12/07/2025
NAMIBIA 🇳🇦: Women naturally have empathy, they are considerate, they can be easily appealed to…” These are not just emotional traits, they are leadership assets. In a continent like Africa, where corruption, oppression, and inequality have brought many nations to the brink of collapse, what Africa needs may not just be more policies or more aid, but more women in power. We need more women in politics.
These are some reasons why: Women bring a leadership style grounded in compassion, inclusion, and a long-term view of development. Namibia is a good example.
Namibia is one of the few African countries that has taken bold steps to include women in decision-making. Women leaders in Namibia have also shown more resistance to corruption compared to their male counterparts, and they’ve promoted transparency and accountability. A notable example is the role of women in Namibia’s Anti-Corruption Commission, who have pushed for tighter oversight of public spending and procurement processes.
Across Africa, we are witnessing the collapse of public morality, the abuse of power, and the failure of leadership to uplift the masses. Wars, coups, hunger, and debt continue to cripple the continent. The common denominator in most of these crises? Male-dominated leadership driven by ego, conquest, and control.
Women, by contrast, tend to prioritize:
• Peace over pride
• Welfare over warfare
• Dialogue over domination
• Education over exploitation
From Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia, who led her nation out of war and into peace and growth, to Joyce Banda in Malawi and Sahle-Work Zewde in Ethiopia, women leaders have often governed with a stronger sense of humanity, transparency, and resilience. It’s not about replacing men, but rebalancing the scales. Africa must intentionally invest in building female leadership pipelines at every level, from local governments and civil society to cabinet positions and presidencies.
Imagine an Africa where:
• Schools are designed with the needs of girls in mind
• Health systems respond to the voices of mothers and caregivers
• Budgets reflect the realities of widows, single mothers, and marginalized communities
• Policies are rooted not in political survival, but in human dignity
Africa’s collapse is not inevitable. But we must shift away from the leadership models that have failed us. Women bring something different, not just biologically, but morally and structurally. Namibia shows that when women are at the table, development gains a human face, and politics moves closer to justice.
Namibia has recently inaugurated its first female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, and appointed Lucia Witbooi as Vice President, also a woman, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, is also a woman.
Let us not ask if women can lead Africa, let us ask how much longer Africa can survive without them.
Is it time we start thinking about a female president in Nigeria and will the cap best fit?
Good morning Africa!
