“I feel comfortable doing real estate businesses in Dubai than in Nigeria” – Mariam Chindo Mohammed

You won’t be wrong if you describe her as smart, sassy and street wise with a knack for leaving her imprints in the various areas of business she is involved in. Not contented with seeing the sky as her limit, CEO, Saturns gates Real Estates, Mariam Chindo Mohammed sees the sky as her stepping stone. she noted that she feels more comfortable running real estate businesses in Dubai rather than in Nigeria

Having made commendable exploits in real estate and public relations businesses in far away Dubai, she chose to relocate home to further make commendable exploits, while also extending her business empire to include publishing.

See excerpts from her interview as published on DailyTimes

Is the sudden boom in the real estate business in Nigeria responsible for your relocation from Dubai?

In a way, yes. My real estate firm, Saturn Gates Real Estates, started in Dubai after I learnt the ropes from someone who had been practicing in Dubai. I practiced there for about nine years before I moved back home.

How has it been so far?

I feel more comfortable running my real estate business in Dubai rather than in Nigeria because the Nigerian market is not yet regulated so it’s not very easy for me to do business here.

Even though things are fast changing, it is still very rare to see most Northern women take up challenging careers or get involved in causes that the average Southern, Eastern and Western woman, considers normal. What gave you the boldness to break out of that mould?

As a Northerner who comes from a region where there aren’t many women whose voices are heard in the public domain, I want to believe that what gave me the boldness and courage to have my hands in several pies, publishing specifically, is basically because I was brought up in a family where I was allowed to voice out my thoughts and my views regardless of whose ox is gored. I was brought up to say whatever I had on my mind and I’ve never felt discriminated against as a result of my tribe or gender. Therefore I do not consider it a big deal that a Hausa lady of Kano origin is into publishing. Besides, I am very much for gender equality in every sphere of life. If you ask me about Nigerian women in politics, I’d say it’s a good thing that more women from the North are attaining political positions now compared to what was obtained in the past. I do not believe that the fairer sex from one section of the country are more active in politics than other sections. Whether you are from the South, East, West or North, we are all women and should be given the opportunity to represent our communities in political positions. However, there is still room for improvement. I think more women who desire such positions should not be discriminated against because of their gender, tribe or religion but should be given the opportunity to serve the people.