Deborah Ocheni 
The Minister, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadia Umar Farouq, has bagged 2021 Dream Up, Speak Up and Stand Up (DUSUSU) Gender Minister Award for ensuring fair inclusion of women in all the social investment programmes of the ministry. Speaking at the presentation ceremony in Abuja, the minister noted that there are very few occasions in the course of one’s mission where one is able to pause and take stock of what one has achieved. “This event today, where Zuriel Oduwole and her DUSUSU Foundation have chosen to honour the mod-est work of my humble self and my ministry, clearly provides one such occasion.
“The Gender Minister Award may, at first glance, seem surprising to be awarded to myself as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. However, taken as a whole, along with all the programmes under my purview, we have made a conscious effort to mainstream gender considerations and ensure that women are enabled to be change makers in their immediate communities and beyond. My work and that of my Ministry are primarily focused on the vulnerable populations in Nigeria, across all regions, religious, ethnic and tribal lines”
