Ruqayyah Ahmed Rufa'i (born c. 1958) was appointed as Nigerian Minister of Education on 6 April 2010, when Acting President
Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...
announced his new cabinet.
Early life and education
Rufa'i was born in
Ringim
Ringim is a Local Government Area (LGA) of Jigawa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ringim, the LGA has an area of 1,057 km² and a population of 192,024 at the 2006 census.
History
Ringim emirate came into being in Nov ...
in
Jigawa State
Jigawa State (Hausa: ''Jihar Jigawa'' (Fula Leydi Jigawa 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Created in 1991 from the northeastern-most region of Kan ...
. She obtained a B.Ed in history at the
Bayero University
The Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a university situated in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from University College to University. It is the first university in ...
,
Kano
Kano may refer to:
Places
*Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria
* Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State
**Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries
**Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...
in 1981, an MA in history from the same university in 1987 and PhD in Education from the
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
, US, in 1991. She was Commissioner for Health under the military regime of General
Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...
between 1993 and 1996.
She was promoted professor in 2003, and served as Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology in
Jigawa State
Jigawa State (Hausa: ''Jihar Jigawa'' (Fula Leydi Jigawa 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Created in 1991 from the northeastern-most region of Kan ...
.
[ She said she was always ashamed when faced with the challenge of low enrollment of the girl-child in Jigawa State, and found it difficult to explain why the state could not enroll more girls in the schools. She banned the use of mobile phones in secondary schools due to their distracting influence.
]
Leaving ministerial office
Amidst political problem in the ruling party People Democratic Party (PDP) where seven governors, including Sule Lamido
Sule Lamido was born on (30 August 1948) served as Foreign Affairs Minister of Nigeria from 1999 to 2003.
He was elected governor of Jigawa State in April 2007.
He is a member of the former ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).
He ran successful ...
of Jigawa State, and dozens of senators and members of House of Representatives split to New PDP, the president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan relieved 9 ministers of their positions. Prof. Ruqayyat was among the affected ministers.[Jonathan sacks 9 ministers http://www.africanspotlight.com/2013/09/11/jonathan-sacks-9-ministers/]
Bibliography
*
References
Living people
Federal ministers of Nigeria
1950s births
Education ministers of Nigeria
Women government ministers of Nigeria
People from Jigawa State
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