‘Women should make judicious use of their elective offices ‘

How does the women wing of NURTW impact on the lives of women and children?Women’s role is very vital that is why we coordinate ourselves to work as a team, share experiences and synergise together to give our husbands the best.We educate women on raising their children with moral values and supporting their husbands because […]

How does the women wing of NURTW impact on the lives of women and children?
Women’s role is very vital that is why we coordinate ourselves to work as a team, share experiences and synergise together to give our husbands the best.
We educate women on raising their children with moral values and supporting their husbands because a man needs a good wife to attain his height in life. The man needs support in all his endevours so that when he goes to work he is happy and puts in his best otherwise he can carry aggression to work and be shouting at people, this can be a setback in his pursuits.
We also organize workshops and conferences in English and our local languages to reach out to our women especially those who are not educated. We encourage them to go to school or further their education as it will help their businesses.
The women wing of NURTW also has a registered non-governmental organization through which we empower women and help the less privileged. We visit motherless babies  homes and also empower the less privileged with different trades and skills.
We have organized health workshops on cancer both for men and women including one on Ebola, and we teach parental skills to the drivers so that they can raise good families and children for the future.
How does the women wing relate with female drivers?
We give some of our female drivers soft loans to get their own vehicles so that they don’t spend time slaving for people and getting little or nothing, or driving recklessly just to get passengers.
We teach them a lot of strategies on driving too. Women should conduct themselves in the best manner accepted by society. Female drivers should not behave like touts or vandals in the barracks or smoke and drink because they are drivers.
They should know that driving and conducting is like other professions. A driver should be responsible, humble, calculative and intelligent to be able to drive well and take his commuters to their destinations peacefully. They should be cautious with passengers and apologise when wrong. So that the passengers can collect their numbers and re-engage them next time.
Also the International Transport Federation comprises not just road but aviation, maritime, rail workers and sea farers among others and our head office is in London.
We have travelled to India, Bulgaria , London to mention a few  to see their system of transportation. We also travelled to Chicago in the United States of America with the female truck driver , Rabi who works with Dangote because we want to celebrate our female drivers.
When we came back, Dangote gave her a gift of a truck. We now have about six female truck drivers in Nigeria. We also have female taxi drivers in Abuja. Some of them were teachers, bankers, lawyers before they became drivers because they have passion in driving. Some drive to compliment their husband’s earnings. We have them and we have co-opted them into NURTW. The Ministry of Commerce and Industries assisted our female drivers with soft loans with zero interest.
That is why we took some of our women to Bulgaria Chicago , Dallas, California , Ghana  to mention a few to go and see how their female counterparts drive there.
We also have a school where the drivers learn road signs, check their health, obey road rules and regulation and properly check and maintain their cars among others.
 Even within this political period no politician was able to use people in the garage, none of our members were caught or involved in ballot box snatching.
The new president of NURTW has brought peace to the union and everyone is carried along. We now have a lot of trained commuters and drivers and were even commended in London, no more touting and federal government engaged us in carrying ballot boxes to local governments because we have members and offices in the 774 local in the country.
What are some of the tips you give on home making?
Parents should always create time to discuss with their children, show them love, eat together, and make sure the home front is very neat.
As a mother you should dress well and cook for your husband. Don’t allow the maid cook for your husband. When your husband returns home  even if you work try to serve him the juice you have made and kept in the fridge, chin-chin, or fried meat and then rush to the kitchen to prepare something and he will be happy.
Try to apologise and be cautious, even if there is no money for feeding don’t say I will not cook. Study your husband’s countenance and how and when best to approach and communicate with him.
But if you disrespect him before people, he may discuss you with other people who will give him wrong advice maybe because they are even envying your marriage.
Don’t abandon your husband during crisis.  Stretch your hand of fellowship and I often tell the women when you wake up in the morning, after your daily prayers whichever religion you belong, kneel down and greet your husband. It doesn’t mean you are a servant to him. All the Holy books state that women are brought out from men’s ribs so you should respect them so that your daughter will respect her husband and your son his wife too.
Try to give your husband something to eat before going out and pray for him like ‘my love as you are going out today, things will be better for you, it will be better than yesterday and God will see you through,’ he will be happy and reciprocate too. And when you fight don’t expose your home to other people their own maybe worse than yours.
With your position as a regional coordinator of  ITF London what do  you want changed in our system in the country?
The only thing we want our country to do is for each garage to have its own system of payment like other countries are doing.
There should be use of tickets and not cash payment where conductors embezzle money and some of the drivers cannot take money to their master. People should only use their ticket to enter any of the vehicles.
Our women are doing well but constrained by finance and want government to come to their aid. Most of them are driving other people’s vehicles and have targets to meet and where they don’t meet the owners collect the vehicles from them.
What inspired you into founding your NGO, Passionate Heart Empowerment Foundation(PHEF)?
 There is high poverty level in the country and also the lessons I learnt from my parents. My father raised us in a way that we don’t just cook and finish eating everything alone. My mother also cooks for almajirai.
I come from a royal family,  and decided to share with people. My first target is the widow. If she goes after men, her daughters can become prostitutes and her son smokes and other vices. When I was a teacher, I dedicated 10 percent of my salary to the less privileged and I have empowered people to start recharge card business, hair dressing and others.
Our youths should not wait for white collar jobs but think of what they have passion for. I collect people’s CV and alert them or help them get jobs. I have given scholarships to students. We have trained women, youths and persons in various skills and empowered them with capital to start their business through the NGO. I give wrappers and Hijabs to people and even go to the camps of people going for hajj to give them whether I know them or not. We feed people even in camps in Saudi Arabia.
I dug boreholes in various places and recently I visited IDPs in new Kuchingoro, Durunmi  and other places in Abuja, and also an old people’s home called  Amazing Grace Foundation. I appeal to Nigerians to help the less privileged particularly the rich ones because they will have blessings in return.
Tell us about your work in Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF)?
I am presently the coordinator of all the zonal auditors of the organization, they report to me and I report to the Executive secretary of my commission.
I was privileged to be part of the national confab under the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria in energy committee and oil and gas subcommittee. I also submitted my and recommendations on how to go about the petroleum industry bill. I gave them instances of how it obtains in other countries of the world and interventions for the South-South and the north, and diversification into other sectors.
Advice for women holding elective offices?
My advice for women is that once they are given elective positions, they should utilize it very well. It shouldn’t be used for their personal gains. I am sure if some of them had done well in their wards and constituencies, they would have been returned. Some of them never sponsored any bill all through their stay in the senate.
I am appealing to those who have gotten the seats this time and any woman who attains any decision making position to see it as a precious goal, take it seriously and work tirelessly.
They should serve diligently, work as role models and show the men that they can do it. Politics is meant to serve the people and not to share money and eat.  We don’t want women who will disgrace us, we don’t want leaders who embezzle money, or who are used and dumped by the men.