Recently, I watched as the governor of Jigawa State sworn in new High Court Judges, among them was 33-year-old Nilfa Abdullahi Gambo, a 34-year-old mother of four, who is currently a PhD candidate.
To be sincere, if we’re to judge by statistics, the Northern part of Nigeria is the worst in terms of out-of-school children in the country, but how Nilfa achieved her academic and professional feat is as inspiring as the story of Aisha Maikudi, a Professor of Law and the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja.
Our paragon edition this week centres on Nilfa, who combines the tedious task of a mother with legal and academics. She is a motivation to a lot of young girls in Nigeria, especially in the Northern part. Her appointment and swearing on June 11, 20204, is a testament of her hard work.
So, who is Nilfa?
She attended Bayero University, Kano, with a degree in Law, as one of the best during her set, from there to the Nigerian Law School, and in 2013, she was called to the Nigerian Bar.
After her one year of youth service, she wasted no time as she proceeded for a Master in International Economic Law with a focus on Africa earning an LLM from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London.
Professional bodies
- Certified mediator and international arbitrator,
- Member, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) the United Kingdom
- Member, Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC)
Work experience
She worked briefly at a law firm before joining the service of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in 2018.
Nilfa was a registrar, mediator and research assistant to Hon. Justice Emmanuel Subilim at the National Industrial Court until she was appointed a judge in Jigawa.
As a mother
As a mother Nilfa is a strong woman, according to a public affairs analyst and a lawyer, Audu Bulama Bukarti. The young Justice is a mother of four: one girl and three boys.
Saluting her courage, Bukarti said, “She is a testament to the reality that it is not a choice between career or family. Nilfa successfully combined both. She has made not just the Abdullahi Gambo family proud, but the whole of northern Nigeria.”
However, according to the analyst, Nilfa feat could have been more challenging if her husband was not supportive.
As Nilfa makes the list of young judges in Jigawa, we hope that young girls in the state and Northern Nigeria see her appointment as inspiration.
As we earlier pointed out in our list of female vice-chancellors in Nigeria, educating the girl child is worth it.
In contrast to archaic assertions that girls’ certificates end in the kitchen and in the bedroom of their husbands, we’ve now seen them occupying positions that their male counterparts have dominated for centuries.
Seeing women like Justice Nilfa and Prof. Kathleen Okafor (a female VC), and Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria among others, affirms the hope that one day, a female will be elected as Nigeria’s President.
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