Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), Ibukun Awosika, has urged Nigerian women to develop discipline in financial management by shunning extravagant and unnecessary spending.
Mrs Awosika made the remark in a capacity building programme entitled, “FirstGem Empowerment Programme” organised by the bank in Port Harcourt on Saturday.
She observed that some women spent more money on expensive things like weave-on, Brazilian hair, gold jewellery, clothing and others, urging them to cut down their spending and save money.
She said that women were assets to their households, adding “this is because they are able to stand in on the day of hardship.”
She noted that some women could make money but did not understand the real management of money or have informed judgement on how to manage money.
Awosika said some women could not even make efforts to make money on their own but relaxed because they had rich husbands.
She said, “the wife of a rich man is not a rich woman; she has a borrowed appearance.”
She explained that that was why when the rich husband died, the wife if lucky not to be thrown away by her husband’s relatives, would not know how to manage the wealth left by her husband.
Awosika urged women to start wealth creation and shun being a wife who is a liability.
She said that they needed courage, resolve and strength of character as well as grit and grind in order to be relentless in their will to do their best in wealth creation.
“If you want to be successful in building wealth, you must build the right circle of friends, who can set goals and come back together to check the rate of achievement,” she said.
Also speaking, Mrs Subu Giwa-Amu of Brookstone Investment and Properties said that the steps along real estate investment journey were to aspire, set target, act, manage and diversify.
She urged women not to invest in any business they did not understand and should not always jump at the first offer given to them.
She also advised them not to wait for opportunities to come as there is a lot of opportunities around.
Giwa-Amu added, “Start now but respect certain life principles, do not cheat so that you will be successful.”
