womenofrubies Archives

In Interviews&profile January 14, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

I WANT TO SEE GOVERNMENT ENACTING LAWS THAT WILL GIVE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS – YETUNDE TANIMOMO

A graduate of Mass Communication from the Nigeria Institute for Journalism, Yetunde has worked in various sectors including Construction, Manufacturing and recently resigned from a bank to focus on her passion to care for girls and women with special needs.

After several meetings with Founders, Executive Director Foundations, NGOs, and government agencies, Miss Tanimomo and her team are convinced that a change in peoples’ perception of what they term ‘disability’ will help in pushing for policies that will create an environment that would foster proper care for people with special needs.

Early Preparation

Initially you feel nothing did but I have come to realise that our past prepares us for what lies ahead. Because we do not see the future we tend to feel the present is just passing by. However, I have come to understand that we are shaped by experiences for what is to come. Losing my dad showed me what it means to be needy, having children around me brought out the love and care. Both attributes are necessary for what I am doing.

Meet Me!

I am Yetunde Tanimomo, a graduate of Mass Communication from the Nigeria Intitute for Journalism Ogba. I have worked in various sectors including Construction, Manufacturing and banking. I am also deep into Interior Decorations.I have a passion for Children and women with special needs. A passion specifically targetted at care for girls and women with special need

Inspiration behind Miss Ability Pageant

I saw a very beautiful young lady. She was strikingly beautiful and though she had special needs I noticed what I saw first wasn’t how she was? For several years that face never left me and I kept thinking about how to showcase such beauty to the world starting from home of course. That is what gave birth to Miss Ability Pageant.

Future Plans

I intend to work with other NGOs, Foundations to advocate for a better living condition for people with special needs. This will involve a lot of public sensitization on Mass Media, Social Media and the likes. We intend to hold seminars for parents with children or loved ones with special needs.

Leaving banking for social work

I wanted to stop talking about my passion and start to do something about it. I needed time away from ‘work’ to be able to face the project. So at that point it was the right move. I will get back to working. I need the time to lay a process in place for the foundation. To put structures in place. I believe I will need to work to also fund the project. I don’t want to rely on Government, organisations and other individuals alone.

Giving Up

Giving up for me is never an option. Whatever I take up I give all I can to see it through. I won’t deny the fact that there haven’t been times when I felt overwhelmed when I look at how huge the task is. For this I have been able to assemble people who share the passion so it’s easier to share ideas and strategize for upcoming programmes and the next move.

Another challenge is that you have to manage people who already have a set mind concerning people with special needs . Many of them are dumped in trash heaps. Some are probably terminated before birth because of the stigma associated with having a child with such needs. It will take some time but pretty soon we will get people appreciating them.

Challenges

Many folks are ashamed of their children or ward with special needs and as such they keep them locked up away from society. It’s hard to reach such children or persons.

People feel a sense of pity. They go ‘eeyah’ whenever they see anyone with special needs. They do not need pity but encouragement and love.

Getting Government and corporate organisations to support the move is proving a bit difficult. So many promises. Do you know what can be achieved if corporate organisations start to get people with special needs as brand ambassadors? Let them start with the Paralympians who have done the Nation Proud at the Olympics. That single feat will encourage others can and start to change people’s perception of ability in what they term disability.

Nigerians compassionate enough to kids with special needs?

Compassionate? yes, enough? No. What they need is not pity. They get a lot of that. But encouragement, empowerment and a chance like they give to everybody else. I want to see people with special needs having equal opportunities at getting jobs like the other folks. I want to see government enacting laws that will give enabling environment for people with special needs to move freely and have access to facilities like others. Look at virtually all public and commercial buildings, only few have parking spaces or entrances for people on wheel chairs and the blind.

Advice to women in same field

It’s all about passion driven by love and care. So do not look at how huge the task is. Just start one step at a time. Keep the passion fire burning. Get people who can help you. If a dream requires only you to carry it out then the dream is small.

I am a Woman of Rubies

I refuse to be limited by situations and circumstances. I have chosen to devote time to loving people with special needs especially girls and women. I want them to know their life shouldn’t necessarily be determined by what society thinks about them. They are worth much more. I intend to empower them so that society will view them differently and help out.

In Career Gems January 13, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

TIWA SAVAGE TO PERFORM AT THE 2017 ESSENCE “BLACK WOMEN IN MUSIC” GRAMMY WEEK

Nigerian music star Tiwa Savage has been announced as one of the artists that will perform at the 8th annual Essence “Black Women in Music”—an official GRAMMY Week event – this February.

The event is being held to salute the year’s extraordinary GRAMMY nominees and fête four-time GRAMMY winner Erykah Badu on the 20th anniversary of her groundbreaking debut album, “Baduizm.”

Talking about having Tiwa sing at the event, Essence President Michelle Ebanks says “Our collaboration with The Recording Academy underscores the mission of our ‘Black Women in Music’ platform. Essence, like the GRAMMYs, has always been at the forefront of recognizing the genius of so many artists and influencers—from iconic legends to the next generation’s international rising stars, like Tiwa Savage. We also applaud our event sponsor, Lincoln, for returning once again to support the vision of this event.”

Big ups to Tiwa Savage!

Source: Bellanaija.com

In womenofrubies January 13, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

KANO BACKS MOVES TO KEEP GIRLS IN SCHOOL TILL 18

Kano state governor Umar Ganduje has backed moves to ensure girls spend more years in school and delay marriage.

In talks with United Nations Population Fund executive director Babatunde Osotimehin, Ganduje called for “public enlightenment so that the age for marriage is shifted at least to 18.”

He said the move to peg an age had challenges that were not necessarily religious but required legal backing.

“We will go for legislation to give it strong backing based on religious injunction so we carry our people along,” Ganduje said.

He added that the Emir of Kano, HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II, named grand patron for women and children’s health, was championing the cause.

Osotimehin is visiting Kano and Kaduna in efforts to shore up state government support for interventions that will reduce maternal mortality, improve girl-child education, increase investment in girls and promote their rights and access to reproductive health services.

“When it happens in Kano, it happens in Nigeria. If Kano succeeds, Nigeria succeeds,” said Osotimehin.

“We should work toward getting girls to go to school and stay in school. A girl who goes to school and stays in school till about 18 is a better mother than a girl who has a child at 10.
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/education/kano-backs-age-18-bar-to-keep-girls-in-school/179807.html#disqus_thread#MZfLlbVqApxjA4RP.99

In tolaspeaks January 13, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

#TOLASPEAKS : MY NEEDS, MY WANTS…..

And what’s wrong with a little girly lust over a lipstick?

You and I consume; we are consumers. The global economy is set up to enable us to do what we innately want to do—buy, use, discard, and buy some more.

Yes, absolutely buy some more. My latest resolution is trying to live a minimalist life. Seriously, no jokes. But that doesn’t mean I still don’t own stuff. Now, stuff here is very subjective as I’ve realised my decisions to buy were based on several factors and emotions at the time. Although I’ve also come to realise that excessive consumption promises happiness, but never delivers. True life must be found somewhere else and am now in search of that…..Wish me luck!

The greatest challenge I see as consumers is why we keep actively searching the web and our Malls/ Supermarkets in pursuit of something to buy? And honestly, most of the time we aren’t in “need” of anything, like practical work trousers; we are simply trolling for something. Anything. We may be seeking to live a minimalist life, but we are still consumers. After all, to live is to consume.

Consumption is necessary, but excessive consumption is not.

It is time to take a step back and realize that excessive consumption is not delivering on its promise to provide happiness and fulfilment. And life can be better lived (and more enjoyed) by intentionally rejecting it. More importantly the ability to distinguish between a need and a want which is fuelled by desire.

Our Personal credit limits allows us to make purchases beyond our income-level coupled with several marketing advertisements which subtly reshape our desires around material possessions.

To crown it all, keeping up with the consumption culture that surrounds us begins to make excessive consumption appear natural and normal – A desire for more… a desire which is promoted by the world around us which slowly begins to rob us of life consuming our limited resources. Excessive consumption leads to bigger houses, faster cars, trendier clothes, fancier technology, and overfilled drawers and wardrobes. It promises happiness but as usual never delivers.

Consider these practical benefits of escaping excessive consumerism in your life:

1) Less debt. Staying out of debt should be the goal of every consumer. Debt causes stress in our lives and forces us to work jobs that we don’t enjoy to keep up with our lifestyles. ….Truth is, you can do without it!

2) Owning Less. The never-ending need to care for the things we own is draining our time and energy. We are far better off owning less.

3) Less desire to upscale lifestyle norms. The television and the Internet has brought lifestyle envy into our lives at a level never before experienced in human history. But today’s media age has caused us to envy (and expect) lifestyle norms well beyond our incomes by promoting the lifestyles based on brand proposition which are superior and enviable. Fulfilment is not on sale at our local stores—neither is happiness. It never has been. And never will be. We all know this to be true. We all know that more things won’t make us happier. It’s just that we’ve bought into the subtle message of millions upon millions of advertisements that have told us otherwise.

Hence, my new simple rule: Fewer things, more peace. The less we have, the less overwhelmed we feel. And the less overwhelmed we feel, the happier we are.

The grey area between these two is when the desire to obtain a particular thing is so extremely great, that a person may misinterpret a want, and see it more as a need. In order to know whether what you desire for is a want or a need is to basically ask one fundamental question: “Have you been able to survive without it?” If your answer is ‘yes’, then what you desire for is a want, no matter how much you crave for it right now.

By: Tola Elatuyi

Email : alottola@gmail.com

In Career Gems January 13, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

PHOTOS | WOMEN OF RUBIES GRASSROOTS WOMEN SENSITIZATION WORKSHOP

The first and second phase of the Women of Rubies sensitization workshop tagged “Empowering grassroots women and giving them a voice“ which kicked off on 26th of August 2016 at the Alimosho LGA Akoonjo, and the second one at the Eleganza Sport Center, Lagos East LCDA Sura Market, Lagos Island was a huge success.

Women came out enmasse from different spheres of the community to be part of the workshop. The women were not only sensitized on the need to be empowered but also encouraged to save towards the future of their Children by the Keynote speaker; Chinyere Anokwuru of Self-worth Organisation for women, while the Sole Administrator of the Alimosho Local Government; Hon. Ganiu Quadri encouraged them to attend more of such programmes to be enlightened and have a voice in the society.

In Lagos Island, Betty Abah of CEE-HOPE Foundation and the Keynote speaker; Mrs. Falana, Director, Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, also educated the women on the need to enroll in vocational skill centres and learn more hand work, Founder of Sisters Interact Network and motivational speaker; Kathlyn Eyitemi encouraged them to speak out and report cases of Domestic abuse while using her personal life experience as a motivating factor.

According to the Founder of Rubies Ink Initiative for Women and Children and Editor-In-Chief of Women of Rubies ; Esther Ijewere-Kalejaiye; the workshop was an impactful learning experience for the women in Lagos Island and the feedback was inspiring.

Pictures from Alimosho LGA

Founding Editor of Women of Rubies; Esther Ijewere-Kalejaiye with her team

Pictures from the 2nd Workshop at the Eleganza Sport Centre, Sura Market Lagos East LCDA

To see more pictures and more info log on to www.womenofrubies.com

In self development January 13, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

BUKOLA OGUNYEYE : WHY A NIGERIAN WOMAN’S BRAIN SHOULD FUNCTION LIKE A WALL CLOCK

Now, this LONG POST is not to fight any gender unless you would rather perceive it that way. I am unapologetic over this post please note. I have never been apologetic over any of my posts anyway.

I am yet to see a man who does not have a female in his life be it his daughter, mother, cousin or even a friend, so it would be very awkward if anyone interprets this post as a fight against men.

It is still January, it’s a new year, this is the time we really need to be hitting hard on very serious and sensitive matters lest this year ends the same way it has always been for many Nigerian women. . Why do we avoid telling ourselves some hard truth no matter how uncomfortable they may sound?

Listen and listen good, In Nigeria, a stay at home mum has dug her own grave already. Are such women for real at all? Listen o, no matter how good a man is, a woman who is totally dependent on her husband in 2017 is a sorry case.

Let me say this, when I was in the Banking industry working as a marketer, 99% of the married men who opened an account through me didn’t use their wives as next of kin. I was forced to ask some of them at some point why they didn’t do that? Their reason,” Ah! If they died, the woman will marry another man”.

I asked – So if you die, who will take care of the kid(s) you left for the woman? They all had no answers.Many Nigerian men hardly have long term plans for their immediate families but their wives are still playing the dutiful wives.

Death is inevitable, a man can die first, a woman can also die first,. In a situation where the man is the sole provider how do such women intend to cope with the kids? They will turn into beggars abi? In Nigeria, most times the moment a man dies, whether he left a will or not, his greedy family members can swoop on his assets. It is pathetic that Nigerian women who can’t mention the topic of writing a will to their husbands, they cant even suggest joint ownership of everything are still the same women who fight with all their might to stay married at all cost in a marriage where there is no future for them, worse still, they prefer to be stay at home mums.

Apart from this death thing, here in Nigeria, a man can take as many wives as he want even the ones married under the statutory law, let us not deceive ourselves as if we have not seen it happen time and time again. Or is it from my mouth you’ll be hearing it for the first time that a man married under the statutory law took another wife and nothing happened? Nigerian women don’t sue their husbands for bigamy because they don’t want to be “husband-less” Don’t blame them, it is because Nigerian women are required to approach the gates of heaven with a penis in one hand. .

So when a woman is totally dependent on the man, how would she be able to sort herself out if it is a messy situation she can’t condone? Mfon Abia Effiong wrote on a post and I agree, “Money is a defense”

The last time I checked, Nigeria is still a patriarchal society. Any woman of sound mind who took her time to look through that gender equality bill which our Senators rejected would know that Nigerian women are in “one chance.” What do we spend our time doing sef? Gossiping and back biting even though it doesn’t better your lives when there are real issues which women should focus their attention on. The average Nigerian woman fights to protect her marriage at all cost yet that same marriage she spends all her life fighting for, she is just like a tenant there. Go argue with the rejected bill on gender equality.If you want a copy, I have the pdf one with me.

In Nigeria, if any party should be a stay at home Parent, it should be the man, until women have equal rights as men. Otherwise, in the event of whatever, she stands to lose everything.

Do we think our Senators who rejected that bill were sleeping when they did that? They won’t want to approve that kind of bill because it protects Nigerian women and they don’t want that. They know whether a woman works or not, she has the same rights as the man of the home. They know everything he has ever worked for in his life also belongs to his wife. These things were stated clearly in that bill.

In fact, that gender equality bill would have protected stay at home mums and I would be very willing to advocate that women stay at home and take care of their tender kids as a child rights Advocate since women have nothing to loose, but until then, any woman staying at home regardless if it is her decision or not has dug her own grave already. .

Please don’t come and be writing blablbalablbla here because we prefer to deceive ourselves You are free to “test the waters” with any decision you make as a woman but be very ready to face the consequences.

In this life, a human being of sound mind should be able to think positively and negatively at the same time and we should deploy means of how we won’t fall Victims, most especially if you are resident in a Country like Nigeria and you are a woman.

A Nigerian woman’s brain must be functioning like a wall clock, working every second, you cant afford to “na ge re” (translate in English yourself)

Credit : Bukola’s Facebook Account

In Interviews&profile January 12, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

#INTERVIEW | I DON’T FOCUS TOO MUCH ON CHALLENGES,IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY – OLATORERA ONIRU

29 year old Olatorera Oniru is one of Nigeria’s most assiduous and ambitious young entrepreneurs. the founder of Dressmeoutlet.com, a Lagos-based e-commerce startup that retails fashion products sourced from across the globe. She strongly promotes made in Africa goods with the goal of retailing only the best 20% African designers. In 2016, she was named in Forbes’ list of “30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs In Africa. In this interview she shares with us her passion and inspiration behind her projects.

Childhood Influence

I would think so. I believe our past moulds our future to create history someday. My past is significantly a part of who I am today. Not sure I can decipher one incidence or action in particular but my entire experiences in life from family, friends, career and decisions have contributed to what I do now.

Meet Me

I’m Olatorera Oniru, Chief Executive of Dressmeoutlet.com, Forbes-mentioned Fashion Amazon of Africa dispatching fashion, beauty and home-goods from Africa to the world. I love life and I’m very passionate about all things Africa.

Discovering My Passion For Fashion

We all love to look good and feel good and so do I. Fashion is art, creativity, innovation and so much more combined. I had worked in the technology space during the course of my career and thus it made sense to combine my experience in technology with my passion for fashion to drive ecommerce in Africa.

Inspiration behind Dressmeoutelet

Dressmeoutlet.com is very customer-centric and quality-focused. We aim to please and serve. We are inspired by the thousands of creative geniuses producing great brands within the fashion, beauty and home-goods space across Africa. We have come across the most unique products from natural skin care to leather bags to runway jewelry. All of excellent quality and proudly made in Africa, ready to be dispatched to homes worldwide. Dressmeoutlet.com continues to source for the very best of this products to retail only the best to our customers at the most affordable prices possible.

It’s all about Work and Family

Career-wise, I am generally occupied with relationship building, growth forecasting, business development and sales maximization for Dressmeoutlet.com. At Dressmeoutlet.com, we have 2 programs we are currently pushing, the Style Champions Program and the Creative Entrepreneurs Program. The former is sales related and the latter is supply and manufacturing related. Outside of work, my family means the world to me.

No fear of failure

There is no giving up here. At least not any in sight or mind or analytical forecasts at the moment. Mainly because I thoroughly enjoy what we are doing at Dressmeoutlet.com and we are deriving results from our hard work. Nonetheless, I do not have a fear of failure or of giving up. If some day, somewhere, somehow I get to feel like I want to take a break or give up, I will. Life’s too short to be stressed out or to do anything that doesn’t bring you joy. It’s important to be passionate about one’s ambitions. Only then can we really drive change, growth and development. I’m happy doing what I do and thus cannot fathom giving up at the moment.

The Awards keep rolling in

I think it’s the amazing awards that do not stop rolling in. We just got invited to Mauritius this month to receive a Young Achiever Award. This year alone, we have been nominated and presented with up to 10 awards and recognitions globally from Most Innovative Company to African Achievers Awards to Top 5 young entrepreneurs in Africa and many others. That’s the greatest aspect of pushing our dreams at Dressmeoutlet.com. Let’s not forget the hundreds of amazing customer testimonials we have amassed. The partnerships and potentials for scalability of Dressmeoutlet.com are significant and we look forward to even more growth ahead.

Focusing on performance & Results

I don’t focus too much on challenges. It takes a lot of time and energy to recount challenges. We all know there are significant setbacks in Africa but the good news is that each and every setback can be eliminated and we can grow and become a greater continent. I’d rather focus on performance indicators, on scaling up and on generating results.

Advice to young Female Entrepreneurs

Know your passion, drive your passion, be your very best in all your undertakings and excel. Africa needs you to be great. We all can be great but first, you will have to push. Push your dreams. Grow beyond everyone’s imaginations, innovate and conquer the world.

I am a Woman of Rubies

I want everyone to be successful. I want to see men supporting men, women supporting women and humans generally supporting humans. I want to see Africa blossom into one of the world’s greatest continents with poverty significantly alleviated.

Woman, Push your dreams!

“Push your dreams! Don’t let anything stop you from doing anything great for the world. The world wants to see you shine while making the world a better place.

In Interviews&profile January 12, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

TALE ALIMI : MY JOURNEY TO FINDING MY NICHE

Every time it is my birthday, I spend time reminiscing and this particular birthday I look back in gratitude on the journey to getting where I am today. For some people, they always knew what they wanted to do and become. For me, it was not straight forward. It took many years of stumbling, exploring, failing and trying again and again until it finally became clear. The journey to find my niche saw me stumbling through different careers, businesses and professions. From working in an Asset management company, to moonlighting as a makeup artist. Then I worked at a telecommunications company working in a department called financial systems that utilized my Accounting and Technology skills. What was supposed to be a dream job was actually my most boring work experience and I found succour when I escaped to do an MBA which has proven to be a good move till date. I fell in love with the retail and fashion case studies such as Kate Spade and Tory Burch during my MBA and decided I was going to start my own fashion brand. From running a fashion brand for a few years that I had to walk away from to working with a consulting firm where I got to support SME’s, I began to get a clearer picture of what I wanted to do with my life. The journey to finding my niche took me over 10 years of failing, trying, stumbling and making mistakes. I lost relationships, friendships and business partners along the way. I finally realized why people would rather stay safe than go on such an arduous journey to find their path and I made up my mind that when I found the way, I would help other people do the same. People ask me regularly ‘how do I know what business to start?’ or ‘how do I find my niche?’ Some even ask ‘how do I know what I am meant to do on the earth?’ I decided to find answers to the questions by interviewing various inspiring people from different sectors and industries who have found their way. You can watch the inspiring video trailer. https://youtu.be/K978EIMcNxI My goal is to document this process and make it easy for someone who is seeking to find their own niche or path in life. I also decided to take it a step further and create the ‘Find your niche challenge (www.talealimi.com/findyournichechallenge)’. This is a free 5 day virtual challenge which will take place in a private Facebook group. Where I will give the participants daily tasks and exercises to help them identify their niche at the end of the 5 days. If like me, you have been stumbling and trying to figure out what your niche is so you can get fulfilment doing what you love and getting paid for it, I will like to invite you to participate in this challenge. To participate, register at www.talealimi.com/findyournichechallenge and get started on the journey to find your niche in 2017.

In Interviews&profile January 11, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

#PROFILE | MEET THATO KGATLHANYE, 22 YEARS OLD SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR WHO IS PUTTING SMILES ON FACES OF SCHOOL CHILDREN IN SOUTH AFRICA

Thato Kgatlhanye is a social entrepreneur, author, speaker, and founder of Repurpose Schoolbags. She has a B.A in Brand Leadership Management from Vega School of Brand Leadership.

She is also the CEO of Rethaka (Pty) Ltd, a woman-owned business based in Rustenburg, South Africa. She started Repurpose Schoolbags at the age of 18, after studying and discovering that most of the school children in her community carried plastic bags to school. She designed a new set of school bags using recycled plastic shopping bags, and integrating solar technology and batteries to provide light for studying after dark, as the bag charges during the day.

Thato runs the company with 17 employees and numerous plastic bag collectors. She has been featured on CNBC Africa and Forbes. She has also won the ELLE International Impact Award.

We celebrate her

In Interviews&profile January 11, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

“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.