New Nigerian Newspapers Online Edition

ART & STYLE: How do you cope with a job that people believe is exclusively for men?
A very good question. In life you find out that certain things, they say, are strictly for men but God has a way of placing some women among men and when there are men, there are women. Exclusivity isn’t an issue because nowadays, the trend has changed. Positions in public life which were previously believed to be exclusively men’s world are being occupied by women. In all spheres of life, we have women excelling above men.
I’ve seen many challenges. When I was at the NTA, there I was the only woman in the department where I worked. I was still able to cope. It’s nothing new to me, all my life I’ve worked among men and most times I find myself being the only female among men and I am able to cope. Whenever I need any assistance, they are ever ready to assist me. So, for me even if it looks like an exclusively men’s world, it’s not, because over the years I have been able to work with men.
How do you combine your job in the office and being a mother at home?
This question applies to every woman. If you know how to plan your schedule, if you have a job in the house, you will finish the job at home so that it doesn’t affect your job in the office. I try to sort out myself in such a way that if it’s office job, it’s office job, once I go back home I take care of that. I’ve been able to cope well with the two demands.
How do you feel being the first woman in the history of Kaduna state to have been in charge of information management?
Well it’s a thing of joy for me to have risen up to the position of a director and then being the first female director of information and film in the state. I think it is a very good omen for women that a woman has risen to that rank in the history of Kaduna.
How fulfilled are you?
I am quite fulfilled as far as I’m concerned. I thank God first and foremost that I have risen to this level as a director and as I said earlier, on record today I’m the first female director of information/film and as such, I feel fulfilled because for every working civil servant, your ambition is to reach the highest level and beyond. Having reached the post of a director, and becoming the first female director of information, I think it’s a thing of pride and I thank God because if one hadn’t worked hard, one wouldn’t have reached there. So, I feel quite fulfilled and satisfied that at least I have made that record as the first female director of information.
Do you have any bad experience or moment to tell?
Well, my worst moment in office is when I’m confronted with daunting challenges that I must overcome. However I’m happy as I mentioned earlier, my colleagues and my staff are there. They always stand by me and then I will be able to get out of whatever the situation I find myself.
What about your most memorable moment in life?
(Laughs) My memorable moment in life in particular was the day I got married some years ago. I still cherish that day. It is one of my memorable dates.
Earlier, you said you worked among men here and when you were at NTA. How did you relate with your male counterparts?
My relationship with my male counterparts has been very cordial. They relate with me very well. They take me like their own and as their sister. Some of them that are my junior see me as their mother, so they’ve been very supportive and they co-operate with me whenever there is a need for me to request of them to do an assignment or job. So it’s been very, very cordial.
Do you agree with the view that a woman, no matter how highly educated, ends up in the kitchen?
They say when you educate a woman, you educate a nation, so women education doesn’t end in the kitchen because a lot of women we’ve seen excel to very high positions and have really done well. Anytime they are given an assignment or position they work hard towards it and they excel. So, the issue of saying a woman’s place is in the kitchen is not true and even if you say it is in the kitchen, she is able to do a lot of things that the men wouldn’t be able to do. So it’s not really saying the woman’s education ends in the kitchen, she is over and above that.
For how long were you the director of information and how would you describe those years?
I was director for information for seven years and they were very rewarding years. I saw a lot and I worked hard. I didn’t leave any stone unturned whenever I had any difficulty. If I was in the position to do certain things, I sought for help from either the staff that worked under me or anywhere I could get assistance.
How does your day start?
It is always very hectic. Once I come to work I get involved in official job here and there and as such there is no dull moment. It is always very hectic and one is very involved in one thing or the other, so, it is active days throughout the week.
Do you have time for recreation?
Yes, I do especially at weekends. If I don’t have anything official doing, I socialize with friends, relations and I keep myself busy in one social activity or the other. There is no dull moment.
What do you like doing in your leisure time?
I like social interaction a lot. I like interacting with people especially at weekends whether in ceremonies or any social kind of thing that one may feel to be involved, I get involved and interact with people in it. I also like reading.
Does your job make you travel?
Considerably, yes. I wouldn’t say I don’t travel, truly I’m involved in travelling, anytime there is any official engagement that takes me out of the state I travel. So, I get involved in travelling for any official assignment.
As the director of films, how do you rate the standard of Nigerian films/movies?
Honestly, it’s a thing of joy to see the level which our films have reached. Now in the whole world, apart from America that has Hollywood, India has Bollywood, Nigeria has Nollywood.
Nigeria is the third largest film producer in the world. So we have gone places, our films have gone beyond the shores, we’ve been winning awards both locally and internationally. Coming back home, we’ve a lot of film producers here in Kaduna who have also excelled in the area of film making.As such it’s been a very good progress as far as the film industry is concerned and we are hoping to do more greater things even in the ministry. We are working towards making lots of activities in production whether in the area of government activity or state that would show people that we have a lot of potentials that we can showcase.
What is your advice to other career women?
They should be focused, they should know what they are doing, they should be serious about their jobs because sometimes once you are a woman, you are faced with challenges. If it’s one challenge for a man, for the woman it is double. So, my advice is that once you are a career woman, you should face your job, do it diligently to the best of your ability and then you should know that you are supposed to buckle up for you to be able to meet up, you really need to work very hard.
What is your guiding principle in life?
To be focused, to work hard, to be able to help people where there is the need to help and serve my God.