Throughout history, the central role played by women has ensured the stability, progress and long-term development of nations. In the 21st century, the issues of gender balance and the need to accord women equal opportunities and allow them achieve their full potentials in the society, have gained more momentum, globally.

While some progress has been made to overcome impediments to their chances of contributing to development, a lot still needs to be done in the area of decision-making. According to the United Nations (UN), investing in women and respecting their rights is the surest way to uplifting communities, organizations and countries, as well as achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Most importantly, the global body made its submission to the effect that ‘Balance’ is not a women’s issue, but rather a business issue. The race is on for gender-balanced boardroom, gender-balanced government, gender-balanced media coverage, gender-balanced employment opportunities, gender-balanced wealth creation, gender-balanced sports activities, amongst others.

Thus, the involvement of women in nation-building is an inalienable right, as well as inescapable reality for a holistic and comprehensive political, economic and social advancement in the modern world. Over time, some women who have been entrusted with leading roles to manage human and material resources have more often than not, proved that given adequate backing, they can perform creditably. Indeed, the 21st Century has birthed the long-awaited desire of women to be in the corridors of power, to be vocal about their needs, and to execute their dreams by contributing their quota to national development.  

To this end and in commemoration of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD, 2024), The Guardian celebrates a few of these amazing Amazons who are iconic personalities in their diverse callings and have continue to make immeasurable contributions to Nigeria’s economic development and national growth. The row call includes: Lotanna Uzoka, GMD, Kennedia Group;  Sen. Dr. Akon Eyakenyi, Deputy Governor, Akwa Ibom State,  Dr. Oluwayemisi Olorunshola, Chairman, Board of Directors, Wema Bank PLC; Dr. Jane Kimemia, MD/CEO, Optiva Capital Partners Ltd; Amb. (Dr.) Prevail Farida Ahmed, Executive Director, PKIS Group; Sa’adatu MD Aliyu, Managing Director, Rural Homes Group; Uchechukwu Mojekwu, Principal Partner, Makarios Consulting Services Ltd; Iquo Ikpeme, COO, Rock of Ages Properties PLC; Joyce Daniels, Founder/CEO, TALKADEMY Africa

OLUWAYEMISI OLORUNSHOLA: A Portrait Of Ardent Professionalism, Pragmatic Innovation, Astute Financial Expert Creating Value-Driven Solutions At Wema Bank PLC
For Nigeria to attain her position of respect in the comity of nations across critical areas of human endeavours, professional and committed technocrat, Dr. Mrs. Oluwayemisi Olorunshola, Chairman, Wema Bank Board of Directors remains one of those that the country looks up to.
Over the years, Dr. Oluwayemisi has carved a niche for herself through professional and financial execution of her responsibilities in Wema Bank PLC and other organizations she has worked with. Indeed, Dr. Oluwayemisi has distinguished herself not only as a reputable professional, seasoned economist and business administrator but has also demonstrated a high degree of integrity and fear of God in private and public affairs.
As a committed and dedicated professional with a strong desire to achieve her organisation’s goals, Dr. Oluwayemisi Olorunshola was appointed Chairman, Board of Directors, Wema Bank PLC. She is a graduate of the prestigious University of Ife now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), where she obtained a B.Sc. in Education and Economics. She also obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. As a lover of education, she obtained a doctorate degree in Business Administration from the Walden University, USA.
To consolidate her professional advancement, she has completed a wealth of leadership, corporate governance, banking and management training programmes across several reputable institutions like the Leishton Academy, Imperial College in London, IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, FITC in Lagos, Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Director (CIoD), H. Pierson in Ikoyi, Lagos, Emmanuel University in North Carolina, USA, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, where she received a Membership Certification just to mention but a few.
Dr. Oluwayemisi started her professional career in procurement and ultimately extended her expertise across the supply chain industry and beyond. Prior to her appointment as the Board Chairman of the bank, she was the Deputy Executive Director of the International Institute for African Scholars (IIAS) in 2022. Also, the Chairman of Wema Bank’s Board Nominations and Governance Committee from 2022 until when she became Chairman of Board of Directors in 2023. Currently, she is also a Non-Executive Director of the Bank Director’s Association of Nigeria, the Vice President of the IIAS and Non-Executive Director of the Moorhouse Company, Ikoyi, Lagos.

It is worthy of note to state that Dr. Oluwayemisi is synonymous with value creation, professionalism and integrity. Indeed, she is not one of those who got to where they are by whom they knew but her journey to the top of her profession and entrepreneurship has been the product of her commitment, dedication, honesty, hardwork, creativity, value creation, tenacity and innovativeness.
Established over seven decades ago, Wema Bank PLC has helped to transform many lives and businesses and has contributed enormously to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy. The bank continues to offer an extensive range of basic and advanced financial services ranging from Account opening, upgrade, funding, money transfers, airtime and data purchases, bill payments and other day-to-day services to Virtual Banking, bill scheduling, card control, lock, freeze, cancel, block, report dispense errors and settlement of transaction disputes just to mention but a few.
In order to continue to create positive impact in the lives and businesses of all individuals in Nigeria, Wema Bank has carefully tailored her banking products and services to meet the needs of all classes of people at every stage of their lives. For instance, Royal Kiddies Account for children. This account helps parents to save for their children and earn additional interest.
For the teens, the ALAT/XPlore Account serves as a building block for their financial security. For the graduates, the bank partnered with the NYSC and Microsoft to help youth transition seamlessly into the labour market through her tailored initiative called NYSC ALAT Accelerator Programme. Wema Bank also has partnered with the Federal Government of Nigeria to expand the scope of her empowerment initiatives, through the FGN-ALAT Digital Skillnovation Programme; providing Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones with in-demand digital skills for success in the digital world we live in today.
For women, the bank’s female-focused proposition, SARA has transformed many lives, providing physical, financial, intellectual and other relevant resources for their personal and professional success.
Emphatically, Wema Bank loan options are among the best in the Nigerian industry. The bank does not just offer loans to the customers but also tailors the loans to their needs. For instance, for salary earners, the bank offers payday loans, which as the name implies, the customer can repay with options on payday. For longer-term needs, the bank offer salary based loans and for non salary earners.

As innovative and technology driven banks, Wema Bank launched Africa’s first fully digital bank ALAT in 2017, to provide customers with an all-encompassing banking experience that extends across the different aspects of their lives. With ALAT customers find solutions that span health, personal and group savings, travel, insurance, lifestyle and transportation.
Additionally, ALAT offers deals, discounts, rewards and FX conversion, all on the App. Another uniqueness of ALAT is that it brings the bank closer to customers. So whether customers are using phone or Laptop, they can enjoy 24/7 banking at their fingertips with ALAT.
Apart from special banking products designed to meet the needs of women, Wema Bank PLC has demonstrated high level of commitment in the empowerment of women in Nigeria. Evidentially, the Bank has helped to build up thousands of women financially, physically, economically and in every way that matters. The bank has pioneered several partnerships that helped women across Nigeria to upskill, expand their knowledge base, kickstart and advance their careers.

These range from creating exhibition opportunities for female entrepreneurs to providing digital skills for women through the FGN-ALAT Digital Skillnovation Programme, the Transforming Nigerian Youth Programme for women, which was launched in partnership with Pan Atlantic University’s Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) to not only skill-up women in business but also provide grants for them to expand their businesses. Beyond women empowerment, Wema Bank has pioneered solutions that impact other SDG. The Green Energy Finance Facility has provided loans up to N10 million without collateral and N750 million with collateral, specifically for purchase of renewable energy solutions that will help the country combat climate.
Beyond loans; Wema Bank also provides financial support for customers to thrive, especially considering economic fluctuation. In fact, the 3rd season of the bank’s “5 for 5 Promo” has given over N60 million to Nigerians across the country over the past seven months and this Promo is still on going.
Recently, the bank organised its physical Importer-Exporter Forum to bring international trade players together from importer-exporters to regulatory bodies, the CBN customs and more. This forum successfully ironed out pressing issues impacting international trade and proffered practical solutions to these issues, leaving attendees empowered for more symbiotic and rewarding trade operations across borders.

In line with the Vision and Mission statements of the bank “To be the dominant digital platform in Africa delivering seamless financial services” with the mission “Empowering lives through innovation”, the Board Chairman and the Management team of the bank have continued to invent new and improved ways to ensure customer satisfaction, beat all records, reset industry standards and keep all stakeholders impressed. Indeed, the impact of ALAT since it was launched has made Wema Bank PLC the first in digital banking in Nigeria.
Finally, it is imperative to state that Dr. Oluwayemisi Olorunshola’s innovativeness, pragmatic and exemplary leadership qualities, mentorship, as well as her many value-driven cum life-saving financial solutions for the Bank’s teeming customers continue to stand her out among her equals. Indeed, as the World celebrates Women today, The Guardian’s recognition of Dr. Oluwayemisi Olorunshola, Chairman, Board of Directors of Wema Bank PLC amongst “Nigeria’s Fifty (50) Most Outstanding and Impactful Women In Leadership”, is most appropriate.

LOTANNA UZOKA: World-Class Facilitator, Promoting Leadership Marked By Strategic Acumen, Innovative Solutions, Spearheading Transformative Growth, With Visionary Mindset

With a commendable track record of driving growth, improving efficiency, and maximising profit, Lotanna Uzoka, MCIPM, FIMC, CMC, is a woman of many parts who currently sits as the Group Managing Director of Kennedia Group, which comprises Kennedia Consulting Limited (KCL) – a cutting-edge HR Professional Services Company and Kennedia Health Maintenance Organisation (KHMO) – a world-class Health Services Company. 

A highly accomplished Group Managing Director with over 20 years of experience leading and scaling businesses in a variety of industries, including tech, telecommunications, cyber security, real estate, finance, FMCG, construction, Power, Oil and Gas. Her leadership is marked by strategic acumen, innovative solutions, and a profound understanding of the Human Resources landscape, focused on spearheading transformative growth, significantly enhancing turnover and productivity, navigating diverse business environments, and delivering exceptional quality services to a range of clients, from startups to large corporations.

Committed to fostering a positive, productive organisational culture, people excellent performance, ensuring alignment with shareholder interests, and driving substantial growth, Lotanna possesses a broad range of competencies including strategic direction, business development, financial and risk management, operational excellence, and employability strategy. Her approach balances analytical skills with a visionary mindset, consistently leading teams to exceed market expectations. 

A graduate of Political Science from the University of Jos, Nigeria, Lotanna began her professional career within the banking industry at the popular United Bank for Africa (UBA), former Standard Trust Bank; and then proceeded to the Managerial role, at Iberia Airline, as the Manager of Corporate Communications. In 2007, she joined Phillips Consulting Limited, where she worked for a decade, as the Recruitment Support Manager, and as the Head of Business Development for Phillips Outsourcing, managing profit people, process, and performance. 

Dedicated to continuous learning, creativity, and innovation, Lotanna founded the Kennedia Consulting Limited in 2016 and has remained the Managing Director/CEO till date. With a passion of maintaining relevant and impact leadership while ensuring that her values align greatly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs), Lotanna created the Kennedia HMO, and continues along the growth trajectory. She is a Full Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (MCIPM), a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC), a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), and a Full Member of the Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria (AOPN). 

In this brief interview in response to her Recognition by The Guardian as one of “Nigeria’s Most Outstanding and Impactful Women In Leadership”, Lotanna Uzoka speaks on her career journey, work experience, Kennedia Consulting Limited’s milestones, patriarchy, gender inclusion, amongst other sundry issues. Excerpts …

Can you briefly highlight Kennedia Group’s set objectives, milestones and other remarkable achievements in relation to national economic growth and development? 

Kennedia Consulting Limited and Kennedia HMO are subsidiaries under the Kennedia Group. We pride ourselves as one of the nation’s prominent employers of labour. Kennedia Consulting Limited and Kennedia HMO were founded in 2016 and 2022 respectively. Our thematic focus is to ensure we continue along the growth trajectory- improving lives, creating employment opportunities, driving economy growth, investing in new products & services, developing people, alleviating poverty, contributing positively to the vibrancy of the nation’s economic growth and development. 

At every business and economic interactions, we strive to be the leading professional services company providing bespoke HR, Financial consulting, and Health services on and off the Nigerian shores, while generating value for all stakeholders. We are committed to addressing the unique challenges faced by businesses and professionals, striving to revolutionize the business landscape of Africa. Within the health space, we create value in the provision of encompassing health insurance, managed care solutions, and third-party administration on a retail and group scale. Our service solutions lead to enhancement in health status of the workforce, increased employee productivity, reduced waste in manpower hours, and equitable access to healthcare benefits by employees. 

The business performance of Kennedia Group has been a positive one considering its size and length of time in the market. We currently serve clients operating in more than 25 industries in the economy. After articulating our corporate strategic pillars, along with the corresponding strategic themes, we have identified specific goals that are aligned with our objectives. By so doing, we ensure that our efforts are focused on achieving our long-term corporate vision and mission. We continually strive to achieve financial stability, provide exceptional customer experience at every interaction and increase enterprise -wide capabilities. 

At Kennedia, we take a balanced, financially-disciplined approach that generates long-term value for stakeholders. Our strong credit rating gives us the flexibility to pursue strategic growth opportunities and continuously invest in people, processes, and performance. We attract and retain long-term customers by providing high-quality and professional services and expertise – from individuals to enterprises, local to global. The Kennedia Brand stands for Service Innovation, Commitment, Excellence, Collaboration, Trust, Quality.

In a patriarchal society, most women are said to be unjustly treated in terms of individual rights and benefits, how can you describe your experience in the last few years as Group Managing Director at Kennedia Group, overseeing the overall business of Kennedia Consulting Limited and Kennedia HMO? 

The word “patriarchy” has been re-created in the past two decades to analyze the origins and conditions of men’s oppression of women. Originally used to describe the power of the father as head of household, the term ‘patriarchy’ has been used within post-1960s feminism to refer to the systematic organization of male supremacy and female subordination – a system of male authority which oppresses women through its social, political and economic institutions. 

We know from statistics that women constitute about half of the population of the Nigerian State, and we are known to play vital roles as mothers, producers, managers, community developers and organizers. Our contribution to the social and economic development of societies is also more than half as compared to that of men by virtue of our dual roles in the productive and reproductive spheres. Yet, women’s participation in formal and informal structures and processes, where decisions regarding the use of societal resources generated by both men and women are made, remains insignificant. The Nigerian society has been patriarchal in nature which is a major feature of a traditional society. It has been a structure of a set of social relations with material base which enables men to dominate women. A system of social stratification and differentiation based on sex, which provides material advantages to males while simultaneously placing severe constraints on the roles and activities of females. 

While women have made substantial gains in the workplace in recent decades, there is clear evidence that women remain under-represented at the top levels of business and politics. However, there is a growing bright spot in senior leadership. Women are as committed to their careers and as interested in being promoted as men at every stage of the pipeline. And at the director level – when the C-suite is in closer view – women and men are equally interested in senior leadership roles. It is important to note that women who work hybrid or remotely are as ambitious as women who work on-site. In fact, flexibility allows women to pursue their ambitions. One in five women say flexibility has helped them stay in their job or avoid reducing their hours. And a large number of women who work hybrid or remotely point to feeling less fatigued and burned out as a primary benefit. 

Up-and-coming women leaders want more opportunities to advance and a more inclusive work culture. Therefore, more women should be encouraged to aspire new roles, embrace new challenges within the business and political space and make positive changes. It is critical for companies to champion women’s ambition and growth. I recommend that all companies, regardless of size or budget, should have the tools they need to advance women and create an equal and inclusive workplace – fostering their professional development and equipping them with research-backed strategies to tackle bias and advance their careers. My role as the Group Managing Director of Kennedia Group has been intriguing, interesting and at the same time filled with so much growth and learning curves. My team and I work as one big family.  

From historical record, Women are known for seeking ways to educate, empower and contribute to society; can you say that womenfolk are performing up to expectation in Nigeria? 

The underdevelopment of women in any society is almost always synonymous with the society’s underdevelopment. Through appropriate educational and skill development women are empowered to utilize their great potentials for the economic progress of the country. Women education enhances women’s access to and control over income and productive resources through inter alia empowerment in relevant poverty alleviating and development generating programmes. This therefore goes to say that women education positively impacts on the economic development of the family and the society in general. 

From pre-colonial times to the early 21st Century, the role and status of women in Nigeria have continuously evolved. Women play an integral role in the society. They are the backbone of families and are crucial to the growth and development of communities. In recent years, we have seen a rapid increase in the performance of the womenfolk in politics and business and there has been a growing awareness of the importance of women in society. However, there is more room for improvement. Women can be powerful instruments of social change. When women are healthy, educated, and empowered, they are more likely to take leadership roles in the community. Educating women fosters positive effects on short and long-term economic prosperity. Educated women in the workforce may be less tolerant of gender inequity propagated by undemocratic political regimes and may push for more responsive leadership. 

In your opinion, is there enough awareness on the inherent power of success in women for the sake of aspiring young Nigerians, and what more can government do to increase the success rate of women in the Nigerian society? 

In a world that constantly seeks to define and control women, we must recognize and assert our inherent value and worth. As a woman, you possess an immense strength and potential to be successful on all fronts and to break free from societal constraints and demand the respect that you rightly deserve. Taking back your power is important and we must learn to take the journey of self-growth. 

In many aspects of life, women often find themselves facing gender-based discrimination, prejudice, and a lack of respect, despite their capabilities and achievements. This unfortunate reality can be seen in various spheres, from the workplace to personal relationships. It is important to acknowledge that these challenges are not a reflection of your worth but rather a systemic issue deeply ingrained in patriarchal structures. I am actively involved in mentoring, counselling, and hand-holding girls, and young women and I can boldly say that women are very resilient, courageous and achievers. However, women need to constantly internalize the understanding that they are inherently valuable, regardless of the opinions or treatment of others. Shedding the self-doubt imposed by societal expectations is crucial for building self-confidence and self-respect. Women should consistently and intentionally surround themselves with positive influences that uplift and support their journey towards empowerment. 

For the Nigerian government to increase the success rate of women in the society, the Nigerian government should start from the grassroots and change the mindsets of the society. They should incorporate gender-sensitive curricula and teaching materials in primary and secondary education to begin to change the mindset of Nigerians. Education is a powerful tool. The government must integrate more women with success stories into primary, secondary, and tertiary school subjects. The gender-sensitive initiative will help girls and boys see the balance in gender roles. 

In politics, women are underrepresented. According to a UN report, only 28 out of 195 countries had female heads of state in 2022. Effective political education can help achieve numerical political equality, particularly in Nigeria, where patriarchy and cultural norms reward stereotypical gender roles. Successful politicians could train young women in public speaking, networking, and setting goals. Political parties can also organize retreats for women to bond, share ideas, and strategize to build strong coalitions. 

Furthermore, a quota system can also help increase women’s representation in political office. The government could reserve a certain percentage of high-level governmental positions for women. For example, the president and state governors could ensure that women constitute at least 30 percent of their appointed cabinet members, such as ministers, commissioners, heads of agencies and parastatals, special advisers, and ambassadors. 

AKON EYAKENYI: A Woman Of Substance With Patriotic Vision, Creating Value In The Public Service 

Working hard can be painful to many women in Nigeria, whose engagements are devoid of purpose, but for Senator Dr. Akon Eyakenyi , an outstanding professional in politics who has been driving her her competence with patriotic and developmental vision, hard work remains a one of the principles which have brought her exceptional personal qualities into national reckoning.

A patriotic woman of substance who has made resourcefulness, accountability and responsive representation the hallmark of her political identity, the Deputy Governor, Akwa Ibom State, has continued to sustain her reputation, as one of the shinning lights amongst the Nigerian women in public service, with integrity. 

Senator Dr. Akon Eyakenyi, a native of Mbokpu Eyo-Akan in Urueoffong/Oruko Local Government Area by birth and Iquita, Oron Local Government Area by marriage is a proud daughter and ambassador of Akwa Ibom State. 

A deeply committed wife, dedicated mother, teacher and passionate servant of the people, She is a shining example of a woman who has made a significant impact as a family member, a public office holder, a political and community leader, and a great ambassador for women and the girl child. 

Focused and diligent, her journey in politics began at the grassroots level, where she served as a Supervisor For Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, Oron Local Government Council in 1991. Between 1999 and 2000, she was appointed Board Member 1, Akwa Ibom State Secondary Education Board before becoming Commissioner For Industry, Commerce and Tourism from 2000 to 2005.

After her stint as Commissioner in 2005, Senator Akon Eyakenyi became Executive Director, Yankey Resources Limited till 2013 when she was appointed Chairman, State Technical Schools Board. 

The reward for hard work, they say is more work. While diligently serving in this position, higher duty called as she was appointed Minister For Lands, Housing and Urban Development by Dr Goodluck Jonathan in 2014. 

In 2016, she was appointed Chairman, Governing Council, Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, a position she held till August, 2018 when she voluntarily resigned to seek the mandate of her people as Senator Representing Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District. She was one of the seven women who were elected into the 9th Senate out of 109 Senators. Again, she performed excellently and shone like a million stars. 

As a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Eyakenyi used her position to advocate for family and women’s rights as well as empowerment. She has been a passionate advocate for gender equity, pushing for laws and policies that promote the rights and well-being of families, women, girls and the vulnerable in the society. 

Her passion for uplifting disadvantaged members of our society has been evident in her various initiatives and infrastructural projects cutting across education, health, social amenities like solar lights, road constructions, skills acquisitions, entrepreneurship, etc, aimed at providing opportunities for many to thrive and succeed.

Admired for her people-focused approach to public service, she emerged the first elected female Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State on May 29, 2023.

In her current role as the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Eyakenyi is a key member of Pastor Umo Eno’s team which is adding value to Akwa Ibom families, transforming the rural communities and developing Akwa Ibom State through the ARISE Agenda. 

Senator Eyakenyi’s career profile is not all about politics. She started lowly as Mistress 11, Cross River State Secondary Education Board in 1986 and rose through the ranks to become Senior Education Officer, Ministry of Education, Akwa Ibom State between 1994 and 1999.

Her academic career is no less stellar and inspiring. While rising in her career, she was also developing herself from a Grade 11 Teacher in 1979 to bagging a PhD in Curriculum and Teaching in 2015. 

This beautiful, humble, God fearing and hard working woman is married to an equally exceptionally good man, Elder Etim Eyakenyi and their marriage is blessed with five Godly children and lovely grandchildren. 

Senator Dr. Akon Eyakenyi is not just a public office holder, but a true leader and role model for women and girls everywhere. She has shown that with determination, hard work, and a commitment to service, women can break barriers and achieve great things. Her legacy as a champion for women’s rights and empowerment will continue to inspire generations to come. She truly embodies the positive impact that women in positions of influence can have on society. 

Her political career is spectacular for its consistency and impact. Growing from the obscuring of local politics and traversing the State to national relevance, thus becoming one of the few Nigerians who have served at the highest decision making levels in the three tiers of government and in two out of the three arms of government.

Senator Eyakenyi’s inspiring accomplishments, exemplary character and outstanding contributions to nation building have not gone unnoticed as she has been honoured with several awards and recognitions, the latest being a Speech Competition for the Girl Child instituted in her honour by Oro Nation Leadership Roundtable (OLR), a group of professionals from Oro ethnic nationality. She’s a highly sought after Speaker in Conferences, especially those designed to inspire career women and home builders.

A dynamic politician with passion for nation building, the amiable Deputy Governor is committed to inspiring growth through human capital development, through her productive engagements as a gender rights and youths empowerment advocate.

JANE THE KIMEMIA: Pan-African Business Leader, Providing Investment Immigration, Preserving and Growing Wealth Across Generations, Through Optiva Capital Partners

Dr Jane Kimemia, the Chief Executive Officer of Optiva Capital Partners is not only a Pan-African business leader but also one of the most outstanding and impactful women in leadership with twenty-seven (27) years of experience in financial services covering a broad spectrum of clients segments including consumer banking, commercial banking and specializing in propositions across transactional banking, Wealth Management Investment Immigration, International Real Estate and Insurance. 

Indeed, her strength lies in pioneering and building sustainable businesses from scratch. She works with high-net-worth individuals in their pursuit to preserve and grow their wealth across generations. She built wealth management franchise from scratch setting up investment solutions and services that address the needs of clients across life stages that included onshore and offshore investment. 

While reacting to her Recognition by The Guardian as one of “Nigeria’s Fifty (50) Most Outstanding and Impactful Women In Leadership”, Dr. Jane Kimemia speaks on her career journey, gender equality, community services, set objectives, corporate goal and milestones attained by Optiva Capital Partners, amongst other issues. Excerpts….

An Glimpse Into The Career Journey Of A Quintessential Financial Expert

Looking at my background, this year is going to be my twenty-seven years in financial industry. I started my career in Barclays Bank as a graduate trainee. The first permanent job that I got in a bank was a Cashier job. Subsequently, I moved into frontline sales, basically, going into the market and acquiring clients for the bank across different borders. I did that on what we called Prestige Banking. Afterward, I proceeded to Projects Management while still in Barclays Bank, where I was involved in business case, projects design and implementation of different projects, scopes and different size. I was in charge of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius, really the larger East African market. Later on, I went into lending and I was in charge of very large lending proposition for the bank, spearheading the launch of Scheme lending. Scheme lending was lending to employees of different companies. My responsibility was sales again; sales at corporate level, being able to go to companies and arranged for lending propositions for the employees. 

Indeed, that was one of the projects that enabled me to build business from scratch, from the beginning to a hundred millions dollar with my team.  Still in Barclays Bank, I moved on to head Premium banking, I was the head of sales, providing direction and leadership to drive the bank’s objectives, that was for twelve years in Barclays Bank. Actually, those were amazing years which gave me the broad base of my experience. 

Truly, this helped me to work with different segments of the bank. After twelve years in Barclays Bank, I was hired to work in Standard Chartered Bank as the General Manager in charge of Priority and International Banking, still another role that required me to spearhead. I was in charge of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Still in Standard Chartered Bank, I moved on to be Executive Director in charge of Investment Banking, Bank Assurance, FX in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. 

In addition to being the Executive Director, I was the Managing director of two subsidiaries, Standard Chartered Investment Limited and Standard Chartered Insurance Agency Limited, I spent eight years in Standard Chartered Bank before joining Optiva Capital Partners in 2017, seven  exciting years of establishment of growth, and transformation of our business from where we started as Insurance  Brokers to whom we are now as full fledge Wealth Management business, taking care of the needs of our clients across Investment Immigration, Investment Services and Advisory, International Real Estate and Insurance. 

What To Know About Optiva Capital Partners’ Services and Investment Solutions

Let me go back to define whom we are at Optiva Capital Partners, we are financial services group, we are Wealth Management Company specializing and focusing on the following areas.

Firstly, Investment Immigration, Investment Immigration in a nutshell is that part of business facilitating the second citizenship or permanent residency, these are two different propositions depending on what the client needs. If you look at our clients, our clients are established Nigerians, they are captains of industry and business people. They are not necessarily looking for immigration but they are looking for global access, want to lift limitations, that is Investment Immigration. 

In second citizenship and permanent residency, we are market leader not only in Nigeria, but also in Africa when it comes to Investment Immigration. We have a whole range of solutions covering jurisdictions whether you are looking for permanent residency in Canada, US Dominica but just to mention but a few. We have the whole range of investment solutions for our clients. 

Secondly, to define whom we are, Investment Services and Advisory.  This is part of our business, to protect their wealth, to provide solutions for them, to grow their wealth, to get return on investment, to provide opportunity in terms of the products, to diversify their investment in different locations, in different currencies and in different asset classes.  Also, it is really an opportunity for our clients to optimize their wealth and ensure that their wealth works for them. 

Thirdly, is international Real Estate: international real estate we are abridged to investment opportunities for our clients to be able to acquire property globally, it is purely for the purpose of obtaining property or real estate that leads to immigration or permanent residency in those jurisdictions. 

Lastly, we do Insurance. Therefore, in summary, we have Investment Immigration, Investment Services and Advisory, International Real Estate and Insurance as our core products or services. 

How Optiva Capital Partners Contributes to Economic Development and National Growth

Our contributions to the national development are based on the solutions we are providing, such as Investment Immigration through permanent residency, saving foreign exchange. More importantly, affordability is key, that is, families being able to afford the education of their children abroad. 

On Investment Services and Advisory, working with families, financial health is very important. As wealth advisers, it is really ensuring and safeguarding the wealth of the family. Also, being a trusted adviser and a trusted partner working with their clients for their financial wellness, ensuring that their wealth are working for them. Indeed, when you have financial security it is a big contribution even to your physical health. In addition, we have community service, Corporate Social Responsibility. 

For us, it is important to state that CRS is not something we do in a while, but it is what we engrave in what we do. This is international week, and I am very proud to announce our continued partnership with Lagos State Government, where we are focusing on maternal health. Optiva Capital Partners is contributing to reduce maternal mortality. In fact, national mortality is a big issue in Nigeria, WHO, report shows that Nigeria contributed ten percent (10%) to global maternal death. With Lagos State government, we are partnering, we have rehabilitating a number of primary healthcare, upgraded them to become maternity wards. 

Currently, we have taken Ketu, I have gone there, we have done our survey and on March 22, 2024, we are going to have a ground breaking ceremony to launch the wards that we are rehabilitating and upgrading. Ketu Primary Health Centre to become Maternity wards. These are some of the things we do. Also, we are a big employer, seventy percent (70%) of our work force is women. It is worthy of note to mention that, when you empower women, you empower generations and families. These are some of our contributions to the economic development of Nigeria. 

Optiva Capital Partners’ Set Objectives and Sustainability

For us the policies and plans put in place is to continue every day to get better. We are seeking better ways to serve. Our commitment is about our clients, their needs, global access, for preservation of their wealth, across generations, when we talk about global access, whether children’s education or business opportunities. For us in terms of the policies that we put in place is to continue with our commitment to enhance our clients’ experience. To continue to provide solutions to our clients’ needs. Our commitment is to improve, to respond to the needs of our clients across all the areas of service. That is our commitment to our clients. 

Promises and Assurances to Our Clients

Our promises are quality service, prompt response to their needs, to provide solutions to their needs. In fact, our commitment is to continue to play a critical part in the lives and families of our clients. To make a difference is to guide their wealth and bring the opportunity that they will not have had access to. For us everything boils down to service and service in their best interest. 

Gender Equality as a means of gearing up women to take their rightful position 

Gender equality is giving equal opportunities to women as men will have. If you look at the society in general, whether it is organization or government in terms of senior roles, the women representation has always been an issue. Gender equality has to do with removing the bias that senior roles can only be occupied by men. If you look at the banks, you can see that women are occupying senior positions and I am really encouraged. So gender equality is giving equal opportunities to women to serve, creating the right environment, removing the biases that have been in existence for a long time. 

Awards and Recognitions, Testimonials of Excellence

I have received a number of Awards and Recognitions. The recognition that I have received personally, is on behalf of Optiva Capital Partners. Some of the Awards include: One of the top 25 CEOs by BusinessDay Newspaper, One of the 50 Most Inspiring CEOs by the Guardian Newspapers, I received Honorary Degree of Men and Women of Influence by Highstone Global University, Texas, USA, recognising contributions to humanity, commitment to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Optiva Capital Partners actually contributing to twelve out of seventeen Development Goals. I also received Awards as One of the top 25 Most Powerful Women Impacting Business in East Africa, I have also received an Award as one of Amazon, the Shaker and one of the people impacting business just to mention but a few. 

PREVAIL FARIDA AHMED:  Definitive Peace Ambassador, Serial Humanitarian, Dedicated to Community Service, Making Positive Impact On People’s Lives

Amb. (Dr.) Prevail Farida Ahmed, FCPA, DFILMMD is a Distinguished West African (ECOWAS) Youth Council and Peace Ambassador, Humanitarian, Entrepreneur, Event Planner, Teenage Counselor, Politician and Speaker of God’s Word. A multifaceted individual with a deep-seated passion for humanity, Honorable Lady Farida Ahmed is widely recognized for her exceptional contributions in various fields of human endeavor. As a seasoned politician, she served on the APC 2023 Presidential Campaign Council in various Directorates such as Support Groups Coordination, Grassroots Mobilization, Security and Protocol teams for DGPCC. 

Hon. Farida Ahmed is the Executive Director at PKIS Group – Pancokrato Integrated Services (PKIS) and GetEnergy – a group of companies that specializes in transformative power and a pioneer in partnering business support and energy solutions to organisations across all sectors. GetEnergy,is a dedicated service by PKIS, providing seamless electricity vending for estates, diesel supply services, and comprehensive facilities management, thereby elevating organisation’s energy management empowering life and business with sustainable and affordable energy solutions. 

PKIS offers a wide array of services, including Facility Management, Energy Trading, Financial Solutions, and more, designed to cater to the diverse needs of businesses and individuals. The Group embraces innovation, excellence, and integrity thereby enhancing operational efficiency and sustainability. The company is committed to providing quality service to its clients with the belief in establishing long term and mutually helpful, by delivering service excellence in cost-efficient manner (Visit: www.pancokrato.com and www.getenergy.ng).

Equally, Amb. Farida Ahmed is the CEO, LP Events & More – a company that provides exceptional event planning services. Meanwhile, as the Founder, Peace Progress and Unity Global Initiative and Farida’s Charity Foundation, she has demonstrated unwavering commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of people in her community, and beyond.

She is a staunch advocate of youth empowerment and leadership, having founded a non-governmental organization dedicated to supporting youths in leadership and empowerment. She is a champion for men’s mental health and leads an advocacy for mental wellness under the Farida’s Charity Foundation called “Men Alive Walk”. The slogan of the initiative is “You are first a human being before being a man”. Lady Prevail has visited 35 states in Nigeria and other African countries, sharing her personal experiences and knowledge on the importance of living a life of impact. 

Furthermore, she has served as a Counselor for the Queen Moremi Ajasoro Leadership and Pageant Initiative 2019, where she was part of the PREVAIL Panel of Judges. She has been recognized for her outstanding contributions with several awards, including the Africa Agenda2063 Ambassador, certification as an International Volunteer (UNV, LPMV, YFSD APSA), Public Health Care Awareness Level 2 & 3, and Mental Health Care International Internship University (Young Innovative African Award).

She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration of Nigeria and a Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Leadership Manpower and Management Development. She is also a Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership Social Works and Community Development, LMMD-UK.

As a Nigerian, who has dedicated her life to serving her community and making a positive impact on people’s lives, Lady. Farida Ahmed’s exceptional achievements in various fields are a testament to her unwavering commitment to excellence and service. Based on her unwavering dedication to community service, youth empowerment, and leadership has earned her several accolades and recognition both nationally and internationally.

When asked about her passion, career path and what brought out the best in her, Hon. Lady Farida Ahmed explained thus “First, I want to thank God for how He guides, leads and directs my path. Although, I was born into a well-to-do family, my father was a man of means, who raised all his children with good things of life. However, we were never brought up for his wealth to get into our heads. Secondly, coming from a polygamous background makes it quite distinct and I saw life in a different perspective having witnessed some situations that were not good enough for me as a child. Parental disputes, rivalry from wives, division amongst siblings, backbiting, etc. As a kid all these did not go down well with me, especially where there were issues between my mother and my stepmother, everything was always a competition. 

Thus, having that experience, I made up my mind about certain things in life. I remember telling my father at the age of twelve that all I wanted to do was finish my studies, build myself a big house, buy a number of cars before getting married so that no man can ever think of marrying another woman after me. My father just laughed, shook his head and said life does not always turn up the way we want it all the time. 

Also, growing up, my father taught us on how to live in peace with other people because we would not live with our parents forever. Therefore, we need to identify our parents, siblings and family wherever we found ourselves, at school, work place or marital home, because whenever anything happens, the first set of people to know are the people around you ever before biological parents. Thus, wherever I found myself, I do not build friendship, I build relationships, I build family. I want everyone to be meaningfully engaged using their respective abilities for the betterment of all, and the society, at large. 

Furthermore, my parents are generous to the extreme – they can give out anything. I learnt the art of generosity from them. I remember when we were in junior school, my father will buy loads of Bata schools shoes and share to every pupil in each of the classes where his children were. Therefore, my parents were first inspiration to me becoming a philanthropist. Then, going forward, I discovered God. Although, I was born into Islam, I converted to Christianity. Nevertheless, that never changed anything about who I am. I got to know God more. Even as a Moslem, I knew the importance of meeting needs, the importance of being there for others and how beneficial it is. 

Those experiences changed my life, shaped my worldview and became who I am now. I believe in making impact. I regard myself as a wealthy woman whose wealth is seen in the lives of the people around her and not in the volume of cash in her bank account. 

Another inspirer, mentor or role model is His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria. I study that man like studying a book or learning a course about him in school. . He is a silent impacter who influences and impacts people’s lives without making any noise about it. But the result of what he has done is the long list of those who have had encounter with him. That speaks volume of who he is. The result and testimonies from those people is huge and amazing. 

What’s more? I thank God for letting me know my purpose in life. It is good to know God but it is another thing to discover your purpose in life. I will be speaking to an international audience on the 8th March and the topic of my speech is what inspires me and the best answer is that I know my place in life.

I know that a man is called to lead and I as a woman was called to inspire. A man can never lead aright and cannot be who he was, who he is or who he will be without a woman. That woman in his life may be his mother, sister, wife or colleague at work. A man cannot lead without an inspiration from a woman. Therefore, my duty as a woman is to be a helpmate and I understand that place.”

Concerning how she has been able to navigate her way through the patriarchal male-dominated environment, the indefatigable humanitarian noted that “I am a strong advocate of men’s mental health. Meanwhile, what I have come to realise is that a man who feels intimidated by a female boss or female colleague, is a product of an unfortunate upbringing. For a man not to realize who he is and the gift he has being a man just as it is possible for a “Prince” not to realise himself as a Prince. Psalm 49: 20 says “A Man that is in honour but understandeth not is like the beast that perish”. Can you imagine being in honour but fails to understand who he is?

Understanding of who you are, your place and role are key to personal success and growth in life. There has been instances where I met such men but once I sensed it, I make them understand who they supposed to be as against the personality they are exhibiting. I made them realise that I did not come to compete with them or to take their place. Rather I was there to help. 

The fact that God placed me as your boss does not mean you were down, unworthy, incapable, or less a man or you are not doing enough. It only means there comes a time in your life when you need to have an opposite gender as the the head in order to have an understanding before getting to an elevated position in life. Meanwhile, have I been brokenhearted or disappointed? Yes, I have been let down, betrayed and hurt by men. 

However, these experiences strengthen my resolve to support and help men realise their position in the scheme of things. Sometimes, we go through stuffs in life so as to have capacity to fix other people’s problems. Never to be an antagonist of men but I saw it as God’s design for me to bring about solutions and a real change. Hence, when I see men who are tough, stiff-necked and unyielding to change, I already have experience of how to deal with the situation. 

Women should endeavour to upgrade themselves from the old into newer version. There is also the need for us to learn something about the hood: parenthood, motherhood, womanhood, sisterhood, etc. Learn from it, pick from it, and polish it to suit your purpose. Women should not neglect their cultural heritage and values in whatever they do. None of my children will greet without doing the proper thing as expected in the Yoruba culture – female kneeling and male prostrating. Whatever men have become today is a result of what women made them become – his mother or the guardian, sisters, female classmates/colleagues. How a mother grooms her son will reflect how he turns out and how he relates with or treats his spouse, female colleagues, other people in his life journey.”  

Speaking on whether there was enough awareness on the need for government to increase the success rate of women in the Nigerian society, Amb. Farida submitted that “It is one thing to create awareness about something and it is another thing to take action about it. There is awareness globally about the plight of the girl child. Apart from making so much noise about it, what are we doing to curb these vices and improve the situation? It is not about talks, rather it is about results. Did you know that children also get depressed? Of course, they do and many times they need the attention. It is not all about putting them in schools but it is the question of whether they are getting the right type of education needed at the particular time, if not, we are still far from the target. 

A girl that has been serially molested and has been through the worst kind of abuse will need something more than pushing her into a school. In the immediate, other forms of education is needed. Certainly, such a child needs orientation to make her believe there is much more to her lives regardless of what she has been through. They need to understand different aspects of their lives. Helen Paul, popular Nigerian entertainment star and a university teacher in the USA came out sometime last year to share the testimony of what she went through as a rejected child. So was Oprah Winfrey, one woman who went through serial rape, gender violence before eventually making it to the global stage in her career doing great things today.” 

Highlighting the goals, activities and milestones achieved by Farida’s Charity Foundation (FCF), Hon. Lady Prevail stated that FCF was established to support, firstly, teenagers, then youth, women and men. The Foundation goes round the clock to affect every live in their respective needs because our classification of teenagers, youth, men and women differ.

Investing in education, promoting awareness campaigns, engaging community leaders are essential to safeguard girl-child’s rights, dignity” Ikpeme

Strong, smart, astute, resilient, focused and a definitive professional, may be a bit close to how to describe her. Ms. Iquo Ikpeme, a graduate of the University of Surrey and University of Ibadan, where she obtained an MBA and a B.Sc Economics, respectively, is an experienced real estate developer who over the years has worked with different real estate companies within the Nigeria’s Real Estate Industry. 

At Rock of Ages Properties, where she is currently the Chief Operating Officer, Iquo is responsible for the overall day-to-day management of business which entails the development and implementation of short and long term strategies, as well as formulation of comprehensive business plans which aligns with the vision and mission of the organization to achieve profitable business growth. Her work experience has been in the acquisition, construction, development, finance and marketing of real estate developments from the year 2000 to date having worked with various real estate development companies including Barratt Homes Guildford – UK, Capital Alliance Real Estate, The Lionstone Group and subsequently, Moorhouse Properties Ltd. 

Some of the notable developments under her purview include the development of 52 residential units in Regal Seaview Estate, Lagos, development of 200 rooms Ibis Lagos Airport Hotel, renovations of 92 rooms Moorhouse Hotel Ikoyi, development of 27 residential units in Rock City Estate Mabushi, amongst other hotel developments, residential and commercial projects, across Nigeria. 

A highly motivated and result-driven person with strong leadership skills, Ms. Ikpeme’s excellent work ethics and ability to communicate effectively with all levels of society speaks volume of her over twenty-four years of post-graduate experience in diverse areas including project management, financial management, property management, deal origination and structuring.

While highlighting her company’s set objectives, milestones and other remarkable achievements in relation to national economic growth and development, she noted that “Rock of Ages Properties – the Real Estate Arm of Chicason Group of Companies Limited, is a wholly owned indigenous Conglomerate. RoAP is into Real Estate Development, Real Estate Management, Real Estate Joint Venture Partnership, Real Estate Public and Private Partnership, Real Estate Facility Management, Letting and Agency, Project Evaluation and Project Consultancy. As a real estate development, construction and marketing company, we have been very active in the real estate market for the past 15 years. We have undertaken a number of residential and commercial real estate projects in those years. We have set ambitious objectives aimed at contributing to national economic growth and development. 

Our milestones and achievements include spearheading innovative real estate projects that drive job creation, infrastructure development, and economic empowerment at both local and national levels. One of those, is our 1000 units mass housing projects in partnership with Trade Union Congress (TUC), Amongst many other projects in Lagos, Enugu, Port-Harcourt, Owerri, and Abuja. We provide quality housing solutions, invest in sustainable development practices, and foster partnerships with Government Agencies and Local Communities, we have made tangible contributions to the socio-economic fabric of Nigeria. 

Due to our active performance in the real estate space, we are committed to developing over 5,000 housing units within the next five years. In doing so, we will be contributing significantly to the economic growth and development of the country by way of offering employment (manual and skilled), income generation, as well as opening up the communities in which our projects are located, such as provision of water to our host communities.”

Speaking on the plight of women in a patriarchal society such as Nigeria, where most women are said to be unjustly treated in terms of individual rights and benefits, Iquo described her experience in the last few years as the Chief Operating Officer at Rock at Ages Properties (RoAP) PLC and within the Sector, as one of navigating through challenges while striving for excellence. 

According to her, “While there are inherent biases and obstacles faced by women in leadership roles, I am proud to have upheld the values of fairness, inclusivity, and meritocracy within our organization. Despite the societal norms, Rock of Ages Properties Ltd has been committed to promoting gender equality and providing equal opportunities for all employees, regardless of gender. Within the sector where we operate, I have encountered both support and resistance, but through perseverance and determination, we have made significant strides in breaking barriers and paving the way for more women to thrive in leadership positions. More women are now taking up team leadership roles within the organization, following the pace that I have set.” 

She explained that “Historically, women have been at the forefront of efforts to educate, empower, and contribute to society, and Nigeria is no exception. Women are redefining, breaking boundaries and making a mark in the Nigeria’s real estate industry. The reality is that Nigeria is undergoing a transformation and so, there are more women participating in the Real Estate market who are challenging traditional norms in a space that was predominantly a male-dominated industry. The change has seen more and more women performing outstandingly throughout the whole real estate value chain – from agents and brokers to property developers, professionals, investors and business executives.” 

In her views, for women to make it to the top in Nigeria, they need to have a strategic vision, effective communication, networking skills, be firm, assertive and very knowledgeable in the field or area of expertise in whatever industry they find themselves in.

In her words, “Sometimes you still get those biases where men still tend to want to talk to a man when a woman is the head of a company or unit head in an organization. Despite facing systemic barriers and cultural norms that perpetuate gender inequality, progress has been made in various spheres and there is still room for improvement in ensuring that women have equal opportunities and representation across all sectors. However, there is a collective responsibility to dismantle discriminatory practices and create an enabling environment that empowers women to reach their full potential and contribute meaningfully to nation-building.”

She stressed further that “As women break barriers in the industry, they automatically serve as role models for young girls and aspiring professionals. By showing what is possible, we are empowering future generations to dream big and pursue their careers without limitation. The achievements and contributions of women in the business generally have proven that gender should never be a hindrance to success. Women leaders must possess a strong sense of purpose, integrity, and emotional intelligence to overcome challenges and inspire others towards shared goals. Moreover, fostering mentorship opportunities, promoting leadership development programs, and advocating for gender-inclusive policies are critical for nurturing the next generation of female leaders and breaking barriers to their advancement.”

On what government should do to protect the rights of girl-child, especially against the backdrop of recent revelations in respect to kidnapping and enforced marriage of underage girls, the indefatigable real estate amazon affirmed that “In light of recent revelations concerning the kidnapping and enforced marriage of underage girls, it is imperative for the government to take decisive action to protect the rights of the girl-child. This includes strengthening law enforcement agencies, implementing stringent measures to combat human trafficking and child marriage, and providing adequate support services for victims. 

Furthermore, investing in education, promoting awareness campaigns on gender-based violence, and engaging with community leaders to challenge harmful traditional practices are essential steps towards safeguarding the rights and dignity of every girl-child in Nigeria. To further safeguard the rights of the girl-child, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development should collaborate with NGOs specializing in girl-child and women’s rights. Specifically, engaging with organizations like International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria, Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), and Women’s Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON) amongst others, can enhance advocacy efforts, provide legal support, and offer essential services to victims. This collaborative approach reinforces the government’s commitment to promoting gender equality and protecting the rights of vulnerable girls.”

How Rural Homes’ success is marked by unwavering commitment to innovation, integrity, energy-efficient housing solutions by, Aliyu

Sa’adatu MD Aliyu, the Managing Director of Rural Homes Limited is a woman of many parts who is driven by the passion for community development with expertise in real estate, creating a dynamic force for positive change in the lives of countless individuals and families.

Speaking on what inspires her as she thrives for excellence at Rural Homes Group, Sa’adatu Aliyu said “From the outset, my vision for Rural Homes Limited has been rooted in a deep-seated commitment to addressing the housing challenges faced by many in our communities. I firmly believe that safe, affordable housing is not just a fundamental right, but a cornerstone for building thriving, sustainable communities. In this role, I have worked tirelessly to turn this belief into action, spearheading initiatives that prioritize inclusivity and access for all.

One of the key pillars of my approach has been a dedication to innovation. recognizing the rapidly evolving landscape of the real estate industry, I have led Rural Homes Limited to embrace emerging technologies and sustainable practices. This forward-thinking mindset has not only allowed us to stay at the forefront of the market but has also positioned us as leaders in the drive towards environmentally conscious and energy-efficient housing solutions.

Central to my philosophy as Managing Director is the belief in the power of collaboration. I have fostered a culture within Rural Homes Limited that encourages open dialogue, creativity, and teamwork. Through strategic partnerships with government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other stakeholders, we have been able to leverage resources and expertise to maximize our impact. Together, we have initiated projects that go beyond bricks and mortar, integrating community spaces, green areas, and educational facilities into our developments.

Furthermore, my tenure as Managing Director has been marked by an unwavering commitment to transparency and integrity. I believe that trust is the cornerstone of any successful enterprise, and I have worked diligently to ensure that Rural Homes Limited operates with the highest standards of ethics and accountability. This commitment has not only earned the trust of our clients and partners but has also positioned us as a beacon of reliability and integrity within the industry.

Looking ahead, my vision for Rural Homes Limited is guided by a steadfast belief in the potential for growth and impact. I am committed to expanding our reach to underserved areas, bringing quality housing options to those who need it most. Additionally, I am actively exploring opportunities for sustainable, affordable housing solutions that can serve as a model for the broader industry.

In truth, my journey as Managing Director of Rural Homes Limited has been a testament to the power of vision, innovation, and collaboration. I am dedicated to the mission of redefining the real estate landscape with a focus on inclusivity, sustainability, and integrity. Together with my team, we will continue to build not just houses, but thriving communities where individuals and families can flourish..

Homes Group is committed to contributing to National Economic Growth and Development by setting objective focused on sustainable real estate development, innovation in marketing strategies, and providing quality service to our clients. Some of our remarkable achievements include achieving high customer satisfaction rating, successful project completions, and effective utilization of digital marketing tools to reach a wider audience

While describing what her experience has been within the male-dominated sector, the Rural Homes boss noted that her experience in the last few years has been positive. According to her “In the sector where I work women are not marginalized or discriminated. The Management is doing a fantastic job in promoting gender diversity and equality. Having female leaders in key positions such as the managing director, head of Human Resources, head of accounting, and head of marketing is a strong indication of the progress being made towards gender inclusivity in my workplace. It is inspiring to see women taking on leadership roles and breaking barriers.”

She spoke further that “While it is true that in a patriarchal society, women have historically faced unjust treatment in terms of individual rights and benefits, it is an unfortunate reality that many women have to navigate. However, it is important to acknowledge that progress is being made towards gender equality. Society is becoming more aware of these issues, and there are movements and initiatives focused on empowering women and promoting their rights. It is crucial to continue advocating for gender equality and challenging the norms that perpetuate inequality. I believe that change is happening. 

There is a growing awareness of these issues, and more and more people are speaking up for gender equality. We’re seeing movements, organizations, and individuals working towards empowering women and fighting for their rights. It is a collective effort, and by continuing to challenge the status quo, we can create a more equal and just society for everyone. Together, we can make a difference!

Concerning ways to educate and empower women in order to contribute to society and whether womenfolk are performing up to expectation in Nigeria, she was affirmative. In her words, “Absolutely, women in Nigeria have been making significant strides in education, empowerment, and societal contributions. From advocating for gender equality to excelling in various fields, Nigerian women are performing up to expectations and making a positive impact. Their determination and resilience continue to inspire and pave the way for future generations.

Nigerian women have been making remarkable achievements in various fields. For example, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian economist became the first woman and African to lead the World Trade Organization, showcasing the incredible talent and leadership of Nigerian women on a global stage. We also have inspiring women like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a renowned author and feminist, who uses her platform to advocate for gender equality and challenge societal norms. We have Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, a women’s rights activist and political leader who fought for women’s suffrage and social justice. Another inspiring figure is Mo Abudu, a media mogul and entrepreneur, who founded EbonyLife TV, a network that showcases African stories and promotes diversity. And let’s not forget about the incredible Nigerian female athletes like Blessing Okagbare, who has achieved great success in track and field, representing Nigeria on the global stage. These women, along with many others, are making significant contributions and inspiring future generations.” 

However she believed that Government has a crucial role in protecting the rights of the girl-child, especially in light of recent revelations about kidnapping and enforced marriages of underage girls. Part of these include strengthen law enforcement, intensifying public awareness campaigns, ensuring access to education, creating of support systems such as helplines, safe houses, and counseling services can provide assistance to girls who are at risk or have experienced kidnapping or forced marriages. These resources can help them regain their freedom and rebuild their lives, as well as collaboration with NGOs.

UCHECHUKWU MOJEKWU: Quintessential HR Strategist, Sought-After Trainer, Driving People to Highest Self-Awareness, Creating Process Optimization for Diverse Organisations

Uchechukwu Mojekwu is a renowned business consultant, speaker, trainer, coach and polymath. She is fondly called the “Rebirth Midwife” by her inner circle, mainly due to her passion for building lasting businesses, helping people attain internal congruence and creating neuropath ways for peak performance, amongst business owners, employees and communities.

With a B.Sc Economics from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and an MBA from ESUT Business School, Uche has evolved into a sought-after trainer who helps corporate organizations, public institutions and entrepreneurs to drive people and process optimization. To her credit, she has trained over 2,000 staff of corporate organizations.

An alumnus of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies Kuru, Jos, she is also a Master Result Performance Consultant of Neuro-Linguistic Programming – an Emotional Intelligence Specialist and a DISC Personality Assessment Consultant. 

As an NLP practitioner, Uche combines both psychology consulting tools, techniques and experiential knowledge to create structures and lasting solutions for businesses. She has over 20 years’ professional experience which cut across Business Process Management and Analytics, Project Management, Human Capital Management, Strategy, Finance, Corporate Leadership and Facilitations. 

An avid learner, a leader, driver and change maker, Uchechukwu Mojekwu is also a Fellow of both the Institute of Strategic Entrepreneurs of Nigeria and Institute of Business Process Management of Nigeria, In her spare time, she shares nuggets of wisdom to teenage and young adult groups, and leverages her voice in communities both on social media and offline.

She served as the Chief Operating Officer at UK-Dion Investment, a non-bank financial institution and was the start-up Business Manager of Ynsynk Nigeria Limited – a Human Resources consulting firm, focused on providing services to the Oil and Gas Sector in Nigeria. She spent about a decade in the financial industry serving in roles encompassing Business Management and Analytics (MIS), Project Management, Strategy and Bank Branch rollout initiatives across Africa.

Uche wears many hats but she really wants to be remembered as the one who was instrumental to driving people to connect to their highest self and operate from that level of awareness. She anchors a Weekly Radio Program: “Think Again With Makarios Utchy”.

Speaking on the issue of patriarchy and how most women are said to be unjustly treated in terms of individual rights and benefits in a male-dominated settings, Uche said she is one of those few women who do not believe that anyone can marginalize anyone, at the long run, in her words, “My Mantra has always been “Power is taken, Power is not given”, Play and Speak to Power and Power will come to you and stay graciously. Power is the ability to create results. During my banking career of over a decade ago, both in Standard Chartered Bank and UBA, I saw people from both genders get promoted and rose to Executive Director positions even to the CEO or got sacked. Interestingly, I have only had one male direct boss – all the bosses I have worked with were women, who poured so much into me. Nene Lawani and Eugina Onyekwelu who is a Director working in Canada and CEO in one of the UBA African subsidiaries, respectively, are a few of such women.” 

She spoke further “On the home front, I was groomed by eight strong women – my mum and seven elder sisters some who have become professors in their chosen fields. Therefore, the conversation around marginalization for women in the 21st Century, is different for me. Both men and women are being marginalized, I have been in rooms and phases in my life where chauvinism was the order of the day, what I did was walk out, gallantly. 

Sincerely, I believe hardcore unrepentant chauvinists need help and healing because their approach reveals a vacuum that they probably have masked all their lives, like inferiority complex or the likes. Essentially, to be human is to love, make room for another human to thrive and grow irrespective of gender.”

Highlighting Makarios Consulting Services Limited’s set objectives and milestones, Uche stated that “The mission of Makarios Consulting is clear. Ours is to equip African businesses to operate professionally to enhance their longevity prospects because the right people and processes are set in place. We also disabuse individual minds of defeatist thinking so they can stop self-sabotaging and start taking massive positive actions for sustained creativity and productivity that will result in innovative solutions, first for the African market and global export. 

Our services include Human Resources Management and Outsourcing; Corporate Training, Enterprise Process Improvement, Executive Coaching. Makarios Consulting’s training and consulting interventions are psychology-based, and that is our niche. We understand that prolonged low performance is more of a mental state issue than it is a skill set problem. 

You would have noticed the focus on psychology and mindset. Yes, this is the missing link in the many interventions imported into Africa. That is why textbook economics has not been able to transport to us our desired economy. We believe strongly that hidden within a people and their immediate environment are the solutions to their thriving and sustenance, Creation will be self-sabotaging if the primary resource required to move an individual or a people forward is resident within an unknown stranger, somewhere in the world.

The question we help our clients answer everyday is, how do we work around people, process, strategy and leadership issues in a way that we can create a business that will outlive us? So, our interventions are focused on giving Africans minds, tools to help us dig deep within and navigate through the intellectual faculties of the mind in a way that unravel answers from deep within. 

Nigerians and Africans are smart and very gifted people; let me explain what has happened to us? Imagine that David wore the gallant but borrowed war regalia of King Saul the day he faced Goliath in battle. it would have been a disaster and his carcass long forgotten. Yet, David made so much impact starting with just a local sling. The nation of Israel celebrated the 2000 reign of King David, recently.

This analogy succinctly describes how we appear dead on arrival when we borrow foreign ideologies and some theories in our work places and offices, for Nigeria to escape being a Third world, we must run with systems and structure that help us dig deep and find answers that are original to us! China did it, so, why not Nigeria?” 

 I am Igbo from Anambra, I spent most of my life listening to the wisdom of the unschooled but deeply intelligent Anambra businessmen as they navigate issues around People, Processes, Business Expansion, Leadership, Product Marketing, etc.  Intelligence is not localized, English language is not the measure of intelligence. Intelligence starts from a deep sense of self efficacy – I CAN, WE CAN, then nature will rally and give you intelligence, wisdom and resources as may be required to achieve your definite aim

Till date, we have worked with fifty organisations in Nigeria and trained more than 3,000 persons across Africa and over 500 Teens, including creating a free mobile library for teens.

Beyond that, we have also discovered a segment of the economy that needs to be impacted; the ones categorized by the CBN as micro and medium enterprises – women whose need is from N100,000 to N1million, They may not be able to pay us, but we know that when their businesses grow, part of our mandate is fulfilled. Therefore, we provide them with a special service that combines Venture Capitalism, Entrepreneurship and Leadership Skills Development, Psychology and Spirituality. One cannot master business without understanding where spirituality and entrepreneurship intersects, as a matter of fact, Economics was taught as a course under Theology before it was removed by the Wall Street capitalists.

At Makarios, we believe that serving women across four cardinal areas – teaching and hand-holding will help them stand, pay their hospital bills, put food on their table and take their kids to school consistently, using a sustainable business model.”  

JOYCE DANIELS:  Consummate Professional, Quintessential Master of Ceremony, Living The African Dream, Creating Opportunity, Inspiring Many To Success

She is bright, witty, sensitive, a consummate professional and one of Africa’s most sought-after event hosts, hosting successfully, over 1,000 high-profile events for energy companies and institutions, financial services, diplomatic communities, multinationals, manufacturing and retail companies, NGOs, religious organizations, governments, and discerning individuals. She is a Quintessential Master of Ceremony, the Queen of Talk and Founder, The Joyce Daniels Organisation. Her name is Joyce Daniels, Public Speaking Coach and Award-winning Author, a true believer in the African dream. Joyce is the Founder of TALKADEMY – Africa’s Premiere Training School for Event Host MCs: training over 1,000 masters of ceremonies across Africa, to hone the craft and business of event hosting, with great success.

While celebrating her tenth year as a speaker, Joyce launched her first publication, “MASTERY” a widely acclaimed comprehensive guide for MCs and individuals seeking to enhance their speaking prowess after which she has written another masterpiece called; “Before You Speak, Read This!”.

Speaking on her experience as Chief Executive Officer of The Joyce Daniels Organisation, considering the patriarchal nature of the Nigerian society whereby most women are said to be unjustly treated in terms of individual rights and benefits, she affirmed that she has been fortunate to receive mostly fair treatment on her path as an Event Host MC and corporate trainer in the field of Effective Communication, Presentation Skills and Public Service and said she is grateful. In her words, “In 16 years, I have encountered only one situation where I was asked to accept less pay than my male colleague, due to my gender. The man in charge of negotiations in this case, said he could not justify why I would earn so much when I was not a man, and therefore not ‘bread winner’ in my home. This does not negate the daily reality that some other women are sidelined due to gender or marital status.”

Highlighting the set objectives, milestones, innovation and other remarkable achievements of The Joyce Daniels Organisation in relation to national economic growth and development, the Queen of Talk noted that “As a company we have two key objectives, to empower mid to senior level executives to speak CONFIDENTLY at meetings and industry events globally and locally. Through our flagship training ‘Prepare To Speak’ which was launched in 2023, we have already trained executives from five countries around the world, who are commanding stages at global forums.

Secondly, we are positioned to train and equip Event Host MCs to showcase global best practices on stage, and in relating with clients and engaging audiences. We have successfully trained over 1,000 Event Host MCs across Africa, and we hope to train 300 more, year on year. This has significantly increased the earnings of young men and women who were otherwise unemployed or underemployed.”

In her response to the issues of inherent power of Women, the need to educate and empower women to effectively contribute to society; and whether womenfolk are performing up to expectation in Nigeria, Joyce submitted that “It is safe to say the needle has moved in the corporate arena, with more business savvy women in the workforce, commercial-led roles, more women on boards and executive levels of leadership. Several organisations have improved policies around gender sensitivity, inclusion and equity, thereby allowing more women to succeed in the workplace.

More women are also leading enterprises which solve problems around cybersecurity, proptech, fintech, food insecurity, education and leadership, so yes, I say we are making progress in the right direction. There is still a long way to go, as many of the limiting factors are deeply rooted in culture, religion and biology. For today I celebrate our wins.”

In expressing her opinion on the qualities required or needed for a woman to make it to the top in Nigeria, the Compere’s Compere pointed out that “To make it to the top in any field in Nigeria and beyond, every woman will develop and apply  the qualities of self-awareness, resilience – which I like to call ‘Bouncebackability’, teachability, and courage to take action premised on confidence and boldness.

These in no small measure have greatly helped me on my journey. My role models and mentors also allude to these.”