Celebrating the International Women’s Day on Monday, the Port Manager, Lagos Port Complex (LPC) of the Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA), Mrs Funmilayo Olotu, urged women to be remarkable in the discharge of their duties even as the theme #EachforEqual advocates gender equality.
In her welcome address, Olotu said women have been shown commitment and excellence in the course of duty, therefore, being celebrated was a plus.
She said: “We should collectively place premium in the discharge of our duties, give prompt responses to our duty demands, even as little as responding to mails. It goes a long way to defining your professionalism.
“A beautiful thing is that, give a task to a woman, she does it in a unique way, she pays attention to details and she is stylish even in the discharge of her duty. She is creative. Like today, we gave awards to cleaners, past port managers, maritime amazons.
“I was very pleased to also see that staff working with me planned an award for me too. It only goes to show the beauty of encouraging and celebrating one another.
Olotu encouraged women, in whatever place they find themselves, to be gracious, confident and go for worthy results.
“We are challenging women out there to go out, rule your world and conquer; make diamonds out of your charcoal, because diamonds are made out of clusters of charcoal that stay out of sight for a long time.
“Whatever challenges we may have been facing for a long, we should manage them properly and at the end of the day come out the best.”
Oloto, however, noted that there is need for equal opportunities for women, an act she commended her organisation, the Nigerian Ports Authority for.
In her words of encouragement, the Chairperson of the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) Princess Vicky Haastrup, told the gathering of women to ensure they appreciate
themselves and be confident to do what they need to without intimidation.
themselves and be confident to do what they need to without intimidation.
Recognising that women are naturally endowed with strength and wisdom to balance their tasks, she applauded the fact that women are being celebrated.
Haastrup said: “It is a great thing that women are celebrated because we are carriers of so much grace. Women have so much potential as wives, as mothers and professionals in different
fields.
fields.
“Women are able to manage businesses in spite of her job or owner of businesses. Women must know that gender is not an obstacle to perform to recognizable levels on duties.”
Haastrup charged women to validate themselves and never feel intimidated or waiting for validation from others before she is able to act out her full potential.
The gathering had women across sub-sectors of the maritime industry, including presidents of various maritime women associations.
