Author: The Nation

The founder, MamaJ Aviation Consult Limited, an aviation consulting firm, Ms. Joy Ogbebo, is determined to leave a lasting legacy in the aviation industry. After almost three decades in the industry, the aviation career development advocate and mentor has turned her attention to grooming the next generation of aviation professionals. Two of her non-profit career initiatives, ‘The Annual Cabin Crew Fair’ and ‘Aviation Career Conference,’ attract up to 300 participants yearly. Her MamaJ Aviation Mentorship Academy has also raised the bar in aviation education advocacy for the young ones. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

THE quit the aviation industry in 2015 after a hugely rewarding career that spanned almost three decades. But, before doing so, Ms. Joy Ogbebo, who started her career in 1992 at Okada Airlines as a Cabin Crew, rising through the ranks to the peak, had resolved to leave the aviation industry better than she met it. And her chosen path to impacting an industry that earned her fame and fortune is the grooming of young and aspiring Nigerians desirous of exploring the avalanche of exciting career opportunities in the aviation industry.

Confirming her resolve to add immense value to the aviation industry, Ms. Ogbebo said: “I always knew that I will be giving back to the society at some point, having spent this long in the industry. So, after quitting aviation in 2015, I decided to start MamaJ Aviation Blog. The passion to inform others about aviation, share from my wealth of experience and tell the story from within was the driving force. So, I started curating aviation related contents, sharing images of those who work at the airport, talking about the many career opportunities in the industry.”

Indeed, the aviation industry where Ms. Ogbebo held sway for over 27 years brims with career opportunities. From job as pilot, flight dispatcher, engineer, reservation & ticketing agent, to customer service, sales and marketing, human resource officer and many more, the opportunities are simply limitless. But, because of information and knowledge gap, many young and aspiring aviation professionals can’t identify the key skills required to access these exciting careers.

Incidentally, aviation blogging, which Ms. Ogbebo started as part of her intervention to help close the information gap, caught on like wild fire particularly among the youth. Many of them started reaching out to the seasoned aviation professional through the social media platforms, frequently asking questions about how to explore not only the cabin crew profession, but also other career opportunities in the industry.

“Through my blog posts, they (youths) got to realise that females could also become pilots, flight dispatchers, engineers; that female pilots were getting married to pilots and making the best of their career,” Ms. Ogbebo told The Nation.

She added that at some point, the deluge of enquiries by young Nigerians seeking  information, most of which they could not access because of lack of mentorship institutions, became overwhelming such that she could no longer sit down and respond to all the questions.

“That was when it got me thinking about how I could reach out to so many of them at the same time. Then, I knew I needed to create a platform. That was why I started the ‘Annual cabin crew fair and the ‘Aviation careers conference.’ Both seminars are non-profit career initiatives,” she said.

Like the MamaJ Aviation Blog, the two aviation career initiatives, according Ms. Ogbebo, have been hugely successful, attracting as many as 300 participants yearly, for instance. However, the two events, which primary source of funding was from airlines and corporate sponsors, still could not meet the demands of the aspiring young ones, hence, she had to set up another initiative known as MamaJ Aviation Mentorship Academy. “My desire is to promote aviation education advocacy for the young ones,” she declared.

Justifying the setting up of the Academy further, Ms. Ogbebo, who holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Mass Communication from Delta State University, Abraka, and a Diploma in Social Works from the University of Benin, said as a young lady coming into the aviation industry, she never had access to career mentorship opportunities.

“In an emerging world, the need for knowledge sharing and information cannot be over emphasised. Mentoring was something that came to me naturally,” she said, adding that her mentorship programme has been quite impactful.

Although Ms. Ogbebo did not give exact figures, she said there are verifiable numbers of beneficiaries.

“Many youths have gotten jobs in the industry; some are taking courses in various aviation schools.

“The good thing is that, while my area of specialty is the Cabin Crew profession, I have been able to extend mentoring to so many other professionals in the industry,” she said, noting that airlines and aviation agencies have been supporting her in this regard, and that it gladdens her heart every time she receives testimonies of success.

Interestingly, in line with her avowed commitment to inspiring the next generation of aviation professionals, Ms. Ogbebo’s mentorship programme targets young Nigerians.

“I believe in catching them young, preferably from the senior classes in secondary schools.

“But generally, my focus is on young aspiring aviation professionals,” she declared, emphasising: “I want to be known as an aviation professional that shone the light on the path of young minds who desire to explore the many career opportunities in the aviation industry, helping them kick start on time.”

While observing that Nigerian youths don’t start early, the aviation expert said it is better for students in their senior classes in secondary school to know from that point what career they want to pursue instead of wait to graduate, do their youth service, and then start thinking of how to start their aviation journey.

Giving more insight into her training and mentorship programme for youths, Ms. Ogbebo said it basically starts with the foundation, getting the trainees introduced to the aviation industry, awareness about the profession, required skills, career opportunities, and how to access them.

She said she also helps them prepare winning Curriculum Vitae (CVs) and coaching for interviews. It is also an opportunity for participants to meet and interact with professionals in the industry, and as well as the relevant training organisations certified by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Rise of women aviation professionals

Hitherto male-dominated, women are gradually holding their own in the aviation industry. Ms. Ogbebo confirmed that more women are rising up and taking up strategic positions in the industry.

“The once dominated fields are gradually being taken over by females. We have females at the helm of affairs of airlines today. We have more female pilots, engineers and flight dispatchers. I recall seeing just two female dispatchers in my airline way back in 2005, out of several male dispatchers. But the narrative is changing,” she said.

According to her, many women are holding their own in their chosen fields, and are pushing boundaries. “Today, we can boost of female Chief Operating Officers (COOs), piloting the affairs of airlines with large fleet of airplanes and staff. Some of them are taking strategic, sensitive and critical business decisions daily on behalf of their airlines.

“We have females in charge of maintenance engineering, dispatching flights and females in air traffic control. Mrs. Oluwatoyin Olajide is the COO of Airpeace, Felicia Agubata, an engineer, is an Air Traffic Controller; there are also Mrs. Kate Nnanna-Ibemgbo and Maureen Udale-Ameh, an engineer, to mention a few,” Ms. Ogbebo said.

She, however, expressed regrets that lack of funding was limiting access to career opportunities for aspiring female professionals because there are no institutions driving this. “We need more participation of stakeholders and private bodies to offer sponsorship so we can bridge the gap between the ratio of males and females in the industry,” she said.

She, however, commended the Women in Aviation Group, which mentors females in the aviation industry. She said, for instance, that the group has done well in the area of educating and encouraging more female participation and also investing in sponsorship of some females for aviation courses. She, however, said the daunting challenge still remains the issues of financing.

“We all know that most aviation courses are capital intensive. So, having the financial capacity to do that is a challenge. Despite these challenges, we cannot over emphasise the need for more involvement of female in this great industry. All we need to do is to be more aggressive in the area of advocacy for involvement of corporate and private organisations for sponsorships and funding,” Ms. Ogbebo said.

Beyond the issue of funding that has been hindering the full participation of women in the industry, Ms. Ogbebo said there are other factors such as religion, tradition, and lack of finances.

“Recently, a young lady contacted me and informed me about her interest in aviation, but because of the general attitude towards females getting education from the part of the country where she comes from, she has not been able to go for a flight dispatcher course. These are some challenges that would naturally affect female participation in the industry,” she said.

Apart from a Degree in Mass Communication and a Diploma in Social Works, Ms. Ogbebo also holds earned other qualifications that have helped position her for the critical role she plays in the industry. Some of them include Diploma in Customer Service, Diploma in Journalism, and IATA Certificate in SMS Implementation Control.

Others are Certificate in Leadership and Coaching, Certificate in Customer Relationship Management, Certificate in Customer Service Etiquette, Effective Coaching and Supervisory Skills, Certificate in Passenger Handling Awareness and Effective Sales Promotion. She has also attended numerous crew training in Nigeria and abroad.

The CEO of Kalos Health and Beauty Products Limited, an agro-processing company, Dr. Labo Osude, personifies the growing thinking in favour of income diversification. Aside running Trinity Dental Supplies, a dental equipment and material supplies company, the professional dentist has taken the production of Moringa-based health and beauty products to new heights. With 15 people under her employ, she says her ultimate goal is to reach every home with her range of cost-effective health and skin care products. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

THE lives and breathes organic.The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kalos Health and Beauty Products Limited, an agro-processing company, Dr. Labo Osude, has never hidden her passion for the use of organic, natural products.

The way Mrs Osude followed her passion and effortlessly translated it into building a thriving company that specialises in the production of Moringa-based health and beauty products that serve the needs of her clients from diverse backgrounds attests to her tenacity and entrepreneurial prowess.

The story of how Mrs Osude, who holds a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS Dentistry), from the University of Lagos, ventured into agro-processing gives more credence to her love for organic, natural products. “I had severe backache for years. I heard about Moringa and what it could do and decided to try it.

“Unfortunately, the one I bought was not effective. So, I did a research on it and realised that the one I used had lost its effectiveness because of poor packaging,” she narrated.

Hit by this realisation, Mrs Osude’s innate passion for anything organic and natural was re-ignited. Although she said she had to look for another brand, which she got and was fascinated with the result she got, “I decided to spread the good news by producing it as it should be, to give mankind the benefits of this miracle plant (Moringa).”

So, the dentist-turned agro-processor wasted no time in starting a small Moringa farm. That was in June 2013. And to get the full benefits of the plant, she decided to go organic from day one.

Explaining further, Mrs Osude, who still runs her Trinity Dental Supplies Limited, a dental equipment and material supplies company, by the side, said: “I grew the Moringa plant, harvested it and processed it into tea and powder.

“I started the processing in my kitchen. The results were encouraging so, I looked for a place to site my processing unit. I got a place in Technology Incubation Centre (TIC) in Abeokuta, Ogun State.”

The Moringa farm she started in 2013 has blossomed into an agro-processing company employing more than 15 people. Today, the company’s range of health and beauty products is arguably, the most sought-after in the market.

Apart from her Moringa Tea and Moringa Powder, other food and beverage brands on Kalos’ stable that are already enjoying significant market share include Kalos Detox Tea and Kalos Zobo Tea, and Kalos Naturally Raised Chicken.

The company also has a natural cosmetic line that parades effective skincare products such as Moringa Soap, Moringa Lip Balm, Moringa Oil, Moringa Glow Lotion, and Moringa Facial Mask. Her top-of-the-range health products such as Moringa Seed and Moringa Capsule are also the toast of health-conscious customers.

The chicken (poultry) arm of the business, according to Mrs Osude, came about because as an organic farmer, she insisted on generating her own inputs to be sure she does not contaminate her products; she wanted to ensure that the quality and standard of products she pushes into the market is top notch. This is why she started a small poultry to get manure to use as fertiliser.

Mrs Osude told The Nation that a senior farmer, one Mr. Saka, as he is popularly called, encouraged her to go into poultry to generate manure and make some money at the same time. The experiment was an instant success. “Little did I know that the poultry will take over my farm,” she confessed, pointing out that the poultry business, which she started with 100-day old chicks on December 28, 2016, today, does about 3,000 chickens at a time.

According to her, she refused to do more than 100 because that as I was already in love with the kind of products I had innovated from my Moringa plant,” she, however, said.

However, the manure from the organic poultry was taking too long to decompose, a development which, again, triggered Mrs Osude’s instinct for innovation. “When we learnt about rabbit urine and poop, which are instant fertiliser, we started a small rabbitry with four rabbits. This was very effective and the rabbits multiplied rapidly so we had more than enough fertiliser for our Moringa plant,” she stated.

At the same time, the chicken business kept growing, forcing the company to continue expanding the poultry business such that it now does about 3,000 chickens at a time. “We dress the chickens and freeze them and also smoke some. We now have a cold room at our Magodo, Lagos outlet where we store our frozen chickens,” the budding entrepreneur said.

Noting that eateries and caterers form the bulk of her growing clientele, Mrs Osude, however, said she is working on increasing her customer base by exploiting opportunities in digital marketing and other platforms.

It is easy to see why the professional dentist is fascinated by the Moringa plant and has gone ahead to establish her Moringa Farm in Ilishan-Remo in Ogun State, where she grows Moringa leaves and processes them into user-friendly herbal products and supplements.

According to experts, Moringa Oleifera, which is popularly called ’miracle tree or tree of life,’  is said to contain a lot of anti-oxidants, which helps prevent skin cancer, and also has a lot of vitamin-E, which keeps the skin well nourished.

Moringa Oleifera contains over 17 vitamins and essential amino acids including vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, E, Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc and Potassium; the Moringa tree really is packed with nutrition.

The miracle tree bodes well for Mrs Osude’s Kalos Health & Beauty Products, which passion and vision is to improve the health of all with affordable healthy supplements. According to her, the company’s goal is to better the lives of people through healthy, natural food supplements and products.

With Moringa’s many minerals, vitamins, oils and acids termed necessary for normal body functioning, it is hardly surprising that Mrs Osude decided to create a range of products that utilise the health benefits of the Moringa Oleifera tree.

Encouraged by the nutrient-dense plant that contains a lot of micronutrients that add value to life, Mrs Osude envisions a future where the ubiquitous use of her health and beauty products is guaranteed.

“We want to be in every home. We want everyone to eat healthy. By using natural skincare products and eating healthy natural and organic foods, one can prevent many diseases and it is our aim to help people achieve this,” she told The Nation.

However, for this to happen, the burgeoning entrepreneur, who said she has so far relied on assistance from family members, friends and of course, bank loans, said the government should support existing and aspiring entrepreneurs by providing them with the needed funding. She also wants the government to encourage made in Nigeria foods and products.

But, how does Mrs Osude joggle between managing her dental equipment supply business and her Kalos Health & Beauty Products Limited while still keeping the home running? “God has blessed me with good staff,” she said, adding: “Luckily for me, I also have a very supportive husband.”

That is not all. She also said apart from starting the farming business as a grandma, “All my children are grown and married, so I don’t have too much to do except play and take care of the grandchildren when need be. I also have one of my children working with me so, I am able to delegate duties.”

Upon earning her BDS Dentistry in 1985 from University of Lagos, Mrs Osude was a resident doctor with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) between 1986 – 1995. The consummate entrepreneur, who attended Holy Child College, Cape Coast, Ghana, between 1972 and 1977, is a member of Dental Sales Professionals, as well as other professional groups.

Mrs Osude, who symbolises the time-tested business strategy of starting small and growing big, first started out by using kitchen sized equipment and growing her Moringa at home. She later got a larger farm space in Ilishan-Remo in Ogun State and then, the TIC in Ogun State, which helped her expand her production capacity.