Tutu Soetan is the founder of Dwellingatease. In this interview by SEGUN KASALI, she speaks about society’s approache to issues of single mothers and people that are out of job.
You are passionate about data. Why the interest?
The reason I am hammering on data is because the world is data-driven and data is money. We have heard of people buying other people’s data and selling their information and that is because data is money. We need data to survive. Organisations need data to make money and to know the trends at which people are purchasing their products and which product is bringing the most profit. Also, governments need data to predict the future. So, the whole world is data-driven and you cannot go wrong with it.
How can Nigeria be data-driven?
Data will solve a lot of problems in Nigeria. This is the reason for introducing different automation tools for the right people. There are many ways governments can leverage on data-driven solutions. For instance, in the health sector, you can deploy data-driven solutions to know the age group that is being affected by malaria or different diseases within the country. By doing that, they need people with the knowledge and understanding of data. Nigeria is filled with brains. So, if we can come together and understand the people that will get the information together through data-driven technology within all the sectors, a lot of problems will be solved.
Regarding the recently cancelled National population census, what are your submissions as a data expert?
In breaking Nigeria down into different local governments areas and communities, the first is to understand those living within the communities. Before you get to the federal stage, you have to start by deploying technology to knowing people living within the community. I think the major problem we have in Nigeria is that most of the data-driven technology were introduced from the top. But, you can’t introduce technology without understanding the peripherals. If you are introducing any solution through technology, it should be introduced at the local level first. So, you have a population at the lower level which would gradually move up to the upper level.
Suggest probable solutions to the new administration data.
Start implementing data-driven solution because you can’t implement anything until you have the right data. So, it is to look at where we can get the right data from. First, we need analysis on the set of data that are required in all the sectors because before you can do anything you need to do your analysis and background work. For instance, within the agricultural sector, let us break it down. What do we actually need? So, that is where the management and leadership come in. They need to ask themselves what exactly are we looking for? So, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should implement a data-driven solution across all sectors within the country. If the data-driven technology is in place, he can have a big dashboard where he can know what is happening within each sector. For instance, if I want to know how many people are falling ill, the board will show me the areas that do not have enough resources within each state or local government. It is just the click of a button. The president will be able to see the result and send resources to the areas that most need it. I know a data-driven solution in Nigeria will solve our problems in all sectors.
What are the new initiatives you are working on?
I have looked at the trends and data and the area that needed it most, and I discovered that the most deprived set of persons within my community based on analysis and government data are single mothers. They support themselves with no mentoring. So, I realised that they needed someone like me to come up with something to help them. So, we launched ‘Mother Care’ programme, to help single mothers, especially the young ones, who do not know how to start a career and have been out of work for sometime, not knowing how to go back. So, it is like mentoring them, nurturing them, analysing their skills and giving them directions on how to go about securing a job.
What led to this initiative?
It was because of my own personal experience. I am not a single mum but looking at my background growing up, if I did not have someone that mentored and nurtured me, I would have been lost. And, I know everybody, no matter how experienced they are, needs someone to hold their hand. So, it is a matter of giving back to the community.
When are you bringing this initiative to Nigeria since it is just in the UK?
Our last event was actually sponsored by the National Lottery, UK. We had about 30 women that we trained on how to go back to work. So, we are looking at expanding this initiative to Nigeria but the issue of instability and getting the right support is challenging. I believe that with government’s support and the willingness of our leaders in Nigeria, it would be quite easier for us to replicate what people are enjoying here in the UK.
How many single mothers have benefitted from this programme
We had about 33 people that registered for the programme, and currently, we have about five we are mentoring and looking at picking up. We have one person who just secured a data engineering role within the health sector.
What about Women in Tech?
Yes, it is one of the initiatives. Women in Tech is a strong network of women in the technology industry coming together to support, help and push themselves up the career ladder within the tech industry. They are also breaking the barrier of getting women into leadership positions in Nigeria.
What are the opportunities open to women in the tech space?
There are many opportunities. There is diversity and inclusion going on. Even if there is no space, organisations are required to have diversity policies that encourage inclusion of women into leadership roles. First, are the women pushing themselves forward? I know we have a lot like family and combining things together. So, it is kind of easier for people to push us to the background. But, first is pushing ourselves forward and not just sitting in the background. Second is training. A lot of people are comfortable and we stay in our comfort zones. But, it is a matter of us stepping out of our comfort zones and staying true with the knowledge we have. Staying true is about learning and pushing yourself, not just about staying in one place, but being inquisitive about what is going on. It is about pushing yourselves forward and making your voices heard in any department of an organisation. Women are very strategic.
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