BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Mrs. Abiola Ogunlade had loved to build her career in the corporate world after studying Secretariat Studies and possibly rise to the peak, but her dream was cut short by constant sexual harassment by some of her employers and superiors at work.
After working for some years as Secretary in a few private firms, she had to resign as she could not cope with rising sexual advances from her male employers.
The 57-year-old native of Edo State who was born and raised in Ibadan, Oyo State, was confronted with a fresh challenge of starting another career. A few months after abandoning her job, she decided to relocate to Ipetumodu town in Ife North Local Government Area of Osun State around 1987 where she settled down with a view to discovering another path to follow in life.
Determined to be great in life, be self-employed and to also escape or minimise rates of sexual overtures, Ogunlade opted for skill acquisition in the arts of bag and shoemaking. After going through the rigour of learning the skill for three years, she took the bold step of starting-up shoemaking, a business that is mostly populated by males.
Since 1991 when Ogunlade started the business of repairing shoes and bags and also making new footwear and bags, she has been up and running till date.
The Point correspondent sighted Ogunlade getting very busy with her leather work beside a road in Ipetumodu recently and decided to inquire from her, how she had been coping with her male counterparts who were also seen around the environment.
For the mother of three, the quality and dynamism of her works distinguish her from the crowd, not the fact that she is the only female shoemaker in the town.
According to her, she chose to be self-employed after refusing to submit to sexual advances from her superiors when she worked as secretary.
Explaining how and why she ventured into shoemaking business, Ogunlade said, “I chose this unique skill because I am a creative person and I have always wanted to be an employer of labour. I thought I would achieve this in the corporate world after I got a white collar job as a secretary at a firm. After some months, I couldn’t cope with disturbances from my employer who wanted to date me. I left the work and got another at a company as secretary.
The same thing happened and it even got worse. Even some of my male colleagues would be making sexual advances at me.
“At this juncture, I was fed up and I made up my mind to change environment. I left Ibadan to Osun State and I settled here in Ipetumodu. After some months, I decided to be self-employed. I wanted something that was not common, something that people would ask me how I coped with. So, I chose shoemaking. For three years, I was trained on shoemaking and how to make bags. I had my freedom and I decided to be on my own. Since 1991, I have been working as a shoemaker at this place.”
The shoemaker said she was educated in Secretariat Studies at Dorcas Welfare Secretariat Institute, owned by Seven Days Adventist in Ibadan. She added that she had been an orphan since she was a young girl and that she lost her parents just a month before she completed her shoemaking apprenticeship.
Ogunlade, who is married with three children, said her husband had been supportive of the business. According to her, she has trained all her children in the shoemaking art and they are well skilled, hence, making it a family business. She also noted that her children got education to tertiary level through profits she had made from the shoemaking business.
Speaking on how she feels being the only female shoemaker in the town, Ogunlade stated, “People are always astonished to see me at a roadside here making shoes and bags. I feel very happy because I am doing something that people cherish and this gives me the encouragement to carry on.
“I do have customers more than male counterparts; people patronise me because I make quality shoes and bags in creative ways. Patronage is high because of quality but I lack so many modern equipment to produce in large quantity. I am in Ipetumodu because of financial problem, I ought to have expanded my business to bigger cities.
Already, I trained all my children in shoemaking even while they are schooling. I trained them in shoemaking because that is the only means of income that I have. They also have education. One of them is at School of Technology in Erin-Osun.”
On the challenges she has been confronted with, Ogunlade said, “My challenges are mainly lack of adequate capital, equipment and machines for me to work and achieve my desired results and potentials. I have been struggling since I started the business and it has not been easy. I don’t even have a befitting workshop. I still stay in an open place beside the road with all the dust and other risks. When it is raining, I have to look for a place to stay.
“If I could get help from the Osun State Government and other generous individuals, I will be so happy because I will use the money to acquire machines and equipment to foster my business and enable seamless production in a good workshop. Specifically, I need cutting machine, industrial machine, heeling machine, a generator and a befitting workshop.”
“The bags and shoes I make are good, quality, beautiful and with durable designs. The only problem I am having is that I don’t have enough tools to work. I beg government, stakeholders and generous individuals to help me. I want Governor Ademola Adeleke, Hon. Ajilesoro, House of Representatives member to helppurchase the machines needed for my shoemaking operations and to get a good workshop,” she pleaded further.
“My achievement is my children because they have education and I am feeding them. Part of my achievements is also that I have trained a lot of apprentices, including members of the National Youth Service Corps and they are also excelling in the skill. I don’t have a house or a car and that is because I don’t have the necessary equipment that would make me work better and faster,” she added.
The woman who takes pride in her vocation and does it with great enthusiasm notwithstanding her present constraints, advised other women against falling for sexual advances from male employers and superiors and also to take bold steps to become self-reliant.
