Considering that I had a great team, I didn’t have to be fully involved, so I stepped aside to focus on other projects, leaving the baseline survey in the hands of my competent team. Beyond speaking to the lecturer on phone and exchanging a couple of emails, I didn’t get to meet the lecturer face-to-face until after about three months into his consultancy. Whenever we spoke on phone, he would say, ‘You travel too much. Ehnn, must you always travel? It will be nice to put a face to the voice.’
And I will jokingly reply, ‘Ah! I’m just a 50 year old woman trying to grow a business and my hair is all grey from that.’ About three months into the project, the lecturer and I finally met. It was a very brief and awkward meeting. As part of the baseline survey, we had to hold a Focus Group Discussion and that served as an opportunity to meet with him. It was obvious he was shocked that I was not as old as he had assumed or maybe not as old as I have constantly joked about.
If he had attempted to hide his disapproval of discovering that I was younger than I had joked, the expression on his face didn’t help much. Immediately after the event, I rushed to the airport and as I was about boarding, I got a phone call from him. And he said, ‘You should have waited for us to have lunch together’. ‘Oh! I’m so so sorry. I have to catch a flight to Kano. We can fix a date once I return’ I replied. He went on, ‘Deshola, I am a chauvinist. I don’t believe in women aspiring to high positions.
Women are supposed to sit at home and look after the children. A woman’s place is in her husband’s house. I don’t understand you! If not for the respect I have come to have for your company, I won’t be working for you. You are too young for all this.’ Oh dear! This is 2013. Who does that? Here comes 2014, how many Mr. Lecturers do we have out there? How many men still believe a woman’s place is tied to the kitchen. Who will help men like Mr. Lecturer wake up from their outdated thinking? There are thousands of sisters out there that dream big. They dream of becoming great entrepreneurs like Ibukun Awosika, Modupe Abudu, Tara Durotoye, Adenike Ogunlesi amongst several others.
So many young women dream to rise and take leadership positions like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, Hajiya Amina Az-Zubair So, what difference will 2014 make for young female entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs if by the end of the year Nigeria does not have a policy that is meant to guide and encourage young female entrepreneurs? If in this age, several highly educated men still believe that a woman’s place is solely in the kitchen then Nigeria is truly in a terrible situation.
How can we salvage the situation? It is important to note that there are millions of men like Mr. Lecturer and that is why as a young entrepreneur who works hard to make a living, there are still certain places you can’t walk into without a man by your side. Recently, I was called for an impromptu meeting and the call came in while I was driving with a female colleague, so we made a quick stop at the venue of the meeting – which was a small meeting.
When the convener saw us, he said, ‘Deshola, where are the men on your team? You need to call them. We can’t have the meeting without the men!’ And to think that I am the CEO of the company and employer of the men! Oh please! In 2013? Yikes.
I can’t help wondering what will be different for young female entrepreneurs in the New Year. Nigeria is yet to have policies that will support us. Government efforts are still scattered. There is no inter-ministerial council that will coordinate what now looks like piecemeal efforts of government that are meant to support young female entrepreneurs.
I hope in 2014, Nigeria will create polices that will see to the emergence of more young female entrepreneurs. I dream that when such policies are considered, young women will be given the opportunity to shape the policy in line with the required values that we hope for.
I hope Nigeria and Nigerians will create platforms for mentorships of young female entrepreneurs across the 36 states of the federation. I hope in 2014, we will have an inter-ministerial council that will watch over the affairs of young female entrepreneurs as put forward by the government.
I hope that in 2014, men like Mr. Lecturer will have reasons to begin to think differently about young female entrepreneurs.
After all, all we need is just space to contribute to the economic development of our country and to provide options besides what the men have to offer. Ms. Komolafe is chief executive of Media Insight, a communication business outfit based in Abuja premiumtimesng.com
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