The Nation Newspaper

Category: New Woman

  • S-U-R-U-L-E-R-E (Patience is profitable)

    S-U-R-U-L-E-R-E (Patience is profitable)

    Hello Temilolu,

    You are just a gift from God to this generation to re-engineer the lost value system among the youth. I buy The Nation on Sunday just because of your articles which I always look forward to. Your club is beyond girls. I pray that God will uphold and reward you for your GOOD WORKS. Thanks ma.

    Gboyega G.A.

     

    Hi T’L,

    Did you know that your brain is prettier than your face? You are tender at heart. I’m a guy but I really like your column, you are helping my sisters a lot! Thanks.

    T.J., Kano State

     

    Dear Temi,

    I have read some of your articles. They are just deep, spiritual, mystical and profound. I wonder if your target audience – girls would appreciate your profound and time-tested TRUTH. I belong to a school of philosophy where some of the things you discuss in your column are held dear to heart. Your article on the power of patience is a classic! Keep the flag flying!

    Frank Mboye (Legal practitioner), Enugu State

    I thank my brothers for their kind words and encouragement but sincerely hope my sisters are reading! And I must tell you, it’s God the giver of life downloading into yellow sisi’s brain.  I pray my other sisters out there can spend more time nurturing their spiritual beauty than their physical beauty so they can be useful to God and man.

    I began a topic on the power of patience last week. And you will agree with me that as the world gets tougher generation after generation, it’s a must-have virtue to enjoy our stay in this world. I am sure a lot of adults and elders who are reading wish they had exercised some patience in their youth and made wiser choices thereby saving themselves and their children from trouble. In any case, no matter the wrong path you impatiently followed, wonderful, golden, evergreen patience is ever waiting for you to embrace it and give you not only a solution out of your quagmire but allow you make a goldmine out of it. Wow!

    It breaks my heart to hear the stories of sisters who impatiently jumped into the wrong marriage with the wrong partner out of family/societal pressure, etc. Is it so easy to break a covenant you made with a man before God and a congregation at the altar? I don’t know o and I pray it never happens to us. Worse still, what happens when the centre of a marriage just cannot hold between two enemies living as husband and wife who now have children between them? It will never happen to us o! It only takes the special grace of God for a child from a single mother to grow up as a balanced child. And if care is not taken, a family pattern is already established. Hmm…patience is profitable. It’s not nice to be lonely especially at a time like this when most men would not want to stay committed in a relationship with you except you are both engaging in sex. But I tell you, it’s a lot better and in fact a great advantage for you to be lonely now as a single lady and critically map out what you want out of life, including your marriage. And you know what? It makes God involved, because patience is one of the fruits of the spirit of God. How nice!

    There are so many areas of our life and daily activities where patience is required. And though it can be developed anytime, it is easier to start now even if you are just 13 years old. Your life will be too sweet I can assure you. Life is unfair and you may not get what you want easily as life doesn’t readily present what we want to us. However, with patience, the eyes of your soul even discovers that which is better than you ever wanted which you never knew existed. When you are too much in a hurry sometimes, life throws whatever it wishes or is available at you but your patience has the power to subdue life before you and just allow you access to every good thing. However long the night, the dawn will certainly break. And just as the Yoruba Proverb says that “Patience can cook a stone,” the patience in you can turn your adversity to the best thing that ever happened to your existence on earth. Well, as long as you can endure the wilderness and find the treasure that will change your life forever, carry it across the turbulent sea and climb the tallest mountain where your glorious crown will be waiting for you to usher you into the dawn of the best days of your life. Be patient, my friend! God loves you, so do I!

  • ‘I sacrificed ‘9 to 5’ jobs for my home’

    ‘I sacrificed ‘9 to 5’ jobs for my home’

    Amimbola Adenike Odegbami is a businesswoman and Executive Director at Bismak Nigeria Limited. The 50-year-old who has two degrees in history, runs her business together with her husband, a former banker. Through her successful business, she now mentors young businessmen and women. She spoke with Joke Kujenya and Oluwatayo Oladipo 

    THE name Odegbami… any link with the famous Segun Odegbami? Yes, he is my elder brother-in-law. I’m married to his sibling, Phillip Odegbami, who is now a retired banker.

    Abimbola in 50years, how was childhood?

    I could vividly remember that both of my parents, now duly retired, were educationists. My dad, Chief D. A. Ogboja, taught in so many schools and eventually rose to become a secondary school principal. A particular period I recall was when I was student at Sijuade Primary School, Ile-Ife. My daddy was in Oduduwa College about the same time. My mother and us, the children, always go with my dad wherever he was transferred to. As children of educationists, we would always be ‘perfectly’ dressed. Our socks must be well washed, sparkling white and neatly tucked into our shoes, not something we must be careless about. Then, my immediate younger brother, Seye, would always cry when he got to school that he wanted to return home. We are six in number, four females and two males, with me being the overall first.

    So, then, we were considered as being privileged children. Nowadays, I don’t think principals are as important as they were in those days. You know then there were not so many heads of schools. And you know what happens when a teacher, let alone a principal, is mentioned. So, being children of a principal earned us so much respect we too were expected to live up to. Both students and teachers respected us then. And we always lived in very big houses like eight-bedroom homes where we all had single rooms to ourselves. Then, we had guests coming in from time-to-time. We had bags of foods with drums of palm and groundnut oils in our stores all because my parents were educationists. And we ate freshly baked-bread for breakfast. We never ate any next day leftover. Those were always trashed.

    Coping with expectations?

    Those were very tough. We had very strict upbringing. And all the six of us had good morals which still remain with us till date. It is also what we are passing onto our children. To our father, name matters; not money or position. So, he always reminds us to remember the children of whom we are. And when my name was mentioned anywhere then, people used to reckon with me. Even till today, some of those that knew me then still give the recognition. And some of these people, I barely know them. As the first child you know, all eyes were on me and I had the challenge to set a very good example. At some point, my dad was the principal at a teacher’s training college. But these colleges are not so popular in today’s world. And they had these luxurious buses then. So, we were part of the privileged few that were driven to school then. In fact, we were so known that if I just stood by the roadside, any of the six bus drivers could park and pick me to school or home depending on where I was going.

    Tertiary experience?

    Interesting. Most of the time, I stayed with my dad’s late immediate younger brother, Professor Olu Ogboja, who was, in his lifetime, the dean of Chemical Engineering at the UNILAG. So, in addition to being a principal’s daughter, I also grew up within a university. So, when it was time for me to attend a university, UNILAG was it. In fact, it was like I had taken UNILAG for granted. I protested that because I had lived there for most of my life, I needed to have another university experience. So, when I clamoured so strongly for a change, I was able to gain admission to the University of Ife (then UNIFE), now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). That was where I had my first degree in History. Funny enough, I had to return to UNILAG for my second degree and specialised in American History.

    Why American History?

    It is because I have always loved America. It’s not that I love Nigeria any less because this is my country. I only pray they allow Nigeria grow because we still have a lot of challenges. For years, the problem of light has persisted and we go for hours on generators each day. I expected us to have really grown to an extent at fifty, not be static as we are. So, they should encourage us as Americans are encouraged. You can see how proud they hold their flags. We too want to be proud of our country like that. Situations where officials in privileged positions believe in frustrating fellow Nigerians should be dissuaded. For instance, it is because of endless strikes in our country that made us send our two children abroad to schools in America. My only son is through and recently got married in July. Who knows if he could be through by now if he were to study in Nigeria. So, these are the challenges that get one worried and to wonder, how long. I just simply love justice and fairness.

    With first and second degrees, why business and not career?

    I am from Ekiti State. And in my state, they like education a lot. But then I got married to a man from Abeokuta, Ogun State. And Abeokuta people are known for being in business. So, my husband, a young banker then, who used to go to work from morning till late in the night, encouraged me to go into business for me to have time to take care of him and our children. In fact, on his 30th year of career life, he recently retired after growing to the level of a Deputy General-Manager from the bank he worked with. For him, the essence of marriage is for someone to take care of the children and that was automatically me, as the woman of the house. Temporarily after I finished my NYSC, I taught for a while in different secondary schools within Lagos State. I then retired from that to face the family squarely. My husband didn’t want me to do a 9am-5pm job.

    What your business entails?

    I import a variety of products such as Plaster of Paris (PoP) used in decorating people’s legs at the hospitals, as well as home ceilings, margarines, milk, vegetable oil and many others. I am also into supplying of necessary products to confectionary companies across Lagos.

    Mentoring youth

    I won’t call what I do with youth structured mentoring, but for those in my line of business, I mentor them to observe integrity in business and never to compromise that. I teach them to be patient and work hard with steady focus. I tell them not to rush to be rich but to relax, study the business and have a mentor. I am also a modest employer of labour because I have shops on the Island, the international trade fair and some other places. But mostly, I employ youths. In fact, it is because of our impact in this area of life with charity work that my husband and me were given the Bobagunwa and Yeye Bobagunwa of Ikole-Ekiti.

    Life philosophy

    When God blesses you, help others. But I often wonder, how many people can I help? I do charity works for churches. I just do my little best given what my quota is per day.

    Values?

    Family. I have a very happy home. People know and always commend my family unit as a four-some. We’re so closely-knit. And that’s the way I met my parents and grew up with my siblings. I still sit on my husband’s laps and we stroll holding hands in our estate to take fresh air. My children are used to us. And I believe they too will enjoy good homes like I learnt from my own parents. I have never been used to anything called unhappy homes. I have always believed that all homes are happy. I tell my children that happiness is now. I thank God I love my family and I am so happy with my husband.

  • YETUNDE WEDS SEUN

    YETUNDE WEDS SEUN

    Family and friends gathered recently at Ijero Ekiti, Ijero local government in Ekiti State to celebrate the marriage between Yetunde and Seun on July 26th, 2014.

    It was a fun-filled day with the reception decorated in the colour theme, blue and yellow.

    Seun and Yetunde first met at Holy Child Catholic Secondary School, Ado-Ekiti.

  • Lifestyle Blogger wins N15 million wedding

    Lifestyle Blogger wins N15 million wedding

    POPULAR wedding reality show, My Big Nigerian Wedding (Season 1), finally saw the lucky couple Yemisi Aiyedun and Yomi Odusanya walk down the aisle with glam and fun fair recently at a wedding event that cost N15 million to put together.

    My Big Nigerian Wedding is a reality show organised by Akin Eso, the organiser of Africa’s biggest wedding exhibition, Wed Expo. The show is for intending couples and all those who are planning their weddings.

    Popular video blogger, Yemisi Aiyedun, and her fiancé, Yomi Odusanya, however, emerged winners of the show among several hundreds submission. Yemisi Aiyedun, popularly known as Sisi Yemmie, is a photographer and a Vlogger (Videoblogging). She produces videos by herself for her YouTube channel (Sisi YemmieTV). She has a Master’s degree in International Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham and a Diploma in Internal Communications, PR Academy London.

    According to the organiser of the show, My Big Nigerian Wedding came about as a way of giving back to Nigerians. “This show is for intending couples or those who are already planning their wedding. Wed Expo is to make our wedding planning, budgeting and other aspects of the wedding a whole lot easier and that also is the idea behind My Big Nigerian Wedding, especially for the winners of the show.”

    Speaking further on My Big Nigerian Wedding, the organiser said, “Season 2 of the show is coming soon and this time there would be both a Lagos wedding and an Abuja wedding. The goal is to make the dream of a lucky couple come through each year. Registration for Season 2 will be only at WED Expo – Nigeria’s Largest Wedding Exhibition which will take place from October 10th to 12th at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos and in Abuja from October 17th to 19th at M and M Event Centre. This will enable all contestants benefit from future discounts of vendors attending the expo and will pave way for the right accreditation before the contest moves online.”

    The winners of the show were given the wedding of their dreams including a honey moon package in Dubai. Every aspect of their wedding was taken care of by the organisers of the show. The bride’s makeup was done by Banke Meshida-Lawal of BM Pro, cake was by Cakes by Tosan, the wedding attire was by Mai Atafo, pictures were taken by Kelechi Amadi Obi, decor was by Nwandos signature. The wedding which will be produced by Riverside Production into

    a reality TV series is expected to hit TV screens across the country soon.

  • When is instant noodles too much?

    When is instant noodles too much?

    WOMEN who eat instant noodles, at least two times a week, face a greater risk of high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar and high cholesterol, US researchers say.

    The study looked at data from 10,711 adults – just over half of whom were women – in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

    Researchers at Harvard University found that there was a 68 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome among women, but not men, who ate instant noodles more than twice per week.

    Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes. It includes carrying too much fat around the waist.

    “The consumption of instant noodles was associated with increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome in women, independent of major dietary patterns,” said the study in the Journal of Nutrition on Thursday (local time).

    In other words, it didn’t matter if women ate a largely traditional diet of rice, fish and vegetables, or a diet heavier in meat and fried foods – if they ate instant noodles twice weekly, they were at higher risk of health problems.

    It was unclear why the effect was seen in women but not men.

    Since the data was based on surveys, researcher Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard, said it may be that women reported their diet more accurately than men, or that women were more sensitive to the effects of carbohydrates, fat and salts.

    So, how much is too much when it comes to instant noodles?

    “Once or twice a month is not a problem,” Hu was quoted as telling The New York Times.

    “But a few times a week really is.”

  • The snipers in our lives (II)

    HELLO peeps, I’m very glad to be with you again today. And I must thank a good number of you for sending me text messages and congratulating me for my entry into the beginning of the best days of my life. PRAISE GOD! I pray everything you’ve ever pined for will start running after you as from today. AMEN. Last week, I discussed the men whose real interest girls are oblivious of – parents’ male domestic staff, teachers, lecturers, brothers’ friends, clerics, even our uncles and our fathers’ friends as we mature and so on. Some of them openly make amorous advances but we are way too innocent to know the depth of their ungodly interest in us.

    And I suggested the home of a girl should be succour for her where she can get enough love and understanding so that she may be able to seek for help and advice where necessary and thereby have no reason to seek love from a dangerous source.

    Here are more tips on how parents can help:

    3) Patience: Teenagers make mistakes; and girls can easily be led astray. They act foolishly, stubbornly in a perplexing manner. At times, when all these happen, they are not even aware; they don’t even know how it happens. Mum and dad, you were once teenagers, weren’t you? This is an inevitable part of teenage life. Adolescents would like parents to have a little patience with them. It will help them and their parents because the kids of this age easily go berserk and could ruin their lives with just one foolish act of rebellion which will in turn cause you pain. But this is not to say that parents cannot throw a word of caution, you MUST prayerfully advise them EVERY DAY! In fact, I suggest you remind them of the path they should follow after every family prayer meeting every morning and also prophesy into their lives. The power in your tongue after you prayed will stamp it on their hearts. God will help you!

    4) Exploration: Naturally, adolescents are different from each other. They mould and invent themselves through what appeals to them, what image they want, how they live their lives and above all the way they see life. Parents may want adolescents to follow their footsteps, but their feet will take them their own way, at their own pace.

    Girls would like their parents to prepare them for this journey. They want them to allow them stretch themselves to see what excites their passion, what motivates and inspires them. Parents at times make snide remarks that may dampen the adolescent’s enthusiasm or curb their explorative tendencies. This should stop; your girls may even teach you something new. NEVER PUT THEM DOWN, so that devil’s brother will not put them up and take away their senses. You only need to guide them and make sure their fantasies won’t land them on a ruinous path.

    5) Comfort: Girls want parents to provide a warmer, more secure home environment so that they will be better equipped to go where their dreams and ambitions take them and to be truly free of others’ limited and faulty perceptions.

    6) Encouragement: Girls need encouragement in their teenage life because this is the time when they prepare for their future. Their closest source of encouragement is, therefore, their parents. Even when they try to live up to their parents’ expectation and they don’t succeed, they would prefer pleasant remarks, a pat on the back and a tender push from their parents. Remember, they are sensitive by nature.

    They would also like their parents to encourage them to pursue their special interests, no matter how extra-curricular parents see it. These interests include sports, music, modelling and others; they can later become accomplished stars.

    When parents rage, rave and rant, they make their girls feel they are a total disappointment. This is not to say that parents should not put pressure on them to excel, but some negative words like “air-head”, “pea-brain” may be detrimental to their emotions.

    When parents treat their girls like precious stones, they will regard themselves precious and have the zeal to uncover their own brilliance. When they fall flat on their face or succeed in leaping the wall, a reassuring word from parents will make all the difference.

    7) Time: Girls need to have parents to themselves on a regular basis, because being alone with them, they can express their feelings and talk about their interests without worrying about big brother or big sister or anyone coming to interfere. Those are very precious moments to them. You’ll be amazed at the things your daughter will innocently tell you if you consistently create special time for her. You’ll be doing yourself a world of good. And when you team up with her, you’ll understand her individual personality and who she really is. In fact, you may eventually realise what a special gift from God you have, how much like you she is. Besides this, when parents spend too much time on work, owambe, socialising and so on, they will unconsciously neglect the children.

    And since you are not watching, they can do anything which pleases them out of their youthful exuberance. Like doing drugs, experimenting with sex under your roof and so on. A lot of adolescents who eventually realise their mistakes usually end up hating their parents for not cautioning them and thereby ruining their lives.

  • The emotional world in your pocket

    AKINSOLA sat in the reception waiting for his friend and schoolmate. His heart was in a state of turmoil and he had not slept for days. Suddenly, his attention shifted to the movie on the television screen and he became relaxed. He watched for a few minutes and fell asleep; slept like a baby, and by the time he woke up, he felt better and different. Akinsola is about 29 years old and his heart had literally been to hell and back many times.

    Apart from the emotional tales, his personal story is also heartbreaking. At different points, he had had to take breaks from all kinds of losses. From the loss of his beloved mother, to the loss of a promising career, loss from friends who were ever ready to exploit him, as well as the loss of three promising relationships. Oh dear! Where did he really go wrong? What did he do or didn’t do right? Is there really hope for this endangered heart? Those were the questions that kept riveting in his mind when he escaped briefly to ‘slumber’ land.

    Sleep is an essential part of life. It is a phase no one can ever ignore and it is necessary to be fit, alert and healthy. It is obviously the end process for our daily activities and after the daily activities, it is essential to have a good night rest. This, naturally, ushers in a fresh day and the energy used up the previous day is replenished.

    You can, therefore, imagine what would happen to a heart that never sleeps. We also need to note that depriving yourself of sleep can be for positive reasons. Here, there may be something that you want to change and so you may need to work round the clock to meet your targets. This compares to a city that never sleeps; a place that is filled with activities, where social and economic life go on round the clock with lots of fun in the air. Certainly, it must be a commercial nerve centre and a place where there would be something for everyone. Here, it is possible to get attention, quick money as well as fame. The only sacrifice you may need to make from time to time is to deprive yourself of sleep.

    Of course, you can be sure that in this city, your goals would be met in a short while. You would also be smiling to the physical and emotional bank from time to time. Determination, dedication and perseverance obviously would help you drive through the city and conquer its assets as long as you can over stretch yourself.

    But the big question here is, how far you can stretch yourself (heart)? Life and love, interestingly, are elastic, ever willing to expand and allow you achieve your dreams. However, when you stretch it beyond the limits, it cuts off and that is when things fall apart. When you overstretch your emotional boundaries, what you run into may not be pleasant at all. Bad! And when you have the guts to take a closer look, you would be shocked to find a heart that is decaying.

    All efforts put in obviously were to fill in the gaps for others. You may have put in so much and obviously got so little in return. Those sleepless nights, nights of toiling, may have left nothing but worries, heartaches, a belly filled with animosity, despair and eye bags. On the surface, it looks like a dream come true, but deep down you know that it is all a mirage. There is a big hole in your emotional heart and it is getting deeper because you are the only one who can feel the emptiness within.

    Isn’t love about sharing? Perhaps, you thought that toiling for love would make things better and conquer the restless heart that caught your fancy. Now that things are not working according to the emotional plan, is it better to chicken out and tell the world that this isn’t love after all? In your mind, you may just come to the conviction that no one is ever going to understand what you feel or what you are going through. After all, experts would tell you that it is indeed a selfish world and only those who are stingy with their emotions appear to have the emotional world in their pockets. Determination to conquer against the many odds is, therefore, the reason for clinging to the ‘sleepless’ philosophy alone.

    This probably explains why many hearts prefer to toil round the emotional clock believing they would win the bold and the restless heart with time. Their desire usually is to change the mindset of the rebellious heart, then tame their emotional tigers and swing the emotional pendulum positively in their direction. Once in a while, your heart and body just cannot take it anymore and then you find yourself in the land of dreams. What a great relief! Unfortunately, that is not the feeling here and for a heart that has been deprived of sleep for a while, it revolts snoring angrily in return. This brings more provocation and this result is a nightmare. It would take you back to your sleepless state and if you are not careful, crash to emotional pieces.

  • ‘How to identify dead wealth in informal sector’

    ALL over the world, economies are facing tough competitions for talent from forces within and without. Post-financial crisis regulation has changed the way big banks do business. Riskier, lucrative sources of revenue are the order of the day. However, women who form a big part of the economy appear to be lagging behind.

    During the week, the Association of Nigeria Women Business Network (ANWBN), a coalition of 17 women business associations, had a public private dialogue in Lagos to find lasting solutions to problems facing women entrepreneurs. Empowering a woman, according to Fayo Williams, is not just about money. “It is about better healthcare for the family, it is about giving confidence and hope for a better future. I hope that we will be the train that can move the bottom of the pyramid women. We also hope that lack of finance will no longer be a cog in the wheel of progress for women.”

    For Folusho Taiwo, a designer who is registered with AGOA, there are so many barriers impeding the progress made by women. “I wanted a loan for a permanent structure, but because of my age, they did not allow me to fill the form. I told them the truth, which was that I already had 25 machines but need a permanent structure. They gave me land in Abeokuta but I was born in Lagos and have been doing my business in Lagos. I met staff of the Bank of Industry at Trinidad and Tobago but they refused to grant me a loan.”

    Unlike Taiwo, there was another participant who has been lucky with loans based on prompt payments and integrity. “You won’t believe that with no collateral I bought two cars from Elizade Motors through my bank for my business. I paid back promptly and after four years, I bought another set; a Rav 4 and Toyota Yaris. Interestingly, in another branch of the bank, I was sitting in my house and they came to offer me a loan of N150, 000 million that I didn’t ask for all, because I did the right things at the right time.”

    In a presentation, Taiwo Abiose, a representative of the Lagos State Ministry of Commissioner of Commerce and Industry, she said there are lots of opportunities for women in the informal sector that are untapped. “We have departments for small scale industrial businesses at Yaba and Matori. For the Matori group, we have people who are into agro-allied, and if you are looking for space to produce, then you can apply for space and the price is subsidised up to 40 per cent.  In the ministry, we have five sectors and we identify tradesmen and artisans according to their trade and they are asked to register according to local government.”

    Abiose added: “Under this, we also have an empowerment scheme that is divided into three. The first is capacity building, and we discover that most of our artisans do not get jobs because people prefer Togolese and Ghanaians for tiling and other jobs. So, we have been training and retraining our people from time to time.  About 2,580 people have benefitted and when we train them we expose them to new technology as well as link them to how to get the technology. We also go to the market and other places to identify all the dead wealth in the informal sector. We realise that there is so much money in the informal sector but people are not registered to be part of the opportunities.”

    Integrity, hard work and determination, Titilola Adisa stressed, are qualities needed to become credit worthy in business. “Access to finance is repeatedly identified as a major constraint to women entrepreneurs. The associations supported by the US Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) has designed a project which seeks to identify the type of credit facilities available to women, the barrier they face in accessing them and the improvements needed in access to finance for women. Understanding the barriers women’s businesses face and providing solutions to address them is necessary for countries to further leverage the economic power of women in order to promote growth and the attainment of development goals.”

    According to Toki Mabogunje, many women entrepreneurs encounter serious challenges whenever they approach financial institutions for the purpose of accessing credit, thereby stunting the growth of their enterprises. The challenges to women’s access to finance include property rights and control over assets, cultural norms and family responsibilities, biased attitude of banks, as well as lack of collateral and start-up capital. “Our position is that these barriers to access to finance which are gender-based have to be removed for there to be any appreciable gains to the economic development for the country as a whole.”

    Mabogunje stated that it could be argued that the government has under taken a number of initiatives aimed at improving access to credit for SMEs. “Amongst these are the funds which have been housed with the Bank of Industry meant for this purpose. The Central Bank in Nigeria in collaboration with stakeholders also launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy aimed at further reducing the exclusion rate to 20% by 2020. The result of our survey shows that it is not enough to take a global view of the issue and implement solutions targeted at the global public without specific strategies for addressing those factors that are gender specific.”

    She continued: “The group has engaged in a series of consultations visits to stakeholders in Abuja and Lagos in both public and private sectors. Each of these organisations, ministries, agencies and committees considered our policy position paper in its draft form and made their contributions to its content. ANWBN commends the CBN’s new initiative to consider moveable collateral as an alternative to fixed assets currently used by the banks as collateral for loans. We, therefore, request that the modalities and framework for the implementation of this new initiative should be concluded at the earliest time possible.”

  • ‘My innermost beauty got me the crown’

    Blessing Bassey Okosin was crowned Miss Humanity Nigeria 2014 in Benin last February  and will represent the country at the Miss Humanity International world’s final to be held in Bridgetown, Barbados today, August 24th. She shares her expectations and life on the runway with Morakinyo Abodunrin 

    MISS Humanity Nigeria is not yet a popular pageant like Miss Nigeria or Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, how do you feel about this?

    Yes, Miss Humanity is new in Nigeria and I’m the first to win the coveted crown. I have never felt and won’t feel inferior (because it is not as popular as others you mentioned).Beauty queens are born not made. Miss Humanity is known in over 30 countries in the world. I feel great for being the first to be crowned Miss Humanity in Nigeria; it’s also an ultimate and prestigious title.

    What does it entail to be Miss Humanity?

    Being Miss Humanity, one has to be intelligent with inner beauty, God fearing, beautiful and a humanitarian at heart; all these aforementioned qualities, by God’s grace, I exhibited during the competition.

    There is this belief that you have to compromise before wining beauty pageant; what was your experience?

    Compromise? No experience about that, I won on merit because a lot of beautiful girls contested with me, but my innermost beauty got me the crown.

    Has winning Miss Humanity opened doors for other things to you?

    Undoubtedly, Miss Humanity has exposed me to plaguing vices in the society but it has given me the boldness to attempt proffering solutions; and has also given me an opportunity to meet new people.

    What is inner most beauty, because you mentioned it earlier?

    We are all aware that true beauty must be found from within us. It does not matter how physically beautiful, fit ,smart ,clever, strong or flawlessly and painfully perfect you are, you will never feel true harmony within your body if you strive to achieve these things for approval, attention, admiration and competition.

    You are a graduate of Marine and Environmental Biology. Will being Miss Humanity debar you from doing something related to what you studied?

    Being a beauty queen can’t stop my academic activities. I will say beauty without purpose is vain.

    So, what other things do you do aside being a beauty queen?

    I run a fashion house (offizle’s dress code) and also I’m a safety practitioner.

    How long is your reign as Miss Humanity and what are you doing as your pet project?

    My humanitarian advocacy is child’s rights – promoting the right of young girls to equal education.

    What have you been doing to promote your humanitarian advocacy?

    In my attempt to promote my humanitarian advocacy, I have collaborated with numerous organisations such as Help the Child Foundation, as well as sought advice from my First Lady (Mrs. Obioma Liyel-Imoke of Cross River State) Foundation, which is Mother Against Child Abandonment. I conduct symposia in institutions, especially female institutions, to educate them on the need for formal education and its benefits. In the process, I discourage premarital sex which may lead to early marriage, abortion, child abandonment, health-related and social problems like VVF, STDs, which by extension have attendant problems on the society.

    In that case, what’s your take on the abducted school girls?

    Sincerely, I won’t want to say a word about those girls.

    What is your most prized possession?

    My sash is my most prized possession?

    What is a sash to a lay man?

    A sash is a colour ribbon worn round the body draping from right shoulder to waist (after being crowned as a beauty queen).

    What other interesting thing would you love to share with our readers?

    You will never fail until you quit. Everyone should aim higher and remain focussed, because to move ahead, you need to believe in yourself and have conviction in your beliefs and confidence to execute them. Not forgetting, success is a welcome gift for the inhibited mind.

    Will you love to contest for Miss Nigeria or MBGN in the future?

    No, Miss Humanity is my ultimate crown and I will be representing Nigeria in the world finals in Bridgetown on August 27th.

    What are your chances?

    Greatness is my choice and winning is my watch word.

    What are you most looking forward to when you get to Barbados?

    I am looking forward to meeting the good people of Barbados. I also intend to experience their culture and tradition; experience the beautiful white beaches of Barbados, and most of all meet and interact with other delegates.

    If you win Miss Humanity International 2014, how would you use the title?

    If I win this title, I will be absolutely over the moon. I cannot even put into words how much it would mean to me. I feel like all the little seeds I have planted in my life are growing in the right direction, pointing towards my future what I want to do and the person I want to be. Promoting everything is what I have to achieve in life, allowing opportunities to be a voice to be heard, accelerate the  work I do and allow opportunities to be a voice for those who cannot be heard and allow opportunities for further humanitarian work. I love educating others and speaking openly about areas in need of societal improvement, it would be a dream come true to be a positive role model for young women. I wish to expand my humanitarian efforts in many areas as possible. I will use my title to form strong relationships with other countries and businesses that are based internationally. I will create educational programmes in schools and promote going-green campaign to save our environment.

  • Why we are empowering the vulnerable

    Why we are empowering the vulnerable

    Mrs Lawal Charanchi is the coordinator of the Service to Humanity Foundation, the non-governmental organisation set up by the first lady of Katsina State to cater to and empower women and the vulnerable in the state. He explained to Adetutu Audu what the foundation has done so far in complementing the state government’s effort to reduce poverty in the state.

    Hajiya Fatima Ibrahim Shema, wife of Katsina State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema, has many cards up her sleeve when it comes to humanitarian activities. Easy going and intelligent, she is one of the African women immensely blessed with the milk of human kindness, reason which she was recently conferred with the Most Valuable Governor’s Wife in Nigeria.

    She has not only made her humanitarian impact felt in the capital city of Katsina, she and her team have in the last six years taken arduous trips across the length and breadth of Katsina to give hope to the hopeless and empower thousands of rural women.

    Though not involved personally, she set up the foundation to aggressively address poverty in the state. Lawal Charanchi, the coordinator of the programme revealled that the programme has been a continuous exercise since the present administration came into power. ‘The empowerment programme cuts across all the 34 local government areas.’  He added that all materials distributed to the women were a normal routine here in the state because the state government views women empowerment as something very important as the contributions of women in community development cannot be underestimated.

    Women in the state are continuously being empowered so that they can give their maximum contributions to the economic development of this state. The programme which is in conjunction with the state government represented by the ministry of women affairs is in many stages.

    In his words: ‘there is the area of capacity building that is giving them training in their chosen skills acquisition and in the area of supporting them after graduating. Apart from acquiring skills, the first lady, through the foundation, supports them by giving them all the necessary equipments and tools needed in their chosen skills and then add an additional N50, 000 so that they can begin their new life effortlessly without any hindrance,’ she noted.

    But apart from occasional assistance by the state government, from which other sources does the foundation generate revenue to carry out its various programmes, since it is capital intensive? Charanchi disclosed that the foundation works with so many international donor agencies, as well as local ones; so it is able to leverage on support in terms of materials, financial and technical. Her Excellency, Dr Fatimah Ibrahim Shema, she noted, is able to harness so much resources with which to conduct the activities since 2008.

    The centres since then had been imparting vocational skills to women and even men in soap making, shoe making, foam making, catering, and knitting, among others. The centre also recently in collaboration with NAPEF national sponsored some women  to South Africa  to acquire skills in cream making, shea butter production and moringa production and in return, they can train as many women as they can.

    With the success recorded so far, what were the criteria for selecting the beneficiaries of the programme? Initially, Charanchi said the target were widows, female orphans and children, and instead of just giving them nutrition support, clothing and other things, the foundation decided to develop the vocational skills for those women, so that they would be able to take care of themselves and their orphan children. So, the issue of having some educational qualification does not arise; education is not considered at all. ‘I think vulnerability is the most important criterion here. We are after empowering the vulnerable because once they are taken care of economically, they will spread the empowerment to others, and once that is done, it reduces crime and increases economic activities and we are all better for it. It is a win-win situation here. Once the hands are doing something, it can’t be workshop for any evil,’ he pointed out.

    By early this year, Charanchi stated that various acquisition centres across the state have trained over 6800 of these women. The foundation has a monitoring unit which from time to time assesses the work of the trainees as well as to give additional support. ‘Sometimes when you go, there could be problems and challenges faced by these trainees. You try to know the challenges so you can advise them on how to move forward. For example, a lady trainee or a widow trainee who eventually marries or remarries, some abandon the project because of the new marriage, but more importantly because of the new comfort derived from the new marriage or husbands. While the trainees may be facing one challenge or the other, the foundation too has its own, and that is the area of recovery of loan to the trainees. This is one area that we are concerned about. While some of them are judiciously using the loan facility, I must say that recovery same is very low. But that is expected anyway. Our joy in all this is that we are impacting lives,’ he declared.