Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings’ decision to contest the flagbearership of the ruling National Democractic Congress (NDC) has brought a new level of vigor and debate within the Ghanaian political scene. As I write this, the NDC Congress is taking place where they’ll choose whether to maintain its current flagbearer, President Atta Mills OR give the ambitious Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings a chance.
Ambition has always seemed to be a dirty word for women. To say a woman is ambitious is almost to imply that she wants things she is not supposed to have. And perhaps what makes Nana Konadu’s decision even more remarkable is that it comes at a time where women often shy away from the tension-filled arena of political activity. You may or may not agree with Nana Konadu’s politics, you may also have worry about her political past and associations. But I do think we must all concede that her decision to contest the flagbearer-ship of the NDC (and therefore, by extenstion—the office of the Presidency) is historic and riddled with lessons for ambitious women who might be considering a political future. Having spent the last two years of my life actively advancing the cause of women’s leadership in Africa through the Leading Ladies’ Network; I write to examine and expose some of the lessons I believe can inspire the next generation of political women. I’ll share five key lessons:
Lesson 1: Be Courageous
Leadership can be a very rough road, especially for women. Depending on where you stand politically, you’ll view Nana Konadu's decision to run against an incumbent flag-bearer as an act of political courage or suicide. Hopefully, Nana Konadu’s decision to run is spurred from the strength of her personal convictions and belief that she can do things better. Aspiring women political leaders will need to have the strength of character to stand for what they believe in, although there may be stiff opposition. Since the true objective of politics is positive social change any aspiring woman leader must have the courage to stand and fight for that cause no matter what.
Lesson 2: Have a Plan & translate it to a clear and simple message
Have a simple and clear campaign message; one that reaches the grassroots. Many leaders pay a very high price for not simplifying their messages so that even the least educated and exposed can understand. There are countless stories of great leaders who were so far ahead of their times that their followers could not properly tap into their immense capability but rather disallusioned because they could not see what the leader sees. Having a clear message broken down in simple terms will always be an advantage.
Lesson Three: Build a trackrecord of public service
Women’s Leadership will not happen in a vacuum. Aspiring women leaders might need to work twice as hard as their male counterparts to prove their competence. Perhaps Nana Konadu is lucky in the sense that her previous stint as First Lady brought clear visibility to her civic engagements and activitism. All through her campaign, she has also referenced her achievements through the 31st December Women’s Movement. Citing previous achievements add legitimacy to any campaign. Thus, any aspiring female politician must begin to build a track-record of achievement as early as possible. For young women in school, it may be as simple as becoming involved in school politics and engaging in community or other civic activities that will both prove and improve their competence as leaders.
Lesson Four: Test the Waters
If the media reports are accurate, Nana Konadu’s team began underground campaigning months before she publicly declared her intention to contest the flagbearership. This enabled her to guage the levels of support she would be able to garner. Starting early is one of the best ways you can build your resilience as a leader. For politically ambitious female students, challenge yourself through student politics. You will find that competing when the stakes are much lower helps you to build the confidence and resilience needed to suceed as a future female politician at the district, regional and national level. If you are new to politics, I don't think anyone expects a new candidate to make up for a lifetime of political absence in a few months; however; people do expect that if you're going to lead, you will begin by showing respect for them. With respect, comes loyalty and with a competent and loyal team, you can do all great things.
Lesson Five: Build a support base
You cannot do it alone. I doubt that Nana Konadu could have emerged as a viable candidate without a core support base of FONKAR (Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings). In building a support base, it is wise to build alliances with both men and women. I believe that Nana Konadu’s campaign received a huge boost from the infamous “Yutong bus” remarks of the Member of Parliament Mr. Teye Nyaunu. Having the endorsement of key players makes it plausible you will succeed. It helps to build the relationships before you actually need them! So learn to be friendly and sociable to all people- you never know whose support and loyalty will make all the difference down the line.
I think every nation needs men and women of great courage- people who are unafraid to swim against the flow- win enemies and upset friends as they seek to stand for what they believe in. If this bold step by Nana Konadu does not kill NDC, it will definitely make it stronger. Will Nana Konadu go down into our history books simply as a woman of great political courage; as the first female flagbearer ? Or Ghana’s first female President? Time will soon tell. No matter how things to turn out for Nana Konadu-whether she wins or loses, perhaps the true gift is that aspiring female leaders across Africa can reference her experiences down the line; learning from what she does well, and avoiding whatever mistakes she makes. Generations of aspiring female leaders will also be able to leverage the experiences of Nana Konadu to improve the overall circumstance of women while we work to fill the leadership pipeline with a new generation of socially consious and competent female leaders. This for me—is the REAL victory.
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