Good
night to a most indefatigable woman! An Amazon, my boss, my friend and my
sister, your words were your bond, you were bold and fearless. You broke
barriers. ‘No’ was not an answer, there was nothing like a shut door, just like
nothing was impossible to achieve. You were a pioneer and a path finder. You
were indeed a warrior, a colossus! You were a dynamite, small in stature but of
great influence, ability and capability. You were an institution and so many
people learnt from you. I did.
You
were a blessing to Nigeria and Africa; you were at the forefront of the
propagation of IT (especially hardware) not only in Nigeria, but Africa. We
went all over Africa together; from Tunisia to South Africa, from Kenya to
Ghana, looking to catch on great opportunities in the industry. In Nigeria, we
went round the country, all the states and all tertiary institutions. We had
dealings with all the federal and state governments.
You
were a forerunner! While paperless office was yet alien to the Nigerian business
environment, our Group had started running on that platform. I could be in Asia
and access files, work on them and approve where necessary, right on my phone.
I
am very sure the factories of Asia will not forget you so soon, you were
constantly challenging them. As I write this tribute, many of your associates
in Singapore, China and Hong Kong are in a state of shock.
You
once asked me to see how we could lower the cost of our parts for the desktops.
So, three of us left for China. We had asked the Chinese if we could convert desktop
speaker power source from A/C to USB and were told that was not possible at
that time. Driven by your never-say-nay spirit, our engineers said we could
achieve it. They went to work. Bingo! We achieved it and thereby reduced the
cost of our parts. I will never forget how elated you were when I called you on
phone and most importantly the words of appreciation, reward and praises for the
engineers.
You
were tireless! We would fly into Asia for almost 48 hours, and head straight
into meetings from the airport. Tiredness or fatigue never stopped you. That got
the company to great heights. Our brand was celebrated!
You
were a maverick. I will never forget the day we were walking to a meeting on
Admiralty Road, Lekki, Lagos and you suddenly pulled me back and you said,
"Yomi, let’s go to the market"! Was I not taken aback? I asked you if
you felt we were ready for that. In your usual confident way, you said yes, and
it was the best time for us to do so. The rest became history.
You
were a highly regarded entrepreneur and industrialist, who pioneered the
manufacturing and assembling of computers and other devices, not only in
Nigeria but across West Africa. Out of a few other OEMs in Nigeria, you were
the only woman and it remained so till you departed.
I
vividly recollect when you decided it was time to venture into Ghana. We went
into Ghana to survey the market; you had set up meetings with the relevant Ministers.
After listening to you, it was no surprise that the Ghanaian government gave a
nod to your plan to put up a computer factory in that country.
You
had a knack for excellence; you were diligent, determined and highly focused.
Once you set your goals and priorities, there was no looking back. Often I
wondered where you got the energy from. You were able to manage the home front
as well as the business front, despite the enormous challenges of both.
After
one of those high-level meetings in Abuja, you had announced to a Minister that
you were pregnant. He offered his congratulation and then asked you jokingly if
despite all your tight business schedule, you still had time to play in the
“other room”! You belonged not only to the room at the office, but also to the
“other room” at home and that only attested to your ability to manage both
rooms very effectively.
You
were so passionate about computers and the brand Omatek that you defied every
odd to establish factories in and out of Nigeria. Through so many of your
original initiatives, we were able to make computers available to civil servants,
educational institutions, homes and other individuals. A lot of these beneficiaries
did not have to pay once as we were able to amortise for them.
You
exuded abundant joy the day we computerised Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Because of our other schedules in Lagos, we arrived the university at about
6pm, the whole auditorium was filled to the brim with the community waiting for
the delivery of their computers. The highpoint of that outing for me was that,
when you were asked to deliver a speech, you bluntly refused and asked that I
be given the microphone. You never saw yourself as “the Boss”.
I
thank you for the opportunities you gave me to represent you at so many fora. I
sat in your place on the National Identity Card Committee, right from the first
minute till we submitted our report to Mr. President. The result of the work we
did is what gave birth to the National Identity Card Commission.
I
will never forget a day at the International Airport, Lagos. We were to travel
to India, and your husband said to me: "Yomi, am happy you are going. I
have confidence in you. Take care of my wife and slow Florence down. She works
too hard!" But how do I slow down a woman who climbed the stairs to the
14th floor of the WAEC office for us to seal a deal, two days to when she had a
baby?
We
were to have a meeting a few weeks ago on a new project, but you shifted the appointment
and I became a bit busy too. When I saw your text message some weeks back, I
became unusually lackadaisical about replying, little did I know it would be
the last contact from you.
You
lived a very short but impact full life, so much that am yet to come to terms
with the reality of your demise.
You
were a Fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society, a Fellow of the Institute of
Directors and also a Fellow of the Nigeria Society of Chemical Engineers. You
had countless local and international awards. You were a developer of women and
the youths in ICT. Nigeria appreciated you, you were an MFR.
You
left your foot print and legacies, and they will be indelible.
May
the Lord console your aged mother, your husband and children, your siblings and
the entire family.
*Yomi Soyinka, was Group General Manager of Omatek Computers
ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!
Pix: Late Florence Seriki and Yomi Soyinka
No comments:
Post a Comment