Exquisite

Skill set with extra knowledge makes women better leaders than men —Adeagbo

Mrs Ibironke Adeagbo, a Chartered Accountant both in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of IA-Foundation, a UK and Nigerian registered educational charity set up to transform lives through education in Nigeria and Africa. In this Interview, she speaks about her career, passion and many other issues. SEGUN KASALI brings the excerpts.

Were you ambitious about accounting while growing up?

Yes, I had interest in accounting. I was very good at mathematics. We had a teacher who taught us accounting and I was intrigued by the nature of accounting; where to every debit entry there must be a corresponding credit entry and the account must balance. And then in those days, there was this lady called Kuforiji Olubi. She was a top class chartered accountant. So, I saw her as a good role model and I thought that I would like to be like her. I had A in both mathematics and accounting. After my degree, I was qualified as an accountant in the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

Suffice to say your expectations about accountancy were met?

Accounting is a very tough course. I had to be focused because I knew that after my degree, I had to take professional exams. So, I had to be studious and I had insight that I have to do ICAN immediately after graduating. After university, I came to the UK with my husband and had to do the UK qualification. The seriousness of the course adjusted my social lifestyle. Hence, I had to focus on my studies. I had always liked to be a well rounded person and not efiko. I like to multi-task and quite religious. I always made sure to attend church on campus. I socialised a lot but not as much as I wanted to.

Any memoirs while in the university?

I recall that I was actively involved in campus politics. I was the President of the Accounting Students Association. Highlight of my university was completing my dissertation presentation and I had an A. Then, I recall after scoring high in JAMB, I chose Accounting as my first choice and Economics as my second choice. But, my father said accounting was too tough for a lady and told me to choose Economics. I had a big issue with my dad and he threatened that if I studied accounting, he would not pay my fees in the university and he did not pay. It was my mum that paid my fees.

What led to the establishment of AI-Foundation?

I remember one day I was travelling down third mainland bridge around 7 o’clock in the night. There was a boy selling handkerchiefs on the street. I was like why are you selling handkerchief on the bridge? Aren’t you going to school the next morning? He said if he does not finish selling the handkerchief, they would eat that night. So, he had to sell the handkerchiefs before going home. I asked him about his home and I said what if I buy all the handkerchiefs and drop you home? He was so excited. He got into the car and I dropped him home. I asked his parents why he didn’t go to school and they said that he cannot go to school because there was no money. It is the proceeds from the handkerchief sales that we would use to eat and so we are waiting for him to finish selling the handkerchiefs so that we can eat. At that point, I asked them if they knew that if they allowed the child to go to school, he would take their family out of poverty. They said they had no money to send him to school and I said what if I send him to school and they said okay. I did that one and I was checking up on the guy and he was doing well academically. I felt I could multiply that so, when it was my 50th birthday, I used the opportunity to launch a foundation.

So, what is your message to the governments on this?

I keep saying that the only governor in the North who sees this out-of-school children as an issue is Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State. He sees it as a big problem and he keeps dealing with it and I wish every governor in the North can emulate him. He built schools and gives them E-learning devices. We have also written to him but no response yet. We just had a summit where we wanted him as a guest speaker but did not acknowledge it. But, we are happy that he is getting on with the job. One thing we are happy for is that he is rolling up his sleeves. He is rising up to the challenge. We are seeing the dividend of what he is doing. He has invested a lot in education. I don’t know whether it is because he is a professor. He is doing brilliantly well and I give him thumbs up. In the South, most of the governors are engaging. But, our plan as an organisation is that in the next two years, we want to have picked up to 5,000 children and put them in school. We have 100 at the moment but by the time we spread to all the 36 states, we will make it 5000. We also thought that the government can’t do this alone. We are thinking we can engage the current administration and work with them. We would pick up the children and pay their fees.

What about funding for the NGO?

Basically, once in a year in the UK we have what we call the charity fund raising gala event. It is usually a big event. People pay for the ticket and donate heavily. We had one on the 18th of March this year and the total donation was about 24,000 pounds which in Nigeria is about 25 million. We have people who are paying regularly as donors. I have a circle of friends- ICAN, Old Students’ Association and so on. I have a network of friends I encourage to donate even if it is one pound. We have lot of standing orders going through our banks. Even in Nigeria, we have donors. We get both naira and pounds donations and we use that to operate.

Besides, how do you combine your role as a mother, wife and being a CEO?

It is about passion. Already, I work in the educational space. So, to me, it is a familiar territory. For me, it is a moral dilemma. No matter how I look at it, I will never be British. It does not matter that I was born in the UK, I am still a Nigerian. Therefore, charity begins at home. Yes, you can do your bit in the environment you find yourself, you should remember home. I go home twice or three times in a year and when I see those kids rushing to my windscreen to wash and get paid, it brings tears into my eyes. I feel like grabbing all those children and put them in a school. Until the last child on the street is in school, I will not be a happy woman. So, I am really determined to make sure every child that is on the street now goes off the street and get into the classroom.

Some have the opinion that women are not better leaders. What do you think?

I don’t think that is accurate because the way the male leaders go to school is the way female leaders do too. It is not as if girls have a separate school from men. It is the same school. They all acquire the same skill sets. And brain power is not about muscles. I know men are more muscular than women but it is about brain power and I think that is distributed evenly. So, I believe what a man can do, a woman can do even better and we have been equipped with the ability to multi-task and we also have empathy. Empathy is good for leadership. I think with those extra knowledge we have, adding them to our skillsets, it makes us well rounded and even better leaders in my opinion.

Looking back, do you have any unforgettable moment?

When I became a Chartered Accountant. The fact that I did it despite my father not encouraging me. I was so proud of myself. I took the certificate home to show him. The fact that I did it joggling other jobs and I thought that it was commendable. I did it within three years. I had friends who did it within 10 years. The fact that I did it within three years with other things I thought it was highly commendable. My cheerleader and someone who gives me hope and inspiration is my mum.

What are your thoughts on women not supporting women?

That is an error in judgement. If we look at the men, we need to learn from the men. Men are always pulling themselves up, always supporting themselves. If a man gets a job here, he will try and bring his fellow men into it. Women should emulate men. We should help ourselves and should not be fighting or pulling ourselves down. We need to collaborate and support ourselves. In Nigeria today, most of the bank CEOs are women. We are making giant strides and so we need to encourage ourselves more. I believe if we have more women in leadership positions especially in Nigeria, the country will be a better place.

What is your philosophy of life?

I believe that in life, if you try and put a torch in someone’s pathway, you will share a part in that light. I believe in pulling people behind me up. There is a saying that leadership is about followership. You need to develop those coming behind you. The motto of my foundation is ‘enabling true education’. They are the future generation and we must make sure that we equip them so that their future is bright. It’s about the next generation.

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE