Owing to her demonstration of clear and impactful vision that increased her relevance in the national political and development space, Her Excellency, Dame Pauline Kedem Tallen was in 2005, decorated with a National Honor of the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), by His Excellency, President Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR as an official national recognition of her invaluable contribution to national development.
Dame Pauline Kedem Tallen hails from Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria. She is a devout Christian and happily married with children.
Her Resume is certainly rich and puts her in a leadership position, where she has been vocal about women related matters. Dame Pauline has enjoyed a fulfilled life and career with a barrage of sterling achievements in various parlances of her interest, including but not limited to education, politics, administration, peace and development.
She studied sociology at the University of Jos from where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1982.
She proceeded to Harvard University, USA for a programme in strategic public sector negotiations. She also attended John F. N. Kennedy School of Government, among others.
She served as commissioner of social development, youth, sports and culture and also commissioner of health both in Plateau State. She was appointed minister of state, federal ministry of science and technology in 1999 and in 2005, she served as chairman governing board, Raw Materials Research and Development Council.
She is fully convinced that by supporting the vulnerable women with income generating activities, there will be peace and development in the country.
Born 8 January 1959, Dame Tallen is an astute politician and the current Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development in the Country. She was appointed in 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari after turning down ambassadorial nomination in 2015 on the grounds that she was not consulted prior to the announcement of the appointment.
Dame Paulins’s political career keeps soaring on the wings of tremendous achievements. This has led her to very deserving positions both in the state and federal levels. In 2007, she became the deputy governor of Plateau State and the first woman to be a deputy governor in northern Nigeria. Though she also contested to be governor of the state in 2011, she lost to Jonah Jang. She is presently a member, board of trustees of All Progressive Congress, and was honoured as woman of the year for her contribution to Nigeria at the 10th African Icon of Our Generation Award. She is a board member of the National Agency for Control of Aids. She has been chairman of the governing board of National Agency for Control of AIDS since 2017.
She is one of the few women in politics who advocate for more women in politics. Recently, she identified the low number of women in politics and other leadership positions as a major setback to the country’s development.
To her women inclusion, participation in governance, both at the state and subnational levels is a major boost for our democratic development.
A woman soldier herself, Tallen has been on the forefront and has always been on the scene of politics, where men seem to be thriving. She believes that the inadequate number of women in decision-making positions explains the country’s low investment and slow progress in some of the crucial sectors of human development outcomes.
Some sectors where there were low levels of development as security and peace processes, health, education, ICT development, finance, trade and investments , among others could be as a result of low women participation.
At every given opportunity she reminds political parties and aspirants that the level of women’s representation at the various positions in states, despite their numerical population strength, is nothing to write home about.
She takes stock of how political actors and gatekeepers had fared in rewarding the sacrifices of Nigerian women to further determine how best to support their ambition.
She has used her position to defend the course of women for national development. She believes her appointment is divinely guided to find a meeting point between President Muhammadu Buhari’s recognition of the role that women have played in his political career and her personal interest as a defender of womanhood that has been her story as far back as childhood.
She therefore takes her job in the ministry seriously, using it to make a difference by empowering women as agents of change.
“We must set out targets and work towards achieving them. We must make history and make indelible marks on the sands of history”, she once said.
She places a high premium on women in view of their crucial role in the economy. “Women are the engine of the economy and must be carried along to improve the economy. Once women are empowered, the economy changes,” she said.
Strategically, she has used her position to improve the lives of vulnerable women, in order to make an impact in the economy.
“Most of the security problems are because we have out of school children. If we look for ways to engage these children meaningfully, the security situation will change. Then we will have peace”, she was quoted .
Tallen has also heightened national attention to see gender inequality meted out to women and girls as gross human rights violation. She has therefore taken it upon her ministry to abolish all forms of violence and harmful traditional practices endangering the health and dignity of girls and womanhood in Nigeria.
A master of politics, she recently withdrew from her senatorial ambition in Plateau state, with a statement, which read in part: “I remain resolute as I continue to relish the opportunity to serve Nigerian Women in my capacity as Minister of Women Affairs under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Consequently, I wish to inform you all that following broad-based consultations and interventions from critical stakeholders, I have decided to withdraw from running for the senatorial seat, mindful of our accomplishments and the notable progress we have recorded under my stewardship at the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.”
Her quest for excellence and knowledge has led her to attend various Seminars and Conferences both at National and International levels in the fields of Education, Health, Politics, Science and Technology and Business Administration, across countries of Britain, Canada, Singapore, Italy, U.S.A., Indonesia, Rome, Pakistan, Iran, Malaysia, France, Ethiopia, South Africa, Israel, Japan, China, South Korea, Mozambique and Egypt.
She has been a World Ambassador of Peace, Inter-religious and International Federation for World Peace, since 2000.
She is also a recipient of many awards and honours in different fields and works of life.
Kudos to you Madam.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
