*Umar Farouq: The* *uncommon humanitarian*

Sadiya Umar Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management is living up to her important office and good nature. She is helping and saving many Nigerians in dire straits with the humility and compassion she brings to her work across the country.
Under this administration, Farouq is changing government’s attitude and disposition to pain and suffering of its citizens. This is unusual in Nigeria’s public service and administration.

In a country where those in power care less about common people, especially the poor, the aged and other vulnerable people in the society, Farouq’s giant strides is commendable. It is also an indication that with the right people in critical sectors of the country’s economy, things are bound to work, no matter how challenging and mysterious governance may appear to average commoner who lacks class and rank in the society.

However, one thing that distinguishes Farouq from her colleagues in Nigeria’s fluid political arena is trust and this has taken her to many places. For instance, in 2010 when she resigned from her plump job and a promising career at the National Assembly Service Commission, this scarce currency of trust gave her a position of reckoning at the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC where she became an active member. It is interesting to note that at the time of joining CPC, President Muhammadu Buhari was the party’s presidential candidate and prime mover of the party. Therefore, it was easy for Buhari to spot her integrity, disposition and above all, her commitment towards building a better society.

So, in 2011, Farouq became the National Treasurer of CPC, a position she held until 2013 when CPC merged with other Nigerian political parties to form the All Progressives Congress, APC. Eventually when APC was formed, she became the new party’s Interim National Treasurer between 2013 and 2014. Unknown to her, her sterling performance did not go unnoticed among the principal actors in APC and other members. In no time, she was appointed into the All Progressives (APC) Presidential Campaign Council. Here, she took on different tasks but left her mark more in the Directorates of Election Planning, and Monitoring, Field Operations and Fund Raising ahead of the 2015 general elections.

The fact that APC eventually won the election is a testimony to Farouq’s dedication and hard work as a committed and devoted party woman and believer in the APC agenda for change and a better Nigeria.

If truly the reward for hard work is more work, then this hard-working woman is a typical example of that timeless axiom. So, on September 26, 2016, she was appointed Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, NCFRM. Shortly after the appointment, the president decided to relocate the National Social Investment Programme, N-SIP formally in the office of Professor Yemi Osinbajo to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management. On August 21, she became one of the lucky members of Buhari’s new government.

As a minister of the Federal Republic, she has performed creditably well, intervening at critical moments and ameliorating the sufferings of many Nigerians who look up to her for support. She has also shown that even with the growing cynicism in Nigeria today, public officers can still be trusted. And as this government she serves enters the last lap of its regime, this minister has vowed to keep doing good no matter the criticisms that come her way. In a way, she is believed by many.

She immediately  hit the ground running; she revived and re-engineered the N.Power scheme,which was slowly but steadily nose-diving at the office of the Vice President, Osinbajo. She raised the bar of achievements by government appointees, thus return the confidence of the people in governance
Available records as at 2021 showed that under the supervision of Farouq who is the youngest minister in Buhari’s cabinet, 5,042,001 applications were received from Nigerians on  N-Power initiative, which has generated quite some uproar in the country. What people do not know was that the minister took a very bold step in repositioning the scheme through the introduction of the Batch C stream to accommodate more youths. This is to state that within 24 hours of the introduction of the Batch C stream, over one million youths made applications.  This fact implies that indeed the minister understood the need to expand the net to accommodate more Nigerians in dire need of some form of engagements.  Young persons have benefitted from the N…Power Scheme.

Another area where she has done well is in the area of school feeding. Buhari’s government has through Farouq delivered on its promise of a meal a day for a child, a milestone that has never been recorded in Niger.
It is also on a very good note to know that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, gave COVID-19 a very good fight via palliatives aimed at amliorating the sufferings of the masses of Nigeria during the lockdown – no thanks to the equitable distribution of edibles to the poor of the poorest during the period.
What of in terms of intervention in areas where natural disasters struck? The speed of lightning with, which Umar Farouq and her team intervened is commendable and never seen before in the annals of the country.
We can go on and on enumerating the achievements of this young female minister but for time and space.

interestingly, Farouq’s marital life has remained a subject of controversy for some years now for some idle minds. However, there are signs that she may have decided long ago, keep away her family life from the public and the inquisitive press.

A few years ago, it was rumoured that President Buhari was going to take her as second wife. But the news turned out to be false. It was finally reported that she got married to Sadique Baba Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Chief of Air Staff at a Mosque in Maitama, Abuja on September 18, 2020. And this quickly put to rest, every speculation, insinuations and concerns about her marital status as a powerful woman in government.

Born on November 5, 1972 in what is today known as Zamfara State, Sadiya Farouk attended Federal Government Girls’ College, Gusau before attending Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where she graduated with a BSc in Business Administration. She later obtained two higher degrees from the same institution. First, she received a Master’s in International Affairs and a Master’s in Business Administration, MBA.

After her one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC scheme at the National Assembly as an administrative officer, she was engaged by the assembly. She later rose to the position of Principal Administrative Officer and server in various committees, including the Senate Committee on Aviation and Appropriation.