Funke Olaode
18 November 2007
interview
Lagos — She lost her medical doctor, father to the cold hands of death when she was just 13. this marked a turning point for her and her mother. She had to face the challenge of growing up without the succour and material support of her loving father. Her mother, then a teacher was undaunted by any challenges which life threw at her direction. Instead of wailing over what she didn't have control over, she abandoned her teaching profession, relocated to England where she enrolled for a degree in law and graduated.
This experience, Mrs. Ify Akerele said, toughened her desire to excel in life. After her A. levels in England, Ify relocated to Nigeria and proceeded to attend the University of Ife, Obafemi Awolowo University, to study law. She later abandoned law and moved to the University of Lagos where she studied Sociology, graduating in 1979. She later got her masters in International Relations. Ever since, she has worked with corporate establishments until 2002 when she was appointed the first female Director-General of the Nigerian Chambers of Shipping. She spoke to FUNKE OLAODE
To say she is pretty at 52, could very well be an understatement. She holds no preferences for western taste like most present wannabes. Mrs. Ify Ifeyinwa Anazonwu Akerele is one of the few people who won't easily be carried away by western fashion. At every opportunity, she likes mixing African fabrics with English wears and everything will still look trendy.
She is in love with traditional African clothes, "I love African clothes and if you gave me the chance, I will go and sit in Ivory Coast for two weeks and make all my clothes. I can pick adire (local fabrics) and make a suit out them because it is cooler. I don't like buying corporate clothes from Europe because they are always too hot. The younger generation can wear it and be comfortable. The older I get the less I want on my body. I find that those African prints are comfortable". With a dignified self carriage, she comes across as an African queen.
Her day usually starts early, "I wake up around 5.30AM, say a prayer by saying good morning Daddy after which I put on my jogging outfit and go for one hour walk. I come in and try to do a sit-up. I take a shower and listen to a 15 minutes maritime programme on radio called ship/ports. I also listen to Channel news. I dress up and come to the office where I get the work started. I have a meeting with my staff every morning. I am almost like a micro manager but I am slowly letting it go because I have credible managers who seem to understand the rhythm of things".
But that Tuesday afternoon, this beautiful mother of two wasn't in her African attire which has become her trademark. She was dressed in ash-coloured suit with black camisole. As she sat down in one of the sofas in her office, her chocolate skin glowed. You could hardly believe that she is 52. What has been her secret? "Thanks for that compliment. I don't have any beauty routine. The secret of my youthful look is not far -fetched. I am a contented person. I take care of myself and I try my best to eat the right food. Though sometimes one breaks the rule. I do an hour of walking every morning. I also take a lot of water".
For the Onitsha, Anambra State born Akerele, she couldn't have wished for a better parentage. She lost her father to the cold hands of death at a very tender age. "My late father was a medical doctor while my mother was a teacher by profession. That put me in an educated and what you can call a comfortable setting. I lost my father when I was 13 years old. But my mother was a very strong woman. Though widowed quite early, she went back to school and read law. We all went back to England and she did her 'A' levels and studied law. I guess when I looked at her or anytime I wanted to slip up or became a naughty teenager; my mother's determined efforts toughened my strength. She was a very strong influence on me. My father, whom I remember very well, being his first born and his favourite was a disciplined fun loving person".
"My father's death made me grew up very fast. And at the age of 15/16, I was my mother's best friend, confidant, daughter and husband. This was very challenging for me. I don't think I really had the kind of youth that most people did. I didn't have carefree days because I had to think of my mother and my other four siblings. You know, thinking how we were going to survive. It wasn't easy, but at the same time my mother was a strong person and my father also left us adequately provided for. So, it wasn't that bad. But the situation made me grow up very fast".
With a determined and supportive mother, they all withered the storm. After a brief stint at Queen School, Enugu, and of course, the Civil war that engulfed the nation for three years, she relocated to England with her siblings where she continued her education. After her 'A' levels, she came back to Nigeria and gained admission to study Law at the University of If now Obafemi University, Ile-Ife in Osun State. Having grown up in England, staying in Ife became difficult. She would later abandon her law degree and transfer to University of Lagos where she eventually studied Sociology graduating in 1989. She later did her masters in International Relations.
What influenced her decision to study sociology? Her response was quick.
"My father was a medical doctor and my mother a teacher but I chose sociology because I am a busy body. And I like minding people's business people's businesses. This sometime gets me into a lot of trouble. But at the end of the day, I feel satisfied that I have done my part. I don't like people being unhappy. So, I always go out of my way to help people. May be that is why I took sociology because it gave me a good platform to understand human nature. I later did some courses on Welfare administration".
She began her career under the tutelage of renowned professor of International Relations, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi. "After my youth service in 1980, I began a career with the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos. Professor Bolaji Akinyemi was my boss then. I worked for five years. I got married in 1985, took a break from work for about three years. When I took a break, I was actually working with my husband. We were running a desktop publishing outfit. When my break was over I went into corporate administration. I was one of the pioneer executive secretaries of Nigerian Institute of Directors (NID). In 1999, I got a job in Abuja at the presidency. I became a special assistant to the presidential liaison officer. His role was to liaise between the senate and the presidency. My function was to compile what happened in the Senate every day into comprehensive detail and send it to the presidency. After that regime, I moved to the Nigerian Institute of Management where we tried very hard to get it started. I am happy that we succeeded. I came back and got my current appointment as Director General, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping".
Armed with corporate establishment, when she was appointed, her wealth of experience has helped her to turn the institution around.
"Nigerian Chamber of Shipping is a public/private sector partnership. It has a very strong relationship with government but mainly private sector driven. You know the need to localize the shipping industry, and a need for a knowledge based body. Every country has a Chamber of Shipping. This is Nigerian equivalent of Chambers of shipping all over the world".
"The Chamber of Shipping is actually an advocacy platform and it is also a platform that is used by the maritime sector to promote maritime activities, to link up with maritime bodies as a credit platform. My job entails bringing that credibility into focus. The chamber has been very quiet initially. And in the last administration, there was a lot of emphasize on promotion of indigenization. There is a law called Cabotage Law, which helps Nigerians to get jobs in the sector. Former President Obasanjo signed the Cabotage Act into Law. After that, the chamber was put together by a team of interested people. They said that the law has been made, but it has got to be interpreted by the ordinary man on the streets, it has got to be monitored and all that. We are almost like pressure group but not an antagonistic one. We are an information body. You can come in here and we link you up with any shipping company you want to know. And because of our credibility as an institution, these shipping companies feel comfortable with them. Our boards of governors are credible people in the industry. Being a new body our credibility is accepted in the society. Nigerian Maritime Authority now NIMASA Ministry of Transport and Nigerian Ports Authority have been supportive. They recognise that we can assist them to ensure that what they are regulating is accepted by the general public and is also implemented correctly".
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