Good Human of Nigeria: Abiade Olawanle Abiola
‘...today, over 3,300 youths have participated in the general career workshops while over 300 have been trained in specific skills. With her personal funds and contributions from family and friends, Abiade finances HOSEI’
Find out more on why Abiade Olawanle Abiola is our Good Human of Nigeria for the month of March!
March 22, 2016. My first time in Soka, a part of Ibadan renown for kidnaps some years ago. My meeting with Abiade Olawanle Abiola, founder of HOSEI (Human of Substance Empowerment Initiative) would happen an hour earlier than scheduled. There was a change in plans. There had been an attempted robbery at her house the previous night, she told me. One of the HOSEI beneficiaries who did not complete his training had come with his gang. Rather than open her door, she called the police. They were rounded up.
Abiade, a legal practitioner turned social activist, grew up in a polygamous home, the second of nine children. Her experiences while growing up prepared her for the future.
“My father was a disciplinarian who, though not an ardent believer of gender equality, taught us all, to be opinionated…Many people told me to study law,” she said. That dream however became threatened after she became a Christian. Her father told her to choose between him sponsoring her education and Jesus. She chose the latter. And from a young age, she learnt so many skills like hair-dressing and catering, to survive ad pay for her education. As a Law student at the University of Ibadan, she catered for several parties and dinners.
“After my law school, I knew I would have to put my gown and wig on the side. So I made a container and started selling recharge cards in bulk. One day, a senior colleague ran into me…and insisted I must practice…” that was the beginning of her legal practice. Still practising law, in 2013, she went for a training on Women’s Human Rights under the department of Women Studies, University of Toronto. That was where she caught her vision for HOSEI.
‘I was in my hostel thinking of what to do on return to Nigeria. God dropped it in my heart to do something to help youths and women. The instruction was to help people in similar situations that I’d gone through not to be helpless so that they do not succumb to social vices,” she said. Her strategy is simple: equip young school leavers between the ages of 14 and 19 with empowerment skills they can monetise. First, she runs a general career workshop to identify skills of interest; then, she pairs them with trainers in their chosen areas. HOSEI is usually responsible for the costs of such trainings.
Today, over 3,300 youths have participated in the general career workshops while over 300 have been trained in specific skills. With her personal funds and contributions from family and friends, Abiade finances HOSEI. Despite the challenges, she wants to do more by connecting youths with skills with which they can change their lives.
Despite the bad experience the previous night, Abiade says she will keep helping Nigerian youths rewrite their future today.
“It is important to keep them occupied. It not only provides food on their table but can change their lives forever,” Abiade says beaming with smiles.