BY MOSES NOSIKE
Mrs. Adeola Azeez is  the chairperson of WIMBIZ, an organisation that advocates women empowerment and contribution in the society. Azeez is a seasoned correspondent banker with Deutsche bank, an organisation  she has worked with for over two decades.

In this interview , she emphasises the need for women education and empowerment.

It’s said that when you empower a woman, you are definitely building a nation, to what extent do you believe this statement?

Azeez

It seems that people are only just waking up to see what women…our mothers before us, have been saying for generations and that is “women matter”. It is for this reason and more that WIMBIZ was formed 11 years ago. Therefore, for women to be empowered, they must first be educated so that once empowered, their impacts will be felt  in every aspect of society.

WIMBIZ, as an organisation, is working towards redressing the inbalances of power in our boardrooms,  government and society as a whole, thereby creating more and more opportunities for women to become empowered and take control. It is because of our passionate belief in that very statement that we have become the catalyst that elevates the status and influence of women and their contribution to nation building in Nigeria.

We want our country to be all it can be. However, we do not believe that feat is possible without Nigeria first  throwing its doors open to the input, support and creativity of its women. It’s been proven severally, that women’s empowerment is catalytic and central to achieving social and economic goals on many levels. And countries that expand opportunities for women achieve greater prosperity.  So, as a nation, it is time to pay attention and address the overwhelming need to empower our increasing female population.

Tell us various ways women can be empowered to impact on the society?

Education is one of the foremost ways we need to utilise in empowering women. Unfortunately, even tradition has worked against us in this regard, with women being considered a less profitable investment and encouraged to focus on just being good wives and mothers. However the reality is, when you educate a man, you educate an individual; when you educate a woman, you educate a whole nation. This is because, we are the core of any family, and it is in our very nature as women to nurture and educate; passing on knowledge from generation to generation. So a nation that seeks to uplift the standard of living of her people needs to stop relegating the educational needs of her women to the background.

When we talk about empowering the Nigerian woman,the northern sisters must be on focus also. I personally believe that in comparison to their counter parts in the West and the South, Northern women have allowed themselves to be relegated to the background. I want to urge them to end the dichotomy, to find their voice and stand up and be counted as part of the process helping to build a well rounded nation.

As an organisation, WIMBIZ can provide them with the tools they need to change, but they have to be willing and ready to walk through our doors before we can help. They ultimately have the power to bring change and get the wheels turning for empowerment in their regions.

Access to entrepreneurial funding is another key issue that needs to be addressed.  With many women breaking out of the traditional 9 to 5 environment to create their own business ventures, female-owned businesses are now one of the major employers in Nigeria. However, not too long ago, many organisations were still reluctant to back female-owned businesses financially and held back on doing business with them.

Now, slowly but surely, the tide is beginning to turn. Women have proven themselves to be equally as competent in running successful enterprises. Research has also shown women to be more credit-worthy and adept at managing investor funding. The financial sector is starting to see the trend. They are doing the maths and their attitude and mindset towards women-owned businesses is changing. Now more than ever, WIMBIZ is being approached by financial organisations, NGO’s and government projects; asking us to help identify suitable women they can invest in.

We also applaud the Central Bank, who through their financial inclusion strategy, are making  available funding at the grass roots level, to SME’s irrespective of gender. Based on their policies, small business owners can go through banks to obtain loans at low interest rates.

This is great news of course, but we need more,more organisations willing to invest, better interest rates and more women willing to take advantage of these emerging opportunities.

Our government, banks, and investors etc. all need to come together to ensure that female run SME’s have the same access to funding and contracts as their male counterparts. We also need to bring women out of the shadows where political roles are concerned.

Women still continue to aspire to leadership positions in all spheres of governance both in the public and private sectors. Great strides have been made in the political realm with our current government holding the record for the highest number of women in positions of authority than at any other time in our history. While we applaud this, there is still room to ensure that this current participation continues to translate into equal representation in political leadership positions.

In comparison to other African nations, Nigeria still lags behind on female representation in government. Women make up more than half of one house of Rwanda’s legislature, a fact that sets the country apart, not just in Africa but globally. Of the other twenty countries boasting the largest proportion of female representation in 2012, seven were African.

Nigeria needs to start putting the policies in place to address this glaringly obvious issue.  Politics should be more about character and policies; not money and lineage. Women should not be viewed as supporting acts but as front runners, deserving of the same level of support and financial backing as any of their male counter-parts running for office.

What is your organisation doing to ensure that women are fairly empowered and given their rightful position in the society and at the same time be useful in their homes?

A huge focus for WIMBIZ as an organisation is providing women with the tools to acquire these leadership positions and training them to utilise the opportunity; not just for their own career enhancement but for the good of our society. We do this by providing training, mentorship, advocacy and access to a network of women and organisations with the standing to help women aspire to their goals in all areas, corporate, entrepreneurial and political.

We are not advocating women to turn away from their traditional roles as wives and mothers; but rather giving them the tools they need to achieve a work- life balance that work for their individual lifestyles.

Our aim is to promote leadership, and encourage women to make an impact. We are constantly partnering  other like -minded agencies, both local and international to identify and assist women capable of making this impact.

Some of our home grown initiatives include our Winning Without Compromise (WIWIC) which focuses on preparing undergraduates on workplace balance, business and health through interactive session with established female professionals in various fields. We also focus very highly on mentorship, advocacy and so much more.

WIMBIZ is continually developing innovative, effective ways to help these young women improve their lives and harness the collective power of their wisdom and creativity. We understand that investing in empowering young women in leadership is essential to social change now and for the future.