Margaret O Shonekan was born on 28 October 1941 and is a Nigerian civil servant, she spent much of her career with the West African Examinations Council.
19 Facts About Margaret Shonekan
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Margaret Shonekan was appointed a Federal Civil Service Commissioner from 1 October 1986 until 31 March 1994.
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Margaret Shonekan briefly served as the First Lady of Nigeria from 26 August 1993 until 17 November 1993, during the transitional presidency of her husband, Ernest Shonekan.
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Margaret Shonekan was born on 28 October 1941 in Gusau, British Nigeria, in present-day Zamfara State.
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Margaret Shonekan's parents were Yoruba who had moved from South West Nigeria to Gusau during the late 1930s, where her father worked as a teacher for the Church Mission Society.
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Margaret Shonekan attended elementary school at Christ Church Anglican Primary School in Gusau and Peter's Primary School in Minna.
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Margaret Shonekan then attended Anglican Girls' School in Orita-Mefa, Ibadan, for one year before enrolling at Anglican Girls' Secondary School in Ilesa from 1954 until 1958.
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Margaret Shonekan later obtained a post-graduate diploma in administration and management from St Godric's College in London in 1968.
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Margaret Shonekan was hired as a Trainee Assistant Registrar by the West African Examinations Council on 1 October 1965.
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Margaret Shonekan worked for the WAEC for the majority of her professional career.
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Margaret Shonekan was later appointed deputy registrar of the WAEC from 1 April 1982 until 30 September 1986.
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In 1986, Margaret Shonekan left the WAEC upon her appointment to the Federal Civil Service Commission, which oversees the civil service, by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
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Margaret Shonekan served as a Federal Civil Service Commissioner from 1 October 1986 until 31 March 1994.
14.
Margaret Shonekan served as First Lady of Nigeria for just 82 days from 26 August 1993 until 17 November 1993.
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The Margaret Shonekan's presidency was cut short when General Sani Abacha staged a coup and overthrew Margaret Shonekan on 17 November 1993.
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Margaret Shonekan rejoined the West African Examinations Council on 1 April 1994 as its senior deputy.
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Margaret Shonekan was then hired as the WAEC's Head of National Office on 30 October 1995, defeating five male colleagues who sought the position.
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Margaret Shonekan served as the Head of National Office at WAEC from 30 October 1995 until her retirement on 30 September 2000.
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Margaret Shonekan described her time as Head of National Office as her most difficult years with the WAEC, due to the examination board's lack of adequate funding and its empty treasury at the time.