The argument against women in certain offices has never really been about capability. If it were, it would have collapsed under the weight of evidence long ago. It is, more precisely, about memory: how quickly the women who disprove the argument are forgotten, and how persistently the argument survives them.
Virginia Etiaba, Nigeria’s first female state governor, is one of those women. Despite a brief tenure, it is nonetheless a milestone for women in Nigerian politics.
Born on November 11, 1942, in Ezekwuabor Otolo-Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Etiaba was raised by her uncle, Chief Pius Ejimbe, in a family that prioritized education. This early influence and growing up in Nnewi, a town known for its entrepreneurial spirit and industrial growth, instilled in her values of learning, community responsibility, and a pragmatic approach to leadership that would inform her career in education despite earning a diploma in banking and finance.
Etiaba devoted 35 years to teaching across Nigerian states, working in Kaduna, Abia, Rivers, and her hometown, moving up from classroom teacher to headmistress, to education inspector. She founded Benneth Etiaba Memorial School, Nnewi, in 1989, in honour of her late husband.
In 1991, she retired from the Anambra State civil service, but her political career did not begin when she was selected as running mate to Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the 2003 Anambra governorship election. Following Obi’s delayed victory, she was sworn in as deputy governor on March 17, 2006, supporting the administration’s focus on infrastructure, security, and anti-corruption reforms. Notable among these reforms was the introduction of the Anambra State Integrated Development Strategy, a framework targeted at multisectoral growth within the state.
On November 2, 2006, the Anambra State House of Assembly impeached Obi on allegations of gross misconduct and dereliction of duty.
Virginia, at 64, became governor of Anambra State, shattering a national glass ceiling in a male-dominated area.
Her emergence was not without controversy, as some felt accepting the office meant being disloyal to Obi. Despite criticisms and underestimation for being viewed as just a placeholder, she defended her actions as upholding the law while advocating for due process.
In her 97 days in office, Etiaba prioritized stability amid controversy. She maintained the ongoing projects across road construction, healthcare, and education, also paying salaries and pensions. She engaged stakeholders for peace, and resisted pressures to dissolve Obi’s structure.
One decision that stood apart during her 97-day reign was signing the Child Rights Act into law. The Act, which domesticates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, prohibits child marriage, child labour, and sexual abuse, while guaranteeing access to education and healthcare. Although it had been adopted at the federal level under the Obasanjo administration in 2003, many states had yet to assent to it. Anambra state, under Virginia’s leadership, became the first state in South-East Nigeria to sign this act into law and one of the first four states nationally.
On February 9, 2007, the Court of Appeal in Enugu nullified Obi’s impeachment, and she handed over the position. It is remembered as a rare act of statesmanship, integrity, and respect for judicial authority: a leader who held power and gave it up when the law said to.
Virginia has also battled personal struggles; she is a colon cancer survivor after being diagnosed in Nigeria and treated at King’s College Hospital, London. She was conferred Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2010 by the Goodluck Jonathan administration. On her 78th birthday, she was hailed as a trailblazer by the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
Since leaving office, she has mentored women, continued to support APGA, and advocated for education in Anambra. She remains, in the plainest sense, evidence that the argument against women in office was never about capability, and that the women who disprove it deserve to be remembered long after the argument has moved on.
