THE OKONJO-IWEALA WHO SELLS AKARA
Samuel Enyi Otsapa
Samuelotsapa@gmail.com
08038127832
080547886
Samuel Enyi Otsapa.
I readily agree and ‘sympathize’ with those saying women should challenge and develop themselves like Professor Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first African and woman likely to become the DG of the WTO, World Trade Organization. However, where I make a detour is that not every woman should aim to become like Okonjo-Iweala – and that as long as a woman is resourceful and adds value to society, whether she is educated or not, she is an Okonjo-Iweala; the new official example for a successful Nigerian woman. Therefore, the argument is: as a woman, find something positive to do and be good at it – nothing more!
Consider this: if every woman is an academic professor, who’ll sell tomatoes, tatashe and fish to us in the market? If every woman is a minister, who’ll make-up our wives, mothers, slay queens, sisters and daughters during that very important family event? If every woman is a potential WTO DG, who’ll sell that akara, bons, cake, kunu, zobo, pounded yam and pocho, that we love to eat and drink? Are women engaged in these businesses less important than Professor Okonjo-Iweala? No they are not – because like Professor Okonjo-Iweala, they consistently add value and gain to society!
For lovers of akara (edible balls made from beans) like me, you’d agree that there are akara and there are akara! Growing up in Kaduna metropolis in the late 80s and early 90s, there was a particular akara seller (an Igala woman) that we’d all queue to buy akara from. Was she the only akara seller in my neighborhood and neigboring neighborhoods? No! But she makes the most tasty akara and so everyone wants hers, even if one had to wait for 30 minutes for one’s turn. Recently, i visited with my old neighborhood and saw her still selling akara at the same spot. I went over to greet her, she remembered me and told of how ‘long’ and skinny I was while in primary school. And from my old neighborhood ‘storytellers’, I got to know that she has since built herself a very comfortable house (costing millions) and had sponsored her three children from primary to tertiary from selling ‘ordinary’ akara on a street.
Unlike Professor Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, this akara seller has no formal education (and of course we encourage today’s girls/women to become educated) but like Professor Okonjo-Iweala, she is adding value to herself, her immediate family, her community and Nigeria! And for the many who patronize her, she is the undisputed Okonjo-Iweala of the akara ‘industry’ – and we ought to celebrate her just as we celebrate and are proud of the achievements of Professor Okonjo-Iweala. And yes, like Professor Okonjo-Iweala, our amiable akara seller should be a role model and an example to young girls (and young men, too) aspiring to go into business for in her they’d learn hardwork, diligence, consistency, determination, goal-setting, self-development and the penchant to be the best in one’s chosen profession, career and/or vocation.
