In 2014, Mrs Folorunsho Alakija dislodged outstanding media personality, Oprah Winfrey, as the Forbes’ Richest Black Woman in the world. She is currently Nigeria’s richest woman and the second richest woman in Africa. How did this woman who started as a secretary rise to the zenith of her career? How did this woman who is not a university graduate amass so much wealth? How did she become a person of influence and affluence? What are the secrets of her uncommon success? What values propelled her to the level of dining with royalty, wining with the political elite and banqueting with industry captains?
Here are some of Alakija’s success secrets as gleaned from her interactions with various individuals and organizations over a period of time.
Faith in God
Mrs Folorunsho Alakija attributes her success to her faith in God. While she does not believe that those who do not believe in God cannot be successful, she is of the view that it takes faith in God for man to have sustainable success. Alakija believes that she would not have been able to record as much success as she has been able to without God’s intervention. According to her, in the beginning, “I made a covenant with God that if He granted me what I wanted, I would live for Him. And God has been doing His part and I’ve been trying to do mine. It is a vow that I must keep.” She also said “I look to God for every step I want to take in life.” Any wonder then that she has been successful in all her endeavours?
Goal-oriented
Mrs Alakija is of the opinion that many people achieve less than they are capable of achieving because they fail to set goals. She says, “It’s essential to draw up a ‘things to do’ list on a daily basis and set priorities in executing them, making sure that any unfinished task get posted to the next day’s list.” She says having a goal to achieve is enough to scale up performance because of the inner urge to do that which has been identified. But for those, who fail to set goals, anything goes.
Hard work
Alakija is convinced that the harder she works, the better she gets and the easier her tasks become. When she has identified what to do, she goes to any extent to achieve it. She does not spare any effort. One of her favourite quotes is whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. With that she works her fingers to the bone on whatever she has set her mind to do.
Being open to new opportunities
The Famfa Oil proprietor is open to new opportunities. She has recorded so much success because she is always on the lookout for new opportunities. She resigned her appointment with the bank where she started as a secretary when she realized that her chances to rise beyond a certain level were limited. She then saw opportunity in fashion designing, which she pursued. This gave birth to Supreme Stitches. She also found opportunities in printing and set up her own printing company. As a designer, she had the opportunity to interface with the high and mighty through which she got to know about opportunities in the oil industry. She pursued this and that was the beginning of Famfa Oil.
Persistence
Mrs Alakija is a study in persistence. After being allocated an oil block to which she committed almost the entirety of her family savings, the government reduced her holding in the business to just 10 per cent. She felt this was unfair and she fought it with the whole of her might. It looked like an unwinnable war, but she persisted. After about 10 years, the government was compelled to return her full equity in the business to her.
Networking
Alakija is convinced that an individual’s networth is determined by her network, so she takes her time to build her network. Mrs Maryam Babangida, wife of Nigeria’s former Military President, fancied Mrs Alakija’s designs, so she became her clothier. But she did not just limit the relationship to that, she got so close to the late Mrs Babangida that she introduced her to the Petroleum Minister who gave her the oil prospecting licence.
If Mrs Folorunsho Alakija could make it to the top, so can you.
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