Hakama Sidi-Ali: The CBN’s First Female Spokesperson and Reputation Management
By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem
From time immemorial, women have defied the odds to step up to the leadership challenge in good and bad times. As far back as the early 20th Century, women in Aba and Abeokuta organised themselves and protested against colonial-era organised oppression, and they achieved results. The l iconic Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and heroinic Gambo Sawaba from the South and North led from the front in fighting and advocating for women’s rights and gender parity even at a time when complete Western civilisation was still far from this part of the world.
While men take all the credit for everything, and people claim it’s a men’s world, there are instances in the history of mankind where men have taken the back seat and women-led from the front. Margaret Thatcher, Benazir Bhutto, and Indira Gandhi, among others, raised the stakes of women’s participation in governance through their excellent achievements, passion, and oratorical prowess. Mother Theresa became the most potent philanthropist in the century, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for putting smiles on the faces of kids, women and the vulnerable worldwide.
All these happened before the entry into force of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), an international bill of rights for women that was adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and decades down the line after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which set the international target for reaching gender equality in political decision-making, a lot of water has passed under the bridge.
Since then, the world’s consciousness has been focused on the plight of women, especially the ambitious and brilliant ones who have a lot to offer but are never given a chance to contribute their quota to governance and professional areas. Due to the scarcity of women at the apex of political power, as well as lack of methods to disentangle the potential sources of this under-representation, Marilyn Loden, an American writer, coined the phrase “glass ceiling” and provoked the United Nations and its affiliates to initiate the 35 per cent affirmative action and other initiatives and measures meant to widen the political space for women.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has existed since 1958, and it has been led by at least 12 governors and several spokespersons. Either by deliberate action, omission commission or co-incidence, none of the spokespersons has been female.
A Certified PR Practitioner Shatters the Glass Ceiling
The CBN helped to shatter the glass ceiling recently by appointing a professional Public Relations practitioner, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, as its Acting Director of Corporate Communications.
Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali not only shattered the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to be appointed CBN spokesperson and a member of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), but her appointment also fulfilled all professional and legal requirements.
Mrs Sidi Ali came into the office fully prepared. She served as Deputy Director in the same Department at the Bank before her latest appointment.
The new CBN spokesperson is a 1992 graduate of the Bayero University, Kano, where she bagged a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication.
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She also has an MSc in Mass Communication and PGDE in English Language. Apart from NIPR, Mrs Ali is also a member of other reputable professional bodies like the Chartered Institute of Loan and Risk Management (CILRM), Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPMN), Africa Development Studies Centre (ADSC), Toastmasters International and many others.
The credit for the appointment of the first female spokesperson in the history of CBN must first go to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who, in their election-winning manifesto, promised that gender parity and women empowerment in terms of appointment and welfare would be their priority. The hardworking CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, whose pen stroke led to this landmark feat, also deserves commendation for his open mind and understanding of his leadership role in contemporary Nigeria.
Sidi Ali’s Strides in Reputation Management
Her rise to the CBN Public Relations desk’s hot seat is the definition of “what a man can do, a woman can do better.” This is because she came into office when the Apex bank had yet to recover from the incalculable reputational issue over the cash confiscation policy of the Godwin Emefiele era.
As a well-read communication guru and PR expert, Hakama knew she had her job cut out for her. The weight of responsibility on her shoulders didn’t render her confused or clueless, and she didn’t wallow in self-pity. She just summoned courage and hit the ground running.
So far, so brilliant! The CBN spokesperson used every PR tool in the book to restore the confidence of Nigerians in the Apex Bank. In just a few weeks in office, her excellent shuttle diplomacy, robust media relations and proactive media engagements have helped to rebuild a fantastic goodwill for the CBN.
Based on the widely held misinformation that old naira notes would no longer be legal tenders on December 31, 2023, the country would have been enmeshed in another cash scarcity crisis which could have led to a conflagration if not for the timely, articulate, and well-written press statements she released to douse tension. Based on her proactive approach to public engagement, Nigerians didn’t see the need to hoard cash or get involved in any illegal practices ahead of the yuletide, which could have caused severe chaos.
One of her timely press statements also announced that there was enough cash in circulation for Nigerians who required it before the holiday.
While Christmas is a season of introspection and celebration for most Nigerians, it is a period of criminality for the unscrupulous few who use it to trade fake currencies and purchase food items in markets. When Hakama got wind of this, she didn’t allow it to become an epidemic before rising to the occasion so innocent sellers wouldn’t fall victim to the criminality. In her press statement, she warned banks and traders to double-check the currency notes that come to them to ensure they are not receiving fake ones.
Once bitten, twice shy. Nigerians have, in the past, fallen victim to failed banks and lost billions of naira. So, when the rumour of another round of bank failure hit the airwaves recently, the CBN spokesperson didn’t allow Nigerians to press the panic button before she delivered another lucid press statement affirming that Nigerian banks are solid and stable and are very far from collapse. This clarification from her office went a long way to cure hypertension and lower people’s blood pressure. It also forestalled what could have been a panic-motivated mass withdrawal of monies from banks by Nigerians.
Last Line
There is no doubt that Sidi Ali’s presence has restored the image of the CBN as a responsible, responsive, and sensitive organisation that will always put the country and the people first in all it does and says.
Abdulrahman Abdulraheem, the Managing Editor of Economic Confidential, authors “eNaira Revolution: A Peep into Nigeria’s Cashless Future.”
