FWM: You have an unflinching support for the downtrodden, including rural women and orphans. What do you see when you look at them?
I see potentials, I see promises, I see prospects. I see people who can be as good as their contemporaries all over the world and in all other spheres of human endeavor but are living a life that may be entirely undiscovered and deprived for lack of opportunities. King Solomon, he was reputed to be the wisest king that ever ruled the Jews. He wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes that “…nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.” He has my best explanation of human fortunes. None of us chose our parents, our countries or the events that define our existence. There are people who are working hard but their life situations have already limited what they can ever achieve. So when I look at the “downtrodden”, I see people who could have been me or anyone else! when I support them, I am doing just the kind of thing I think I would wish someone would do for me if I were in that situation.
FWM: Can you please share a few stories with the women and children that forever changed your life?
I have seen women start a business with 5000 naira (less than 15 USD) and used the proceeds from that trade to finance their children in Universities! I have interacted with the proprietress of an orphanage, who woke up one morning, swept her compound and went to dump the garbage in the dumpster, only to hear an abandoned baby crying in the refuse bin! He was rescued, it was a handsome boy. This woman went ahead to adopt the baby with no money but was supported by the church. Then she went a step further and set up an orphanage, with nothing but just her faith and love for humanity. Today that orphanage has saved several hundred young people, some of whom are now graduates, doing very well in life. One thing that overwhelms me is the strength in these people. The more I look at them, I realized that I can’t remain in my comfort zone. There is a lot going on out there, a lot needs to be done. I just have to roll up my sleeves and join the effort and contribute my best!
FWM: What do you want the world to know about Nigeria?
You cannot form an opinion of Nigeria without interacting with some real Nigerians! What happens most of the times is that people want to make easy money, so they fall into the trap of scammers, then everyone goes agog, accusing every Nigerian of being a fraudster! It has gotten so bad that in my travels, I have realized that even Nigerians living in diaspora are very afraid of dealing with their fellow Nigerians! The media has painted a very false image of a country of over 200 million people and happen to have a few bad eggs. It is unfortunate. To make matters worse, most of our political class has crippled the economy with mind-boggling graft, making us not only poor but also damaging our national profile further, with Nigeria being labeled “fantastically corrupt” in some quarters. But Am grateful for a CNN documentary a while back detailing that Nigeria has the highest number of Ph.D.’s in America, and the highest number of university enrollments, more than any other group of immigrants from other nationalities and even beating the American average per number of people! I am sure other countries if they will want to let you know, will also have similar records. The real Nigerians are very honest, strong, hard-working, and extremely smart people, very dynamic with an unquenchable spirit, driven for success. A country blessed with human and natural resources. I have strong faith in the future of Nigeria.
FWM: Tell us about your work with domestic violence victims in Africa. Why is this so important to you?
I feel the imperative need to break the barrier of fear! We live in a society where our mothers endured domestic battery in silence, some of them losing their lives, all in a bid not be stigmatized as being “bad wives”, “bringing shame to their families” “Being driven out of their matrimonial homes, leaving their children to be maltreated by callous stepmothers,” etc. These are the typical African stories… As a result of these fears, domestic violence persisted among us. Women endured the unendurable with the cold hands of fear clamping their mouths shut! They are unable to speak out. When a woman is subjected to domestic violence in silence, her daughters learn that this is ‘normal’ and will be mentally attuned to accept it in future and their sons feel it is a way to deal with domestic arguments-thus the vicious cycle perpetuates! When people are abused, it reduces their self-esteem. They are so traumatized that they begin to deny their own potentials! This is why extreme poverty persists among battered women! They simply refuse to help themselves. The apathy then spreads to their children. In the long run, the failure extrapolates to the whole society. It is true that when you educate a woman, you educate a whole community, in the same trend, when you batter a woman, you batter her children and the future. Yet the culture of silence is so powerful and so far reaching! That is why I have decided to lend my voice to speaking out against this social malady.
FWM: In 2017, you met with United Arab Emirate’s Minister of Economy, His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori to formalize the beginning of international relations with the UAE Economic sector to improve economic and cultural relations between the United Arab Emirates and several African nations. Please share developments and progress made.
We call our project “The Bridge”. The official name of the platform is the Arab African Economic Development Initiative, AAEDI. The Organization’s objective is to create a synergized system of interactions between the Arab world and Africa that will amplify economic and social benefits for all parties involved. We have individuals from different parts of the world as global advisors to help us navigate and actualize the organization’s core objectives. We are still in the stages of consolidation. But already we are affiliated with 22 countries from the two sub regions as participating members. We have several businesses and major organizations partnering with us. Currently we are at the stage of creating investment channels across the two regions. The project will cover areas such as Education, Health, Transportation, Energy, Agriculture, and the Arts as well as fashion and Tourism.
FWM: This is the “Global Unity” issue of Formidable Woman Magazine. What is your vision for “Global Unity” in 2020?
Modern transportation and telecommunication have tremendously increased the rate of interaction between people at far ends of the globe. Interaction time has been so reduced that we now have the impression of a shrunken world. The more we interact with each other, the more we realize our interdependence on each other. International synergies of science and business is now leading to great strides in industrial and technological advancement. So as far as I can see, the world is being united by the march of civilization. I only wish that in this 2020, we should learn to appreciate each other more, irrespective of racial or religious affiliation. The spate of xenophobia across the globe these days is a negation of human progress.
What are you doing to help those being affected by the lockdown?
We live in a society where the community is important, you can walk into your neighbor’s house and ask for food, children of your neighbor can join yours for dinner. This is is how Africa is wired and that has been evident during this lockdown as individuals through every means are supporting the government to bring relief to the people most affected by this pandemic. Having said that much, the Queen Zaynab Foundation has made cash donations to organizations and the less privileged communities that have always depended on us for support even before the lockdown. We recognize that they need our help the most at this time.
FWM: Lastly, what is your advice for women?
As women, we have a strong responsibility to see that we leave the world better than we met it. As natural mothers, we must be nurturing towards the important values of life, and we must find ways to be self-sufficient and contented. We must support each other as a community and in the quest towards achieving this, we must make happiness our main pursuit because you cannot give what you don’t have. We must stick to what we believe in even in the corridors of accommodating the lifestyle and belief of others we must never forget who we are, what we know, and who we aspire to become. And above all, we must search for why we are here. Because there is a reason. And we must live through it.
