A 26-year-old male member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Amir Sarkee, has declared interest in running for the office of the APC national women leader.
This is not the first time Sakee will be eyeing a post exclusively reserved for a woman. In 2019, he contested for the post of women leader in a Kwankwasiyya group – a group loyal to former governor of Kano Rabiu Kwankwaso. The group has a larger followership within the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
In an interview with BBC Hausa, the Kano state polytechnic graduate explained why he was gunning for an office meant for women.
”Some people ask me why I am running for the post and my answer is ‘God created men to guide the affairs of women. So it is not a bad thing for me to want to lead women especially given that I mean well for them.” he said
Ameer said he hopes the women of the APC will agree to vote for him even though he is a man, saying his greatest challenge remains women who see him as stripping them of their positions.
“The biggest challenge I face is gaining the trust of women; some are jealous of seeing me lead them, others think I’m going to take what belongs to them but it’s not,” Ameer said.
In contrast to his fears, Ameer who is not married, said, while he is faced with challenges of being accepted by some women, some others are routing for his emergence as the APC national women chairperson.
“At the same time I am getting encouragement from women, even yesterday some women’s groups came to show their support for me and many of them are supporting me on social media” he said.