While speaking in an exclusive interview with PUNCH
Newspaper, Nigerian billionaire businesswoman, and second richest
African women, Folorunsho Alakija, spoke on her philanthropy, family and
meeting the current richest woman in Africa and more.
When asked if her passion for women and girls empowernemnt was fuelled by the fact that she don’t have a girl child, she said:
"No. The passion I have about women comes first from the fact
that God has called me to help widows and orphan children. The other
area is because of my entrepreneurial mentality. I realised that the
world could be a better place to live in if everybody has money. I was
born into a family of entrepreneurs. Right from a tender age, I have
been seeing how people trade and are making money.
"How can the world leave out over 50 per cent of its population
– women – in the scheme of things? When all hands are on deck, then we
can achieve our goals. That is the idea of my philanthropic activities. I
would love to see a better world where women are being given the
opportunity to make the world a better place."
When asked if she would decided today to become Nigeria’s first female President, she said:
"God has not called me to politics. I know that I am not the
only one around. There are those who would be interested in that area.
For now, it is not my calling. I would certainly not object to people
with such aspirations.
In whatever way I can support, I would but if it
is something that would bring me into the limelight, I would take a step
back."
When asked if she has met the current richest african woman, Isabel do Santos, who just dethroned her, she said: "Yes,
I met her at a conference in South Africa about five years ago. I went
up to her to introduce myself. Unfortunately, she did not have her
complimentary card on her at the time. I have not seen her since then."
When asked what she would you consider her biggest regret, she said:
"I would have said I would have loved to have a female child. But I
can’t say that now because God has been merciful. We have two female
grandchildren already. They made up for it."
When asked of the biggest decision she ever made, she said: "Giving
my life to Christ. At the time I did, I wondered what took me so long
and why I did not know him before that. That was 27 years ago. I give
him all the glory."
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