Sunday Ehigiator
In honour of the enduring entrepreneurial legacy of the late Iyalode of Oke-Ona and Egbaland, Bisoye Tejuoso, the 1st Female Industrialist in Nigeria, the STRIDE Campaign was recently launched in Lagos to promote mental health and well-being awareness, accelerate action for gender equality whilst, honouring Nigerian women’s achievements.
The Panel discussion for the Stride campaign, themed ‘Empowering Change & Creating an Equitable and Just Nigeria’, embodied the spirit of women’s empowerment, recognising the vital roles women play in Nigeria’s development and how important it is for women’s empowerment and wellbeing to be crucial to a nation’s success.
The event, convened by one of Iyalode’s granddaughters, Princess Abisola Lekan-Akanbi, featured fashion showcases, a documentary on Iyalode’s legacy and inspiring discussions from experts, including Yetunde Bankole-Bernard, Dr. Gbonjubola Abiri, Stephanie Kadiri, Maryjane Ugbaja, and Edememe Oladiji-Wusu. Awards of Excellence were presented to women who have made significant impacts in their fields.
In her remarks, Abisola Akanbi noted: “Today, we are celebrating and launching the Stride Campaign in Honour of the Late Iyalode Bisoye Tejuoso, the first Iyalode of Oke Ona Egba, the third Iyalode of Egba Land, and the first female industrialist in Nigeria.
“The Stride Campaign, which is an acronym for Succeed, Thrive, Renew, Impact, Dominate, Enhance (STRIDE), is a celebration of Nigerian women’s achievements, promoting women’s empowerment, gender equality, and mental health awareness through fashion events.
“Stride was born out of my own experiences and challenges, and that of other women that I am acquainted with and see every day.
“I see women dealing with a lot in their lives, and despite all they are dealing with. They wear it with a smile. But underneath that smile, there is more, there is pain, and a lot going on in them that may affect their nervous system in the future.
“So, STRIDE is a call to women to not stay in that low place of pain, to rise, to come up hither, to be all that God has purposed for them to be, to live their lives in abundance just as God desires for them. That’s the essence of STRIDE.”
Also speaking at the event, Senator Olanrewaju Tejuoso, Iyalode’s First Grandson, noted that, “We are celebrating a woman who, even when it was a man’s world, was more than men. I think women need to take a cue from their lifetime, fold their sleeves, and get to work.
“It’s even better as it is now in Nigeria than it was before. There are more opportunities for women to thrive today than it was before, to achieve even more than our grandmothers.”
Also speaking, the Group Chairman, Odua Investment, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, noted that, “I was impressed when Abisola told me that she was doing something like this, which is her trying to showcase her grandmother in the area of entrepreneurship.
“She was a nationalist in Nigeria and a very prominent Nigerian industrialist, well-known for Teju Industries, Teju Foam, etc. For her granddaughter to come out and say, ‘Let me celebrate my grandmother’s impact is commendable and what she has done,’ is inspiring.”
Also speaking with journalists, the Osile of Oke-Ona Egbaland, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso Karunwi III, noted that, “Iyalode died in September 1996, at the age of 80, we lived together for 58 years, and she was a very loving mother, and I think her grandchildren could tell you more, because they enjoyed her much more than me, because she loved keeping them around her until her very last day. She was the best mother in the world.
“I am happy today that at least one of her grandchildren is putting up this event in her blessed memory. I congratulate her for her initiative, and it’s very commendable.”
Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, who was the Guest of honour, through her able representative, Mrs. Adedoja Allen, applauded the initiative and pledged her commitment and support to the STRIDE Campaign initiative as a tool of Women empowerment and gender equality advocacy.
The host was supported by her husband, Mr. Olalekan Akanbi, her mother, Olori Omolara Tejuoso, supported by Olori Yetunde Tejuoso, Olori Labisi Tejuoso, other family members, friends and dignitaries.
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