Women’s Day Special: 10 Nigerian Women That Are Doing Exceptionally Well In Their Fields

In a society dominated by men, women are rising up and making Guinness book-worthy impacts. Though the process is seemingly slow and taking longer, Nigerian women are changing the game and making the rules, leading while others follow, rather than sit and be bossed in the patriarchal world. As we join the world to celebrate the 2020 International Women’s Day themed Women in Leadership, here are 10 Nigerian women making waves in the world today.womenNgozi Okonjo Iweala
Recently appointed as the Director-General of World Trade Organization, Nigerian-American Economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a woman of many firsts – the first woman to serve as Nigeria’s Finance Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, the first woman to serve in the former office twice, the only Finance Minister to have served under two different Presidents and the first woman and African to be the DG of WTO. She surely deserves the golden cup as a woman who takes the seat amongst men while they stand and a pace-setter doing overly and globally exceptional for over 2 decades, feats which cannot be exhausted if listed in 2 pages of this magazine.
READ ALSO: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Loses Mother 8 Months After Losing Father

Folorunsho Alakija
Folorunsho is a Nigerian billionaire and businesswoman with a stronghold in the fashion, oil, real estate, and printing industries. Making a difference as she stands out in an industry populated by men, Folorunsho was named on Forbes list of richest Africans. We give her all the accolades in the world.

Ibukun Awosika
Pleasing to every sense, Mrs. Ibukun is a Nigerian businesswoman, motivational speaker, and author who currently serves as the Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria. She recently outdid the existing capacities she is known for as she ventured into acting, playing herself in the movie ‘Citation’. This, we found out has been on her bucket list for a long time and finally, came to play. Ibukun is doing exceptionally well in the banking industry making women proud and has been named on Forbes list too.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda is a feminist who has carved a niche for herself and is making a difference in the literary world. Her works are outstanding indeed and the brilliance she exhibits at conferences, seminars, many other events and overall is worthy of emulation. Many of her popular works have been turned into movies are they are truly exceptional. Mentioned on the famous Forbes list, Ngozi can be said to be a superwoman who keeps raising standards as she evolves.

Obiageli ‘Oby’ Ezekwesili
Always ready to speak and make a difference, Oby is a former Vice-President of the World Bank’s Africa division, an ex-Nigerian Minister of Education, Minister of Solid Minerals, Head, Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit, and former Chairperson of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI). Dr. Ezekwesili is also co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Africa Regional Strategy Board, a co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, and KOKO’s 2017 Woman of the Year. In terms of national deeds, she has broken records, and indeed gets all five stars for her excellence.

Olajumoke Adenowo
Olajumoke Olufunmilola Adenowo is an architect by profession and also an entrepreneur, philanthropist, public speaker, radio host, and author. CNN described her as “Africa’s Starchitect” and The Guardian has described her as “the face of Architecture in Nigeria”. Amidst all these, she has also been on the Forbes list. What more can we look for in a woman, Olajumoke is definitely doing exceptionally well in her field and we can’t help but applaud and commend her.

Arunma Oteh
Arunma was the Treasurer and Vice President of the World Bank and eventually rose to become the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission in Nigeria in January 2010. Arunma Oteh is a force to reckon with amongst women, definitely breaking boundaries and making waves in the banking industry.

Amina J. Mohammed
Amina Jane Mohammed is a Nigerian diplomat and politician who is serving as the fifth Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, she was Nigerian Minister of Environment from 2015 to 2016 and was a key player in the Post-2015 Development Agenda process. We can go on and on about this top-notch woman as she definitely stands out in the crowd.

Tara Fela-Durotoye
Having won multiple awards, Tara was listed more than once on the Forbes list amongst other achievements. A leading female Nigerian beauty entrepreneur and lawyer, a pioneer in the bridal makeup profession in Nigeria, Tara is a rare gem and worth mentioning on this list.

Uzo Aduba
Uzoamaka Nwanneka ‘Uzo’ Aduba is a Nigerian-American actress known for her role as Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren in Orange Is the New Black. Storming the streets of Hollywood and bagging multiple awards in her career makes her stand out amidst other women in the entertainment industry. We can say she is surely doing exceptionally well for herself and making her nation proud.

Photo Credit: Getty

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