By Akoma Chinweoke |
Former Liberian President and first female President in Africa, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , has appealed to African leaders to shun patriarchal political culture and enthrone equality to make the continent’s economy stronger and the society a better place society that would inspire the populace for greater heights.
Ellen Johnson Ellen Johnson The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate said this yesterday at the 2018 Women in Successful Careers, WISCAR, Annual Leadership and Mentorship Conference in lagos with the theme Enriching Lives By Telling Our Own stories.
She noted that Liberia battled for 150 years before the country was rescued from dictatorship, failure and militarism adding that country’s road to peace was that of uncommon courage particularly on the part of the country’s women.
“We Liberians have one resounding message to the World, and that is our time has come. Women constituted about 80 percent of those that voted me in then as Africa’s first female democratically elected president and that brought about change for democracy in the country,” She said.
The ex- president also commended Nigerian women who threw their weight behind her country during the struggles and pointed out that today African women have made their mark in all walks of life and should therefore deserve a strong voice in the affairs of their countries.
Sirleaf, also said that during her tenure as president, she inherited a collapse economy and weak institutions but was was able to prioritize every everything before she could make a difference.
“We provided 5000 scholarship for young girls; reconstruct schools, markets among others. Also 11, 000 young girls were trained in soft skills and above all, we created good governance to enable us manage effectively the affairs of the state by putting women in strategic places such as the Ministry of Finance, Justice and Foreign affairs. Today a woman is a vice-president of Liberia and women now have voice that can never be taken away from them.”
Source: Vanguard News online