Nigeria, Oct. 8 -- As Nigeria inches toward another crucial leadership transition at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), one conversation that must not be ignored is the urgent need to appoint a woman as the next Chairman of the Commission. For more than six decades of electoral administration, from the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) to the National Electoral Commission (NEC), and now INEC, no woman has ever been given the opportunity to lead the body responsible for managing Nigeria's democracy. That reality is both telling and troubling.

The absence of a woman at the helm of INEC is not just a statistical oversight; it is a glaring reflection of how Nigeria continues to marginalize half of its population in dec...