United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, has disclosed plans to return to Nigeria after completing her tenure at the global body, but said she has no intention of seeking political office.
Mohammed made this known on Monday during an interview with Arise News while discussing her plans after leaving the United Nations and her future contributions to Nigeria and Africa.
Asked whether she would consider returning to public service or contesting for political office after her UN tenure, Mohammed simply responded, “No.”
The former Nigerian Minister of Environment, however, said she intends to use the networks, experience and global exposure she gained during her decade with the United Nations to contribute to development efforts in Nigeria and across 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.
Mohammed said she viewed Nigeria’s position as a leading country in Africa as an opportunity to contribute to wider development across the continent.
“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,” she added.
She acknowledged that contributing to national development would not always be easy but described returning home as the right thing to do.
Mohammed also spoke about the challenges women face in balancing demanding careers with family responsibilities, advising women to make use of available support systems rather than trying to handle everything alone.
“My advice to women is to use your support systems, never try to do this alone, it’s never about just you,” she said.
She noted that while women had made significant progress in the fight for equality, major challenges remained in areas such as leadership, workplace opportunities, gender-based violence and women’s rights.
“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,” she said.
Mohammed became UN Deputy Secretary-General in February 2017, after initially joining the organisation in 2012 as Special Adviser to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on post-2015 development planning.
She played a significant role in the development of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Before joining the United Nations, Mohammed served as Nigeria’s Minister of Environment from November 2015 until early 2017. She had earlier served as Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Millennium Development Goals.
Her current tenure as UN Deputy Secretary-General is expected to end on December 31, alongside that of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Mohammed’s return to Nigeria would mark the next phase of a career that has spanned national government, international development and the highest levels of the United Nations system.