Eight prominent female professionals who have excelled in their various fields of specialization were Thursday inducted into the MMS Plus Woman of Fortune Hall of Fame in Lagos.
Among the women who also received awards were Priscillia Ogwemoh, Managing Partner, Olisa Agbakoba Legal; Funke Agbo, SAN, Senior Partner, Adepetun Carton-Martins Agboh & Segun (Barr & Solicitor); Dr. Amy Jadesimi, Managing Director , Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base(LADOL); Chief (Mrs) Ijeoma J. Uche-okoro, Director Legal Services, Federal Ministry of Transport; Dr. (Mrs) Lucy S. Newman, Managing Director Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC).
Others were Mrs Chinyere Annie Okonkwo, Director, Topwide Ventures Limited; Janet Adeyemi, President, Women in Mining and Sylvia Asana Own, Deputy Chief Executive officer, Ghana Shipping Authority, Ghana. Asana was said to have travelled out of Ghana and could not immediately connect a flight to Lagos.
The women were seen as mentors to young women having excelled in their areas of specialization despite the challenges as women. The women succeeded even with the notion in some quarters that women were weak and unfit for such fields like oil and gas, mining and engineering.
The awardees testified how they were able to make it despite all the challengers, and urged young women not to be discouraged but to brace up in their areas of specialization. The President of Women Arise for Change Initiative, Dr Joe Odumakin encouraged all women in every sectors and fields to be united and to always try to fight for the rights of women everywhere they find themselves.
She advised women occupying important positions to also encourage younger ones as a kind of support for them to excel. Similarly, Dr. (Mrs) Lucy, one of the recipients of the award, was of the view that government should put in place a law that allows women to own properties they can use to apply for loans for business purposes.
She also advised that savings account should be opened for a child as soon as she/he enters school and money should be constantly deposited in it for the child. She advised government to provide a law that will make companies to contribute five percent of their revenue for corporate social responsibility .
Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Barr Hassan Bello who represented the Hon. Minister of Transport was full of commendation for MMS, adding that it has gone beyond journalism practice to also practise in the industry. Bello noted that there were women who have already occupied the pinnacle of the industry as captains.
He said there was the need to cultivate the habit of allowing young women to replace the old. ones, adding that the NSC was already involved in mentorship. The Minister of Transport, he said, supports the programme and congratulates the organisers of WOFHOf.
The event which was held at the Federal Palace Hotel , Victoria Island Lagos also featured a a book launch titled “Mentorship: The Link to Effective Leadership “.
Culled from shipping-day.com