Aisha Yesufu is ‘Most Influential Young Nigerian,’ – Survey of 7000 Respondents
“If I’m going to die it will be with my fist high up and my mouth open,” said human rights activist Aisha Yesufu sometime in October 2020. The venue was Abuja. She had defied police harassment and teargassing to lead the EndSARS protesters in demanding a stop to police brutality.
A few hours later, her photo went viral on Twitter. In the picture, she took the knee with her right fist in the air as a show of strength. Protesters drew inspiration from the iconic photo and many others used it as screensavers. They named it the ‘Nigerian Statue of Liberty.’
“Honestly I don’t even know what to make of that description, I’m humbled and privileged and I don’t take it for granted that people would actually think that picture deserves such a name,” Aisha told Neusroom in a January 2021 interview.
One Woman Riot Squad
Unsurprisingly, the youth reckon with Aisha as the ‘Most Influential Young Nigerian.’ “The fact that Nigerian youths warm up to me, I find that really humbling and a privilege I do not take for granted,” she said.
From October 20 to November 1, 2020, media platforms Netng and Neusroom polled 7000 youths across their websites, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram platforms. They solicited responses to the question ‘who is the most influential young Nigerian right now?’ In the female category of the poll, Aisha won 19% of votes, drawn from a shortlist which includes: Caya House Founder, FK Abudu; Singer, Tiwa Savage; Piggyvest Co-founder, Odun Eweniyi and popular Author, Chimamanda Adichie.
Arguably, the other ladies on the shortlist are also influential and made valuable contributions to the EndSARS protest. Odun Eweniyi was, for instance, part of the feminist coalition that raised $388,000 in two weeks. Chimamanda did a mock redraft of President Buhari’s EndSARS speech and endorsed the protest in a New York Times article. Tiwa Savage drew international attention to EndSARS, urging Beyonce to lend her voice to the effort. FK Abudu helped source funds for medical aid, drinks and toiletries for protesters. So, what really gave Aisha that extra edge?
Her public activism began on April 30, 2014 as co-convener of the #BringBackOurGirls movement alongside Aisha Muhammed and Oby Ezekwesili. If at least 107 of the kidnapped Chibok girls have been found as claimed, we have Aisha and partners to thank for their relentless advocacy.
Aisha reveals that “there are quite a number of times that I had gone to protest and I never thought I would come back and this just started in 2014 which was the first time I came out to speak on national issues.”
– August 2019: Won Guardian newspaper’s ‘Voice of Humanity’ award.
– October 2020: Threatened with death by Zainab Abdullahi, a member of the Buhari Support Group.
– October 2020: Spoke with CNN’s Becky Anderson about the ‘horror’ of soldiers shooting at unarmed protesters during the EndSARS protests.
– November 2020: Named among the BBC’s 100 Inspiring and Influential Women around the World 2020.
Rise of Influential Young Women
As the feminist movement gains ground, opinions about women are changing. If Aisha’s influencer status is any indication, Nigerian youths may no longer be averse to having female leaders in positions of authority.
But even more compelling is the fact that Rise Networks CEO, Toyosi Akerele, came tops in another Neusroom poll focused on the choice of female President for 2023. Toyosi garnered 27.4% of the total votes, drawn from the same shortlist that included Aisha as an influencer. Except this time, Odun Eweniyi was replaced with Social Media guru, Moe Odele.
Toyosi was not as actively involved in EndSARS as the other ladies on the list. But, it is not surprising that she is the top pick for next female President and not Aisha or the others. She has a track record of political activity, and she spent one year studying for a Master in Public Administration at the Harvard University John F Kennedy School of Government where she also served as Vice President for International Student Affairs and Chair of the International Student Affairs Committee. She’s one of the few publicly-known young Nigerians guaranteed to run for office.
Toyosi Akerele
– Founder and CEO of Rise Networks, a youth-interest social enterprise
– 101 Young African Leaders Award conferred by the African Business Forum
– Alumna, International Visitor Leadership Programme of the US Government
– Described by Michelle Obama as one of her personal inspirations
– Chairperson, the Theophilus Danjuma-led Victim Support Funds (VSF) taskforce on COVID-19 relief response
Milestones in Female Leadership
– Wuraola Esan (Nigeria’s first female Senator 1960 – 1964)
– Margaret Mwuese Icheen (First female speaker of a State House of Assembly in Nigeria 1999-2003)
– Angela Merkel (Chancellor of Germany 2005 – till date).
– Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Former President of Liberia and Africa’s first elected female Head of State 2006-2018).
– Patricia Olubunmi Etteh (First and only female speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives 2007).
– Sheikh Hasina Wajed (Prime Minister, Bangladesh, 2009 – till date).
– Monsurat Sunmonu (First and only female speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly in Nigeria 2011-2015).
– Joyce Hilda Banda (Former President of Malawi April 2012 – May 2014).
– Jumoke Akindele (First female speaker of Ondo House of Assembly, 2014-2017).
– Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (in the running for first female Director-General, World Trade Organisation).
– Erna Solberg (Prime Minister of Norway, 2013 till date).
– Simonetta Sommaruga (President, Swiss Confederation, 2015 and 2020).
– Bidhya Devi Bhandari (President, Nepal, 2015 till date).
– Kersti Kaljulaid (President, Estonia, 2016 till date).
– Tsai Ing-wen (President, Taiwan, 2016 till date).
– Halimah Yacob (President, Singapore, 2017 till date).
– Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand Prime Minister, 2017 till date).
– Katrin Jakobsdottir (Prime Minister, Iceland, 2017 till date).
– Ana Brnabic (Prime Minister, Serbia, 2017 till date).
– Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia’s first female President 2018 – till date).
– Aung San Suu Kyi (Leader, Myanmar).
– Kamala Harris (First female Vice President, USA, 2021-).
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