Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said Nigeria is mature enough to have a woman President.
He said the women folks have the leadership qualities and rights, like their male counterparts, to occupy the number One Office in the land.
Obasanjo added that if Nigerians hoped to see a great and prosperous country emerging, both men and women are needed to pilot her affairs.
The elder statesman spoke at the main auditorium of his Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, during the grand finale of the fifth edition of Senator Lanre Tejuoso’s Egba Dialect Debate and Choral Competitions among secondary schools students in Ogun Central Senatorial District.
The debate, with the topic: Nigeria is Ripe for a Female President, saw Abeokuta Girls’ Grammar School arguing against the motion while Egba Owode Grammar School spoke in support of the topic.
The ex-President also made a case for Nigeria to put the right things in place to enhance the election of a woman president in the nearest future.
He said nothing should limit women from having one of their own becoming the President of Nigeria.
Obasanjo praised the competing schools for the robust and logical presentation of their positions, submitting that they performed well.
According to him, togetherness gives strength and the combination of men and women will enhance effective administration across the country.
He said: “In my own opinion, if we want to have a great Nigeria, both men and women are needed. We should do it the way it should be done. For me, there is nothing to limit women to becoming a President in Nigeria of nowadays.
“The only difference between men and women is that a woman can carry pregnancy for nine months but a man cannot. In my own opinion, there is nothing to stop a woman from becoming the President of Nigeria.”
Obasanjo urged the Yoruba to always showcase the beauty of their rich culture, stressing that the ethnic nationality has the most blessed culture in the whole world.
The former President hailed the organisers of the competition for striving to bring the Yoruba back to the limelight.
“We must embrace our culture: our greeting, foods, our dressing, as the Yoruba are very unique.
“The Yoruba have the most blessed culture in the world,” he said.
Also, Ogun State deputy governor, Mrs. Naimot Salako-Oyedele, hailed the organisers for bringing back the beauty of Yoruba culture and language.
She urged the Yoruba in Diaspora to ensure that the dialect is taught and spoken in their homes for the benefit of their children.
Egba Owode Grammar School won the dialect competition, while Abeokuta Girls’ Grammar School came second.
Abeokuta Grammar School won the choral competition and Alaba Lawson Royal College was the first runner-up.
Expressing appreciation to dignitaries at the event, Senator Tejuoso said the competition was meant to encourage the use of Yoruba language and Egba dialect among secondary schools in the senatorial district and the Yoruba in Diaspora.
“We are expecting that this kind of programme would be extended globally for those in the diaspora so they can also see the beauty and rich culture of the Yoruba language,” he added.