August 27, (THEWILL) – Women have often clamoured for a fair representation in leadership positions in government, especially in Nigeria, and while President Bola Tinubu didn’t surpass expectations, he tried to up the game with his appointment of eight women as ministers in his cabinet and three as Special Advisers.
The eight female ministers represent 25 percent of the ministerial nominees as currently constituted. Beyond just nominating these women to meet yearnings, IVORY UKONU examines the profile of these women to determine if they are well equipped for the job and if they are indeed, square pegs in square holes.
The Ministers
Betta Edu
The erstwhile national women leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the youngest of all the ministers in President Tinubu’s government at only 36. An indigene of Cross River State, She is a former commissioner of health in Cross River state, the youngest ever to occupy that position and the youngest to be elected national vice chairman of the Nigerian Health Commissioners’ Forum, as well as South-South chairman/coordinator of the Forum.
In 2020, Edu became the chairman of the Cross River State COVID-19 Taskforce and in August 2022, she was appointed National Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners’ Forum.
Edu obtained a first degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Calabar, Cross River state. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health for Developing Countries from London School Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, a master’s degree in public health in Developing Countries from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Doctor of Public Health from Texila American University.
Edu is a Fellow of the Royal School of Public Health in and the African Institute of Public Health Professionals. Despite being shrouded in controversies, being given a vote of no confidence by the Cross River state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA for alleged professional misconduct in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was selected to join Tinubu’s government as a minister. She is the new Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the second person to occupy that position after Sadiya Umar Farouq.
Edu seems to understand what her job entails as she has already hit the ground running by pledging to lift 133 million Nigerians out of poverty, create a trust fund for humanitarian and emergency response across Nigeria, create protocols for this response and to set up a situation room with United Nations International Children’s Emergency Funds, UNICEF, so that they can monitor, prevent, mitigate and re-integrate people when they have humanitarian crisis back into the society after handling them appropriately. Hopefully, she walks her talk and doesn’t go the way of her predecessor, who only paid lip service to lifting 100 million Nigerians or more out of poverty every quarter.
Uju Kennedy Ohanenye
An Abuja based philanthropist and property magnate, she was the sole female presidential candidate in the June 2022 presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress, APC but had to step down for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who emerged the presidential candidate. A graduate of law from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Anambra State, she would later leave the law practice after distinguishing herself in the legal profession to embrace her entrepreneurial spirit. At the age of 13, was already a publisher, publishing many editions of the magazine called ‘Akata’ magazine and ‘Wahala’ magazine – both centered on courts and legal education in a comic genre. She is also an author, having published a book called ‘Eze Chidi and His 7 Wives’ which was later translated into Hebrew and sold in Israel. Via her Kenuj Investment Limited she ventured into the real estate business with tens of high-end housing estates in the US, Lagos, Abuja, Owerri and other cities. She is the proprietress of Kenuj Angels School, Abuja; MD/CEO of Kenuj O2 Malls in Abuja and Owerri and the Executive Producer of the Kenuj Love Drops TV Show. The philanthropist dispenses her milk of human kindness through her foundation, Kenuj Shower of Love Foundation which has a net worth of over $50 million. Via her foundation, she has championed the cause of women empowerment programmes that provide women with the requisite skills to upgrade their economic status. Her humanitarian deeds also focus on the grassroots level particularly to the indigent, youths and even the rehabilitation of beggars in most metropolitan cities. From Anambra State, Uju’s appointment as the Minister for Women’s Affairs can rightly be considered as putting a round peg in a round hole, her antecedents no doubt earned her the position, and it would be interesting to see her replicate her feats at the grassroots level on the national stage. She has wasted no time setting a target for herself within the first 100 days in office; empowering women, teaching them skills and to train the trainees in the six geopolitical zones on the condition they each train 10 people who will be empowered by her ministry.
Hannatu Musawa
She was a special adviser on culture and entertainment economy to President Tinubu before her elevation as Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy. She served as a deputy spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council.
An indigene of Katsina State, 43-year-old Hannatu, who is a lawyer, politician and author, is the daughter of the late veteran Katsina politician, Musa Musawa. She studied Law at the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom; holds a Master’s degree in the Legal Aspects of Marine Affairs from the University of Cardiff, Wales; and a degree in Oil and Gas Law from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Musawa is also a qualified solicitor in England and Wales; and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She is currently completing a doctorate, which she has been doing part-time. Both her nomination and appointment as minister has courted some measure of controversy, especially as it concerns her National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) Certificate.
The Senate has been flayed for allowing her to take a bow during her screening despite knowing fully well how serious the country takes the issue of NYSC certificate. Section 13 of the National Youths Service Corps Act stipulates that any Nigerian graduate below 30 who refuses to make himself/herself available for the compulsory one-year service has committed an offence and liable on conviction to pay a fine of N4,000 or face imprisonment for a term of two years or both. But the Godswill Akpabio-led Senate did not ask Musawa anything about her academic qualifications, including the controversy surrounding her NYSC Certificate.
She did not complete her NYSC even before she was appointed first as a special adviser and later as a minister. Shockingly she is alleged to be currently serving as a youth corps member, with posting No. FC/23A/505, at Onyilokwu Onyilowa and Company located at the old Banex [Plaza, Wuse 2, Abuja.
Musawa’s ministerial appointment is avoidably mired in controversy, no doubt. For someone who knows little or nothing about the arts, culture and entertainment, it remains to be seen how she will effectively run the ministry and position it to meet the challenges of a global entertainment industry in the 21st century. Clearly she is a square peg in a round hole.
Doris Uzoka-Anite
Despite studying medicine and surgery at the University of Benin, Doris Uzoka-Anite veered into banking in 2002 and has since built a formidable career with over 20 years’ experience at Zenith Bank Plc where she rose to become a general manager and was responsible for the bank’s investment strategy, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and managing risks. She has certifications in Fintech, Algorithmic Trading and Advanced Risk and Portfolio Management from the University of Oxford.
She holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the London School of Economics, United Kingdom. This is in addition to having certifications from New York University Stern School of Business, United States of America; and training programmes at Goldman Sachs, USA, Citibank London and the London Academy of Trading, building her capacity in Advanced Financial Engineering and Data Science for Finance.
A former commissioner for finance and coordinating economy in Imo State, Uzoka-Anite was also a member of the Presidential Policy Advisory Council (National Economy) to President Bola Tinubu prior to his being sworn in as president. As the newly appointed Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, she is bringing a wealth of experience to the ministry as a chartered financial analyst, specializing in financial risk and portfolio management. She is expected to bring her ideas into play in attracting foreign direct investment and creating bilateral relationship between Nigeria and other countries, to deepen the ease of doing business in Nigeria where the investor and investment are given protection to ensure a thriving economy which will boost productivity and also strengthen the trade and commerce of Nigeria in line with the projection of the President. To a very large extent, Doris is a square peg in a square hole.
Nkeiruka Onyejeocha
The Honourable Minister of State for Labour and Productivity is not a neophyte in the political terrain as she cut her teeth in politics when she was appointed the Executive Transition Chairman of Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia state in 2002. In 2003, she served under former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu as commissioner for resource management and manpower development. In 2007, she got elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), then Nigeria’s ruling party, into the House of Representatives, to represent the people of Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency in Abia State. She would later defect to the All Progressives Congress in 2018 after coming under intense pressure from her former party leaders to drop her ambition for a return ticket to the house.
In 2019, Onyejocha contested for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives after winning the return ticket to the house for a fourth term. She was the only female candidate in the race. But less than 24 hours to the election, she stepped down for her main challenger, Femi Gbajabiamila, now Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The 53-year-old former lawmaker served four terms in the House, making her one of the longest-serving lawmakers in the National Assembly. A graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, with a diploma in Social Work/Community Development, a Bachelor of Art Degree, BA from the same university, a Master’s degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy from Imo State University as well as a Master’s degree in Shipping from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Oyo State.
Having sponsored a few humane bills during her time in the lower chamber, bills such as the Local Government Financial Autonomy Bill; the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017; Anti-torture Act 2017; National Senior Citizens Centre Act, 2018 to ameliorate the sufferings of aged people, particularly the difficulty in getting their entitlements, after years of service to the nation and coupled with the role she played, propelling her husband’s business to international standards, one may not be wrong to assume that she just might make a difference in the ministry she has been assigned to.
Iman Sulaiman-Ibrahim
An indigene of Nasarawa State, 43-year-old Iman Sulaiman-Ibrahim, until her appointment as the Minister of State for Police Affairs, the first woman to occupy the position, was the federal commissioner of the National Commission For Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons where she played a tangible role in giving support and relief to internally displaced persons, refugees and migrants. She also served as the director-general of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) from December 1, 2020, till May 27, 2021 and was a special adviser on strategic communication to the immediate past minister of state for education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba. In 2019, she was appointed a member of the Nasarawa State economic advisory council in 2019 by the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule. Sulaiman-Ibrahim started her career working at Abuja Geographic Information Systems, AGIS, before moving to the United Kingdom where she worked in human resource, business and management before becoming a certified human resource management consultant. She joined Mary Kay, a cosmetic brand and later became a senior sales director.
A graduate of Sociology from the University of Abuja with a Master’s degree in Business Administration and an MA from Webster University, USA, Sulaiman-Ibrahim’s contributions to nation building coupled with her wealth of knowledge may have endeared her to President Tinubu for a ministerial position. But does she fit in? Is she capable of making significant marks in the ministry? It is one thing for her boss, the senior minister, to give her a chance to prove her mettle and another for her to actually impress Nigerians with her strides.
Mariya Mairiga Mahmoud
A medical doctor trained at Bayero University, Kano, Mariya Mamoud tarted her career as a public servant and later became a consultant in family medicine at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano. With over 20 years’ experience in the medical field, she is a member of the National Postgraduate Medical College and the West African College of Physicians. Her works include advocacy for women empowerment and girl-child education.
Mamoud was a member of the Kano State Presidential and Governorship Campaign Council in the last general elections. She was also the chairperson of the Welfare Sub Committee, Women’s Wing. She is a member of the high-powered implementation committee for the establishment of the College of Health Sciences at Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology Wudil. Member Kano State Steering committee on Education; Member, Governing council, Maryam Abacha University Kano and a member of the Kano State Committee on Prevention of Drug Abuse among Youth.
She is also a member of the Society for Family Physicians of Nigeria (SOFPON). Until her appointment as the Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, she was the commissioner for higher education in Kano State under former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. With a very laid-back personality and with much of her life and career revolving around Kano, there is nothing much to suggest that she has the kind of experience required to run a ministry such as the FCT. Besides with a formidable boss like Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, it will be a miracle if her voice ever gets heard among the cacophony of Wike’s garrulousness.
Lola Ade-John
A native of Lagos State, she has a laudable track record and a career spanning 30 years in the banking and technology sectors. A graduate of Computer Science from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Lola Ade-John worked as a System Analyst at the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited and thereafter, joined Magnum Trust Bank Ltd (now part of Sterling Bank Nigeria Plc) where she played a key role in establishing the Information Technology, Administration, Personnel and Training, and Business Development departments.
She pioneered the use of structured cabling in the Nigerian banking industry and successfully implemented new technology platforms for the bank, ensuring its competitiveness and growth. She would later move on to Access Bank Plc as the Group Head of Support Services and Technology.
Over a period of 13 years and 1 month, Ade-John led transformative projects, including the construction of a new Head Office building and data center with an investment of $3 million in technology. Her innovative approach, such as implementing a paperless office environment, set new standards for efficiency and sustainability. Her next career sojourn, also in the banking sector, was at United Bank for Africa, UBA where she served as the Head of Applications, leading a project team to migrate customer and bank data to a centralised core banking platform and driving the bank’s growth and modernisation. She would later move to Ecobank Nigeria, where she held different senior managerial roles, solidifying her reputation as a top technology expert. In 2014, she founded Novateur Business Technology Consultants, a firm which majors in providing technical management and consulting services to both private and public sector clients.
The only thing that may prevent Ade-John from sticking out as a sore thumb as the Minister for Tourism, is if she leverages her wealth of knowledge in IT to better position the tourism industry to compete favourably with other exotic tourist destinations of the world.
The Special Advisers
Listed below are the ladies selected to advise President Bola Tinubu on the required ideas to help him achieve ‘the renewed hope agenda’ of his administration.
Olubukola Arowolo Verheijen
Olubukola Arowolo Verhejien’s appointment as Special Adviser to the President on Energy is a recognition of her expertise and experience in the African energy sector. With an impressive career spanning nearly two decades, Verheijen brings a remarkable wealth of knowledge and expertise to her new role. Her extensive experience encompasses a deep understanding of the oil, gas, power, and renewable energy sectors within the sub-Saharan African region. She was well involved in the formulation of the Nigerian Gas Master Plan policy framework. She is the Founder and Managing Director at Latimer Energy, a leading commercial advisory firm that provides a range of services to the energy sector, including commercial negotiations, portfolio value optimization, and opportunity screening. The firm has a strong track record of success, having advised on a number of high-profile transactions in the African energy market. She has held senior positions at a number of leading energy companies, including Shell and Persistent. In these roles, she has advised on a wide range of transactions, including gas commercialization, M&A, and project finance. She serves as an Advisory Council Member of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Energy for Growth Hub. Before Shell, she had been a Senior Public Finance Associate at Moody’s Investors Service. She was also a Non-Executive Director at Daystar Power Group, a leading provider of hybrid power solutions in West Africa. Her work resume is staggering, to say the least. Harvard Kennedy School, Long Island University, just to mention a few.
Hadiza Bala-Usman
A former managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority who was unceremoniously sent packing by former President Muhammadu Buhari on the recommendations of her supervising minister, Rotimi Amaechi, a former Minister of Transport, Hadiza Bala-Usman is currently the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Policy Coordination. Her career trajectory began in 1999 when she spent a year at the Centre for Democratic Development and Research Training in Zaria as a research assistant. Thereafter, she worked at the Bureau of Public Enterprises as an enterprise officer and later, the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, for the Federal Capital Territory Administration as a special assistant on project implementation to Nasir El Rufai who was then the FCT minister.
In 2011, she contested in the National Assembly election in Musawa/Matazu Federal Constituency as a candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change. She later joined the Good Governance Group in Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation, as the country director of strategy.
In 2014, following the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping by Boko Haram, Bala-Usman co-founded the Bring Back Our Girls campaign group to advocate the rescue of the abducted schoolgirls and helped coordinate meetings with the parents of the kidnapped girls and members of the Nigerian government.
Following Nasir El Rufai’s election as Governor of Kaduna State, she became his Chief of Staff and from there, she bagged the NPA job. Her appointment generated a lot of controversy as many saw her nomination as ethnically based and questioned her qualification for the role.
Bala-Usman has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State and a master’s degree in development studies from the University of Leeds, UK.
Salma Anas-Kolo
She is the Special Adviser on Health to President Bola Tinubu. A highly experienced health professional with a remarkable track record in Health Sector Development spanning over 25 years, Salma Anas-Kolo’s expertise lies in health sector policy formulation, strategic development, resource mobilisation, and implementation of various health programs at international, regional, and national levels.
Anas-Kolo holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from the University of Maiduguri. She has held significant positions in various national and international organizations, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the Nigeria Maternal Newborn and Child Health program.
Driven by a passion to enhance access to quality Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child Adolescent, and Elderly Health plus Nutrition (RMNCAEH+N) services, including Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Gender-Based Violence, her technical skills encompass Health Systems Strengthening, particularly in Primary Healthcare and Health System Strengthening.
With extensive experience in both public and private sectors, she currently holds the position of Director of Family Health Services at the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), overseeing critical divisions such as Reproductive Health, Child Health and Gender, Adolescent, School Health and Elderly Care (GASHE), Nutrition, and Health Promotion. A former health commissioner in Borno State, her father, Ibrahim Anas, served as the deputy governor of Borno State and was actively involved in politics and governance until his passing in 2008. Similarly, she made an attempt to make history as the first female representative for Southern Borno in the Senate. Driven by her commitment to community development, Salma Anas-Kolo declared her candidacy for a Senate seat in Southern Borno but she was unsuccessful with her bid having faced challenging competition from seasoned politicians like Sanda Garba, Musa Balla, and the incumbent Senator Ali Ndume.
