We must be adventurous and creative!
Write up by:
Hannah Ojo
on June 2, 2013
in the Nation Newspaper
THE cool ambience of the Golden Gate Restaurant, Ikoyi, did well
in setting guests at ease at an event that was to become an expose of
knowledge and celebration of women who have displayed extraordinary
courage in the Nigerian society. The occasion was the launching of the
Women of Substance Magazine by Ms. Ify Onyegbule, a
broadcaster-turned-women’s rights advocate. On-air personality, Cordelia
Okpei, hosted the event to the delight of all.
Veteran broadcaster, Mrs. Bimbo Oloyede, who gave the key note
address, took the audience on a voyage of discovery when she gave an
insightful lecture on “Mentoring and Nurturing: a path to positive
development”. In her address, she corrected the impression of many who
tend to associate the word mentor and role model to mean the same thing.
“A mentor is an experienced person who advises a less experienced
person, while a role model is someone one admires even though one may
not have had personal contact with them,” she said. Describing
mentorship as a huge responsibility, she advised that mentors must
create opportunities for protégées to connect with them. This they can
do by creating specific opportunities that would help nurture them. She
quoted the words of Mark Twain; “to get the full value of joy, you must
have someone to share it with,” to illustrate her points.
For the protégées, they also must recognise that mentorship is not a
right but a service, hence the need to appreciate the opportunity by
being submissive and understanding. She also advised that protégées
should be adventurous and creative. “All the advice in the world would
not take you anywhere if you are not a risk taker, she stressed.” She
urged protégées to be available on demand and also take to criticism.
Other guests who graced the event included Chief Mrs. Opral Mason
Benson, former Lagos State deputy governor, Princess Sarah Sosan, who
was represented by Dr. (Mrs.) Ayo Sobowale from LASU, Dr Quincy Ayodele
of Quincy Herbal Slimmers, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, founder of Women Arise,
Mrs. Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, Mrs. Betty Ubeku, Regional Chair, West Africa
Women Association(WAWA), and Mrs Toyin Onanuga who represented the
deputy governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Dr
Samuel Pimpim, a Ghanaian-American who is into youth advocacy, and a
host of other personalities.
The event which also coincided with the 40th birthday of the
convener, Ms. Onyegbule also featured a presentation of awards to
deserving individuals such as Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, a recent recipient
of the International Women of Courage award. Others who also received
awards were Dr. Keziah Awosika and Oluwatoyin Adesola, a sickle cell
victim who also runs an NGO.
The highlight of the event was the launching and public presentation
of the Women of Substance Magazine, which according to the editor, Ms
Onyegbule, came to be as a result of her adventure with risk-taking. She
further added that her experience with the Women of Substance TV
programme which ran for over three years on TV Continental has
reinforced in her the need to go the extra mile to get extra ordinary
results. The vision of the magazine, she said, is to celebrate women
achievers and also raise a generation of women who are goal-oriented and
also create a society where women are bold enough to come out and
contest elections and not just get compensated with political
appointments.
