“No women farmers, no food! No food on the table, no nation!” This was the chant I heard during a recent press conference for small-holder women farmers in Nigeria; it would turn out to be the motto for the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON). The truth in the message was so resonant, especially with […]
Happy New Year! I know it’s the end of January and the title of this piece is everything but happy. However, the greeting too has become perfunctory, much like routine phrases such as “Good morning” or “How are you?”—often expressed without genuine interest. However, that’s not the story. My motivation for writing this piece stems […]
The progress recorded by NIMC for NIN (National Identity Number) enrolment in the past two years makes one wonder what it could mean for financial inclusion targets. Imagine a situation where an individual is automatically signed up for a mobile wallet or bank account at the point of NIN enrolment; that would easily translate to […]
“Our culture unconsciously helps with the patriarchal way. Girls are socialised to be modest to avoid triggering the wrong attention, while boys are socialised to see sexual abuse as a badge of honour. When it comes to emotional and psychological abuse, men don’t talk about it.” – Ini Abimbola These are the paraphrased words of […]
My foray into the development space was rather serendipitous, after years of working as a Segment Manager focused on the youth demography in two of the leading financial institutions in Nigeria. Serendipitous, because I transitioned into a Programmes Manager role in a not-for-profit that was equally youth focused, but that was the main similarity between […]
In continuing the Women’s Month celebration, the SCwN and VFD Group partnership continued, this time to highlight how the Group chooses to challenge gender inequality in the marketplace. The conversation was with Theresa Ezeh, the Managing Director of Everdon Bureau de Change who was the Head of VFD Group Treasury Unit prior to this role. Starting the […]
Earlier on in my career, I had a couple of interesting experiences bordering on gender related stigmas, most likely relatable for many other women too. One of the experiences involved a senior female colleague disparaging my request to my male supervisor to work half-day on my antenatal appointment days; because, according to her she didn’t […]
I am particularly excited to write this article for two reasons – first is, I am an ex-Diamond (proudly so) and secondly, would like to share my perspective of my interactions with Uzoma and what I refer to as his ‘Un-Nigerian-ness’. Uzoma Dozie was the last Managing Director of Diamond Bank, Nigeria. He is the […]
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA) to me, had been one of those astronomical projects that would only exist on paper as a fantastic plan. It is, however, exciting to see it gradually come to fruition and hopefully, it will take shape and fulfil the expected short and long term benefits it espouses. With […]
Last month, just around the time Nigeria officially slipped into a recession, my dear friend Akanimoh, thought it would be a good idea to talk about The Role of Entrepreneurship in Diversifying Nigeria’s Economy – just as well that the conversation theme for the month was Entrepreuenship. It was an absolute delight to have two […]