Entrepreneurs

"It is not enough to say I have the passion and the talent. It’s not even enough to say I have been trained. It takes much more than these to be a grounded actor. And people need to stop some of the things they do, especially when at the end of one reality programme, every participant automatically becomes part of Nollywood. Values such as excellence seem not to matter anymore with awards and recognitions being handed out to just anybody. If we would take care of such things and reward excellence instead of mediocrity, then people would come around to say that we have grown. On the average, I really think we have grown"

"If I say I am satisfied, it means we should not do anything more. If I say I am not satisfied, it will look as if I am greedy. I don’t know where to stand but I think we can do better than we are doing right now. I think we need to discipline ourselves. It’s about commitment. We need to be more committed to serving the people we represent and serving the people who stick with us. I think we need to do more"

"Well, I am a very open person. My private life is my private life; it is what it is. Outside of that, I am not a scandalous person. I don’t like scandals. It’s not by luck, it’s about how I carry myself and how I do the things I do. If you respect yourself, others would respect you. I don’t know any other way that it’s done. I am the same way with everybody. I have too much love inside of me and I have enough to share."

"Once an artiste, always an artiste. I am not just one of the talented ones; I am also one of the skilled ones, having attended series of training while I have also garnered experience. It is easy to get back to what you have always loved. I guess that’s why and when people know that you have the capacity to do your work and do it well, you don’t have to ask for respect. Respect would find you."

"We all need support and if you can give it go ahead. Do it and be grateful to God that you have been presented an opportunity to be a blessing to another person. God will truly reward you for every gift you give to the poor…the yam sure will put food in their pots…but this is not acceptable, this is not giving! #stoptheabuse #stoptheabuseofwomen."

"enoughisenough. Justice is not just ice. Stop throwing the cases and the victims into the freezers until they become ice. We can’t keep burying our children because those who are supposed to be protecting us are busy questioning and blaming the victims."

"Sometimes when I think of what people that sit in committees come up with, I wonder what runs in their veins. Blood or water? Because they react like people who don’t feel the pain of others."

"Gone are the days where girls are relegated to doing domestic chores, leaving boys to go to school and have a career."

"It is best at this age for parents, guardians and teachers to give the girls the opportunity to be the best, have confidence in themselves and basically dream as widely as they can."

"There is a greater awareness of the issue of, the gender gap in technology."

"Over the years, we have been able to create awareness about the gender gap."

"Revalidating the role of women in technology is not meant to compete with the men, it shouldn’t be like that because we all have our area of strengths and perspective. We are bringing different levels of exposure to the team or workplace."

"“I have learnt to keep my privacy out of the public purview especially in discussions with journalists. But there is nothing hidden in my life. I live a very open life. But I decided from day one not to discuss my family on the pages of newspapers, because it is not fair to them. They do not have the opportunity to present themselves the way they would have liked to. And that is not fair.”"

"“I wonder why government is not doing anything to protect the copyright of artistes. These are the things that affect our economy. The music industry is a large section of the economy of this country. Why is government not paying attention, not caring? These are frustrations. Your intellectual property is your wealth and somebody is sitting on it. People are making money off someone’s work.”"

"“Mistakes make you human. But the point is, how do you look at your mistakes? What are they there for? Nobody is infallible. You are going to forge ahead based on what you have learnt from them. When you fall down, you have to get up. Learn your lessons, get up and keep going even stronger.”"

"“These young artists of today will evolve. They will evolve. I am hoping that they will evolve. They cannot remain at the nonsensical level of shaking their bum-bum and exposing body parts. No. That’s not what your art is all about. You can express yourself that way, but please, to a certain extent, do not make music a pornographic thing,”"

"“Small minds, narrow minds can’t comprehend a great spirit when they see it. When they insist in stereotyping you, even when the evidence is there, look at them carefully, they are lacking some sort of professionalism.”"

"“When people ask me, ‘what is it that you have,’ I tell them it is contentment. My spirit as a Christian fills me in with contentment. We are here for a purpose. Find that purpose and work towards realizing it. The challenges will come. I mean you can’t run away from them. In life there must be issues. It is only when you’re six feet deep that you don’t get them anymore. If you can put all that together and put your faith and trust in God who sent you here, you’re fulfilled.”"

"“The example of her life was a teaching tool because she showed that she could stand as a woman on her own…be a contributing member of the community.”"

"“My mum was the one who when I was in college would write, ‘remember your music.’ She knew that I had followed the family tradition by going to school, she encouraged me to not forget the artistic side of it. There was a rule in my house that when you had done your Masters, and only after that, get your education first.”"

"“NTA used ‘Iyi Ogogo‘ to open and close their station for eight years, but they didn‘t pay me a kobo. They didn‘t even ask my permission. When I asked, they barred me from being shown on NTA and I went on hunger strike. They felt they were doing me a favour by using my music. Ben Bruce said ‘Don‘t touch that lady. I don‘t want to see her face, I don‘t want to hear her music on my station‘. And I said no, it wasn‘t his station, that NTA belonged to the nation. This was in 2000.”"

"“Politics must not be left in the hands of notorious people or the mediocre. We must bring our best into it and no one has a right to complain if one refuses to get into politics, and some other people ventured into it and make laws that will affect your generation yet unborn.”"

"“I was targeted and abused for being an Igbo woman who came to give jobs to and elevate my people while sidelining them.”"

"“Be careful of what you live for posterity. If you can’t give your best, don’t step out because what you recorded is always going to be there for long, so you got to give it the very best. Center your artistry around something that will last with meaning, not just shaking bumbum and it’s just the women that are always shaking it, the men don’t shake anything. Women are worth more than shaking their bumbum. Enough of the bumbum. Though, everyone is free to be creative, but just know that yours will not last while the other person with meaningful lyrics will remain evergreen.”"

"“My personal memory of Dr Alvan Ikoku covers the period of the Biafra war when he made every effort to ferry my sister Ijeoma, my first cousin Ifeoma Ejindu and myself to Gabon, to save us from the war. Eventually, Ijeoma and Ifeoma were cleared to leave but I was not. I remember vividly how we all visited with the old man and knelt down to thank him for his efforts in saving us from the war. Dr Alvan was particularly touched by my show of gratitude, even though he did not succeed in getting me on the approved list and he said so. As fate would have it, the war ended just two weeks before my sister and cousin were to leave Biafra.”"

"“I cried my eyes out, with the realization that as difficult as my life was, it could not be compared with what Winnie Mandela was going through. I was no Winnie Mandela for sure, but I could identify with her loneliness and some of her pain. That night, I could not sleep. I had to put my pain to a song. I needed to give something back to Winnie for the sacrifice of her life to the Apartheid struggle, in which every decent human being had a stake. I saw her sacrifice as a global one, made by an African Woman, brave and courageous beyond words, for her man and her country.”"

"I am just an ordinary human being, a woman trying to live her life in the best way possible; dealing with the issues of life, making contributions to the society and to leave this place better than I met it. Hopefully, I can achieve that even at a personal level, because if you look at the country as a whole, the country has deteriorated. So I probably will not leave it better than I met it, unfortunately."

"I have great admiration for market women. The incredible thing that we don’t know is that they are holding up a large sector of the economy of this country. These women that sell tomatoes, pepper, onions; that is how they raise their children. That is how they train their children up to university level. That is how they hold their families together."

"“I probably would have been somewhere buying and selling like every other woman who is trying to survive. If I didn’t have education, it would still have been the same thing. I can buy and sell at all levels, considerably.”"

"“I don’t live like a star. When I go on stage, my reality takes nothing away from me, because I will diva you. That is my training that is my life. I will bring whatever I have to bring to the stage. I give the best performance and lift people up. When I come down from the stage, I am a mother, I am a homemaker, I am a gardener, a cleaner, I go to the market, I cook. I have never employed a cook in my life. Those are the things that rule my life.”"

"But being a miser does not mean he is using government funds well. He is not a miser when it comes to stuffing the funds in his pocket. The first time you meet Gov. Obi he swears to you in that innocent voice of his: “If I steal a kobo of government fund, may God punish me and my children.” Like most people, I believed him. Then, right there in your face, he goes on to stuff his pocket. He is such a fake."

"For instance, he made it clear that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable and our duty at this conference is to discuss ways to build a stronger and better Nigeria and I totally agree with him."

"Apart from our long history of togetherness, we’ve also enjoyed many decades of inter-marriages and mutual co-existence. We have to make sure that this conference delivers on the true spirit of Mr. President’s speech."

"While we discuss the value of unity as written in his speech, we must realise that millions of Nigerians are being discriminated against in various parts of this country where they are born; where their forefathers lived; based on the so-called state of origin."

"The founding fathers of Nigeria had a dream of building a united, prosperous, and developed nation state where social justice reigns. We also have to continue to dream because once we stopped dreaming then life is gone. In conclusion, I am convinced that Nigeria will work and fulfil its destiny."

"I therefore look forward to collaborating with other delegates to chart the way for a better a new Nigeria. We all want to see a positive transform Nigeria and I therefore urge all of us to work individually and collectively so as to set the right agenda for the Nigeria of our dream."

"Mr Chairman, distinguished delegates, I leave you with the words of these Greek proverb “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.""

"The best man for the job is a woman."

"An unpredictable consumer drug market is a form of public health terrorism: Nigerian patients on prescription medications cannot rely on drugs purchased from pharmacies, and legitimate multinational drug manufacturers have struggled in Nigerian markets because they are unable to sell quality products in a market infiltrated by inferior drugs. These inferior drugs include expired or uncertified drugs; drugs with very little or no active ingredients; and drugs sold to the general public without contact information printed on the label."

"Tufiakwa! Not at all. The Dora brand is still the gold standard. It is as solid as coke. No shaking. My enemies can concoct stories about me but none of their evil stories will stick on me. God forbid! (She signs herself and mutters the Hail Mary)."

"Well, my only regret was going to Anambra State to partner with Gov. Peter Obi. You see, when you’re away from home and you depend on the newspapers for your stories, you’re setting yourself up to be fooled. I thought Gov. Obi was a good Catholic because I heard that the Pope endorsed him in last year’s gubernatorial election – and that God then ratified. In fact, I believed he was almost a holy man. Then I got to Anambra State and saw that he was a hypocrite. He carries around the rosary but he is just another crooked politician. The man is a creation of the media. He has a group of media men cleaning his image. The one that really shocked me was my discovery that he is not even popular in Anambra state. I could not believe it. If I had known, I would have remained in PDP and run for the senate seat under PDP. I would have won the election hands down. I was fooled by Peter Obi. He is surrounded by sycophants who won’t tell him a single truth. They deceive him by calling him “Okwute,” Rock of Ages. Meanwhile, he is just a mound of dust. Uche Ekwunife did the right thing – she did not allow Obi anywhere near her campaign. She kept her distance. She knew Obi was toxic. I did not know that. The man lives a fictional life. He is just a fraud sold to the public as a man with a great narrative."

"Who told you that Gov. Obi brought the money used to buy them? They were all bought by my brother, Anayo. Gov. Obi knows only his pocket. He won’t even give anything to Catholic priests who received and transmitted the message that he was the pope’s candidate last year. The man is just a miser."

"Yes. That’s my very dear brother in whom I’m very pleased. He was suffering as a teacher at a community college in Virginia when I advised him to come back home. I told him that the miserable life of a teacher was not his divine portion. He listened to me and came back home. He started Solid Base Contractors LTD. When you have a big sister like me, your problem will never be cash but how to spend your money. I hooked him up and the rest is history."

"We set up the Foundation in memory of our parents. For something like that, you just have to pick people you trust. You don’t want the wrong people to come in and mess things up."

"Gen. Sani Abacha heard all these great stories about the good work I was doing at UNN and in Anambra State and he picked me. That’s the honest truth, before God and man. It was purely on merit. Don’t listen to what my enemies are saying."

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”"

"Nigerians have for long clamoured for an opportunity such as this to discuss our problems and come up with solutions that will strengthen the bond of our nationhood. I regard this national conference as President Jonathan’s best centenary gift to Nigerians, and a proof that he is a listening president."

"Mr. President’s speech oozes humility, modesty, patriotism and a deep concern for the present and future of this beautiful country, Nigeria. Mr. President in that speech admitted that sovereignty belongs to the people. And those in authority are only holding power on trust for the people and of course that nobody has monopoly of knowledge. Hence, the decision for convening this conference. One thing that stands out from Mr. President’s speech is that there is no trace of negativism."

"When you have a big sister like me, your problem will never be cash but how to spend your money."

"I am convinced that Nigeria should remain as one nation after 100 years despite her challenges because our common values overwhelm our differences."