I’m returning to Nigeria after UN tenure but won’t seek political office - Amina Mohammed

Amina Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), says she plans to return to Nigeria but has no interest in running for political office after completing her tenure at the global body.

Mohammed spoke on Monday during an interview with Arise News.

Asked about her plans after leaving the UN and whether she would consider returning to public service or seeking political office, Mohammed said: “No”.

She said her decade at the UN had given her networks and visibility that she hopes to use to contribute to Nigeria and Africa.

“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 a visibility for women and for my country and for the continent, and I want to use that to go back home,” she said.

“And Nigeria is a pretty big country, and it’s a leader in Africa, and so to say that Africa, Nigeria is where I sit, but Africa is my oyster, and I’d like to think that that’s what I could go back and contribute to it. It’s never easy but it’s the right thing to do, so that’s what I hope I do.”

Speaking about women balancing careers and family life, Mohammed said women often have to make difficult choices and rely on support systems.

“My advise to women is to use your support systems, never try to do this alone, it’s never about just you,” she said.

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

Mohammed took office as UN deputy secretary-general in February 2017 after first joining the organisation in 2012 as special adviser to former secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on post-2015 development planning.

She played a key role in the development of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Before joining the UN, she served as Nigeria’s minister of environment from November 2015 to early 2017 and previously worked as senior special assistant to the president on Millennium Development Goals.

Her tenure as deputy secretary-general is due to end on December 31, alongside that of António Guterres, the UN secretary-general.