Her looks and graceful carriage are usually cool and calm, contrasting her intimidating resume, which speaks volume about her personality.
No wonder many local and international organisations are quick to conclude that Erelu Bisi Fayemi is better known as a gender specialist, social entrepreneur and policy advocate than being a politician’s wife or a former first lady of Ekiti State.
Having spent several years working on women’s rights and development issues around the world, before her husband, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, became the governor of Ekiti State in 2010, many observers and critics were, therefore, not surprised when she received the 2011 David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of Philanthropy. Also in 2011, Women Deliver named her one of the top 100 people in the world working on women’s empowerment, and in 2012, she was named by New Africa Magazine as one of the 100 most influential Africans.
It was, therefore, not surprising when the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Fayemi, her husband, confessed at an event in Lagos recently that the decision of his wife to contribute to issues in politics and human rights in the government, earned him the wrath of those who felt women should not be heard when it comes to issues of governance.
He had added that Erelu Bisi had remained passionate about the twin issues of human rights and politics and served on policy committees in this regard.
“Some people felt she was too upfront and involved. Instead of the people to see it as the fact that they got two for the price of one, they did not like the idea. This got me into trouble. But her motive was that she wanted the society to improve,” he said.
Inspite of the opposition in certain quarters, she never stops to call for gender balance, almost at every fora she attends. This does not burden the former first lady of Ekiti State. Rather, it strengthens her resolve to achieve success.
Erelu Bisi says she never allows thoughts that her life can be threatened to bother her.
She says, “Over the past 15 years, African Women’s Development Fund has funded over 2,000 women organisations in 42 African countries. What drives me in all these is getting justice for women and an equitable society.
“I have, indeed, spent most of my adult life working on women’s rights issues. I worked for Akina Mama Wa Afrika, an international African women’s organisation based in the United Kingdom (1991-2001). During that time, I established the African Women’s Leadership Institute, which has supported, at least, 6,000 women leaders across Africa, including women in Nigeria.”
Over the past 15 years, African Women’s Development Fund has funded over 2,000 women organisations in 42 African countries. What drives me in all these is getting justice for women and an equitable society. I have, indeed, spent most of my adult life working on women’s rights issues
The Master’s degree holder in Gender and Society from Middlesex University, United Kingdom, discloses that she learnt the right to speak up and be heard as well as community service from her father, who worked as an accountant in the Federal Civil Service.
She says, “He always told us that on the day of reckoning, he would never be found wanting. True to his words, at a time when there was a change of government in 1979, a lot of his colleagues were rounded up for involvement in one scam or the other, but he was untouched. I learnt the value of contentment from my father, discipline, the right to speak up and be heard, and the fact that I could accomplish anything I set my mind on. From my mother, I learnt generosity, solidarity with other women in need and negotiating skills.”
On her advice to women entrepreneurs, the Amazon says, “There are no shortcuts to success. You should be prepared to put in hard work to see results. Focus on the things that you love and inspire you. At a stage in your life, you may have to take on ‘survival work’, which is a job that you don’t really like doing, but it pays your bills. The moment you feel you are able to, move on to doing things that really excite you.
“When you focus on something you are good at, your passion will shine through and it will encourage investors to support you because they can see you know what you are doing. No investor wants to back a failure; so when they see you are committed to success, you get their attention. Be professional in all your dealings, and cultivate good manners such as arriving in time for meetings, appropriate grooming and being polite.”
Speaking about her achievements as the first lady of Ekiti, she recalls establishing Soup Kitchen and Food Bank, two out of her several Initiatives. According to her, the idea behind the concepts “was for us to be able to provide nutritional support to those who were unable to feed or fend for themselves.”
The Food Bank gave out raw food to the elderly, indigent widows, orphans, vulnerable children and those living with HIV and unable to work. And it was the experience garnered in the course of the Food Bank project that led to the setting up of the Soup kitchen.
Bisi Fayemi says, “In the process of running the Food Bank, we found out that there were some people, who were unable to cook for themselves, even if you gave them the raw food, like the elderly; so we established the Soup Kitchen. We had, at least, 16 soup kitchens in six local government areas across Ekiti State, and we dished out hot meal, at least, three times a week to them, free of charge.
“As a woman, I am proud of my husband’s achievements in Ekiti, which included the Ekiti State Gender Policy that was signed into law when he was in office, among others. The Gender Policy Law criminalises acts of violence against women in the state.”
Bisi Fayemi was also able to render support to women, youth and children in the state, through series of other initiatives such as the granting of micro-credit loans to women’s cooperatives and coordinating school acquisition training programmes for women in the different local government areas of the state.
In this regard, no fewer than 200 women benefited from an initiative in collaboration with Globacom, called the Glo Communications Kiosk Business. Also, the Ekiti Development Foundation embarked on advocacy campaigns that led to the building of new model markets in the state’s local government areas.
The cerebral former first lady is the author of “Speaking for Myself: Perspectives on Social, Political and Feminist Activism (2013),” and ‘Speaking Above a Whisper’, (2013), an autobiography. She also co-edited ‘Voice, Power and Soul’ with Jessica Horn (2008), a compilation of images and stories of African feminists. She is currently a United Nations Women Nigeria Goodwill Ambassador, and recently established abovewhispers.com, an online community for women.
