Rethinking Women’s Leadership in Nigeria: Women Who Shaped Our Past, Present & Future

When we trace our history, we find that Nigerian women have never waited for permission to shape the world around them. Long before they were allowed to vote or hold formal power, they organised, negotiated, protected communities, and challenged unjust systems. Many of them worked in ways that changed the course of our national life, yet their names rarely appear in the same pages as the men they stood beside or sometimes opposed.

Women like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti did not simply protest against taxation. She led one of the most powerful women’s resistance movements on the continent and confronted colonial authorities. Margaret Ekpo was not only active in politics. She mobilized thousands of market women, expanded their economic power, and created one of the earliest networks of female civic participation in Nigeria. Nana Asma’u’s influence stretched across education, theology, and community development long before the modern concept of girl-child education existed. During her time, she ran a widespread educational movement that trained women to serve their communities with knowledge and leadership.

At the 2025 WISCAR annual conference, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola, OON, FAS, broadened this picture even further in her keynote address. She highlighted policy shifts that transformed the lives of Nigerian women and pointed out the moments where systemic change created new freedoms. An example is the Married Women’s Property Act. The reforms that opened public administration to women and the policies that increased access to education and employment opportunities were not just legal adjustments. These policies allowed women to move from the margins into spaces where their voices could finally influence national direction.

These were nation-building efforts that demanded clarity, courage, and sacrifice. Yet they are rarely taught in schools or referenced in public life. Their stories remind us that progress did not begin with us. It began with women who had significantly less yet achieved far more than history has confessed.

Women make up almost half of Nigeria’s population, yet the spaces where national decisions are made still reflect a deep imbalance. As of 2025, women hold only 16.7 percent of federal cabinet positions. Fewer than 10 percent of elective offices belong to women. At the local government level, women chair just 3.7 percent of LGAs, which is a drop from previous years. Even in the corporate sector, where progress is more visible, women occupy only 31.1 percent of board seats among NGX30 companies, even though that figure is the highest in six years. Only five of those firms are led by female CEOs.

The question behind all these stories is one we rarely ask out loud: If Nigerian women have always shaped the nation from behind the curtains, what will it take for one of them to finally stand at the centre of the stage? Countries across Africa have already crossed this threshold. Liberia elected Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Ethiopia appointed Sahle-Work Zewde as president. Tanzania and Malawi have also placed women in the highest levels of leadership. Nigeria, with its size, influence, and cultural richness, has not yet elected a female president or even a female governor.

This absence becomes more striking when we consider the women who held this country together at its most difficult moments. Their courage showed what leadership can look like even without a title. Their activism produced laws that protect women today. Their intellectual work built the foundations of education, governance, medicine, and civil society. If women could do so much without power, what will they achieve with access to it?

Prof. Ogunshola’s message helps us understand why this gap still exists. Leadership does not emerge by accident. It grows through opportunity, mentorship, policy support, and deliberate pipeline development. Nigeria’s history shows that women already have the competence. What they lack are the open doors. This is why institutions like WISCAR matter. The conference does not merely celebrate excellence. It creates structured paths for women to gain skills, visibility, and networks that position them for national leadership.

At the heart of the WISCAR Annual Leadership and Mentoring Conference is the belief that cultivating women’s leadership is not symbolic. It is strategic. It is national development in its most practical form. And it is the continuation of a story that began long before we learned its full truth.

If you’re ready to take your career further, then WISCAR is the right place for you. Its flagship WIN-with-WISCAR Mentoring Programme offers structured mentorship tailored to women at every career stage. The program is designed to help you build capacity, sharpen leadership skills, and connect with a community of like-minded professionals. Applications are open now; you can register here.

You can also get a copy of the WISCAR Mentoring Book here or purchase a physical copy at Roving Heights Bookstores nationwide.

Whether you’re taking your first steps in your career or aiming for the C-suite, WISCAR offers the tools, the community, and the community needed to thrive. If Nigerian women built the foundations, it’s time for us to finish the building.

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