Founder and President Milliners Association of Nigeria, Mrs Folake Okunaiya, in this interview by ADEOLA OTEMADE, speaks about her passion for the girl-child, networking and the challenges of establishing herself as a woman.
As a woman, how easy has it been trying to establishing yourself?
Being a woman, in itself is not easy because there are lots of responsibilities, expectations and limitations that are attributed to being a woman in today’s world. We live in a male-dominated world, and this is subtle in way, but the society exerts its dominance. So growing up in a society such that your femininity is being put to test, where you have to step up your game, bring your A-game and show that you are not limited or incapacitated in any way. I have been able to find my way by following my passion, and I can say, to some extent, that I feel fulfilled as a woman.
How was growing up like for you?
Growing up for me wasn’t different from other children. I was born and raised in Lagos. I grew in a loving family where determination, respect and principles are the core values. These in a way shaped my life. I schooled in Ogun state and Kwara state, served in kebbi state. Self-expression was encouraged in my family and that may have helped shape my entrepreneurial spirit early on.
What inspired the Milliners Association and when was it birthed?
Milliners Association of Nigeria started first as a network in 2018. I often faced loneliness as a milliner. Whenever I had challenges in my field I didn’t know anyone to reach out to. I had been in business for 10 years at the time and I knew very few milliners but I yearned to meet others and network with other colleagues in my field. Shortly before my 10th anniversary in business, I decided to reach out to milliners and we had our first Milliners hangout in April 2018. That was how Milliners Network Nigeria was birthed. In 2019 we were registered as an Association.
What influenced your decision to go into hat making?
Going into the business of hat making was not planned as it was a case of boredom at the time when my institution was on a long strike action and I got so tired and restless of waiting for resumption and one of those days of finding what to engage myself in, I stumbled on a training organized for women in a church , though I was a Young girl at the time I decided to join the training and that was how I got into making of hat .
What were the challenges you faced starting up the initiative?
The first was the battle of self-doubt, then I had to also battle with the challenges of bringing people together. Selling the idea of the vision wasn’t so hard but I also had to battle with the challenges of being seen as young to drive the platform to greater grounds
What achievements have you recorded so far?
My biggest achievement is being able to start the platform with only 12 founding members and today we have almost 300 milliners under the umbrella of this great association. Also, the yearly Nigeria hat exhibition is a huge achievement because it’s the first and only millinery exhibition in Nigeria, West Africa, and Asia. I am super happy to have been a tool in bringing this event to life. I have been blessed by God and an exceptionally capable and passionate executive committee without whom none of this would have been possible.
The millinery association fosters a networking platform for Nigerian milliners, is it achieving its purpose of establishment?
I will say a very big yes to that. The association is achieving its purpose of Networking as we have got lots of testimonies. Our purpose is to promote and expose millinery brands and this is being achieved daily in the association through media exposure. One of our core purposes is also to create a networking platform for our members and I must say, not only have our members been able to network among themselves we have also been able to encourage collaborations amongst ourselves and deemphasise unhealthy competition amongst Milliners and we can see huge benefits as our Industry is beginning to get the recognition we desire.
This year’s Nigeria hat exhibition was held not long ago, how much effort was invested into it to have achieved the display of 4000 head-wears all in one space?
It was a huge investment of time, energy, money and intellect. But I so much appreciate the executives, our ad-hoc planning committee members for making it a success and the exhibitors from Akwa Ibom Ogun, Oyo, Abuja, Aba and Lagos who all invested a lot in creating beautiful pieces for this year’s exhibition.
Have you ever felt limited by the virtue of your gender?
I would say yes , I have felt limited a few times but i think I have overcome this from my exposure during my youth service days in Kebbi State. I realized been a city girl and knowing what I could do on my own and seeing what couldn’t be done by a lot of girls my age at the time In that state, erased the thought of feeling limited by virtue of my gender because I realised I could do anything I set my heart to do. Even though my gender could be a limiting factor but my exposure empowered my mentality
What are the changes you would love to see in the development of the girl-child in society?
I would love to see more of our girl child rights protected such as the right to education. I would also love to see deliberate action by stakeholders to ensure that their dreams are supported and that their voices be heard. I would love to see families instilling in the girl child courage to speak in the society, most families have silenced the voice of the girl by not allowing them to express themselves. The best gift I received from my family is the freedom of expression. When you try to cage the girl child like you are putting her in a box, she possesses low self-esteem, she is unable to speak for herself, stand her ground and keep her head high. That is why most ladies out there are dependent on who will shoulder their responsibilities. They rely on a man to live which is not cool. Fine, the role of the man is to take care of the family, but the world is fast evolving, responsibilities are now to be shouldered between both parties. So the family as the first contact to every girl child needs to prepare the girl into becoming self-sufficient and bold.
What did you study in school and have you been able to apply your course of study in the labor market?
I have a diploma in law and I also hold a bachelor of art certificate in English, both from the Olabisi Onabanjo University and yes I have been able to apply both in the labour market in tremendous ways .
How have you been able to run your family and work together?
Running a business in this part of the world is definitely not easy and I would say, I have been able to understand myself and my business as a young lady in business. So by the time I started having my own family six years after it was not as stressful and most importantly, my husband and family have been a huge support to helping me sustain my business as I keep growing 13 years after.
Let’s talk about your husband, how did you guys meet?
I met my husband on my birthday who was a serving copper in Niger state at the time. A friend of mine who celebrated me on her phone status ( blackberry ) and that was how my husband found me and the rest is now history. Funny enough, we attended the same university but we never met and to think this friend of mine was also his friend in same law department but for some reasons our part never crossed.
How did he feel about your job?
He loved the idea of knowing a very creative and independent young lady like me , fell in love with my craft as I was the first person he knew personally who made hats and head wears as he is also very hands-on and creative as well with his love for photography a very unique one at that ( Nature photography) , farming and a great lover of culinary even though he is a lawyer this however is quite an interesting part of our relationship and work
What advice do you have for the young woman aspiring to make a name?
I have always been passionate about the girl child and it’s from her foundation as a young girl that you can build her into becoming a woman. There are lots of distractions out there as the world keeps evolving, we as women should also evolve. We should evolve into strong women, both in our career space and the home space. I will advise young women to stay focused, hold on to good values, be role models the younger generation can follow, and not be pressured by the happenings in the media space. Importantly, they should be diligent and hold strong to God to get direction.
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