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Esther Ijewere

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“SOME PEOPLE LAUGH AT ME FOR SELLING CRAYFISH BUT MY PASSION FOR IT BEATS SHAME” – QUEEN EDET, STUDENT/ CRAYFISH SELLER

Queen Edet is a young, hardworking Computer Engineering student. The undergraduate of the Yaba School of technology was all over the news last week when one of her friends posted a picture of her packing crayfish, a business she started just to see herself through school not minding the stress, humiliation and sometimes low patronage. According to Queen while growing up, she enjoyed helping her grandmother who was into crayfish business. Little did Queen know that hobby and passion was going to turn into a viable business today. She shares her touching story in this inspiring Interview.

Meet Me

My name is Queen Sunny Edet, a 23 year old Computer Engineering student of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. I hail from Okobo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. I’m the last in the family of 6.

Childhood

My childhood has everything to do with what I do now because I started assisting my late grandmother with her crayfish business, at a very tender age, that’s where I learnt the business from.

Inspiration

My grandmother use to trade crayfish in Calabar, and I assisted her with the measurement and tying, when I was young. During vacation from school, I always wanted to travel to Calabar so I could help her in her crayfish business and I enjoyed it. As time went on, I discovered I had much passion for it but I never thought I could venture into it as my own business, considering the fact that crayfish has a distinctive smell. I have a passion for it because passion beats shame.

Patronage

To be honest, the reception has been poor. People don’t patronize me, including my friends, they rather laugh at me for selling crayfish. When I just started this business, a girl called me and asked ”You sell crayfish for real? Of all the business in town and as pretty as you are?” I replied ”yes, I do and I love it”. At a point, I started feeling bad because of the mockery and the fact that buyers were not coming but I later sat down and said to myself ”Queen, so you will not eat because of what people are saying about you?”. I dropped the shame and kept on moving on.

Combining School with Business

It has been stressful because sometimes the little deliveries I make, warrant me missing classes, notes, and even impromptu tests. It is God who has been helping me pull through and also helping me strike a balance so I can excel.

Challenges

I have problem keeping crayfish in the hostel because I don’t have a place to stock them and sometimes, I have to go to a hotel once the crayfish arrives my location, so as to do the measurement and tying, and then bagging them in a ‘Ghana must go” bag before carrying it back to my hostel. It presents a lot of discomfort to my roommates because of the smell and also because I don’t usually have customers, it has to stay there for long. It is also stressful, jumping from one ‘danfo’ to another just to make a delivery and return to school for lectures. It’s not easy at all.

Reaction when story went viral

I was overwhelmed with joy but at the same time speechless. I call that Grace and favour from God. When God has chosen you, no man can bring you down. He chose me out of a million that sell crayfish to favour me, it’s never too late when God is involved in your life. I remain grateful to God, and uncountable thanks to my friend/course mate “Uche” for taking advantage of the social media on my behalf.

Public response

The responses have been wow!! . I’ve received cash donations from great people of this nation to support my business, calls of encouragement, and even calls from people who say they want to invest in my business and above all, I now have daily supplies, the demand tends to be greater than the supply. All thanks to God.

Family Support

Yes, my family has been really supportive. I get support and words of encouragement from them. I can still remember my dad declaring great words upon my business when I started, those words keep me going every time I feel like giving up or when someone laughs at me.

Advice to Undergraduates/Young People

Do not wait to be done with school and then start hunting for jobs. Do not think of what your country has to offer you, rather think of what you’ll do to help reduce unemployment in your country by starting a trade or however you may put it with your “blessed hands” and become your own CEO and an employer of labour before and after school. Just take a bold step today, build from the level you are, forget the hindrances and do not forget to take advantage of the social media platforms. I mean you don’t necessarily need a shop since most of the sales now is done online. You can never tell what awaits you there and learn to use the right words at all times Remember you are the expression of your own words and build a positive mindset towards your life, school and business, remain focus be passionate in all you do.

If I Have the Opportunity to Meet the President

I will ask him to empower students like me out there, who are working hard to make ends meet and need motivation to continue what they do.

I am a Woman of Rubies

I am unique because I have chosen to go into a unique line of business that girls within my age bracket wouldn’t want to go into, not minding the shame. I am using my blessed hands to make money and be an employer of labour in my nearest future instead of waiting to be out of school to hunt for jobs. Those who want to patronise me can reach me on 08058120848

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#INTERVIEW | “MY PARENTS TAUGHT ME THE VALUE OF HARDWORK “– LOTANNA EGWUATU

Lotanna Amina Egwuatu holds a Bachelors degree in Engineering from Covenant University and a Master’s of Science degree from Lancaster University, United Kingdom , After her masters at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and training with several jewellery schools in New York, she returned home to start her own Jewellery  brand “Mina Stones” . Lotanna is actively involved in projects aimed at growing the Nigerian gemstone and jewellery industry. She shares her tale and journey with us in this interview.

Growing Up

Growing up as the third child in a family of four children, I was raised by a hard working mother and a strong willed father. They taught me the value of Hard Work, and reinforced in me the belief that with God all things are possible. As an adult, these principles have guided all my activities, especially the pioneering work I’m doing right now, by creating awareness of Precious stones in Nigeria, and their use as Jewellery.

Meet Lotanna

I am Lotanna Amina Egwuatu, born and raised in Abuja. I attended Queens College Yaba. I obtained a B.Sc in Information and Communication Engineering from Covenant university after which I did a master’s program in E-business and innovation at Lancaster  university, UK. After my masters I started Gemology courses with the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). I have trained with several jewellery schools in New York and I’m currently studying and working on building my brand – MINA STONES. I work with natural gemstones and precious metals to create handmade fine jewellery and accessories.

Passion for “Stones”

God is my inspiration. He gifted me with a passion for precious stones as well as the talent/ability to make fine jewellery from these precious stones and metals.

Personal Projects

I have some personal projects that are very dear to me. One of which also has to do with gemstones and jewellery. I’ve seen the potential in this field and I’m trying in my little way to see how we can collectively benefit from it.

In collaboration with the Raw materials research and development council in 2015, we organised the first ever gemstone and jewellery expo in Nigeria. I also have a calling to orphaned and less privileged children. I provide financial support for the school fees and overall wellbeing of these kids and by God’s grace in the future I will be able to do a lot more and especially with respect to building them up as grounded individuals and supporting their education on a greater level.

Letting Go….

I have felt like giving up several times. Those times were difficult for me , but I learnt to let go and let God. He gave me this passion for a reason.

Positive customer feedback inspire me

When I hear people tell me how beautiful my pieces are or a customer just keeps going on and on about how they are in love with their jewellery. It makes me deeply happy. I’ve received gifts from artisan miners who were grateful for my attempts at trying to grow the industry. That also made me happy. That they were seeing what I was doing and also felt the need to appreciate me made me really happy.

Nigerians know little about stones

The major challenge is the fact that Nigerians know too little about precious stones (Gemstones). I’ve had to explain over and over that natural gemstones are not man made crystals or imitations. They are mined from the earth. I’ve realised many people especially in Nigeria know only about Diamonds. But there are so many other types of precious stones like sapphire, emeralds, morganite, zircon, topaz, onyx, scapolite e.t.c and most people do not know anything about them.

Advice to women with same vision

Believe in yourself and be persistent. Challenges will come but it’s how you handle them that really matters. People will discourage you, some will encourage you. What’s most important is that you strongly believe in yourself regardless of external opinions. You can do anything you set your mind to. Only believe.

Doing something positive makes me a Woman of Rubies

I believe every woman has a unique purpose to create impact and change their world for the better in some way. I also believe in doing something no matter how small in the direction of your dreams. Right now I am actively involved in projects aimed at growing the Nigerian gemstone and jewellery industry.

Women should support one another

Our time has come. In the world we live in right now, a woman can become anything. So, let’s do just that. Let’s rise to our highest potential, and achieve great things.

Let us all do our own part and do away with the many distractions around us. We have a lot to do and I believe we get there faster when we together. As the Ubuntu Philosophy says – “I am what I am because of who we all are”. Let us all begin to look at the bigger picture.

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#INTERVIEW| ‘EACH TIME I FEEL LIKE GIVING UP, I REMEMBER THE MANY LIVES DEPENDING ON MY SUCCEEDING’- EBERE UJAM

Growing up
My childhood did in a way. Throughout my primary and secondary education, I was not necessarily the best student in my class, in fact I was always in the bottom pile in class. I thought I was dull and would never amount to anything good in life, since the notion we always had was that your life is doomed if you don’t do well in school. Things changed when I moved to the UK to further my education. As usual I struggled in the first two years of my A-levels, but I guessed I was still trying to adapt to the system. As soon as I entered the university, everything changed, I became among the top five in my class, I excelled so well and regained my confidence back. I felt I was now where I ought to be in life. Looking back, I realised what happened to me. The standard of education I received was nothing to write home about. My teachers should have done more to identify the subjects I was excelling in and help me build up in that line, but then you can’t blame them because they had more than a 100 pupils to cater to and naturally won’t have time and ability to cater to each person. This is one of the reasons my focus is on education, I believe the standard of education in Nigeria can be better.

Meet Me
I am the Founder and Executive Director of a vibrant NGO, Egunec Education Support Foundation (EESF), a foundation dedicated to creating a better Nigeria through Education and Community Development. I am a self-motivated writer and entrepreneur who enjoys the challenges of creativity. Increasing an individual’s capacity and potential has always been of interest for me, sparking my research to deepen my understanding and knowledge in this area. In doing so I have participated in capability trainings in the United Kingdom, focusing on Customer Service, increasing Job Interview skills, and writing the excellent Resume.

I am currently the CEO of 618Consulting; providing training for fresh graduates and equipping job seekers with the right skills for interviews and structuring CVs for their desired jobs. I authored the book Get your dream job without struggles which is aimed at providing solutions to the challenges job seekers face during interviews.

I am also an event coordinator. I am also the country representative for MasterPeace Nigeria chapter, an award-winning global grassroots non-profit and non-governmental peace movement, currently existing in more than 40 countries across the world. I studied economics from the University of East London and also hold an MSc. in International Money Finance and Investment from Brunel University, both in the United Kingdom..

Inspiration behind Egunec Education Support Foundation?
The inspiration behind EESF is the dream I have that one day, the quality of our educational system can stand side by side that of our counterparts in other countries; affecting lives in very large magnitude.

Being a writer, entrepreneur and a trained economist
I believe that God installed in us so many skills and abilities, focusing on just one aspect of your skills will just be a waste of time. Just like a mobile phone can be used to make calls, browse, chat and do many other things, we also can do same. This philosophy has helped me a lot because so many opportunities present themselves in life. If you don’t take advantage of the different skills that you have, you will lose out much. But to crown it all, it’s just the grace of God at work in my life.

Projects
Our projects are structured to deal with critical issues such as poverty, gender imbalance, child labour, trauma, youth neglect and underdevelopment. We are firm that people can be empowered through education and that could mean freedom!

The young people involved in the project usually learn different entrepreneurial skills such as tailoring, bakery, fish farming, soap making, bead making, carpentry, event management, etcetera and eventually start up their own businesses, earning incomes for themselves as well as supporting their families. This goes a long way to reduce unemployment and crime in the society.

Achievement so far…
We have empowered over 40 youths in Nyanya Zaimi, Nyanya village Hausa Gwandara, Gbagalape, Kugbo (1 & 2, Pyape (1&2), and Guduwa. They acquired skills in baking, fish farming, soap making, bead making, weaving, driving and in ICT, in which we partnered with New Horizon, an ICT firm in Nyanya-Maraba axis. The participants also received mentoring for three months, to ensure they perfect the skills and since then they have been able to train others. No doubt, this project significantly reduced the rate of unemployment in the aforementioned vicinities and can contribute to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

My Reward…
Seeing that lives have been improved and changed through EESF. Another is knowing that I am living my dream and in the area of my calling.

My keen interest in economic empowerment and poverty alleviation
Personally I believe quality education should be the bedrock. Women should be taught the importance of education so that they can encourage their kids to go to school. Many of the problems we face as a country could have been avoided if only the government concentrated on ensuring the educational sector is well funded and administered. I believe if this foundational level is good, it will go a long way in empowering children and the girl child especially.

Challenges
Lack of funds is the major challenge. Unfortunately, Nigerians have not really embraced charity as such, everyone seems to want from you but finds it hard to give. Also, there is wide misconception in these climes that once you are into charity, then you have more than enough. But that is not always the case with people who do charity work.

Managing the home front and work
God blessed me with a supportive husband who makes my job easy. The help I get from him makes joggling the two possible.

Advice for young women in the development and advocacy sector?
Never ever give up no matter what life might throw at you. What is needful is finding out the social entrepreneurship angle of what you do. This will help the sustainability of your organisation.

I am a Woman of Rubies
Women of Rubies are those who impact lives in one way or the other, I believe the work that I do has impacted various lives that qualify me to be a woman of Rubies.

Final words
You can become what you want in life, you don’t need anybody’s approval to launch out there. God has installed so much in you, don’t waste it. The world is waiting for you.

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I desperately wanted to give up at the early stage, made suicide attempts twice” – Yetunde Ajani Raji

When you meet Yetunde you would think she has it all going well for her till you hear her story. Her zeal and optimism seems to be her secret weapon. She became an amputee same day she lost her husband in a fatal accident that almost took her life. .It was as if her life has been cut short. She rose from the ashes of the adversity and took responsibility for her life. In this interview, Yetunde reveals how she survived that dark phase in her life and how she is using her story to advocate for amputees and touch lives. In commemoration of the International day of persons with disability, we celebrate Yetunde and other amputees.

Meet Me
My name is YETUNDE MORENIKEJI AJANI RAJI, also known as Apple of God’s Eyes…I am a 46 years old pretty Amputee, widow, and a great mother of three children who are priceless gems. I am caring, sensitive, and adorable. I am a graduate of Banking and Finance from OSCOTECH and have a Post graduate diploma from Lautech. I was into Gold jewelry and lace/brocade business till we had our horrific road traffic accident in May 31st 2012. I got married to my best friend in 1996. My Adeniyi became my father, mother, brother, sister, a very faithful friend and of course my very first child right from the day we became one.. He was a very dedicated father, loyal husband to me, and a great friend to anyone, a mentor, excellent teacher and a son anyone would be proud to have. He was a wonderful physician, a great Consultant, an Hematologist with passion. A true medical practitioner to the core that observed all medical etiquettes… How I wish we have many of his kind in this country not just in medical field but in every corners of the sectors, the world might have been a better place.

The accident that changed my life
I lost the only friend I have (my hubby) the same day I became a Widow and an amputee and also lost my health on that terrific day that I wish I could erase from my calendar. The accident happened barely two weeks after my husband’s 47th birthday in a road traffic accident in the kingdom Of Saudi Arabia by a fellow that broke through that red light. That was how my dearest’s journey on earth was cut short and our lives were shattered, but God is ever faithful! The month of May happened to be my favorite in the past as it was hubby’s birthday month, 16th of May. The accident happened tragedy on May 31st…Just a day to our eldest son’s birthday which was 1st of June. My baby sister was meant to get married a month after the accident but the wedding had to be postponed because my hubby was scheduled to give out her hand in marriage. God, The Omnipotent, Omnipresent, The Alpha, The Omega gave me a special gift through my sister four years later. While I was crying that night because it was my “ampuversary night”, my sister gave birth to a baby boy same day and named him after my daughter in far away the United States. Honestly, for one to be truly happy, one need to let go of what’s gone completely and be grateful for whatever is left and look forward to what is coming next. That’s my approach to life issues now.

Life without my husband
I don’t just miss just one thing about him because, there is no way one will miss just one thing about such person.. He was a rare breed!!! He was light in every dark corner. I miss everything about him.. I miss his praises when I think I am not doing something the right way. I miss him scolding me whenever I was off the track. I sincerely miss our eating together, since I married him. We had no separate plates, even if we wanted to take local flakes-garri except when he was not in town or taking his coffee. I just started eating alone few years back, I have never being alone in my life’s journey. He was ever there, never absent.

Being an Amputee
Let me return all thanks to the Almighty God for this rare but great privilege of putting me in this position at this very moment to inspire millions, note that it could have been the other way round because, like I always tell people, if there was anyone that ought to have stay between husband and I, he should have been the one, what criteria God used, I don’t know.. He was just too good in every aspect of life. Let me state it here that my leg wasn’t amputated by any doctor, the left leg was actually cut off from the accident scene. The right one was meant to be amputated by doctors because, it was “badly broken” but was saved by open reduction with internal fixation surgery. Got plates and screws there. I never realised we have many Amputees around until I started getting inbox messages from some asking if I am truly an amputee till date. Some have been there before me but just couldn’t come out, some claimed to be ashamed of the “new them” but, I scaled that first hurdle of acceptance the moment my children accepted the new me, Their new mummy with still old affectionate, caring and dotting heart.

Writing a Book
I am working on a book that I want the entire world to read and never get tired of reading… I want to be a rainbow in those depressed and frustrated souls, I want God to use my story to lift people. I remember i went for this inspirational TV program last year and was told they will not air the program much latter without any pictures backup.. Because, my story to them sounds/looked like one from a movie scene. Of course, I did not have pictures but while talking to a friend about it months after, I got some pictures of after how the accident occurred, gave them to the TV show, and that was how the program went on air and I tell you, I started getting calls even when I go to market, malls, I hear things like.. “Madam, your story restore lost something in me”… Oh!! You’re Mrs Raji, I thought it’s all over but, listening to your scary story put everything back”..
I remember a scenario of a guy trying to market his product and after telling him I wasn’t interested, he turned and asked, “ Are you Mrs.Raji Yetunde and when I said yes, he was so excited. He said you’re a winner and I love your killer voice no one will miss that.

I am a Woman of Rubies
I am a Strong Woman Of Rubies because, I am very thankful for all setbacks and comebacks. I am a special woman that was put into that ‘HOT FIRE AND I CAME OUT STRONGER AND BETTER AND STILL VERY DESIRABLE TO EVERY GOOD SOUL’ especially to those that have fear of God.

Final Words
I can never ever thank God enough, it could have been worse you know. Awesome Is My God. Thank you for this opportunity. God bless all the great fathers out there. God bless all wonderful mothers. God bless single fathers/mothers playing duo role. God bless every physically challenge out there. God bless and ease daily Amputees affairs. God please bless my children for accepting the new me.

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