For decades, women and ethnic minorities have faced discrimination and disadvantage in arbitrator appointments, on the narrative that there is a dear… - Dorothy Ufot

We want to ask ourselves hard questions. We want to examine our journey so far because the international arbitration community [once] believed that Africans did not have the intellectual competence to resolve the disputes.But today we are saying that the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators is the fastest-growing branch and we have many people that are qualified to act as counsel and arbitrators. When I began as an arbitrator over 10 years ago, Africans were not welcome. But that has changed. So, what are our prospects for the next 10 years?

It is noteworthy that about 21 countries around the world are currently governed by women. Apart from politics and governance, women have also profoundly achieved groundbreaking feats in various fields such as medicine, law, economics, sports, space, technology, media and entertainment. Only recently, our own Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was appointed the Director General of the World Trade Organization, making her the first woman and first African to occupy that position.

All countries in Africa are busy trying to attract foreign investments. You will agree with me that without international arbitration, there cannot be foreign investors. In any jurisdiction, arbitration is one of the viable components for attracting foreign investors.