Nine were sacked but only one publicly wept. For Hajia Hadiza Mailafia, until yesterday morning Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, the sudden loss of her job in yesterday’s cabinet shake-up by President Goodluck Jonathan was too much blow to bear.

Though she tried to sound philosophical while speaking with State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Mailafia could not hold back tears as she said: “If you are wise enough, life is a cycle where from the day you come in you should know there is an exit. Isn’t it?”

“And every Wednesday I come in here hoping one day there will be a cabinet reshuffle. I am grateful to all of you. I have enjoyed working with all of you. And please support government programmes, the Great Green Wall in particular, the new map and so on.”

Hajia Mailafia had earlier presented a memo before for ratification, only for her sack alongside eight other ministers to be announced by President Jonathan towards the end of the meeting.

•Photo shows ex-Minister Hadiza Mailafia.