Salamatu Ladan Shuni is the daughter of Amb. Ladan Shuni, who was the Nigerian ambassador to Morocco between 1999 and 2003. In this interview, she talks about her father’s life outside work, and more. Excerpts:
Daily Trust: How would you describe your dad?
Salamatu Ladan: My father is a man of the people, a selfless person who thinks of others first before himself. If I could choose a father again, I will pick him all over again because of his love for people.
DT: What do you cherish most about him?
Shuni: I cherish his steadfastness and resilience because they are two qualities that I believe have seen him thus far.
DT: What do you think people remember most about him?
Shuni: (Laughs) I guess the way most people call him ‘mai aljihun ragga don mutane,’ meaning whatever he has in his pocket is for the people.
DT: What type of father is he? Strict or easy going?
Shuni: Growing up, he was a very strict father who later became a friend to confide in my adulthood. I must say that his strictness is what moulded me into the woman I am today and I hope I will be able to mould my own children in that manner so they become assets to the society.
DT: What makes him angry or happy?
Shuni: He is a politician, so his happiness or anger revolves around success and failure.
DT: What is it like being his daughter?
Shuni: It was tough back then when he made us wake up by 5am for morning prayer and to have to greet everyone we came across. We taught he was just trying to punish us, but we grew up to realise that he did that out of love and the fact that he wanted us to grow up as religious men and women. As a father who did not have failure in his dictionary then, he sure was not an easy person to live with. But Alhamdulillah, we turned out fine. Masha Allah.
DT: What is his favourite food?
Shuni: He has never been a picky eater, although his love for traditional food is on another level.
DT: Has your father’s position opened doors for you in life?
Shuni: To that, I will say ‘Alhamdulillah ala kullin halin’. Yes, it has.
DT: What traits of he’s would you say you have imbibed?
Shuni: I am a little bit of a politician myself and hope to develop myself in that area.
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