Salamatu Hussaini Suleiman is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

lawyer who currently serves as the

ECOWAS The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security. Prior to this, she was appointed Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development in December 2008. She left office in March 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 ...

dissolved his cabinet.

Background

Salamatu Hussaini Suleiman was born in

Argungu Argungu is a city in Nigeria's Kebbi State, situated on the Sokoto River. As of 2007 Argungu had an estimated population of 47,064. The city is the seat of the Argungu Emirate, a traditional state. The city is a major agricultural center for the ...

, a fishing community in

Kebbi State Kebbi state ( ha, Jihar Kebbi; Fulfulde: Leydi Kebbi 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤫𞤦𞥆𞤭) is a state in the northwestern Nigeria, Kebbi state is bordered east and north of Sokoto and Zamfara states, and to the south by Niger state while ...

. Her father was an area court judge, and her mother came from the

Gwandu Gwandu, also called Gando, is a town and emirate in Kebbi State, Nigeria. The seat of government for the emirate and district of this name is in Birnin Kebbi, which is the capital of Kebbi State and was capital of the historical Kingdom of Kebbi. ...

royal family. She was brought up in

Birnin Kebbi Birnin Kebbi is a city located in Northwestern Nigeria. It is the capital city of Kebbi State and headquarter of the Gwandu Emirate. As of 2007 the city had an estimated population of 125,594 people. Kebbi is mostly a Hausa and Fulani state, with ...

and

. In 1972, she obtained entry to Queens College, Lagos. She went on to

Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

where she obtained a degree in law. She then went to the

London School of Economics and Political Science , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

where she gained a master's degree in law.

Career

Her first job as a lawyer was with the Ministry of Justice in the old

Sokoto State Sokoto State (Hausa: Jihar Sokoto Fula: Leydi Sokoto 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤧𞤮𞥅𞤳𞤮𞥅𞤼𞤮𞥅) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country on the national border with the Niger, Republic o ...

. She then worked at Continental Merchant Bank, Lagos for seven years, and worked for a short time at NAL Merchant Bank before moving to Aluminum Smelter Company, where she was company secretary/legal adviser. After that, she worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission before being appointed Minister.

Minister for Women Affairs

President

Umaru Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who, was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 20 ...

appointed Suleiman as Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development on 17 December 2008. In September 2009, Suleiman decried marginalization of women in Nigerian politics. She said that violence and male chauvinism were prevalent in the political climate, and coupled with lack of money few women were able to contest for public office. At meetings in October 2009 organized by

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Suleiman said her mission was to serve as the national vehicle for speedy and healthy development of Nigerian women, and to ensure the protection and development of women and children for meaningful life. She urged the state to give women at least 30% representation in elective and appointive positions. In December 2009, she decried the failure of the government to ratify the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suleiman, Salamatu Hussaini Federal ministers of Nigeria Living people People from Kebbi State Ahmadu Bello University alumni Women's ministers Nigerian women lawyers 21st-century Nigerian politicians 21st-century Nigerian women politicians Women government ministers of Nigeria Year of birth missing (living people)

Background

Career

Minister for Women Affairs

See also

References