Call her the amazon of business transactions around the Oluwole axis of Lagos Island; you will not be far from the truth. Prior to her recent coronation as the Iya Oloja of Oluwole market, she has always ensured the welfare and smooth running of businesses within the Oluwole market and environs.
Chief Mrs. Josephine Onwudiwe passion for service since she started trading has never left anyone in doubt regarding her passion for the economic and social development of both her business colleagues and the environment they operate.
This was why she was unanimously elected the chairperson of the old Tejuosho Market Association, a place she reigned before she relocated to the Oluwole market. At the Tejuosho Market, her record of service won her many admires and marketed her reputation as a goal getter.
Her humility and commitment to the course of improving the lots of the marketers was again brought to the fore when she found herself doing business at Oluwole market, Lagos Island.
A woman of no mean stature, irrespective of the fact she is neither the oldest nor richest among the businessmen and women at Oluwole Market, she was again elected the chairperson of the market without opposition. And as expected, she succeeded in convincing people around her of her competence for the job.
So when the issue of who becomes the new Iya Oloja of the Oluwole Market came up, her group of supporters knew the cap fitted her best because she was not new to handling market affairs.
But as with everything in life, opposition came up against her. When her few opponents aimlessly sought for a point to nail to her and found none, they decided to play the tribal card. They insisted since she was not a daughter of the soil, she didn’t qualify for the post irrespective of her intimidating credentials of service.
Common sense prevailed, when the Iya Oloja General, Chief Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo declared merit should not be sacrificed for tribal sentiments. Tinubu-Ojo put an end to the controversy by stating: “It is Wazobia.”
Onwudiwe who should be in her 50s was born and bred in Lagos State. Though she is married to an Easterner of Igbo extraction, she and her husband have lived in Lagos all through their years of marriage of over three decades. She also had and raised all her children in Lagos and speaks Yoruba, Igbo and English languages fluently.
In a more sane society, 10 to 15 years of residency without a criminal record, qualifies one for any elective position.
Having fulfilled all the requirements for being crowned the first Iya Oloja of Oluwole, the stage got set for the ceremony.
Even the weather which threatened to pour earlier in the day, gradually subsided and gave way for this woman of substance to be celebrated.
As she and her husband got to the venue of the event held at the Iya Oloja General’s residence, Alausa, Ikeja, the drummers in front of the gate who had been entertaining guests with their brand of music increased the tempo of their druming as they sang the praises of the woman to be crowned the Iya Oloja of Oluwole.
If the pre-entry razzmatazz was anything to go by, then the praises and music that heralded her in the venue of her coronation was beyond description.
It baffled some, even her own people how a non indigene could win such a position. But as it is popularly said, action speaks louder than voice. Her activities in the market square through the years, paid off and saw her through the new position.
Typical of Onwudiwe, rather than sit and watch events unfold at the event, she was all over the place, pushing herself through the teeming crowd to ensure an orderly organization and a worthwhile event.
Besides her husband, she had members of her immediate family around including her son in-law for moral support.
Hear what her husband had to say of his wife: “I feel great that in Yoruba land, they can honour her with such a title. I’m very happy that Yorubas are encouraging us to show that we are indeed one Nigeria.
He said he strongly believes in his wife’s capability in handling affairs as a result, gave her his full support. He also said he has never entertained any form of fear because God is in control of the situation.
Mrs. Uche Clarabelle Campbell, a friend of Onwudiwe disclosed she has always been a very nice person right from their childhood days. Her niceness, she went on, brought them together and has been the reason for the lasting relationship.
Hear Campbell: “In all ramifications, she has been very good. As for her new title, I have no doubt in my mind that she earned the position because she works like a horse and is so tireless.”
She went on; “She is a very nice person, open minded, charitable and does not reject anyone that comes her way. She has this way of making people, even those meeting her for the first time relax and trust her with their problems. Once convinced, she goes all out to ensure she helps the person out.”
The ceremony which was performed by Tinubu-Ojo witnessed the presence of market men and women from various locations in Lagos as well friends and acquaintances who came to felicitate with the new Iya Oloja of Oluwole.
After her decoration, Onwudiwe acknowledged the privilege of being the first set of Igbos to be accorded this kind of title in Lagos State.
Though human beings, she says are very difficult people to manager, with the market constitution stated in black and white, she said, everything would work out fine.
She went on; “Now that I have assumed this position, I can assure of good things ahead. We would no longer be cheated because we are now fully registered with the Lagos State Government. Anybody who comes to the market from any locality must now present original products or wares, no more mago mago. I’m the happier for it because this new development will now make my work less strenuous.
No man, it is said, is an Island and a single tree cannot make a forest. Some other people within the Oluwole market square were also elected and crowned along side her.
These include Mrs. Afusat Amope, vice Iya Oloja; Ikechukwu Orakwute financial secretary, a position he has held for three years before being crowned official; Nnamdi Orajiuba who is the new and first Babalaje of Oluwole, a title given only to somebody with a good understanding of the market. He looks forward to doing more than what he has done previously to make the business environment conducive for the people that operate therein.