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NKEM NDEM: VALENTINE’S DAY IS NOT A DO-OR-DIE MATTER

I am going to be completely honest: I am a huge romantic. I love love…and as such, I certainly adore the idea of a specific day being set aside to celebrate love. Unfortunately, though, I haven’t had much luck with Valentine’s Day!

My earliest memory of the holiday is of my bubble literally bursting after a package I found in my schoolbag (and had been so excited about) revealed a rusty GL neck-chain which my secret crush -who sadly, wasn’t the guy I fancied at the time- had obtained from his grandmother’s box of rejected jewelries and placed in a card designed with the picture of a half-eaten apple and a mouth that said “You are so delicious”.

Even worse was Valentine’s Day 2008, My 3rd year at Covenant University, when a porter at Deborah Hall, one of school hostels, seized the bag of provisions my mother had sent to me through a family friend, Obinna, with claims that Valentine gifts were not allowed from males at the female hostels. The thought of that day still brings tears to my eyes. It was the worst experience ever. Not only did I have to deal with the pain of realizing that I would have to survive the next 4 weeks without Milk, Milo, Rice krispies, Titus Sardines and other school-life necessities, I also had to sit through hours of watching other girls gush over the Val gifts their boyfriends managed to smuggle into the hall and silently wonder when “amoshine”.

Over the years, I have come to realize that contrary to what romantic comedies had me believing since I was about 6, Valentine’s Day actually isn’t all that great. In reality, it is more like a number of the fancy clubs on Lagos Island- the idea of the club is way better than the actual club in itself. The music is so loud you are in a constant state of stress; the people suck; you spend so much money but never have any fun really; yet, you keep coming back, telling yourself that will it get better.

Let’s face it, Nigerians are submerged in the cultural hypnosis that nudges them to associate true love and commitment with Valentine’s Day. I consider this a form of “conditioning” as the Valentine’s Day of today so obviously has nothing to do with real love. It is now a highly commercialized day of forced love with the main beneficiaries being brands that get to sell you anything from red flowers and chocolates to exorbitant destination getaways. Even worse, having a date on this day, also, has become a status symbol more than anything else, and for some God-knows-why reason, being able to celebrate Valentine’s Day means that you are somehow better or more successful than your single friends.

Quite honestly, the level of pressure this holiday brings is worse than that of a shaken bottle of Coke. The singles who dream of being coupled up, face the pressure of finding a date at all costs; those who are dating feel the pressure to find the ultimate gift or pull off the most original and meaningful romantic gesture ever; and Nigerian girls who like to show off their Val gifts certainly do not want to be at the bottom of the totem pole, so, they weary their men and literally everyone else with their demands. In fact, even the men -especially the stingy and weak ones- who do not want to deal with all the pressure, say and do all they can to get away with not celebrating it. You find them making such silly statements as “every day is Valentine’s day”, “Can’t you see it’s quarter to Buhari O’clock?”, or “Love should be spontaneous and not contrived, Valentine’s day defeats that purpose”. Some even go as far as breaking up with their girlfriends days before February 14th.

The truth is, Valentine’s Day celebrations is not a do-or-die affair. The choice to go ahead with the celebration is up to you and if you decide you don’t want it or that the day is not for you, no one will kill you (hopefully). Of course, the sentiment behind the day is probably worth celebrating but…whether you choose to abstain from the celebrations, or whether you go along with the commercialized way we presently celebrate the holiday, note that your grand gestures will not be able to replace emotional intimacy if the security of your bond is already in question. Also, for those who are single and filled with resentment for people with partner to celebrate the holiday with…please, stop it. Stop jealous. The day is not just for those who have partners, and as such, you are not required to have a “bae” to enjoy it. Make the most of the day. And if not for anything, take full advantage of this day because it is a day in your life.

I am hoping this February 14th will be pleasant for everyone really. Surely, every Nigerian can use a bit of love at this time as we keep standing together #IstandwithNigeria

Happy Valentine’s Day!

xx

 

Source: Bellanaija
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ETHIOPIA’S GENZEBE DIBABA BREAKS WOMEN’S 2000M RECORD

Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba ran the fastest ever women’s 2000 metres at the indoor Miting Internacional de Catalunya meeting in Sabadell, Spain on Tuesday.

Her time of five minutes 23.75 seconds sliced almost seven seconds off the previous indoor world record of 5:30.53 set by Romania’s Gabriela Szabo in 1998.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), athletics’ world governing body, said although the 2000m is not an official indoor world record event, Dibaba’s performance was “an outright world record’’.

It said it was faster than the outdoor mark of 5:25.36 set by Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan.

The 25-year-old Dibaba, a three-time world indoor champion, now owns the fastest recorded times indoors.

These are for the 1500m, mile, 2000m, 3000m, two miles and 5000m, as well as the outdoor 1500m world record.

 

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“INSPIRING CHANGE INITIATIVE WANTS TO IMPACT YOUNG GIRLS POSITIVELY”- SUNMBO ADEOYE

Sunmbo Ajaba- Adeoye is a multi-passionate Entrepreneur, a Goldman Sachs scholar and an Alumna of Lagos business School. She is a multiple award winner with impeccable result in the events planning industry. She is the CEO at Esobevents and the founder, Esob Academy, where she trains budding event managers, the events planning and styling business. She talks about her “Inspiring Change Initiative” and  plan for the forthcoming edition in this interview with Mercy Makinde

Inspiring change initiative

The Inspiring change initiative is a vision born out of my ceaseless desires to support entrepreneurial ideas, through mentorship, Advisory services, Free Trainings, and capacity building.

This initiative was established in 2013 as a platform where women can interact, learn, grow and those striving to take the lead in their respective businesses and career can be well informed and empowered.

Throughout the year, we offer a variety of free programmes that enhances knowledge; impact lives and ensures the girl child is educated deliberately.

‎What was your vision as a young woman and how did you to get to where you are today?

As a young lady, with close to a decade of active service in the banking industry, my dream was to further become a successful business owner. In 2011 I resigned from banking and applied for scholarship at Lagos Business School, under the Goldman Sachs 10,000 women initiative. I was awarded the scholarship and graduated with a certificate in entrepreneurial management.

This experience did not only change my life, but it also improved how I do and structure my business. Having benefitted from such a huge opportunity, I purposed in my heart to pay it forward and that’s how I got to where I am today.

Read Also : Meet Dedun Oluwa, the 24 year old Doctor who owns for bsinesses

 

Inspiration behind the initiative

Over the centuries, It’s been observed that only a very few women ruled the entrepreneurial frontier. And history hasn’t been fair enough to celebrate the ones who have stood out with impeccable results in their male dominated industries, especially the pioneers. Haven’t realized this, the initiative not only celebrates this women but also brings the knowledge of their achievement to others who are most definitely going to be inspired by their success stories. We’ seek to fill the gap between the leading female entrepreneurs, and the common woman who sees them as mentors but from afar. This we achieve with the annual conference that allows attendees the privilege of meeting these great inspirations in person, listen to them share from their vast knowledge and ask questions based on the areas of their expertise, all for Free.

Empowering and the Girl Child

Yes, apart from the Inspiring change annual conference that seeks to inspire women, we also offer several outstanding programs, to further intensify our impact. Programs such as:

Mentor Meets Mentee: A Bi-Annual mentorship programme that was introduced in September 2015, with the aim of educating undergraduate’s about entrepreneurship and its many stages and intricacies. We have since, reached out to students in polytechnics, college of educations and university of Lagos, in January and September 2016 respectively.

GCE & JAMB SCHEME: A program that pays for the procurement of forms and tuition for young school leavers, to encourage their pursuit towards achieving their dreams of becoming successful female graduates.

Inspire Me Deliberately: A movement that offers series of free trainings by experts in various fields and sectors, teaching entrepreneurship and donating free educative items to pupils at various public schools in Agege and her environs.

Feedback from the first year

During our first year, the turnout was remarkable. It was as if, many had been longing for such a program as this, where women can interact, learn and grow. The goal was surpassed and the impact of the conference, either via our free seminars or active online engagements, cannot be overemphasized.

The aim for this year’s Theme : “RETHINK”

It’s been observed that many people do not understand the concept of entrepreneurship, the risks involved and the hurdles they will cross to achieve outstanding success. Many believe it’s in just starting something for the sake of making a living, and they venture into it without adequate preparations against the challenges that may occur along the journey. The aim of this year’s conference is to balance the knowledge of entrepreneurship and inform attendees about how to generate ideas, recognize opportunities, and understands the need to manage the business of their talents; ideas and innovations for investors buy in and to ensure it is sustained beyond a livelihood.

Choice of your guest’s speaker/panelist?

Every year, the initiative invites female guest speakers and panelists, all of whom have bridged gender gap in their respective fields, dominated by male counterpart. These women are leading female entrepreneurs with proven track records of impeccable achievements in their various fields. We’ve had in conference, women like Pastor Nomthi Odukoya, Ibukun Awosika, Kemi Adetiba, Toke Makinwa, to mention a few. This year, we have invited Mrs Jumoke Adenowo, a multiple award-winning architect with over 3 decades of experience in the field of architecture; she’s also the pioneer recipient of the New African Woman, Business Woman of the year 2016 award.

What’s your projection for the future of the initiative?

We are looking at setting up an entrepreneurial centre in Lagos Nigeria. That will cater to the increasing need of globalized education in information and communication technology. A go to place for programs that will inform students about how to manage their talents/idea/innovation and pitch it for exportation /investors. Many budding entrepreneurs face the problem of Market Entry, infrastructure and finance; we hope to build an institution that will fill that gap.

Limited to Women in Lagos?

No it’s not limited to only the women in Lagos. Several female entrepreneurs, irrespective of their religion, state of origin or location has benefitted from the free empowerment packages, which comes in form of Cash, work Tools, Free Trainings and Mentorship. We’ve had beneficiaries from outside of Lagos, like the fish seller from Kaduna, who was flown in to Lagos last year alongside her “corper” son and given some funds to acquire a deep freezer and scaling machine to further enhance her business, and several other women from other states including Lagos. Apart from these donations, we believe the knowledge impacted and continuous mentorship benefits received by beneficiaries of the grants, is much more valuable and it keeps them on track and ahead always.

Partnering with Government Agencies

Yes. We are also looking at partnering with the Lagos state chamber of commerce as well as other state agencies, to further increase our impact and achieve our future goal.

Funding

The initiative has solely been funded from my personal savings, and of course funds from my ever-supportive Family and friends.

Nigerian economy & Entrepreneurship

The Nigerian economy as we grew to know has depended so long on Oil, and recently Agriculture. The increasing need to diversify from its dependency on oil has now caused the government to support entrepreneurship with initiatives such as “YouWIN” Youth enterprise with innovation in Nigeria that encourages and supports aspiring entrepreneurial youths in Nigeria to develop and executive business idea. I am also aware that Lagos state through the Lagos state employment trust fund is also trying her best to encourage indigenous businesses.

 

Challenges

The toughest part of this service is convincing some people that there’s no political agenda backing the initiative. For example, some top leaders of public schools, with this opinion about social initiatives, deprive their pupils the privilege of some of our educative materials within rural communities in Lagos. We are often subjected to writing several letters and moving from one desk to another for approval. This process sometimes takes forever and it can be frustrating, but we remain committed till it gets to the hand of the intended beneficiaries.

What will you say is your biggest achievement so far?

We haven’t yet attained where we long to be but I’m most grateful to God almighty, for where we are, the several lives that has been transformed. The many businesses that the inspiring change initiative has given hope to, and the common woman on the street that now believes she can be anything she wants to be against all odds.

Women that inspire me

First on the list would be my ever-industrious Mother, who at 78 is still very active in the trading business. She taught us by example, at a very tender age, the need to be independent and always have something doing even as a girl child. The truth we later grew to discover is the way forward in life. My Mentor, Pastor Nomthi Odukoya, an educationist and life coach. Her wisdom, mentorship and shared influence, has helped me a great deal. Other women who inspire me include The former first lady of the united states of America, Michelle Obama, Chimamanda Adichie, Oprah Winfrey, and most recently Hilary Clinton, who broke the glass ceiling by winning the democratic presidential candidate slot and running relentlessly against Donald Trump, who eventually became the 45th President of the united state. This shows that there’s great hope for more female leaders to emerge and take their place in destiny.

Source: Guardian

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TOYIN LAWANI EMPOWERS TWO DEAF SISTERS

 

Toyin Lawani is  a serial entrepreneur  and also well known as a celebrity stylist through her fashion outfit Tiannah’s place . She is also into hmanitarian services and support, empowering young women and men who she trains to become selfmade

In a recent  interview with ,  she reveals how she empowered two disabled sisters to become self-made. She and  one the girls named Gladys are the cover girls for the latest edition of Lamode Magazine February isse.

On her Humanitarian work

I just Love giving because I believe when you give you will receive. Everything in Life is a risk but when I help I feel fulfilled. For example one of the student I trained Her name Gladys she was deaf and dumb but she has a skill of sewing so I trained her till she became the best in what she does and also her sister Mercylyn she was deaf and dumb too so I trained her in the field she was good in which is Making of different type of wigs and braids all my colorful braids and wigs you see was done by her she was so good at it with the platform I helped them with and also don’t forget the boy I picked up from the street his name is Lekan who use to be a street boy doing minor works on the street of VI to carter for his grandma a lot of people were talking why I picked him up or try to help him and I don’t know I know what I see so I gave him a helping hand. I adopted him and took care of him trained him as a stylist so he would have a means of livelihood and am proud of him.

 

On Humanitarian activities In Nigeria

Humanitarian services, to our society are an inevitable task of every business owner/ entity. Your ability to be adjudge successful in life is a factor of how positively impactful you have been to others in your society. Successful business owner(s)/ entities are not doing enough to alleviate the suffering of the masses in a populated country like Nigeria, rather modern day exploitation for more gains dominates the space. Well-meaning individuals and successful organizations should evolve a wealth creation strategy infused in their yearly business strategy with the sole desire of empowering teeming populace, through their corporate social responsibility platform, to help start up their business in various areas of interest. If we are actively committed to this project, the living standard of the populace will improve and Government will be able to administer limited resources infrastructural development

READ ALSO : 9 Nigerian Female Photographers making us proud

On her advice for people who want to start a career in fashion designing & Entrepreneurs

First of all you have to be able to work under pressure, you must be a good leader and be a good example to your followers, you must know the crafts be good in what you do, and handwork and consistency is the major Key of been successful in what you do, you have to be willing to go extra hard to get what you want and don’t let anybody talk you down from been what you want to be Yes you can pray for what you want and thank God for what you have

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SOLANGE TALKS LOVE & THE ALBUM THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING ON ELLE MAGAZINE’S MARCH 2017 ISSUE

Solange Knowles rocks some Norma Kamali coats on the cover of Elle magazine’s March 2017 issue!

Here’s an excerpt from the Interview:

On growing up in a house with two of the three Destiny’s Child members

My sister and Kelly Rowland were the same age, which is like a built-in best friend in the house; they were extremely close. Writing felt like this insular thing that I could go back in my room and express all that I would observe, all the emotions that would arise. It felt like mine, my little thing.

On raising her son in Moscow, Idaho, while still in her teens

It was one of the most bittersweet moments of my life because I was so in love with Julez, and having spent a lot of time on the road, I yearned to be in one place, to have the opportunity to really ground myself with him. But it was isolating and lonely, and so cold and dark. And it was just Julez and me most of the time. It was hard to imagine being able to progress in my career in any way.

On her album, Seat at the Table

I did want to create this juxtaposition, politically, of having these very hard, messy conversations but having them stylistically in a way that you can really hear me, and not the yelling, the rage, I wanted to project in my delivery what I was not achieving at all: peace and having a certain lightness and airiness that could maybe help me get closer to having more light and airiness in my life.

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Ariyike Akinbobola
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ARIYIKE WEEKLY |9 THINGS NOT TO BUY FOR YOU BOO ON VALENTINE’S DAY!!!

In this hilarious episode of Ariyike weekly, Ariyike shares 9 things you should not buy for your boo on Valentine’s day. Please watch and add to the list by telling us the things you would never want your Man/ Woman to buy for you. You can watch this with your boo!!!

Watch

Look out for Part 2 tomorrow where Ariyike would give suggestions of gifts to buy on St. Valentine’s day.

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FAITHIA BALOGUN, TAKES NOLLYWOOD BY STORM WITH GREAT PROJECT LINED UP FOR 2017

As the year 2017 says goodbye to January, Faithia BALOGUN has a lot to celebrate already, in addition to her birthday tomorrow the fifth of February.

The Nollywood icon revealed that she was embarking on projects different from what we are used to. In a statement today, she said ” I’m redefining my brand to also accommodate other scripts outside of the Yoruba movies plethora, I have the pleasure of working with brands like Kunle Afolayan in the new movie with Kate Henshaw and I’m excited for you guys to see projects like that. I’m also interested in empowering young girls through a series of projects I’m working on (details coming) with some great people so 2017 is looking fantastic already”.

When we asked if we are going to see any productions from her this year, she told us to just watch the space and to that we say, bring it on….

 

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GLORY EDOZIEN :“6 TYPES OF FEMALE FRIENDS YOU SHOULD HAVE”

On a new episode of “Discovery with Glory”, the vlogger gets candid about friendship.

She says”

“Friendships add to the quality to our lives. Good friends tell us the truth, they make us laugh, keep us entertained, keep our secrets and help us stand when we can’t. Learning to celebrate our friendships and the roles they play in our lives is important. Over the years, I have made lifelong friendships and have seen just how important the roles my friends have played. That’s why I have come up with this list of 6 women we should all have as friends. Off course this list isn’t exhaustive, so please feel free to add your list in the comments section. You could also celebrate your friend today by sharing this video with her and letting her know which role she plays in your life or asking them to tell you which role you play!”

 

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#INTERVIEW | I BELIEVE I GOT MY ZEAL FOR INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY FROM MY MOTHER – FUNKE TALABI  

 Funke Talabi is the innovator of CityHires, Nigeria’s first video recruitment portal. According to her , the concept for CityHires was born after various interactions with the human resource department of firms she worked with. She shares her story in this interview.

Growing Up

Growing up as a child, I was always inquisitive and innovative, and trying to find better ways of doing things. City Hires was somewhat designed out of my curiosity to challenge the existing process of recruitment in place.  I believed that with the traditional paper resumes, recruitment procedures took longer, so I started working on highly categorized resume portal with video hosting since June 2015.

Meet Me!

My name is AdefunkeTalabi; I am the CEO of City Hires, the premier video resume portal in Nigeria. I am a proud alumna of Queens College Lagos, where I completed my Secondary school education and Oxbridge College in Ikeja GRA where I completed my A Levels preparatory lessons.  As life would have it, I was opportune to travel outside of my comfort zone (of Lagos) for my Bachelors degree; I attended Igbinedion University  for my undergraduate degree in International Relations; this experience certainly exposed me to the diverse and interesting cultures we have in Nigeria and I believe I am a better  informed Nigerian for it. Following my graduation from Igbinedion, I was fortunate to attend a leading and prestigious Business school in the UK, the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow for a Masters degree in Business Information Technology Systems.  Since the completion of my Postgraduate degree, I have acquired a wealth of experience in Brand Management, Client Services Management and Technical Support from working with leading companies in Scotland and Nigeria including Virgin Media and VConnect.

Inspiration behind City Hires?

As a jobseeker, I longed for non-conventional ways to convince potential employers that I was the ideal candidate for the job. Interestingly, from my interactions with human resources departments of various organizations I worked for, they sought creative ways to improve their ability to pre-screen candidates for jobs quickly. In July 2015, I started City Hires to fulfil this apparent need in recruitment.

City Hires is a video resume portal that enables job seekers to upload their video pitches – short, persuasive speeches to convey their communication skills, charisma, and personality within 60 seconds. It is often said that “First impressions lasts long”. City hires gives you an opportunity to audition before prospective employers and put a voice and persona behind your resumes. By uploading your best video pitch on  www.cityhires.com.ng , and using our video resume platform, the suspense which is created with the traditional paper resume is removed, you are better able to convey attributes of your personality that cannot be conveyed using the conventional hard-copy resume; as such, you can stand out from among a multitude of applicants.

For the recruiter, it provides a platform to query a comprehensive database to retrieve the profiles and video resumes of job seekers and thereby enhancing the recruitment process thus making it more cost effective.

Expanding City Hires with the competition of existing job portal?

 I believe in life, change is constant, and with a new way of doing things which makes the process seamless, job seekers will be willing to go a step further to connect with their prospective employers and vice versa.

Being  a recipient of Etisalat Prize for innovation scheme.

Since the year 2012, Etisalat prize for innovation has unveiled a wealth of innovative products that have improved lives and businesses. I was part of the top 5 finalist for the year 2016 for the creation of City Hires. We were five finalists, and I happened to be the only female amongst the lot. It was an eye opening experience, though I believe we need more women to step forward and be at the forefront of technological innovations in Nigeria. I was really proud that out of the hundreds of applications across 36 states, my brainchild City Hires was at the top 5 in Nigeria.

What and who inspires me!

I am inspired by hardworking and creative individuals; as creativity sets the pace for innovative solutions for the next generation. As the saying goes, the apple does not fall far from the tree, hence the individual that inspires me most is my mother.  My mother is a very hardworking and creative woman, always seeking new and innovative ways to excel in her business, I believe I got my zeal for innovation and creativity from her and she has always supported all projects I have worked on.

Other projects and activities:

I am involved in the race for life scheme which seeks to raise funds for cancer research. I believe it remains one of the biggest threats to our generation and finding a cure has become imperative. Hence, I am passionate about participating in activities that will lead to fund raising for cancer research.

Reward

I believe one of the major rewards has to be commendation from various recruiters stating that city hires has made the recruitment process in their organisations seamless. The call of gratitude from job seekers who have got jobs from the portal. Lastly, is the recognition by the telecoms giant, Etisalat.

How  Job Seekers can come on board City Hires?

An average job seeker can come on board City Hires for free by registering their details on www.cityhires.com.ng and uploading their video resumes which is a 60 seconds pitch. There is a “How it works” tab on the site which gives a detailed explanation on how to upload your video resume.

5 years Vision

We seek to become the major platform transiting Nigerian professionals to the video resume system countrywide.  We courage all working class professionals to register on City Hires to be discovered at any point in time by recruiters across the country.

Challenges of Running  City Hires

The major challenge faced was the difficulty of most job seekers to do a video resume as most people are not accustomed to it. Providing a perfect pitch for the employer via video is a relatively new innovation, though with the right guidance we have been able to overcome this challenge.

Another major challenge was holding a full time job whilst trying to expand the scope and awareness of City Hires. Eventually, I found a way to balance my dual roles before deciding to give up full time employment to concentrate on expanding the outreach of City Hires.

Being a woman of Rubies?

I believe I am a woman of rubies because I have been at the forefront of technological disruption by pioneering video resume technology for the Nigerian Populace to make recruitment seamless.

Final word

 In response to the world’s needs, young women should participate in science and technology from early school years to university. In addition, women in technology should mentor young girls about the benefits of a career in science and technology.

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