Former Executive Director, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex (LITFC) and the Yeye Oge of Ogereland, Chief (Mrs) Lucy Ajayi, shared her experiences while at the Trade Fair Complex and many other issues in this interview by SEGUN KASALI.
Tell us about your seat as the former Executive Director, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex.
We came in 2017 and it is a four-year tenure appointment. So, I am thanking God because I assumed my duties there with good health and grace of God intact and I left in the same manner with all the stress of working as a public servant. I am grateful to God for all that and also that until eight months after been given the appointment I could repossess my office. Many even thought I would not end my tenure well because I drove out a fury litigant. That is the word that was used for the other concessionaire, but we thank God that I have added value by the grace of God. People always say you have written your name in gold and there is no story of Trade fair without the mention of the name Lucy Ajayi. That is one landmark I wanted to make. I am also thanking God that he is taking me higher because my Bible tells me a thankful heart gets more and that my second appointment is still running, that is prerogative of mercy which means I am still in the system. So I don’t think I have done badly, that informs my gratitude to God that I finished well, some did not, some died, some were suspended, some were sacked, some were sick but I am thankful to God because none of those vices happened to me.
Will you say your set targets as the trade fair boss had been met?
Well some I met fully, some I met 90 percent, so I will say I have tried and the other one that people weren’t expecting me to do, I’m thankful that God didn’t allow me to do it. Maybe some other persons will do it; like taking back the complex to the government, I did that fully, it is with the government now then some of the rehabilitations we had to do like the admin block, repossessing of some areas that were already occupied by traders, like under the bridge and the green areas. We had taken over fully, the 100 chalet motel but not in full operation and rehabilitation of roads. I did almost three quarter before I left and the final one is still on because I have already signed out the 5km road to the Chinese Company CCECC and they are doing them in phases. My management staff and some stakeholders still celebrate me, I didn’t owe any staff, we did a lot of staff training too amidst the overhead that we receive, I think I have done well within three and half years because I spent eight months out of my four years tenure in Abuja. I took possession after eight months so all these were done within three years and few months.
How was it like taking charge at the trade fair?
Oh! It was a great experience. Each area you go to you see a different experience, I have never been trained neither had an appointment before or employed as a C.E.O of a market, you might call it a federal agency but I believe I was running a market, because the concessionaire had already turned it from a trade fair to a market and we are trying to bring back the glory and sanity. Though that was not easy because the concessionaire had held sway for several years and it can’t take just three and a half years to restore sanity but I tell you the stakeholders are really awesome. They showed understanding, people feel they are difficult but they are not. They are only protecting their business and trying to obey the government laws and policies.
Holding sway in an environment where the men have the commanding heights, how was it like?
It takes God’s grace, I can’t say how it happened but all I can say is that it didn’t start from trade fair but I think it’s been God all through, everywhere I had worked had always been all men with me being the woman, in Kosofe we had five local government chairmanship aspirants and after the primary and congresses, I remain alone because at some points others chicken out, back then we were using the twenty local governments areas and I was the only female local government chairman at the end of the day in CPC though it was tough. Many petitions; why will a woman get the highest position, it was the same when we got to the merger level, out of the 18 member committee that President Muhammadu Buhari initiated, I was the only woman. The petitions were so many. Initially I was not taking cognisance of that, why would somebody be writing petition against me that I got somewhere? But I later discovered I was dragging with the men what they think probably belonged to them. God still helped me though, so I think in all of these, it’s God and the President. I got used to that so coming to trade fair I didn’t know it was a market I thought it’s going to be a corporate thing, you know when you talk of an agency you feel it is an already structured environment, I got in as a corporate person but I became a market woman too because for you to be able to manage them you have to be part of them, feel their pain, feel their gains too and then try to bring in the government policy and make it as friendly as possible, wear a human face when translating those policies.
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Though you have shown that you had a firm grip of the situation, does it mean there were no down times at the trade fair?
Yes I had some down times, you know human beings, but most times I don’t look at the challenges, maybe that is why I could pull through I always look at how to come out of this, I don’t think of the challenges I rather find a way around it because if you dwell on it you won’t be able to surmount it. Many times I have received panic calls like “the market is on fire, some people are going to fight, they have cutlasses and other weapons, madam don’t go, if you go there they will hack you down, you will get burnt” and all that and I would still go, I will talk to them and they will listen, that was why I said it is just God because after I finished talking to them some will be asking did she use juju or what? How come we said we are going to deal with her but you are now backing out? I will beg them because that was the way and maybe the feminine power came into it. Just take it or leave it women bring their warmth into every situation, if you have a committee without a woman I feel it is going to be very strict, even at the merger when the men are quarrelling I used to beg them, I was like a tea girl to all of them, they were like my fathers too and when you give them respect I think it is reciprocal, they will respect you too. So I think the feminine thing helped me too because I used to address them like my fathers and husband and there is nobody you treat like that that will still want to hit you hard. I will let them understand why certain moves were made, they are all human beings these guys are very wealthy people, and some of them are PhD holders but decided to go into business, so they are well read too.
How do you plan to give back to your community?
I am already part of Kosofe, you can’t take me out of Kosofe, I’m saying we had our local government primary elections, some of my boys were there, one of our leaders in Kosofe was here earlier, Hon. Dayo Bush. Trade fair was a 24 hours job, I think I now have some time to myself and family, I have time for my friends too, my grassroots politics and then my business. Even till now the management still consults with me, so if anybody comes seeking my advice I will oblige. Government is a continuum, anybody that will be there even though a civil servant will be an APC person.
How about an idea of having a humanitarian foundation to impact the society a lot more?
I had one but I couldn’t go into it because of my appointment, as the appointment takes one off many things. There is Lucy Ambassadors, it is an NGO with a political undertone to help people, that is one foundation I would want to give back more but because of my appointment I cannot now, however we are still performing, we are still doing what we can with them, like if you have employment opportunities majority of them are youths, we try to engage them.
The prevailing insecurity trend, many say, has much to do with the dearth of good role models in our society. What will be your take on this?
It is not about good modelling, it is about unemployment that is the way I see it and that is why this government is trying to reduce it to its barest minimum. This unemployment didn’t start with this government, it started before and there are no Infrastructure that were created, no job opportunities in time past. In any country you have infrastructural developments which mean some people are gainfully employed. Since I entered politics not because I am in APC, I haven’t seen much Infrastructure as I’m seeing now. I think they are trying because it is not only in Nigeria that we are having this economic issue, it is all over the world and we inherited the dearth of all these.
What will be your charge to women who are passionate about impacting their environments positively?
To women out there, they should not be discouraged or distracted because that is the first thing they do to you. They would distract and discourage you, even threaten you out of your jobs. So many times I have gotten threats and I say ‘okay you have threatened me, once and I come back haaa! No threat will work.’ Let us just be steadfast anyway and put God first with that no threats will work.
