My Inspiration Wall
Photo by ATC Comm Photo from Pexels I remember walking into a radio station in Abuja for an interview. When I got to the green – or waiting – room, I was pleasantly surprised by the surrounding wall that had pictures of many icons on it; Martin Luther King, Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Fela and a host of others. As I basked in memories of the work each person had contributed to humanity, I began to notice something that gradually dropped the smile from my face; there was hardly any woman on that wall. I wondered if the owner didn’t think there were women worthy of being on his wall; women whose contribution to humanity helped shaped the world as it is today; women who deserved to be seen. I wanted to be mad, but I reined it in. It was his wall after all and he could do whatever he wanted with it. Before I left the station however, I promised myself that when I set up my office, I was going to have a wall dedicated to women who had inspired me to contribute to humanity. I would call it my ‘inspiration wall’. A little over a year after I made that promise to myself, I created my ‘office’ space in my home. I dedicated a wall for my icons and then carefully curated the women I wanted to go up on it. By the time I was done, I had about twenty-four women I wanted to put up. With the space in my home, I could only put up fifteen without making the wall look…too much. Again, I started trimming down my list of inspiring women. When I finally got my 15, I sought pictures of them that captured the essence I felt connected me to them in the first place. So…I present you my inspiration wall. They are categorized into the following: 1. My Biggest Inspiration: This is the topmost row of the pictures on the wall. It has me, Enigbe Ochekliye, Sadiya Ochekliye, Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé Knowles. I need to put this out there. My mother – Hajiya Hauwa Umar – should be the first person on this row…or even at the very top of it. She taught me resilience and was the first person who showed me what it meant to be a feminist; even though at that point, I didn’t know the word and today, my mother wouldn’t accept the title. One of the biggest lessons I remember from my mother was when she called me and told me to never ask a man for money to get him a birthday present. I was about 8 years old then. What she was saying was, don’t be dependent on a man for the things you need. Make your own money so you can take care of yourself and your family. When people say I work hard, best believe that it is because I have such an innate sense of pride and a burning need to never be dependent on anyone, and especially not on any man. But my mother is also a conservative Muslim who doesn’t believe that pictures should be hung on the wall. So I am respecting her wishes but, you can imagine her hanging somewhere at the top of the pictures. My sisters – Enigbe and Sadiya – are constantly inspiring me with their dedication to acquiring more knowledge, understanding and innovation. Enigbe is one of the most intelligent women I know. If we grew up in a ‘sensible’ country, she would probably be working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) now. Sadiya is such an empath. She is so loving and caring that it is infectious. The way she relates to those of us that are her family members, her friends, her acquaintances and strangers is worth emulating. They inspire me to be better, to always leave room for more because there is always more I can do with myself and for my interaction with people. Oprah was the first black woman I saw that showed me we could be anything we wanted to be. She was such powerful and influential trailblazer. She rose in the ranks because she gave 100% of herself…and then some. It was because of Oprah that I knew I wanted to do media. I didn’t know what area I wanted to go into because I was still so sure I was going to be a neurosurgeon but somehow, I felt… ‘if Oprah can do it all, I can do it all’. And then I met Beyoncé. Singer with Destiny’s Child, energetic spirit and oh so so dedicated to her craft. When I say met, I don’t mean in person…even though it is on my bucket list. Being introduced to how much work went into putting out her music or the up-tempo videos or even the magnificent live performances, caused me to fall in love with her. Who was this woman? Why didn’t she seem to stop? How could she keep going with so much energy and fire? I felt like she was my soul sister. And I don’t need to say it…but I will. Beyoncé is one of my all-time favorite artists in the world. And then, there is me. I am one of my biggest inspirations. I work hard, I give my best to whatever it is that I do, I open myself to learning and contributing to my society and I am a good person; even if I say so myself. In the past, I never would have said this. In fact, up until recently, I used to think it was conceited to say good things about one’s self. But I have come to the realization that I am a work-in-progress. I make mistakes, I do bad things sometimes, I am downright horrible at other times…but all these, all of these things, do not negate the fact that I am a good person. If anything, it emphasizes it. I have grown in
For My Super Fans
I am so excited to announce that the blog has crossed the 25, 000 views threshold. This happened barely three days after I celebrated the 24, 000th view. I was planning something big for this achievement but it totally just creeped on me. I had been thinking about what to do for this milestone crossed and no matter what I thought of, I knew it had to be for the readers of my blog. I finally settled on dedicating this achievement to my ‘super fans’. These people have been instrumental to the growth of my blog (and other platforms) and I just want to use this opportunity to appreciate them. They include; Abe Onche, who has been my friend for years now and my one of my biggest support systems since I started my blog. He has urged and prodded me to do more and be more. There are many times I have felt like quitting because it is a lot of hard work but Abe would have none of that. He is the typical annoying optimist who always believes the sun is shining even when it is dark. I on the other hand can be a bit of a realist. Okay! I am very much a realist! This means that when I get tired of putting out content and following my dreams, he is always there to give me a ray of hope. I am not always eager to hear him out and many times, I am deliberately difficult but if I didn’t have him to push me, this blog would probably have gone to sleep now. Abe shares EVERY single post I put up and I know a huge chunk of the views comes from his friends on social media. To crown it all, Abe puts up money for my platforms. He was my first investor and that is why he likes disturbing my life to put out stuff and you know someone believes in you when they not only put in their time and energy but also put in their money. The next super fan, or in this case fans, are my sisters Enigbe and Sadiya. They HAVE TO live with me and deal with my crankiness, quirkiness and sometimes, downright craziness. In spite of all that, they are very supportive of my work and passion. Since I have been out of work, they have been my support until I find my footing. I am their older sister but they contribute financially to my work. And when they cannot contribute financially, they share their data with me to make sure I am always online. Yes! My sisters are better than yours! I was so humbled when I caught them googling cameras to buy so I can put out stuff daily. They wanted to surprise me with one but we all had to agree it was not feasible at the moment. The positive thing for me was the thought. From the moment I started my platforms, they have had so much belief in my abilities that I honestly feel like I can touch the moon from the comfort of my room. Someone else I really want to appreciate is my home girl Oluwashadeayo Opeyemi. Shade is such an awesome woman and a caring friend. In spite of how busy she is – AND SHE IS BUSY – she always manages to take out time to read my blog and share on her social media pages. I lived with Shade for two weeks and I know how hectic her life is. She has a 9-5 job but spends three hours GOING to work and three RETURNING home from work. While with her, I used to follow her to the office and though I just sat down and fiddled with my phone, I was always bone tired when we got back home. You can imagine what Shade, a manager at a top sales firm, feels at the end of each working day. With all of this, she still manages to read my posts and share them! Did I forget to mention that she also puts money to my work? She is awesome like that! Another big supporter is Peter Cheman Koti. He was my colleague when I worked with FM and TV Gotel. He is an on-air-personality who presents about five shows and produces so much more. He is also second-in-command in the FM unit and a very busy man. He works Mondays through to Saturdays and probably rests only on Sundays; though I know he prepares for his shows for the week then. With all the work he does, he manages to follow my platforms and share almost everything I put up. He has called me on many occasions just to tell me ‘well done Ramat. Keep the good work going.’ He is the same person who gave me opportunities to be on his shows when many people wanted to hug the mic for themselves. I am proud to say the Peter is good people. Ite Thomas is the next person I am calling my super fan. Ite is an officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and a very intelligent man. The first time I met him was when he called in on one of my shows. We were discussing leadership and governance and his response was so enlightening, I wanted to have him as a guest on my show. From that day, I looked forward to having him call in on my show. What Ite gives me is a healthy discussion on whatever I write. I always like to hear his point of view after each post and he never disappoints. His knowledge and understanding of topical issues is just amazing. Even though I have not met him physically, I feel like I have known him for years. I see him as one of my closest friends. Another person who I have interesting discussions with on any post I put up is Sanusi Yahya. I
