By Chibuzo Ihegboro
Tewa Onasanya is a mindset coach and initiator of ELOYs Awards Foundation through which she has mentored and empowered women.This year, marking the 13th year of her initiative, she seeks to celebrate women’s success.Onasanya discusses in this interview how Nigerian women pursue their goals with audacity.
You are described as a mindset stylist. Can you give me a sense of what that is and the functionalities of such a person?
In addition to what I do, I am also a mindset stylist and that essentially is a mindset coach, but I prefer to call myself a mindset stylist. And this is because I want people to understand that to live the life one wants, one must be able to pick and choose thoughts that makes one feel good just like we pick and choose clothes to make us look good.
It is important to note that a person’s life can only change when they have a renewed mindset.
I see quite often on social media where you upload inspirational quotes for your followers. Is that enough to drive them?
It is not enough to drive anyone, but it is a start. Words alone don’t teach. Life experiences do and if people just read the words and don’t take action, nothing will change. They will just be recycling old ways of doing things.
I understand that you are a trained pharmacologist. What was the reason for your career swap into publishing?
Well, the career change was as a result of me wanting to pursue my desire to inspire confidence and style in women hence I started Exquisite Magazine 18 years ago. I actually wanted to become a doctor because I loved the idea of taking care of people. But, I guess there are different ways to do that.
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You have organised the ELOY Awards for years now. What’s the essence and what is the milestone so far?
Yes, this is our 13th year of the ELOYs and it has been phenomenal, still is and we are very proud of the brand. The aim of the ELOYs is to celebrate and empower women and we have been doing that successfully and consistently since 2009. In 2018, the platform became a foundation now called the ELOY Awards Foundation, which sustains women empowerment through access to grants, affordable finance, mentoring, networking and more to build their businesses. Since the foundation started formally in 2019, we have empowered 40 women out of which eight were awarded a grant to help them sustain their businesses.
Would you say that the awards have any improvement on the today’s woman’s net worth or it is just another glamour evening for ladies to catch some fun?
It has improved all our past nominees and winners’ net worth. The ELOYs is a platform that celebrates and empowers women and over the years, thousands of women have been celebrated and the platform has made them even more visible and encouraged them to continue to be and do better for themselves and the community. We have different criteria, which we use in choosing our final nominees and winners. It is very open and unbiased and everyone can see the impact of the ELOYs.
What drives your crave to succeed as Tewa Onasanya and what does success mean to you?
The fact that I know that whatever I desire is possible as long as I want it badly enough. Success to me is saying I will do xyz and going ahead to do it regardless of the challenges along the way. Success to me is being able to keep my word and in the process honouring myself. When I say honouring myself, I mean taking action along the lines of my core values.
With what you do, one would assume that you are inspired by role models. Tell me about your role models if any.
I am inspired by God, the fact that HE effortlessly created the world and we are meant to be able to do the same with ease. I am inspired by my parents, how they have raised fearless queens and continue to impart knowledge. I am also inspired by the works of a number of people in the society, especially Tony Elumelu with his role in empowering female and male entrepreneurs in Africa.
You once said in an interview that women are now awake, given their achievement now. Tell me more about that.
Women are now awake. I strongly believe that we are awake and alert now. We know what we can bring to the table economically, physically, mentally and everything and we are ready to take action without the limiting thoughts that have held women back for years. We are pursuing our goals audaciously and making sure that other women are inspired and motivated to do the same. Men are coming to realise that we do contribute hugely to any development, hence companies are now having more women representations and more working towards that.
You have a foundation that organises an annual walk against cervical cancer. What informed such initiative?
This initiative started in 2010 when we found out that one woman dies every hour of cervical cancer in Nigeria. That statistics is still the same even after 11 years. We took it upon ourselves to raise funds to screen women free of charge for this form of cancer that is preventable and also give more information about preventive measures like getting vaccinated and being screened as often as recommended by your medical practitioner, depending on which screening method you use. Our Foundation has been providing free screening and also vaccinating women, who are not sexually active yet.
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As a publisher, what are you afraid of in today’s changing media business?
I’m not actually afraid of the changing media business. I have grown to always find a way to accept and move with change and that’s what’s happening now. Because of the change in the publishing world with people consuming their news digitally, we went online and digital. I always say it’s not a case of being afraid, it’s a case of having the right mindset to know when it’s time to make a change so one does not stay stagnant and then become obsolete.
All your achievements couldn’t be possible with any hitches naturally. Tell me about the rough edges and how you stabilized?
Well, I have had my portion of challenges as an entrepreneur and the biggest ones are raising funds for our projects and finding the right people that are dedicated to work with. In terms of the funding challenges, we move ahead regardless and thanks to God we still meet our goals or, at least, almost hit it. For the staffing challenge, we work with who’s dedicated enough at the time and hope they stay dedicated and committed to the organisation. I stabilise by choosing to do what’s best for the organisation and its people at any given time.
Tell me about your low points like throwing in the towel as well as your moments of sheer pride and fulfillment?
I have had a number of low points. There was a year we couldn’t print a copy of Exquisite Magazine; this was in 2005 or so. I cried like a baby because I really didn’t want to give it up. We eventually were able to move past it. The low points have been more about finance and funding than anything else. We have over the years worked on properly articulating our value to attract partnerships and support required to do what we do. That is to inspire confidence in women, empower and sustain women in MSMEs and provide free cervical cancer screening for women.
What is your advice for today’s woman who looks up to you as an inspiration?
The advice will be, believe in yourself and remember someone saying no to you doesn’t mean your idea is wrong. It means you are either speaking to the wrong person or you have not articulated your value properly. So, go back to the drawing board and give it another try. Your dreams are valid.
Quote
Success to me is saying I will do xyz and going ahead to do it regardless of the challenges along the way. Success to me is being able to keep my word and in the process honouring myself. When I say honouring myself, I mean taking action along the lines of my core values…Words alone don’t teach. Life experiences do and if people just read the words and don’t take action, nothing will change. They will just be recycling old ways of doing things.
