LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE
LIFE OF EFUNROYE TINUBU
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that she could remove and or install kings
as she liked.
6. Great women do not sit on their laurels.
They do not lose themselves in their last
victory or accomplishment. After each
achievement, they set a new goal. With all
her success, Madam Tinubu never got to
a point where she became satisfied and
stopped setting goals. She was always
advancing, always setting new goals to
accomplish. Don’t stop making progress.
7. Great women take the path less travelled.
The type of business she chose and the
extent to which she enlarged her business
empire was unheard of for a woman
in her day. In those days, women were
content to be wives and mothers, and if
they did any trading, it would be from the
comfort of their homes and just enough
to feed their families. But this woman
took her business to another level, unlike
the women in her day. Thus, she stood
out.
8. Great women are bold and fearless. They
are not easily intimated. Madam Tinubu
opposed the British. She must have been
brave and daring to do this. She also
operated in a territory that was reserved
for men. While other women were in
the kitchen and bedroom this woman
stepped into politics and business.
Without any doubt, she was a very
courageous woman.
10. Great women are an inspiration to other
women. They live on long after their
demise and their story sends across a
simple but powerful message, to other
women. One that says, if I can so can
you. Even in death, Madam Tinubu is
remembered and celebrated for her
heroism.
Ladies, if she succeeded in business despite
gender inequality that was more prevalent in
her day, and without any formal education, we
can do much more. Rise to the occasion.
Great women rise above their personal
calamities. Madam Tinubu rose above
tragedies that befell her, the death of
two husbands, two sons, and a beloved
mother, to become one of the greatest
Nigerian women that ever lived.
Great women accept responsibility. After
her first husband died, Madam Tinubu
did not sit back as a widow and wait
to be pitied and provided for by family
members. She took responsibility for her
life and the lives of her sons and began
to trade until she became a trader to be
reckoned with.
Great women learn to live again after
tragedy. They recognise certain situations
like death are outside of their control,
and after a loss, they mourn, and then
they pick themselves up, dust themselves
off and keep moving.
Great women make the best use of
what is available to them. They milk
every situation and experience. Madam
Tinubu took advantage of the skills she
had learnt from her mother, and so she
was able to start her business. She took
advantage of her marriage to a royal
and took advantage of her connection to
Badagry and Lagos. She let no knowledge
or experience go to waste.
Great women are quick to see and
seize opportunities. When she married
Prince Adele, her second husband, she
wasted no time in taking advantage of
his connections and using them to her
advantage. She expanded her business
until she became a businesswoman to be
reckoned with.
Great women invest their money and can
grow their business. This woman had no
formal education, but she knew how to
invest her money. As her business made
a profit, she invested the money in land
until she became so influential in Lagos
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DOZ Magazine | September 2019