By Linus Akomolafe
1. WTO Director-General: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
For obvious reasons Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made it to our top three women who shaped the year 2021 in Nigeria.
Okonjo-Iweala happens to be the seventh Director-General of the WTO after assuming office on 1 March 2021. Her term of office will expire on 31 August 2025.
She is the first woman and the first African to serve as Director-General.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala served as Nigeria’s Finance Minister twice (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) and acted as Foreign Minister in 2006, making her the first woman to hold both positions.
Her pedigree and effort in carrying out reforms improved the effectiveness of the two Ministries and the functioning of FG’s machinery.
She has 25-year work experience at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the position of Managing Director, Operations. As a development economist and Finance Minister, she steered Nigeria through various reforms ranging from macroeconomic to trade, financial and real sector issues.
2. Sofiyat Akinlabi, female soldier detained for accepting a corps member’s marriage proposal
Quite controversial but the story of a female soldier identified as Private Sofiyat Akinlabi who was detained by the Nigerian Army on December 14, 2021, for accepting a marriage proposal from a Corps member at the National Youth Service Corps orientation camp in Yikpata, Kwara State is making it on this loop.
Her arrest didn’t only reveal the lapses of the extant laws of the military in Nigeria; it has also called for a review.
She was released on December 25th 2021 after 10, 000 petitions were signed and several interventions from the Women in Politics Forum calling for her release.
Her actions were said to have contravened the military extant laws and social media rules. Faruk Yahaya, the chief of army staff also said she took advantage of the corps member who happened to be her trainee.
President of the Women in Politics Forum, Ebere Ifendu, was one of the numerous voices that expressed dissatisfaction over the incident. “It is just a crazy thing,” she said. “I don’t think it should be an issue to talk about. These army men wear uniforms to propose to ladies, it is this level of discrimination that is very alarming within the military.”
“Even all over the world don’t we see Americans in uniform proposing? Don’t we see them coming out in uniform celebrating one thing or the other? If they tolerate men doing it; why not women?
Meanwhile, Faruk had said her release was part of festive pardons to enable her celebrate the new year with family.
However, Civil Society Group and NGOs are currently making moves to ensure that adequate interpretation of the military code is reviewed and enacted according to modern trends.
3. TB Joshua’s widow, Evelyn Joshua, New Leader of SCOAN
Few things happened immediately after the death of the founder of The Synagogue of All Nations (SCOAN), Temitope Balogun Joshua, 57,who passed away in June.
His disciples had put up his private aircraft for sale, carted money from the church’s vault, seized his four phones and wiped the contacts before returning the phone to his wife, Evelyn Joshua.
She was never a member of the Board of Trustees of the church as her late husband never involved her in the organization of the church.
The church which attracted tens of thousands of people from across the world was on the verge of collapse when his wife Evelyn, 52, succeeded him as leader of SCOAN after a controversial battle in court.
She evicted all prophets indicted in the financial fraud and restored the church back to normalcy.
There were questions if she could hold up the mantle of leadership, but her powerful first Sunday service in December might have put the thought to rest.
