Amina Mohammed Talks About Life After UN Job

The Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, has shared her plans to return to Nigeria after her time at the UN ends.

Mrs. Mohammed talked about this in an interview with Arise TV while in New York, United States, on Monday.

Her 10-year term, along with Secretary General Antonio Guterres, will finish on December 31.

When asked by Arise's international correspondent, Adefemi Akinsanya, if she would take any public office in Nigeria after leaving the UN, she replied, “No.”

She mentioned that her time at the UN has given her connections and visibility. She hopes to use these to help Nigeria and Africa develop.

“I’m coming home, and I’m very happy to do that. Ten years here, I think, has been a privilege. It has created networks. It has created visibility for women, and for my country and for the continent. I want to use that to go back home,” she said in the interview, which PREMIUM TIMES monitored. She added, “Nigeria is where I sit, but Africa is my oyster.”

Mrs. Mohammed, who was Nigeria’s minister of environment, also discussed the struggle of balancing work and family life for women. She said women often face tough choices and encouraged them to rely on their support systems.

“I think my advice to women is to use your support systems. Never try to do this alone. It is never about just you,” she stated.

“We have won the battle but not the war. We are still fighting for a space; we are still way off track with the targets that we have set for women’s rights and leadership in the workplace, at home, and gender-based violence. All these are still a struggle for us.”

Born in England but raised in Nigeria, Mrs. Mohammed has had a rich career. She started out designing schools and hospitals in Nigeria.

Before joining the UN in February 2017, she was Nigeria’s minister of environment from November 2015 to early 2017 during the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

As minister, Mrs. Mohammed led Nigeria’s efforts on climate action and worked to protect the environment.

She also played a key role in creating the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).