Show me a man or woman diligent, they would dine with kings and stand before men and women of means. So goes this age long wise saying. This captures my own feelings when I encountered a young woman who is so many things wrapped into one piece. She is a student, an entrepreneur, a decorative painter, and an instrumentalist. That is the world of Bakare Adedolapo.
As a youth development advocate and journalist, the immediate instinct was to ask her for an introduction and a chat began. Follow me to explore her world.
Getting to meet Dolapo
“I am Bakare Racheal Adedolapo. A native of Yaru in Kwara State. I am the CEO of Deteeblazer Global Limited. I am a law student of Lagos State University. I am a certified decorative painter. I am an inspirational speaker. I am an entrepreneur. I sell locust beans (dried, wet and powdered) in branded packaging. I sell to customers in Nigeria and abroad. I am into general contract. I am also an instrumentalist by talent and so many other things. I would love to leave it at just these few.”
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Juggling all these together, how easy?
With that introduction, a careful listener would want to know how she does this with some seeming easiness that belies her stature. She responds. Her response speaks volume of her spirituality:
“The G-factor. Firstly I acknowledge God as the giver of all these wisdom, ideas etcetera. Then I don’t spend time on frivolities as I have lots to achieve in a very short while. I plan myself and allow God to fix the rest. When you have God at the centre of it all, things fall in place.”
When I felt I have not got enough, I probed further. I wanted to know which of her avowed skills and endeavours comes first. She explains further:
“Well, I will say in every ramifications, Law was birthed first then painting is the younger sibling and that is why I would always say that law is the dream while painting is more of what I’m passionate about. Even though passion can overwhelm a dream as most times you don’t get to have a control over your dreams but even when you want to control your passion at times, you get more passionate.”
Venturing into a male dominated job; its rigours and hazards
Operating in an arena could be daunting for a young lady, so I thought. I then nudged her further to share her experience on the job. She opened up:
“It’s a general phenomenon that men are strong beings while women are weaker versions of being. I want to establish a known phenomenon which I know not many people will agree with but by the time I am a practical example, they would have no choice than to agree. Then I delved into a male dominated profession and knowing fully well that when a woman does something meant for men,she gets to be the best and beat the best and more of why I have been giving it my best shot.What is worth doing at all is worth not just doing well but dying for. As a lady in a male dominated profession, it has never and I know it will never promise to be easy. I have lost contracts because I couldn’t compromise. I have lost contracts because some people couldn’t just phantom the fact that this small looking girl can be involved in such a hard job. But all through, God has been coming through.”
Her advice for African youths?
When asked to advise the African youths, the young lady harps on being relentless in the pursuit of dreams.
“As an African youth, I am relentlessly and tirelessly working hard to achieve my life goals as I know I’m not there yet. For every human being, God has given potential(s). It is left for you to discover yours as you are saddled with the responsibility of doing things that will give you what you want in life,there is no shortcut to success, no one gets to the top without starting from the scratch except you jump,and even when you jump, the law of gravity applies. Locate your God given talent to harness it. Do not allow your background to rub your back on the ground. Like I will always say, no matter the situation life may bring, I can fly and I also tell myself how can the sky be my limit when there are people’s footprints in the moon?”
She has inspired many youths, and she is still doing more… I remember listening to some testimonies after her lecture @ the Factual Organization conference 2018…. She is a blessing to this generation.
That is great to hear from you. Thanks for the comment.
She’s not only an entrepreneur but also a diligent lady in her academic pursuit.
I learned a lot from her inspiring story.