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While the global excitement and discussion around the candidacy of Chile's Michelle Bachelet and Nigeria's Amina Mohammed keep spreading like wildfire, Sierra Leone's Zainab Hawa Bangura, who demonstrates a combination of technical skills, strategic value, and positive personality traits, has not been heard of in the race for the UN Secretary-General candidacy.

Zainab H. Bangura, who has been the Director-General of the UN Office in Nairobi since 2018, has the ambition of joining the race. According to Lawyer Basita Michael Esq., "It is time for Sierra Leone to step forward boldly and nominate her as its candidate and propel her into the race. Not only would this honour our nation's trailblazing spirit, but it would also position Africa as a vanguard in the fight for a more equitable UN."

A candidate, however, can not be elected as a UN Secretary-General without being nominated by at least one member state. While the process includes both the Security Council and the General Assembly, the initial requirement is a nomination by a member state. For example, if Sierra Leone refuses to nominate a citizen for a candidacy for an international position, another member state would not nominate the citizen. A country's nomination is typically required for one of its own citizens to be a candidate for certain roles, and another country cannot make a nomination on behalf of Sierra Leone.

For Zainab H. Bangura to join the race for the next UN Secretary-General, she first and foremost has to be nominated by the Government of Sierra Leone. Even if she is considered highly educated, her path to the position of UN Secretary-General begins with official state backing, as demonstrated by the unsuccessful bid of erstwhile Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2016. His candidacy for UN Secretary-General was effectively ended because the Australian Government declined to nominate him, and it was considered a prerequisite for his campaign to proceed.

Many concerned Sierra Leoneans are very much eager to see whether or not the Government of Sierra Leone will nominate Zainab Hawa Bangura's candidacy for UN Secretary-General, given the volatility of the political landscape of Sierra Leone over the last seven years.