Meet The Woman In-between Jonathan And Buhari

 

                               If you are sick and tired of the noise generated by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), and you are looking for another candidate or political party to vote for, look no further than Professor Remi Sonaiya. 

                      The 59-year old professor of French Language and Applied Linguistics is the Presidential Candidate of the KOWA Party. A mother to two sons and grand mum grand sons, professor Sonaiya is the first Nigerian to be appointed as the Ambassador Scientist of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, a position she occupied from 2008 to 2014.

                      Adedayo Ademuwagun writes: So many people have been talking abou

t the coming election like it’s going to be strictly between President Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari. But there are nine other people who’re running for president against these two people. They’re hardly even getting a mention. Remi Sonaiya is a retired professor and the presidential candidate of the Kowa Party. She’s the only woman out of the 11 candidates running for president, but a lot of people don’t even know about her yet. “I’m bringing hope and the certainty that things can get better. I’m bringing freshness,” she said in a recent interview.

                     The multilingual professor has been talking about change and how she’s passionate about making life better for Nigerians. She knows she’s an underdog in this election, yet she believes she’s the best person for the job. “Let’s challenge ourselves,” she said in the interview. “It’s our lives. Why are we saying PDP and APC? What benefit have we derived from that which we have known? I’d like to challenge Nigerians that things are changing around the world. People are taking bold steps to give themselves a new beginning and all that. So why not us? It’s time for new things to begin to happen in our own country as well.” Kowa is an obscure party based in the north that hardly anyone knows. So why is Sonaiya in an obscure party if she’s serious about becoming president? Why didn’t she compete on the main platforms and try to get a shot at their primaries? She said, “I think my chances are great because I think that deep down within them, Nigerians will recognise that they’ve been suffering in the hands of those who’ve been there all these years. It doesn’t take any special abilities to recognise that.” “I’m contesting for presidency on the platform of the Kowa party because values matter to me a lot, and I don’t think I want to trade my conscience, values or principles for maybe more certain results politically. We all know what we’ve been experiencing with the major political parties. Why should I go and join a political party where I’ll be constantly hitting my head against a wall? I prefer to join a party whose principles and values are clear to me and where I think I’ll be able to have a moderate impact.” Some people think women politicians have barely made the right impact in this country though they’ve had the chance to do this. So some believe the argument for a female president is out of touch with reality. Yemi lives in Lagos. He says, “I don’t believe we need a female president right now. We’ve seen the women ministers and how they’ve flopped. Look at most of the ministers in Jonathan’s cabinet. They failed to deliver. Some of them were even involved in scandals and were fired. Look at Patricia Etteh who was Nigeria’s first female speaker of the House of Representatives. She was impeached on grounds of corruption. So our female politicians haven’t shown that they can be trusted with responsibility of the magnitude of the presidency. Let’s tell the truth.” Sonaiya believes there’s a problem too. She said, “I don’t think we’ve got the best women in politics in Nigeria. Several women who have gone there did so because they were the wives, daughters or sisters of some people. I’d prefer women to compete on their skills.” The professor and her party clearly don’t have the kind of money required to run a presidential campaign. So how’s she putting the word out and getting her message to millions of Nigerians around the country who are going to vote on February 14? She said, “Certainly elections cost money, no doubt about it, but let money be spent in an accountable way that shows you appreciate the prevailing circumstances in your environment.” “I don’t have one single moneybag. Part of the phrases that you’ll be seeing on my posters and online is “Clean hands”. All the people throwing billions at campaigns are making investments and they’ll be waiting to collect the yields on their investments. I’m not saying campaigns don’t gulp money. I’m saying people like you are contributing their N5,000.” “I’ve been on TV and radio. I’ve been interviewed by newspapers both foreign and local. I’m getting my message put as powerfully and as clearly as I can. I’m getting good feedback. Of course there have been a few skeptics. But I’m very happy with the encouragement and the kind of feedback I’m getting. It’s really energising me.” Sonaiya probably has no chance in this election and no one even remotely imagines she’ll win. But that’s not how she’s thinking. “I’m sure I’ll win the election,” she said. “However, when I get to February 15, I’ll think about what to do next. I’ll see what God would have me do next”. Meanwhile, multi-award winning Nigerian afrobeat musician, Bisade Ologunde popularly called Lagbaja has revealed he won’t be voting for President Jonathan at the February 14 presidential elections.