Rather, the concern is that her tenure in the previous ministries was remarkable only for the scandals of corruption that trailed her. Only in Nigeria would a Senate indictment for corruption lead to promotion by the new boss! Besides, she‘s been moved too frequently to make any policy impact. It may not be important in Nigeria for ministers to be appointed to areas for which they are equipped; but shouldn‘t these appointments reflect continuity in policy and personnel if one expects any transformation? Oh, I forgot … the primary purpose of these appointments is political patronage, rather than any goal of improving the quality of life for ordinary Nigerians.

There was great expectation that Mr. Jonathan would actively make hay while his sun shines. Instead, we are seeing a recycling of the same old, tired, corrupt and corruptible gang with questionable integrity and principles. Given the mucky pool from which she is drawn, Ms. Allison-Madueke will not fare any worse than her male colleagues. For Nigerian women though, the appointment of the first woman to head the most powerful ministry in the country may only register as a footnote in the annals of the women‘s movement. The powerful and beautiful are here, but the great ones are not yet born