•Hardworking ladies distinguishing themselves doing jobs traditionally reserved for men
By Vivian Onyebukwa and Vera Wisdom-Bassey
What a man can do, a woman can do even better – so goes the famous aphorism. These days, there seems to be a lot of truism in the saying. Indeed, nowadays, a lot of women are venturing into most of those businesses hitherto believed were meant exclusively for men and predominantly occupied by men.
Women are now found in those businesses and professions such as shoe and bag making, building construction, commercial car driving and others.
In a place like Lagos, for instance, it is now a common sight seeing women operating commercial vehicles like the Danfo bus, Korope, Keke NAPEP, and the like. There are women also that have become barbers, mechanics, and bus conductors, among others.
Saturday Sun looked out for some of such women made up of the young and the old, and they shared some of their experiences in those male dominated world in which they have found themselves.
Chioma Madueke is a BSc holder in Accounting. She also has a Masters Degree in International Business. She has been in the business of shoe making since 2017 even though she never dreamt of doing such a business. .
As a young girl who grew in a male dominated environment, Madueke said she had always had a stint for men’s fashion. “I would admire the footwear and other leather accessories but never thought I would veer into that path in my future. But that was until I finished my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Bayelsa State. Somehow, I knew I didn’t want to fully give my life to Accounting even though I was pursuing my professional exam then. I got a watering and enticing job offer but I didn’t accept it. And, at that time, I seemed foolish. Thank God for His grace and guidance,” she told Saturday Sun.
According to her, a friend visited and she saw his footwear and was marvelled at the craft. It was then that she inquired from the friend how he got the footwear. She informed that further enquiries indicated that, to fulfil her passion, she would have to relocate from the South-East to Lagos. That was how she moved to Lagos. But she never told her parents or anybody her true intentions for moving to Lagos.
Said she: “I gathered all my savings from my NYSC and went to register to train in shoemaking. I remember that my boss laughed at me and gave me a short time to quit because according to him, many ladies had come and gone, but I was determined to prove him wrong. It has been years and he sees how determined I have been and still is because there are still lots of things to learn.”
This is how her label, “MADU Labels”, a registered company emerged and she started making unisex footwear, belts and more. She said she had hopes of diversifying more into other leather works in the future.
To her, it has been a fulfilling journey amidst the self doubts and societal expectations. She expressed gratitude to her great friends and clients who pushed and believed in her from then and now.
She confessed that her love for men’s fashion pushed her into the business. “I am very fascinated with shoes, especially. And when I saw the opportunity and a signal by God that this was it, I went all in for it. Honestly, I didn’t know it was something I would grow or plan to expand but the truth is that clarity comes once we start,” she stated.
In all that one does, there must be challenges. In her case, she said she failed and fell a number of times but the passion never went away. She maximized on the strength of her passion to keep pushing.
Another challenge into the male dominated industry, she said, was when some people underrated what one can do even without trial. “Though the competition is here to stay, we know we are here not to compete but to serve. Another major challenge is the inability to get staff that are willing to build with one after learning the craft. Usually, everyone would want to learn and go to start theirs which is not bad. But of course, this is a general challenge for many businesses given the business culture in Nigeria.
Talking about intimidation by her customers, she said: “At the beginning, It was because I was afraid of the reception. I underrated what we were creating. But not anymore. The proofs are there that we represent standard quality for every tribe and people. We have clients from all over the world and that is a great boost. We started by trying to prove to people that we can do it but now, our work speaks for us. I remember the most recent one where a client had ordered some footwear since three years ago and constantly wore them until he left the shores of the country. They contacted us to say that a foreigner saw the design and wanted same. This isn’t the first but the most recent. So, how could one doing this and still be intimidated? We see our customers as family and we work earnestly to build on that. The feeling is great when you have clients that don’t patronise out of pity but always return and refer us without knowing us physically except virtually. I appreciate all our clients for their immerse trust, irrespective of the scandalous happenings with businesses today. We are most grateful.”
She explained that her brand has no plan to quit. In her words, “there is no quitting for us. I use “us.” Be sure Madu Labels has grown beyond me. Maybe not in numbers, but many people get hope, inspiration and satisfaction from what we do and we can’t afford to give up on that. I would say we are in it forever as we hope to build something that will stand the test of time and keep dreams alive too.”
Madueke advised other women to take that great step. “Let’s take the giant stride,” she counselled. “The world is actually friendlier than we believe. So, rise above the doubts and fears and do what you have to do. We can do and be the best, not in competition with the male gender but because it is in us to be the best and make the world a happier and better place. Now, let’s go and win some more.”
Florence Onyinye Akuma, a Yoruba woman from Ondo State, is married to an Igbo man. She makes bags, although she never went for the training. According to her, she only learned how to sew clothes before she got married. She was driven into making bags when she was not doing well in cloth sewing business. “I was not getting customers, but I knew that my finishing was always neat. I did not learn it even though I tell people that I trained for it so that they don’t look down on my job.”
One other thing that motivated her to start making bags was the poor quality of works she got from her customer who used to make her children’s school bag. When she eventually confided in that customer that she needed to learn how to make bags, she was discouraged by the woman’s attitude towards that.
“When I told her, I discovered that she was not willing to teach me. So one day I took a bold step and went to buy the materials and started. When I finished, it was even better than the one that the woman used to make for my children,” she said.
Her business started expanding, she said, when she started taking her items to her fellow members in church in Mushin, Lagos.
“They started sending to me online what they wanted. I sew rain coat, school bags, travel bags, lunch boxes, handbags, fancy bags for ladies, among others. Now I am making money because the business is lucrative. Everybody uses bags, whether young or old.”
She also informed that she has been in the business for five years, adding that her dream is to expand more in the nearest future.
Another woman operating in a man’s world is Aminatu, popularly known as Iya Fatai. The woman is currently in her 80s. She started at the early age of about 12 years when she ventured into building construction. Aminatu, who spoke through an interpreter, said even as she was giving birth to her children, she was doing the work. “Most of my children are abroad. It was with this job that I trained them. Even at my age, I still do the job. I now have other women that work with me.”
A native of Osogbo, Osun State, Aminatu said she has been living in Lagos since childhood. Even at her age, she still scouts for construction work anywhere in Lagos. She still wakes early in the morning to scout for where construction work is needed so she could bid for the contract. “If I get a contract, I would take my workers along and supervise them on the job. My brother who is a bricklayer, takes me along when he gets a job so I could work with him.”
Iya Fatai who lives in Ijegun, Lagos, has vowed to stay in the business for as long as she lives. “I will do this work until I die. I am still strong. God gave me the power,” she told Saturday Sun.
Commercial female drivers are no longer new on the roads these days. While some of them drive the popular buses called Danfo, some use their private cars as commercial vehicles. They ferry passengers to and fro local, intrastate and interstate routes. There are those who even travel outside the shores of the country. Such women ferry passengers to places as far as Ghana, Togo, and other African countries.
Women, who drive the mini bus called Korope and the tricycles known as Keke NAPEP are also on the increase.
Iya Shade, as she is simply called, is a commercial female driver who usually plies the Obafemi Awolowo Road route in Ikeja. She takes passengers to Shoprite, Alausa, through the Expressway. “My job gives me joy, especially when I am going home with N30,000 to N50,000 each day.
She told the reporter that she has done this for close to three years and does not intend to stop for now since she is making good money out of it. She recalled that she went into the business as a result of unemployment.
Another woman, a well known Keke NAPEP driver, Ogechi Okafor, who operates from Cele to Gate, said she has been driving Keke for more than four years. A native of Ihiala, Anambra State, she said that driving Keke is what she does to help herself.
Relating some of her challenges in the business, she blamed some of her male colleagues and officials of the Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) for being hostile to the female drivers. She accused them of trying to push them out of the business. She subsequently appealed to the government to come to their rescue, noting that it is not easy with the women.
On how long she intends to remain in the business, she said: “I just want to use the opportunity to make some money and establish another business such as a provision store or beer parlour.”
For those who think that only men are capable of operating buses on distant routes for commercial purposes, they have yet to meet Justine Segbe from Barttor, in Volta Region of Ghana.
Segbe is a strong and dynamic woman who drives luxury buses and trailers. According to her, she started with Chisco Transport as an international driver, and later joined the Young Shall Grow Motors driving also from Nigeria to Ghana. Now, she said, she works with GUO Motors
Her dexterity is well known in the West Coast of Africa, which explains why she won awards from Chisco Motors and others back then. This is a trade that she has used to train her children in school, she told Saturday Sun.
A mother of two, Segbe said she started driving since 1993, moving from Nigeria to Ghana, Liberia, Cote-D’Ivoire and other countries in West Africa.
She told Saturday Sun: “Even though the field is very difficult, when the men try to disturb me, I try to co-operate with them. I am quite popular on the route. Most passengers prefer to ride in my bus to see the woman who is driving a luxury bus.
Sometimes this does not go well with my male colleagues. They get infuriated and become jealous and complain so many ill things about me to the management. They don’t like the fact that everybody is talking about me. Almighty God has been there for me. Without Him, I couldn’t have done it; God is my strength. I must confess that I find it difficult some times. Being a woman driving a luxury bus is not easy.”
The route she plies takes about 15 hours and she still does the same route and the same number of hours the very next day. Some of her passengers describe her as a very careful driver. That, it was gathered, has prompted many passengers to prefer travelling on her bus each time she is on duty.
She stated that when she gets to the borders, all the Immigration and Customs officers smile and compliment her because she does what many women cannot do.
Some women also get themselves engaged as bus conductors just to make ends meet.
At Ijegun, Lagos, Franca Joseph, a native of Akwa Ibom cuts people’s hair with passion. With the smiles on her face and attitude towards her male customers, she has been able to win their souls of male customers that they usually prefer her to cut their hair. Though she has done the job for close to two years working for someone, she plans to open her own barbing salon. “People keep wondering why I am into barbing, but I derive satisfaction doing it. It’s something I have passion for.
I don’t believe that there is no job that is exclusive to men. What is needed is the ability and passion to do whatever it is perfectly,” she told the newspaper.
Even though her relations tried to persuade her to leave the job, she has became adamant, saying parents should allow their children to go for their passion, insisting that human beings are born differently.