Shimite Bello, president and chief executive officer (CEO) the Quintessential Group, believes that what is needed for anyone to survive the prevailing harsh economy in Nigeria is ‘sabificate’.
Thus, the renowned entrepreneur doesn’t give up preaching the ‘sabificate’ message wherever she goes and this has given her the sobriquet, Mama ‘Sabificate’.
On Sunday, September 4, she took her message to Sweet Spirit Hotel, Asaba, Delta State capital, where mammoth crowd of women were readily waiting to be empowered courtesy of the Winning Women International (WIN) programme convened by Tochigrace Godspower the First Lady of Wazobia FM.
Even the organisers may not have anticipated the huge crowd of women in attendance as the large hall was full to the brim, with majority of the women standing due to insufficient space. Many had to stay outside (in the hotel premises).
BusinessDay learnt that some women even travelled from neighbouring states like Anambra to attend the programme because they needed support the empowerment – financially and otherwise.
Amazed by the mammoth crowd, Bello said she was told that she would be facing just a few women only for her to see huge crowd. They needed empowerment and her duty was to contribute her quarter as a guest of honour.
Speaking on the theme, ‘The Plus-Woman Factor’, she made them to understand that they were special just as she applauded their patience and sacrifices.
“Your being a woman should not be a disadvantage but a plus because the family and society is incomplete without you. And the best way to contribute to the socio-economic growth of your family and society is to make use of your ‘sabificate.’”
Bello, a graduate of Political Science from the University of Ibadan, told the women that her academic certificate is important but that export business she does is her ‘sabificate’ that gives her alert (money) steadily.
“Some of you studied Law which is your certificate but the buying and selling you do (trading) is your ‘sabificate’,” she said.
She therefore, encouraged the women (both educated and uneducated) to use their sabificates to fight economic hardship and live above poverty.
“The nation’s economy is biting harder on families on daily basis and it’s no more time to always depend on your husbands to provide everything needed in the family.
You can pick up some bills because with your sabificate, you will always make money, she said.
She told them that the era of depending on only academic qualification to make a living was gone as white-collar jobs are hardly available.
She told the women that ‘sabificate’, a word coined from pigeon language “sabi”, is all about mastering a skill and doing it with passion to make a living. It’s about putting your God-given talent at work to make a living. It’s about what you know very well and doing it to the very best of your knowledge.
Read also: Adesuwa, entrepreneur, listed among ‘Top 40 Black Women in Asset Management’ globally
“People who make use of their sabificates get alerts more than those who get certificates,” she said.
“Most women are cowed into believing that they cannot succeed since they are uneducated but Bello said it was wrong for them to think that way.
Thus, she urged them not to allow themselves to be intimidated by anyone, their educational background or environment notwithstanding.
“Women that are even uneducated today are the ones that are paying school fees more in the family,” she asserted.
Bello advised them to be confident to succeed in business just as she stressed the need for them to treat their husbands with respect as they stand to gain in the long run.
“Families are passing through tough times but we appeal to all business women who God blesses their hands, not to use it to abuse their marriages, understand that your husband is your crown. If you abuse him when he is economically down, don’t be surprised what will happen to you when he will be up.
“For those of you who due to economic downturn are feeling that it would have been better for you to be single, I advise you today to be grateful to God for giving you a husband because there are people who are over 50 years old and they are still praying for a life partner.
“Appreciate your husband; be prayerful and work hard towards the upliftment of your family and development of society,” she admonished.
Bello, who was honoured with a Human Capital Development Award at the event, also gave financial support to some women who are petty traders in Midwifery and Ogbogono Markets, Asaba, to enable them grow their businesses.
Through the Quintessential Business Women Association (QBWA), a pressure group and business association under the Quintessential Group, she had supported thousands of women across Nigeria, helping them with access to finance to boost the businesses amongst things.
The QBWA focuses on business concerns in four main areas agricultural development, solid mineral exploration and development, Information Communications Technology (ICT) and financial services for women and youths at the bottom of the pyramid.
As a two-time political appointee in the incumbent Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration in Delta State, Bello had also touched the lives of thousands of women and youths.
The women empowerment specialist during her tenure reached out to them through her office then as the executive secretary, Delta State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (DEMSMA) and later as the special assistant to the governor on Delta-UNIDO Center and Export Initiatives (DUCEI).
The recent award presented to her was on her personality as the president and CEO of the Quintessential Group.
She urged the women to vote Governor Okowa’ in 2023 for more alerts to come to them as she described him as a ‘Sabi Governor’.
