Esther Ijewere

In self development November 13, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

SISTERHOOD GLOBAL TO TACKLE WOMEN PLIGHT

A social media platform for women across the continents named, Sisterhood Global, has been launched. The platform is aimed at tackling global problems associated with women through effective use of the media.

Its universal approach to solving the plights of women in the world has continued to receive positive responses globally.

At a media briefing the visioner and founder of the group, Nonnie Roberson, explained that the group had kick-started the global project three months ago under the name Sisterhood Africa, but had to rebrand after it had gathered over three million active members and facebook decided to shut the page down.

She said no explanation was given by facebook for doing so, but expressed optimism that the group will continually rise above gender issues by progressively rebranding and refocusing their targets.

She said: “Having tested the popularity of the group, it decided to expand its scope from Africa in order to accommodate more women globally, hence the new name – Sisterhood Global.”

Expressing her joy over the responses so far, Roberson said, “about three months ago, it was impressed in my heart to set up a platform, where women can come together, pray together, love each other, receive counsels, express how they feel inside, encourage each other and get solutions to their problems with abounding testimonies.”

She continued, “within a short while, it grew to over three million active members, but for reasons best known to Facebook, and without any prior notice, the group was taken down. Indeed, Sisterhood Africa, now Sisterhood Global was a house of solutions and testimonies. It was a place of solace for many women in Africa, and round the world, great testimonies were also shared.”

Giving assurance on the unyielding zeal of the group, Roberson said, “going forward, with full assurance that this move of God cannot be stopped, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church of God, we have launched Sisterhood Global. This is going to be the first time that women of faith would be building their own social network.”

Source: Guardian

In Career Gems November 13, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

SEYE AINA BECOMES FIRST FEMALE CHAIRMAN OF BRITISH NIGERIA LAW FORUM

On June5, 2017, Seye Aina became the first woman to be appointed chair of the British Nigeria Law Forum since its inception in 2001.

BNLF was set up following the ‘African Law Week’ Conference, organised by the British Council in Nigeria. Prof Oba Nsugbe QC, SAN is one of the founding members and past chair of BNLF. The organisation based in London, is now recognised as an influential professional membership organisation for British and Nigerian legal professionals.

Seye is dual qualified, called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985 and also admitted as a Solicitor in England & Wales in 1994. She has senior management/legal experience in local government with expertise in professional regulation and investigating fitness to practise in the Healthcare professions. Her public appointments include an Independent Member of the Professional Conduct Committee of the UK Council of Psychotherapy and also an Independent Member of the Standards Committee of the Greater London Authority. Seye is the founder of Paceworking, a professional network organizing business events. She has also used this platform to support charities such as the Down Syndrome.

Foundation, Nigeria and has organised several events for International Women’s Day. She is also the organising partner of the Nigeria Development and Finance Forum Conferences which are held in the UK, Nigeria and the USA.

Seye is extremely honoured to be elected as the new chair of BNLF, she is a longstanding member of BNLF and served as an executive committee member from 2008 – 2014. During that period the committee organised several events and training programmes in London, Abuja and Lagos. This included a courtesy visit to the then Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN and BNLF also hosted a dinner at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

She is already in contact with the President of the Nigerian Bar Association Mr A.B Mahmood, SAN who congratulated her on her new appointment. BNLF has been working with a committee of the NBA headed by Chief Idigbe, SAN working on proposals for reforms in the legal profession in Nigeria. In addition to this BNLF committee members were also at the NBA’s Section on Business Law Conference, ‘Law and changing the face of legal practice’. Seye will continue the tradition of working closely with stakeholders in the UK, Nigeria and Africa. As part of a new initiative to set up specialist working groups and a skills database, BNLF is conducting a survey of members. The new chair has also been active with other BME law organisations responding to the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy in London. Seye has a great record of community engagement and working with professionals.

During her tenure she seeks to work hard to enhance the reputation of BNLF, encourage experienced lawyers to share good practise and
knowledge and to improve the opportunities for all members especially women, students and young lawyers.

In Career Gems November 11, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

NIKE BECOMES FIRST MAJOR BRAND TO LAUNCH HIJAB FOR WOMEN

Nike’s new hijab is designed to make sport more comfortable for Muslim women and goes on sale in 2018.

The light fabric has tiny holes for breathability and the length has also been designed to stop it coming untucked during activity.

Nike said it had been developing the new sporting hijab for a year.

Sporting hijabs have been around for several years, but Nike is the first major international company to embrace the sports needs of Muslim women.

Small sporting brands such as Capsters and ResportOn have previously been seen as leading brands of sporting hijabs.

In Interviews&profile November 6, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

MEET MARY AWOH, THE YOUNG UNDERGRADUATE WHO IS THE CEO OF SWEET INDULGENCE

While a lot of youths out there are getting involved in criminal activities and rebellious acts, blaming the society for their shortcomings, a 20-year-old Mass Communication student of Babcock University, Awoh Rosemary, whose father passed on at age six, leaving her with single parenting, has become the CEO of Sweet Indulgence, an organic skincare enterprise. She has become an entrepreneur today.

During a press briefing in Lagos recently, Rosemary said she started making skincare products in December last year and decided to do something unique by using cup cakes to mold soap with crested flower designs to get something attractive that would get people to indulge in it, and that was where the name Sweet Indulgence emanated.

She said: “I make soap, body waters, body lotion, body scrub, olive balm and facial oil and they are all organic with natural products like honey, Shea butter and other natural contents with no preservatives.”

Business-minded Rosemary who hails from Delta state now juggles between working and schooling with ease as she is already accustomed to hard work from her childhood, when she would help her mother, a senior lecturer in the Department of Industrial Design at YABATECH, with keen interest in her baking workshop and decorating event centers.

Her life as an entrepreneur started from primary school: “I would buy things from stores and take it to class to sell, and my class teacher encouraged me by mandating my classmates to buy everything they needed from me. While in high school I stringed simple beads and sold to my friends,” she said.

She added that she got inspired to make natural skincare products from compliments about her glowing skin on her TV show on Arcadia mobile TV- The DIY Slab With Awoh Rosemary.

“I was using natural products from the market and I would spend a lot of money buying them, so I decided I could make something as nice and tell people I use my own product.

“I searched for the recipe online but the first time I tried it out, it turned out bad because I did not get the right chemical measurement, but with time I got it right and improved immensely” she said.

She got her friends to experiment her first liquid black soap and bar soap by selling to them. “They were basically my first clients; I would sell to them and they would complain about mild reactions, but in no time it became perfect with no reactions.

“I started receiving positive feedbacks from customers and now I have a good number of customers with frequent orders home and abroad and in less than five months the turnout have been impressive”.

“I won an Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in school this year and that got me publicity from Radio station. My department did a biography on me and people were surprised that an undergraduate has the time and passion for creativity and business. My picture is in my VC’s office and this attracted interviews from the media,” she said.

Rosemary concluded that she looks forward to exporting her products to more countries and advised Nigerian youths to get creative with distinctiveness, as that would go a long way to make them useful to themselves and the society at large.

Credit: Guardian Woman, interview by Maria Diamond

In Inspiration April 3, 2021 By Esther Ijewere

Hawking At Age 10 Made Me More Determined- Adeola Olubamiji

Adeola Deborah Olubamiji was born oin Ibadan to the family of Mr. & Mrs. Isaac & Juliana Olubamiji. She attended Alafia Public Primary School and St. Gabriel’s Secondary Commercial School in Mokola, Ibadan, Nigeria. Despite her humble beginning as a child hawker, she surmounted all odds to become the senior prefect girl of her secondary school. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Physics (with Electronics) from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria in 2008 and a Masters of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland in 2011. In June 2017, Adeola received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada and made history as the first black person to have received this PhD from the university. Dr. Adeola is currently the Lead Metallurgist / Material Engineer at Burloak Technologies (The Advanced Additive Manufacturing Division of Samuel Sons & Co) in Ontario, Canada.

Dr. Adeola is a consultant and the founder of 3D-Tech Centrix, Ontario, Canada: A consulting firm specializing in development of 3D-printing technology and related manufacturing solutions for use in different industries. In July 2017, Dr. Adeola was chosen and celebrated as one the top 5 of 150 black women making Canada better for her contributions in Science and Technology by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She was also recently presented a prestigious award as the Woman of Outstanding Achievement in Education by the Nigerian-Canadian Community in a ceremony held in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Adeola’s passion for community building through volunteering is limitless and unquantifiable. Dr. Adeola is an “ardent” STEM advocate and she has continued to serve as a positive role model to the inner-city black youths in her Canadian community and around the world. From her savings, Dr. Adeola organizes regular STEM events and industrial tours for black youths in Ontario’s black communities to help youths discover what engineers do, and to expose them to STEM career opportunities available to them. Adeola whose story went viral two weeks ago shares her inspiring story with me in this mind-blowing interview.

Growing Up

I have 3 brothers and my only sister is late. I was born in Mokola Ibadan and attended Alafia Primary School and St Gabriel’s Secondary Commercial School in Mokola, Ibadan. We didn’t have much, so my siblings and myself learned to share and work together as a team quickly. My parents worked hard to ensure that we had food to eat, clothes to wear and made it a point of duty to get us to our schools on time. My mom is a workhorse and she woke up at 3 am daily to go to “Shasha Market” in Ibadan to conduct her pepper buying business.

Although my dad was unable to attain tertiary education, he is from a well-educated extended family. A few of my dad’s family members had PhDs, so my dad hung their photographs on the wall in our living room. At every opportunity my dad got, he regaled us with their success stories and explained how education took them abroad. Therefore, I ended up following the footpath of one of my uncles, Professor Abiodun Francis Oluwole who is a Professor of Nuclear Physics, to obtain a BSc in Physics with Electronics from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye.

Hawking at age 10 made me more determined

Looking at my parent’s life, they both worked hard to care for us but we didn’t have any form of luxury. So, I learned quickly as a child that “to earn more, you must learn more.” In addition, the daily reminder was on the wall of our living room and it was clear that I needed to be “EDUCATED” to make valuable contribution to a knowledge-based society, to earn respect and to earn more money than my parents. As such, I promised myself to strive to know more critical facts, gather more information than the average person and be the best and nothing but the best.

First black person to bag a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the university of Saskatchewan

Biomedical Engineering is a recently added branch of Engineering with capability to bring us closer to huge healthcare-related innovations and inventions. However, Nigerians and the black population in general are slowly just breaking into the field. In fact, it is almost impossible to find journal papers or conference proceedings authored by Africans (at least from the last names or first names) in the field of Biomedical Engineering. The shortage of blacks in this thriving field and shortage of women in engineering makes me feel “lonely” sometimes among my peers. Therefore, I will to continue to advocate for the introduction of the branches of Biomedical Engineering to Nigerian Universities, encourage and advocate for admission of more women into engineering disciplines, and to continue to encourage other engineers who are willing to transition to come and join me in this limitless, exciting and innovative field.

Choice to study biomedical engineering

Several health impairments and issues of failed diagnosis that could benefit from Biomedical Engineering technologies face Nigeria and Nigerians. With a BSc in Physics with Electronics, the Biomedical Engineering career path paved way for me to acquire the knowledge needed to help develop solutions to tackle the above-mentioned issues. Some of the areas that I am currently vast on are medical physics and clinical engineering, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, material development and 3D-printing, and e-health and telemedicine.

What and who inspires me

What Inspires me: As a Scientist, I am challenged and inspired by the possibilities and potentials of technology, and the fulfillment I get from solving difficult problems. As an engineer, I am inspired by industry 4.0 (e.g. 3D-printing) and its design and manufacturing capabilities. As a Nigerian, the complicated problems that I faced or my people in Nigeria face inspire me. On a daily basis, I go to work knowing that I am paying the price to acquire the knowledge and the skill-sets required to help bring back innovative manufacturing solutions to fix, improve, and tweak Nigeria’s mostly dead metal and plastic manufacturing industries.

Who inspires me: The humble background and huge historic contributions of Jesus Christ made Him my first inspiration. My middle name is Deborah and the realization of Deborah’s role as the First Female Judge in Israel, a Warrior, a Wife and a Mother made me choose her my second role model/inspiration. Furthermore, one of the men on the wall of our living room, Prof. Abiodun Francis Oluwole, inspired me to study Physics. At the moment, I have chosen Dr. Ndubuisi Ekekwe as one of my inspirations for his ability to combine successful academic credentials, technology and entrepreneurship.

Greatest Reward

There are a few of them, after many years of research and development; the ultimate reward is receiving the PhD honour itself. Seeing my narrative go viral to touch lives around the world provided me with the re-assurance that Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers, hard work and prayers are not old school and they in fact can make you a superstar. Then, securing a job as a lead engineer after my PhD and starting my career in a company that allows me utilize most of my acquired knowledge and skills made the whole process well worth it. Lastly, the smiles and tears of joy that rolled down my father’s face when he heard that I successfully defended my thesis was rewarding and very satisfying.

Recognition

In terms of recognition, I was recognized as 5^thof 150 black women making Canada better during the celebration of Canada at 150 (link:http://cbc.ca.mevn.net/radio/upclose. I was also recognised by the Nigerian Canadian Association as a “Woman of Outstanding Achievement in Education” in celebration of Canada at 150 and the award was presented to me at a Gala attended by Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Bar. Ahmed Hussen, the Ooni of Ife HRM Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Mama Nike Davies-Okundaye of Nike Art Gallery and so on.

Challenges

My PhD was not plain sailing; there were setbacks, frustrating moments, doubts, failed relationship and several failed experiments. The isolation that comes with embedding myself in research and making it my boyfriend, family and best friend was a challenge. There were moments when I slept at the University for several days in order to collect data and only went home to shower. But the most challenging aspect of the PhD by far was the job search that comes at the end of the PhD by far was the job search that comes at the end of the PhD.

Perception of Hawking

Child street-hawking is often driven by poverty, deplorable living conditions, illiteracy and unemployment. According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is an offence to involve children in child-labour practices such as child hawking. However, this is the only mean of survival for some families and its eradication will be very tough.

Has there ever been a time that you feel like giving up?

The thinking of giving up is inevitable for every PhD student. Half way through my PhD, I felt like I could do something else with my life. I felt like the PhD was standing in the way of me starting my life, buying a house, finding love and getting married. I felt like it was a shear waste of time and energy and that an MSc was already more than enough.

Unfortunately, I lost my sister to cervical cancer during that time and that gave me the motivation to carry on. I thought I would do it for my sister and my dad who already started calling me doctor and never stopped encouraging me.

Contributing to Nation building back home

In recent times, the society and social media has continued to showcase role models who make education look ‘old school’, who make science look too hard, abstract and for the exceptional ones. Africa as a continent needs to start projecting scientists are role models and investing in productive education and technology aside entertainment, fashion, and cosmetics. As a STEM advocate, I’m willing to help develop hands-on programs to help motivate these students to learn and love Sciences and get exposure to Technology in a fun way. Since kids learn by doing, these programs will provide an avenue for them to connect the theoretical science taught in schools with practical science that results from these theories.

In order to conquer the extreme dependency of Nigeria and Nigerians on China and the West for metal and plastic goods, Nigeria must invest in digitized manufacturing now. The combination of “3D-printing technology” and some other manufacturing techniques will allow achievement of faster product development and consequently enable manufacturing of polymeric and metallic products at reasonable costs. This will also foster raising of young entrepreneurs and enable creation of more jobs for our engineering graduates who are forced to work in the banking sector, wait for years to secure a position in the energy sector, or move abroad to seek greener pastures.

As a scientist who has a large network of professionals, has explored both plastics and metal 3D-printing and tried several conventional manufacturing techniques, my team is capable and able to help with the set-up of a “Manufacturing Hub for Africa” in Nigeria if given a chance. 3D-printing technology is rapidly growing across multiple industries and applications: medical applications (e.g. surgical implants, prosthesis, dental, and tissue-engineered tissues and organs), aerospace applications (OEMs for airplanes and fighter jets), automotive applications (OEMs for car engines), energy industries (customized valves, heat exchangers), tooling for plastics processing, and manufacturing of customized consumer plastic products and decorations.

I am a Woman of Rubies

My life and my journey so far have made me conclude that I am an unrepeatable miracle of God.

Final word for women who have or about to lose hope because of certain setbacks.

Dear woman, with the advent of technology, the world is at your fingertip. Do not wait to be served information on a platter of gold as your power lies in how much information you acquire. Dear woman, who are you and why are you here? My go to quote is “if you don’t stand for something, you will stand for everything or anything, and when you stand for everything or anything, you stand for nothing”. My dear women, let’s altogether renew our minds, be our own saviours, our own rescue and love ourselves enough. Finally, I beseech you to dare to be limitless, dare to start that business, dare to launch that company, dare to channel that cause, dare to be different, dare to study science and dare to be innovative
—

In self development November 3, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

Siju YUSUF: Patriachy you say

In my deliberate attempts to diffuse or maybe polarize my age long belief of the patriachical world set up and with so much evidences suggesting the world is in fact a patriarchy society and in some veins also not, the struggle to reach exactitude is becoming so real.

Is the world indeed ruled by ‘fathers’? Is this an issue facing predominantly the third world countries? Is this just an empty uproar of women particularly in the wake of ‘enthroning’ the king of the United States (Reference- winner of the 2016 presidential elections)? Perhaps, it is an excuse to laziness and a cowardly escape from responsibilities.

Whatever side of the divide we stick with, an unintended service to ourselves will be to think that women are without the brawn to take on these positions that are assumed ‘too much clout’ for the female gender.

The queen, oh the queen. The queen of England is indeed one of such. We really do not have to backdate or search in the archives to get worthy examples. Okonjo Iweala and Beyonce are classical examples of ‘King Women’ albeit in different fields and sphere of influence.

The questions therefore are

– what are the limitations?

– why is the ration of men to women in influential positions still so ridiculous?

– is the world indeed patriachical or it is zone informed?

Again, I think about positioning….

Still my thoughts.

In Interviews&profile November 3, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

Meet Udeme Mfon-okon, the woman who quit banking for pig farming

Mrs. Udeme Mfon-Okon is a pig farmer who recently emerged as the winner of the Diamond Bank Building Entrepreneur Today (BET) Award, the bank’s initiative to ensure that entrepreneurs in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are properly trained and equipped with business knowledge and capital to stimulate sustainable economic growth and development in Nigeria. In this interview, Mfon-Okon talks about her experience as a pig farmer before and after BET. Enjoy.

Tell us about your educational and career background
I had my first degree from the University of Uyo where I studied accounting and did my MBA at the University of Calabar. I am also an alumnus of Lagos Business School (LBS), where I did a Senior Management Programme. I was in the banking industry for 13 years and I left Stanbic IBTC as a manager.

At what point did you decide to quit banking for piggery farming?
I left the bank in 2012 and went into exporting charcoal and Shea butter. Though the returns were good but the rigours was too much for me and I couldn’t cope with it, so I decided to go into farming because I had always loved it and I decided to try my hands on it. I had a piece of land somewhere, I thought of doing poultry because I have a sister-in-law who does poultry. But when I ran into a friend of mine, he said that he had gone into poultry business and got his fingers burnt. He introduced me into piggery since that was what he was doing and I followed him to his farm. I loved it the moment I saw it and I decided to go into piggery farming in that instant.

It was interesting when I saw my friend’s pig farm, I never knew much about pigs, I just knew there was puck and I used to eat it, but never knew anything about its rearing.

How did you start in terms of funding?
I started with my savings and got 60 animals, then I rented five rooms initially, but when I realised that the business was something I loved and would like to continue, I then got my first Pen. However, I usually fall back to my husband for money when mine finishes and I had a lot of support from family and a lot of friends.

Has it been a very lucrative business? What are the challenges of doing piggery and livestock farming in general?
Yes, the business has really been lucrative. One thing about pig farming is that you have to stay in it for you to get your returns. It is not something that you give yourself a timeline saying ‘within six months or a year, if I don’t make my money, I am leaving it.’ You will not reap the benefit of the whole thing. You have to stay in it to reap the benefit.

One of the major issues of livestock farming is getting quality feed for them, what happens is one day you’re able to buy corn at a certain price and by the time you go back it is a higher price. And if you’re doing it as a business, you’re watching your bottom line also, so what we do is, we try to find different alternatives that you can feed them with, so if there’s no corn what can you use alternatively? If corn is not in season, if it is too expensive, what else can you use to feed? You have to have a wide range of things to feed your animals.

Feeding and taking care of livestock is not a child’s play, how did you get the funding to expand in a short time?
I got the help of Diamond Bank eventually but before then, I had grown. The secret is you have to remain focused and know what you are doing. You have to plan, that is how I was able to grow like you have said. You need to have proper plans financially for you to be able to expand. So, at the beginning of the year I do a budget; this is what I am thinking I should be able to do. I know the number of animals I have, I know the number of sows (female pigs) I have, so I am expecting that this females should provide a certain number of animals for me within a given time. At the same time, I have an average idea of how much I spend on feeding every month, so I ensure that I have that money available and that was why I said when I use my money, I fall back to my husband’s money, family and friends. I actually took loans but they weren’t expensive loans, they were interest free so I could actually keep and run for as long as possible.

Tell us about your Experience at the Diamond Bank BET
Initially when I applied for the Diamond Bank BET grant, it was all about the money for me, I was just interested in collecting N3million and coming to expand my business. I didn’t even know we were going to go for training at the Entrepreneur Development Centre (EDC), but on getting there, I realised that there was so much I did not know. Initially, I thought I was doing really well and I knew a whole lot, because I did so much to get my business to where it was at that time. But from the first day of my training, my mind just shifted and I realised that, if I take with me what I have learnt from the training, my business will get better.

I learnt so many things like strategy and branding. I never thought branding was important in pig farming because I had my customers walking in without so much effort to source for customers, so I didn’t think that branding would be important. But it turned out that branding is a strategy you can just tweak in your business and there would be an amazing transformation. The first month I attended the training and I implemented one of those things, I made a savings of N270, 000 just that first month.

So it is something that Diamond Bank has provided and we all need to key into it, but unfortunately, they might not be able to extend it beyond 50 people but so long as they implement whatever they learnt, it would be a wonderful experience for them, because their businesses will definitely change for the better.

So I would encourage people, even if they are not going to for the Diamond Bank EDC 1, get some kind of entrepreneur training because it would turn your business for the better. That training alone has impacted my business and up till now, I still go back to my notes once in a while to get information to stream my business processes and work on my human resources. I even advice friends around to take a course in the EDC on human resources just for their staffs and I give advice from what I have learnt because it is a very exciting and mind-blowing experience and Diamond Bank do not know the gravity of positive impact they are having on people’s lives with the BET.

Kindly tell us how they can access the BET fund
Right now the portal is opened for BET 7, you just log in, you upload your 1minute video stating what your business is about. The video has to be concise and captivating, so that when they are selecting people for the process, hopefully you would get selected. Once you get selected, you go for training at the EDC and you just might get picked.

What are the EDC selection criteria?
I really did not know the criteria EDC used to make selections, I am sure they have their guidelines. What you just need to do is put out your best footage and with that I am sure you will get picked.

Is piggery business very time-consuming? How do you handle diseases?
Initially it was time-consuming because you have to be there to set your structures properly but after a while, once you have proper business operations, it is no longer time-consuming.

As per diseases, what we do is more preventive, because once you have an outbreak, you lose your animals and you don’t want to get into that. So we do preventives by making sure our pen is always clean, make sure you treat your animals, give them their vitamins when giving them their food. Also, on a monthly basis, there are some medicines we give them and once you are giving them healthy food, the idea is that your pigs will be fine. I actually had an outbreak last year but it was quickly contained, we were able to quickly contain it

Who are your customers? Tell us your supply chain?

We have a lot of customers right now but my major customers come in from Benin Republic to buy. We have customers that come in from Warri to buy and we also have customers that supply restaurants.

What advise would you give anyone who wants to go into this business?
Well, I would say you should plan properly, because initially when I started, I didn’t plan well and I ran into financial hitch. I had a little extra money so I just boomed and started expanding, forgetting that I am going to feed this animals for a couple of months before they get to maturity for me to sell them out and because of that, I had cash flow problem and that was when I had to run to family and friends to borrow.

If you were not doing this, what would you be doing?
Right now I don’t know, I have given it a thought many times and nothing has come to mind but perhaps teaching. I could be a teacher.

Interview by: Maria Diamond for Guardian Woman.

In self development November 3, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

Chukwuneta Obi: A note to every woman

I thought this message necessary after hearing a young lady’s account of how her supposed boyfriend’s sick fantasy made a mince meat of her self-esteem. Unfortunately, that is what seems to obtain with a lot of ladies out there. Ladies who are consistently allowing someone’s ‘sick fantasy’ destroy any semblance of self-esteem left in them.

When it is not his obsession with an oversize backside, it’s the mountainous ‘front side’. The unfortunate ‘ish’ is…ladies who should know better are letting themselves feel unworthy, even with their ‘modest endowments’.

Isn’t it for the sole purpose of fulfilling some of these sick fantasises of the menfolk that the beauty industries are flooding the markets with ‘add-ons’ like Silicone brassieres, bum and hip wears- meant to add size to a woman’s backside and hips.

Anyway…back to the gist. They had just started going out and prior to their first ‘real meeting’ (you know what I mean?), he had always told her that he fancies women with extra backside. She felt lucky because her friends have always told her that her protruding backside is enviable. Come the day they made love, she asked if he liked what he saw (especially her back side). Guess what his response was? It was with a bored expression (she said she will never forget that expression he had on his face-so fast) on his face, that he shrugged and said, “it’s okay. It just doesn’t shake.’’

This statement made her self-esteem come crashing so hard, such that whenever she sees fellow women with similar endowment, she begins to wonder if hers measures up-in the ‘shaking department’-even when her friends commend her natural endowment –she still says to herself ‘’but it does not shake.’’

How did she come out of this? The very thing her first guy didn’t appreciate in her was one of the things that sent some other person over the moon –in her physical attributes. It was then that she finally said to herself, ‘’wait a minute, I am actually beautiful the way I am and anyone who thinks I must be in a certain way to be appreciated/accepted-obviously does not deserve me.’’

This singular realisation was the beginning of the end of that affair with the first guy. She said that the funny thing about this character is that she liked him enough not to dwell on his ‘barely larger than a giant groundnut’ sized balls. Now that the door of her feelings has been firmly shut in his face, she wonders why he has not hurried after those with ‘shaky behinds’.

Another lady even told me about how a particular character she was latching up to for ‘true love’ made it categorically clear (as a FORE WARNING, actually) that -if any lady that has interest in him is not endowed with a pair of CHEST PLUMS that are as FIRM as ripened oranges-such a lady should not just bother coming close.

I could not believe that a lot of women still allow themselves to listen to these trash-all in the name of FINDING ACCEPTANCE/LOVE.

For real?
As a rule of thumb…no relationship will ever hold water with me if it’s all about fleshly desires. There must be substance. I can’t imagine finding myself in a relationship that’s defined by the pleasures that another derives from my body and related services (winks).

I won’t ever be able to get over that feeling of being JUST ANOTHER PLAY THING. I hope every woman out there begins to add VALUE to herself, if any man who claims to want a serious affair with you can’t seem to look beyond your body-please have a re-think about such a relationship. You deserve to be appreciated for the beautiful and wholesome soul that you are and not just a plaything.

Yes, after the steaming bedroom sessions…what other substantial claims can you make about that relationship you find yourself in? Does it add value to your life in any way or are you just a ‘relaxant’?

Some of us will rather be in a worthless relationship than risk being alone. Hello! If the wrong person in your life isn’t shown the exit, there may not be a ‘way in’ for the right person.

As you evaluate that relationship you are currently embroiled in, I leave you with the words of Dawn Raffel …”Letting men determine who we are is the negative hinge that turns desire into vulnerability, changes our bodies from sites of pleasure to sites of betrayal, and transforms solitude into loneliness. I think that when people say they’re lonely, what they’re really saying is that they don’t like their own company. And something should be done about that, because if you don’t like your own company, then you’re the victim of whoever passes by.’’

Source: Guardian.ng

In Interviews&profile November 2, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

Invest in yourself and increase your value so you can be valued – Uzoamaka Okorie

Uzoamaka Letticia Okorie serves as the Managing Director of the bespoke cleaning servicing company, Nikolasjay Global Services Limited. Uzoamaka is a result driven, self-motivated and resourceful MD with a proven ability to strengthen management teams in order to maximise company profitability and efficiency. Possessing excellent communication skills and able to establish sustainable and profitable relationships with customers and stakeholders. With her Human Resources Background she has served in various executive management roles from Fine and Country (International) West Africa, MTN Nigeria Communication where she was the Human Resource Advisory Executive to three departments in one and two Divisions within the Business. Her more than 15 year career spans from HR Management with Lotus Capital Limited and Quantum Communications Limited, Program/Administrative coordinator with FATE Foundation to her Customer Service skill delivery in the Airline Industry.

Uzoamaka holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Botany from the University of Lagos and certified HR courses with Cornell University, USA. She is Happily married with kids. She shares her story in this interview.

Childhood Influence

I would say yes. I grew up watching my Dad excel in the corporate world even as he sought ways to make a difference, add value and give back to his community. He did not just talk the talk but he walked the walk. He started successful multiple entrepreneurial ventures and had a balanced family life.

Meet Uzoamaka

If I have to describe myself, I’d say, dynamic, relentless, and unapologetically a lover of the most High..

Nikolasjay Global Services Limited

Nikolasjay Global services ltd was born out of a need to add value and impact my generation. We are a multi faceted boutique company catering to the environmental services industry. We offer a wide range of services, from janitorial and cleaning services to the manufacture and retail of consumer products.

Challenges

line of work? – A constant challenge in the industry is Human Resources. Sourcing and retaining competent staff is a continuous balancing act.

Other project and activities

At NikolasJay, we have many projects in the pipeline that we are very excited about. We just launched a line of Multipurpose liquid soap that comes in different fragrances. We also have other projects that would be ready by next year God willing. Truly exciting times for us.

Greatest Reward

There is an old saying that referrals are the best complement. It is truly rewarding when I get referrals from a satisfied client.

Where do you see your brand in the next five years?

In the next 5 years, by His grace we plan to establish ourselves in the industry as the one stop shop service provider for everything related to janitorial, environmental and Dry cleaning services.

Was there ever a time you felt like giving up?

Oh yes… dare I say every other month lol, however, it’s a feeling that lasts but a moment. Giving up is NEVER an option.

Who and what inspire you to be better

My children inspire me to be better. I want them to see that through hard work and perseverance, they can achieve and accomplish their hearts desire.

What makes you a woman of Rubies

My desire to see other women grow and flourish in their respective fields, supporting each other and making a generational impact.

Any final word for young women all over the world?

Invest in yourself and increase your value so you can be valued…

In self development November 2, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

JOHN OBIDI : CHOOSE YOURSELF

Some years ago, a gospel rapper came to perform at my church. He wasn’t a big name but I’d come across his songs somehow and I LOVED THEM.

I’m a HUGE FAN OF RAP MUSIC, so when I love a song, I memorize the lyrics. When he performed that Sunday, I didn’t rap along though, because packaging. I just nodded to the beat and smiled while he did his thing.

After church, I didn’t talk to him or anything. I went home.

Weeks later, this rapper posted a contest on his Facebook Profile. He dropped a line from one of his best singles and promised a recharge card to any fan who knew the next line.

Excitedly, I dropped the lyrics to THE ENTIRE SONG from memory.

What should have been a WOW moment soon degenerated as he began insinuating that I must’ve googled the lyrics in order to cheat at the contest.

At first I was furious and yelled (in my heart), “Dude, you’re not even big enough for any website to have your lyrics. Don’t hype yourself”

And then the still small voice that I’ve come to recognize over the years said, “Think. Why do you think he’s so adamant? What if he doesn’t think he’s good enough for his ENTIRE SONG to be memorized by a fan?”

In that instant, entitlement was replaced by understanding. And then, empathy.

Thankfully, my angry retort hadn’t yet made it from my brain to my keypad, so I sent him a DM calmly explaining how much I genuinely admired his music.

He sent me the 200 Naira recharge card, but I wasn’t the only winner that day.

Many people think that money and fame will solve their problems. But I can tell you for a fact that there are wounds and insecurities that cannot be covered by mere currency.

The billionaire you envy, secretly feels insecure about his big belly.

The runway model whose body you want, hates the way her eyes are positioned.

The public speaker you adore is pissed at his receding hairline.

That successful businesswoman and philantropist is afraid to find love because she might be taken advantage of financially.
Insecurities will always be around us, but they don’t have to be yours.
Be kind to yourself. Be your own biggest fan.

You can learn this for free. Watch Donald Trump.
Love yourself first, for you cannot pour out of an empty cup and you can only truly give (love) of your overflow.

CHOOSE YOURSELF.
– J.O.

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