Legendary South African anti-apartheid fighter Mrs. Winnie Madhikizela Mandela and daughter of the first President of Ghana Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and herself a Member of the Ghanaian Parliament, Mrs. Samia Nkrumah are among the dignitaries who have confirmed their intention to grace the 7th Annual Trust Dialogue, which comes up in Abuja on Thursday, January 21.

This year's Trust Dialogue with the theme 'The African Woman and Politics' is to focus on the participation and contribution of women towards improvement of good governance on the continent.

Both Mandela and Nkrumah are lined up to speak at the occasion. Other guest speakers expected at the occasion include former Lagos State Deputy Governor Mrs. Kofo Bucknor-Akerele and leading political activist Hajia Naja'atu Mohammed.

The event, which is expected to kick off at 10am at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja will also have other top politicians, public office holders and captains of industry from across the continent in attendance.

The Trust Dialogue began six years ago where participants brainstorm on key national and global issues. Mrs. Mandela was the wife of the foremost South Africa freedom fighter and first post-apartheid ruler, Dr. Nelson Mandela. She stood by her husband throughout the years of struggle and continued with the agitation for abrogation of racial discrimination when Dr. Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years.

As President of the Women Group of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC), Mrs. Mandela witnessed the highs and lows of political participation by a woman in one of Africa's fastest growing democracies.

On her part, Dr. Samia Nkrumah is daughter of one of Africa's foremost fighters for independence and the leading exponent of African unity, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and his Egyptian wife, Fathia. As one of the few female MPs in Africa she has a lot of experience on the challenges women face in political participation.

Mrs. Bucknor-Akerele was the only woman in Nigeria to win a seat to the Senate in 1992. She represented Lagos Central on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) and became deputy to former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu in 1999. She later faced challenges of political intrigues within the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and fell out with her former boss.

For Hajia Naja'atu Mohammed, it was politics right from the cradle. Born into a family with rich political history, Hajia Naja'atu became the first female President of a University Student Union in the country when she became President of the Ahmadu Bello University Students Union in 1983.

As a vocal member of the opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in Nigeria, she is always fearless in expressing her stance on key national issues.

In the course of the past six years, several prominent speakers have attended the Annual Trust Dialogues. Some of the notable speakers include former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Maurice Iwu, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari and former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku.

Former Ghanaian President Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings (rtd) was the speaker at the 5th Annual Trust Dialogue held in 2008 with the theme 'Challenges of Democracy in Africa.'

Last year, several state governors and lawmakers in the country attended the 6th Annual Trust Dialogue with the theme 'Democracy: Restoring Faith in Politics.' The speakers included Anambra State Governor Mr. Peter Obi and Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole.