Prioritising African Women, Gender Inclusion In Policy Making

 By Jumai Ahmadu

Addressing social norms and stereotypes that have over the years impeded naturally inbuilt women’s potentials of not just being managers and stabilisers in the family, but, also, great contributors to a nation’s socio-economic development is very necessary. The power of investment in African women, through promoting growth, stability and development, is akin to investment in nation.

 

Hence governments of African states have been tasked to prioritise women and gender inclusion in policy making process such that it will create a pathway and cornerstone of actions by government and development partners. African women should liaise with relevant stakeholders, including government agencies, local and international NGOs to have mechanisms to interface with industry experts in ICT, media and entertainment in their respective countries in order to instigate deliberate policies on gender inclusion and women’s economic empowerment.

Why Are Dictators Not Able To See Facts

By Alexander Opicho

I have been following political decisions of Gambia’s Yahaya Jammeh for the past five years, it has been an interesting venture which have led and could still lead any other observer to the question that, why are dictators not able to see facts the way they are, or what goes on inside the mind of a dictator. For example, Jammeh has been using the political office to serve himself sensuously, without being touched by economic and social problems of his fellow countrymen in Gambai. 

*Jammeh and Buhari in Banjul

Poverty and despair in Gambia has never been a source of contrite to him, instead he feels good to be the only strongman among the desperate weaklings. Jammeh could not accept the fact that he has been voted out, he still clung on power, neither could he see the dignity of accepting defeat to hand over power until he is humiliated through a forceful ejection by the ECOWAS military.

This behaviour is not unique to Yahaya Jammeh as an individual, but it is the shared character of all social and political dictators. Failure to see the reality is their main behaviour, and then deriving pleasure from problems of others is their second behaviour. In fact closer examination of dictators like Jammeh leads to a premise that may be dictatorship is more of a medical problem that a political problem. This premise easily gets support from the sub-normal behaviour of Yahaya Jammeh during his last days as President of the Gambia.

The corporate world is not an exception, managers and corporate leaders that are tyrannical will never accept that they are failing the organization. They will never be sensitive to the fact that they are ones making customers to withdrawal and employees to resign. Instead they will cling to their positions until the organization is closed down. Some observers attribute this behaviour of the tyrannical managers to fear, anxiety, love of power and paranoia, but this is not enough.