Increasingly, Nigerian women are shattering all barriers and finding space for themselves in vocations previously considered as exclusive preserves of the men. Whether in welding, house painting, auto-mechanic, bus driving or even truck driving, women are feeling at home and proving themselves beyond doubt. Dorcas Egede here explores the world of five women who are not intimidated by their gender.
TRAFFIC had begun to build on the ever busy Lagos/Ibadan expressway this particular afternoon. For regular road-users and commuters on this road, this has become a routine and therefore no surprise. Nevertheless, tempers were pitch-high, especially amongst drivers, both of private cars and their commercial bus counterparts and lousy conductors. Cuss words rented the air, even as the driving got extremely scary and the passengers shifted and sighed in deep discomfort.
In the midst of this chaos however, hawkers counted their blessing. At times like this, a ready market for edible foods and drinks is created, and the ever-ready hawkers are always on hand to cash-in on the situation. A case of one man’s meat… you’d say. But this was an unusual time of the day to witness slow traffic.
One after the other, motorists moved away from their cars to see the cause of the traffic ahead. On getting close to the cause of the traffic and discovering that it was a truck belonging to the Dangote Group, most of them made to turn back in indignation, cursing under their breath. But they soon stopped in their tracks. A woman behind the wheels of a truck? Surely this was no common sight in this part of the world. In no time, there was a pool of humans, particularly males, all struggling to take a shot of the wonder woman.
Hajiya Gambo Mohammed, a senior driver with the Dangote Group of companies was a spectacle on this particular day. The sight of her masterfully manning the wheels of a heavy-duty truck wasn’t a common one. In a clime where some men still dread driving cars and small buses on long distance, the sight of Hajia Muhammed was no doubt a spectacle.
But Muhammed does not see what she does as anything spectacular. She was quoted by online sources as saying she started driving when she was 18 and actually got the job through stiff competition, having applied like every other candidate and taken the same tests as they did.
Mohammed is not the only female of our time who has taken on jobs originally considered to be exclusive preserves of men. Over the years, more females who have become skilled in certain manly jobs have emerged. Among them are female mechanics, painters, commercial bus drivers, conductors, welders; name it.
What a man can do…
In the earliest centuries, many professions were considered a no-no for women. But that has literally changed, with women holding their own in medicine, engineering; even as far as aeronautic engineering, pilots, auto-mechanics and going on assignments to war zones. Little wonder it is now commonly said that “what a man can do, a woman can do also.” Some have even dared to tweak the saying to, “what a man can do, a woman can do even better.”
Inspired by Muhammed, The Nation went after fire more wonder women holding their own in jobs as ‘odd’ as house painting, welding, cab driving auto repairs and commercial bus driving. They shared stories of how they ventured into their various professions and how they have managed to survive in competition with men in their supposed world.
The commercial bus (danfo) driver
If you have ever lived in Lagos state or merely visited, you would most certainly have seen the yellow and black painted mini buses that move passengers to various destinations around the metropolis. These are the Lagos commercial buses, fondly called danfo by Lagosians. If you’re also familiar with the way these danfo bus drivers operate, then you would also have noticed that they are very brash, rough, often leaving you to wonder if indeed they’re sane. Hardly a place you’d expect to find a woman.
But it is amongst these untamed breed of men that The Nation found a widowed mother of three, doing her thing and earning a living. Because she cherishes her privacy and prefers to remain anonymous, we shall call her Geraldeen Agbonifo not her real name.
She said she veered into transportation business early this year, exactly two years after her husband’s demise. Like it is with many widows, Agbonifo revealed that she would do everything within her power to raise her children to the highest level possible. “I’m not thinking remarriage. I just want to train my children to the highest level I can,” she said.
She said she took the decision to hit the roads after failing to make a success of her textiles, shoes and bags business, which she used to import from Dubai.
“I noticed that I wasn’t realising enough profit. Most of my customers would rather hold onto my money than pay me.” She said. She thus decided to venture into other things to make enough money to sustain her and take care of her family needs.
She revealed that becoming a danfo driver wasn’t very much by choice, but because she couldn’t find a better option to earn a good living from. She reckoned that it would best to do something that would bring in money on a daily basis, and which would not give room for debts and bad debts.
“In the business I’m doing now, there’s nothing like come and pay next week. Here, we operate a pay as you go system. I make as many trips as I can and put my money in my pocket.” She said.
She would however not reveal how much she earns per day. In response to the question of how much she earns, Agbonifo politely replied that “I make enough to pay my bills and take care of the family.”
Like the proverbial virtuous woman who rose up early to cater for the needs of her family, this widowed mother of three disclosed that she sets out for business as early as 5:00 am, and 5:00 some days. “I leave the house as early as 5:30, even 5:00 am on some days, because at this time workers are going to work in their troves. Besides, when I set out that early, there’s nothing like struggling for passengers like what obtains now that it’s almost midday. There are fewer passengers on the road, so we have to hustle to get our buses filled up.”
As a result, she gets up as early as 4:00 to see to the preparation of her children’s meals, breakfast and lunch before venturing out. “I have a nanny, but all she does is take care of the children and prepare them for school. I fix their meals myself. Before I leave the house, I’d have packed their lunch boxes.”
In the midst of this tight schedule, she says she still makes out time to be with her children when they return from school. To achieve this, she says, “I make sure I don’t work beyond 4:00 pm. I do about five to six round trips every day, apart from Saturdays and Sundays. I make fewer trips on Saturdays and I don’t work on Sundays. This is so that I can spend good time with my kids. A nanny can’t raise your children the way you will, you know. And I talk to myself to slow down sometimes, so I don’t die before my time.”
Asked if she indeed faces the challenge of battling the many wild men in the transport business world every day, Agbonifo smiled and asked, “What do you expect? You saw how that driver tried to bully me at Obalende while we were hustling for passengers. I get a daily dose of that, but it doesn’t bother me. Before you decide to come and do this kind of work, you must have prepared yourself to tussle with bullies like that.”
Interestingly, there’s also the challenge of certain passengers, particularly males, who would refuse to board her bus once they notice its driver is female. But again she says this does not bother her, as she makes this up with those who patronise her out of curiousity. “I get a lot of admiring stares. In fact, some people purposely get on my bus when they see who the driver is, so it doesn’t bother me when I see those who despise me.”
She also says it’s not only her passengers that admire her. Traffic officials, members of the Lagos State Task Force and sometimes police officers tend to be more lenient with her and three other female drivers, whom she said equally ply the Obalende-Ajah route. “The task force officials seem to be softer on women. Sometimes, if I didn’t see them on time and they walk up to me, I’ll just apologise, and they’ll say, “Na because you be woman o.” They are actually gentler with us. They usually have mercy.” She said smiling.
Betty the Painter
The job of painting apartments and building is no mean feat, and certainly not one for the female folks. But all that may be in the past now, as some ladies are breaking the ‘barrier’ and finding space for themselves in there. 33-year-old Beatrice Origho is one of them. Interestingly, Origho, who hails from Delta State, confessed that she’s having so much fun, painting homes and apartments. She told The Nation that she chose the vocation over other things because she saw that “people always admire the finishing part of every building which is the painting work, since it brings out the beauty of any building to the pleasure of all those who contributed to it and the satisfaction of the clients.”
In addition, she says she also deploys painting to express the beauty of God’s creation.
Origho, who has been painting for over 15 years now, said she learnt painting immediately after her secondary school education when she was about 18 years of age. Apart from painting, she also makes hair and beads, and had at some point traded in household items. But, painting has somehow overshadowed every other thing she does.
Her love for painting was born when, as a teenager, she joined a construction company that had various departments. “I received my training through a man, while working for a construction group full of different departments. I started with electrical and plumbing departments but was later invited to the painting department by the project supervisor. Though going there was somewhat of a joke to me, but I came out as a trained painter. Young people like me who were taken to that department ran back because of the paint chemical but later began to envy me.”
The journey for Origho has been both thrilling and challenging. She has had her fair share of bullying from the male counterparts in the industry, as well as certain prospective clients, who try to take advantage of her femininity. “You know that some men are just there both to discourage and ruin your life. Some would promise to give me a job only if accepted to sleep with them as a way of paying back, while others have told me to agree to be their lover, so that I could be getting jobs from time to time and my workers would be busy day-in and day-out, but I have always refused.”
As for clients’ reactions, Origho says it ranges from thrill to scepticism and rude to patronising. “Surprised and amused, some initially think that I’m kidding, while some think that I would take the job and contract it to some men to execute. But when I show them photos of me at work and those of my finished works, and words from those that have patronised me, they become dumbfounded and agree to give me a try.”
As for getting favours based on her feminine appeal, Origho says the favours do come, except that few of them are fraught with challenges.
Of her parents, Origho said they are excited and proud of her choice of profession: “My parents are always happy with the work I do and are proud whenever they see or hear commending words from people I’ve worked for. They always encourage me to be honest with both those I work for and those who work with me because it’s honesty that brings God’s blessings.” She concluded.
Ella the welder
For Osun State-born Emmanuella Olagbaju, her area of conquest is welding. In the last ten years, she has been consistent with fabrication and house finishing, and she says her focus and passion have been her main driving forces.
But just as you wonder why a pretty and sophisticated lady like Olagbaju would choose an occupation like welding, she tells you that she’s more than just a welder. “I’m into fabrication and installation, wrought iron, stainless steel, aluminium rails for stairs, burglary, windows, gates and so on. I’m also into polycard cover, carport and iron roofing. I chose this field of work because of the passion I have for it. Though I studied business administration in school, I have always had this flair for engineering.”
Olagbaju says prospective clients are wonderful, respectful and are mostly thrilled when they find out that she’s the MD of the company seeking the contract.
Does she enjoy special favours or privileges during contract biddings and tenders because of her gender? The Nation inquired.
Olagbaju said, “I can say 70% yes to that; but not just that. They know and are sure of the quality of work we are offering them too. They also tend to like to deal me because some say women are more trust worthy and reliable when it comes to business.”
The initial reaction of most of her clients, she says is that of surprise, then admiration. They usually assume that I’m a marketer; but when we start discussion and they find out that I have good knowledge of the job, they ask further questions, and at the end they discover that I own the business. At this point, they marvel and 90% of them want to do business with me.
She also says good feedback from satisfied clients relaxes and spurs her on.
Olagbaju gets one hundred percent support and encouragement from her parents, whom she says are very proud of her. She also has a counsel for young ladies like herself who are nursing ambitions to venture into ‘unusual’ professions: “They should follow their passion, so long as they know it is their area of strength and what they are called to do. They should go for it, and in a matter of time they will be celebrated.”
Susie the Cabbie
What would be your reaction if you were to flag down a cab and the person behind the wheels turned out to be a pretty damsel?
Well, that is the story of 29-year-old Susan Asakpa, who not too long ago moved from being a hotel manager to a taxi driver in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Asakpa says venturing into the transport business was more of a supernatural intervention for her. “I’d like to say I got into this line of business by the leading of the Holy Spirit.”
Susan became a full time cabbie in October of 2015, something she seriously delights in. Before you begin to think of her as manly and unsexy, this daring lady says she’s also a hairstylist, which she does occasionally.
And if you’re wondering how she’s faring alongside her male counterparts, this is what she has to say: “I would say I’m doing just okay. I am thriving like any other business that is barely a year old is expected to. I have growth and expansion on my mind. And the fact that I am in a male dominated sector hasn’t in anyway hindered the growth of the business.”
She also says the experience of being a female cabbie has been more rewarding than challenging. While some women in such male-dominated businesses get negative reactions from clients, Susan says “Prospective clients are mostly thrilled. They go from surprised to being impressed to being happy and playing the adviser, as they often end up giving her tips on how to grow her business. This is not to mention the many “keep-the-change” offers.
“Did I also say that most of them shower prayers for God’s guidance and protection on me?” She asked brimming with self adulation.
But isn’t she worried about her safety, especially since her job entails her conveying strangers of all sorts and characters to various locations?
Her response was as simple as they come. “First I pray for God’s protection and preservation (very vital), then I make sure I don’t work late. Basically I don’t do much, God just protects me.”
However, life isn’t all about work for Asakpa. Busy as she gets, she says she still finds time to unwind by going to see a movie, going to a Karaoke bar or visiting with friends.
She also has a word of advice for young women like herself who desire to venture into businesses or vocations society has more or less considered as the preserve of the men. “They should dare to be different and see if God would not honour them. Just go ahead and do it! I never for once thought, ‘What would people think of me doing a male dominated biz?’”
Blessing the Mechanic
Recently, the photo of a female mechanic working on the shock absober of a vehicle went viral on facebook. Though not the first female mechanic in recent memory, Blessing Johnson’s picture nevertheless generated lots of reactions and commendations. Reason? Auto mechanic as a vocation still remains a hugely macho job.
Also based in Abuja, 24-year-old Johnson is very proud of what she does. In a telephone chat with The Nation, she disclosed that she took the decision to learn a trade after attempts to further her education proved increasingly difficult. Her first attempt was at hairdressing. But she soon gave that up and chose rather to learn how to repair vehicles at a workshop in Benin, where she grew up and also had her secondary education.
Daughter of retired police officer, Johnson said “I chose to be a mechanic because I love the work, and I wanted to do something that will make me stand out from other girls my age.”
After acquiring the skill for four years, she relocated to Abuja, where she attached herself to a mechanic workshop for one year. She however took the bold step to set out on her own when the opportunity presented itself.
To get customers at the outset, Blessing said she had to do a little bit of marketing. Luck however smiled on her when she got a space inside a Conoil Filling Station in Nugbe. Since then, things have looked up and getting customers haven’t been so much of an uphill task.
Johnson who specialises in the repairs of Japanese and Peugeot cars, says she makes enough money to pay her workshop rent, take care of other needs and still save.
She also hopes to further her education as time goes on.
In five years, Johnson also targets to have her own workshop, fully bought and equipped, and workers to help achieve her bigger dream.
