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| Apostle Folorunso Alakija |
At the 10th Voice of Women Conference and Awards held in Lagos, leading Nigerian businesswomen, philanthropists and public figures delivered a clear and urgent message: having a platform or a voice is no longer sufficient. Women must convert visibility into capacity, influence and measurable societal impact. The gathering, organised by the Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation and Women Radio WFM 91.7, marked a decade of evolving conversations—from economic empowerment and finance to gender-based violence, governance, inclusion and the practical translation of ideas into enterprises that build the nation.
Businesswoman and philanthropist Apostle Folorunso Alakija, the keynote speaker, framed the challenge with characteristic directness. “A voice by itself is only potential,” she told the audience. “A voice may carry an idea; your voice may carry a solution; your voice may carry a business; your voice may carry wisdom that can change a young woman’s life. But if that voice remains inside you, the impact remains trapped.” Alakija, whose own career has spanned office administration, banking, fashion, oil and gas, and large-scale philanthropy, stressed that finding one’s voice is merely the starting point. Capacity must follow so that open doors can be walked through effectively. “God can open a door, but we must develop the capacity to walk through it and be effective once we enter,” she said.
She drew a sharp distinction between visibility and real influence: “Visibility is not the same as influence. You can be seen and still be insignificant. You can be popular and still not add value. You can have a title and still not be a leader. True influence comes when your presence makes a difference.”
Nigeria, she argued, does not need successful women alone; it needs women who deploy success to solve problems, mentor the next generation and leave lasting legacies. “The question is no longer ‘What have we achieved?’ The question is, ‘What will remain because we were here?’”
Dr Stella Okoli, founder of Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries, reinforced the theme under the title “Voice to Value: Building Enterprise Industrial Enterprise that Empowers and Includes Nigeria.”
She described her own path as a progression “from vision to enterprise, from enterprise to value, from value to nation-building.” Emzor began in 1985 after Okoli secured a ₦6,000 loan from FirstBank to move from retail pharmacy into local production of Emzor Paracetamol. Today the company is a major player in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector. Her central message was simple and practical: “A voice becomes truly powerful when it creates value.” A voice that builds businesses, employs people, creates industries, addresses national problems and leaves something for the next generation becomes “a force of transformation.”
Okoli urged younger women not to wait for perfect conditions. “You do not need to begin with everything, but you need to begin with something.
Your first office may be a room, your first employee may be one person, and your first product may only be one product. But do not allow yourself to remain there.” She also called on government to support local pharmaceutical manufacturers and young entrepreneurs, including developing domestic capacity for raw materials used in medicines—an issue of strategic importance given Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients and recurring supply-chain vulnerabilities.
Toun Okewale-Sonaiya, founder of the Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation and Executive Director of Women Radio WFM 91.7, reflected on the platform’s evolution over ten years. What began as a space for women to speak has matured into a deliberate push for tangible results. “We have learned that voice is only the beginning, and real change happens when the voice becomes influence, when ideas become action, and when our action transforms lives,” she said. Women now require opportunity, access to resources, representation and the power to convert voice into impact. She highlighted the need for grassroots women, including those living with disabilities, to be present in decision-making spaces rather than spoken for. “Women do not need to be spoken for. Women need to be heard and be empowered to shape solutions.”
Sonaiya used the occasion to spotlight a concrete example of transformation: Oluwatobi Raji, a survivor of trauma, rape, drug abuse, homelessness and teenage marriage who now educates more than 150 out-of-school children in Mowo, Ogun State. She appealed for support to help Raji secure a permanent school facility, illustrating the conference’s shift from discussion to practical mobilisation.
Other speakers added layers of cultural, relational and structural analysis. Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, former First Lady of Ekiti State, urged women to raise daughters who dream boldly while raising sons who respect women and understand responsibility.
She was blunt about internal barriers: “Women have suffered enough. Girls are going through too much already. Women, we should stop investing in our own oppression.” She called for dignity, mutual respect and solidarity among women rather than competition or undermining behaviour.
Ogun State Deputy Governor Noimot Salako-Oyedele emphasised mentorship and collective progress: “As we rise, lift as you rise. It is very important so that as one goes, we do not go alone.”
She noted the continuing gaps in economic opportunity, healthcare, education and women’s participation in governance, while acknowledging the role Women Radio has played in bringing women’s experiences into public conversation since her own entry into office in 2019.
Veteran broadcaster Bimbo Oloyede, recalling Sonaiya’s early efforts to establish a dedicated radio platform for women, encouraged organisers to expand the conference’s reach beyond Nigeria. FirstBank CEO Segun Alebiosu, represented by Helen Willie, focused on the practical enablers of impact. Women’s voices, he said, must be backed by access to finance, business knowledge, technology, markets and networks. Support is required across growth stages—record-keeping, cash-flow management, pricing, governance and market access—so that enterprises can scale sustainably.
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Why the Message Matters
The conference takes place against a backdrop of both progress and persistent structural challenges for Nigerian women. Nigeria has produced high-profile female leaders in business, philanthropy, politics and the professions. Yet women remain underrepresented in formal economic ownership, access to credit, and decision-making roles. Female entrepreneurship is often constrained by limited access to capital, networks and markets; cultural expectations around caregiving; and gaps in skills and infrastructure. Pharmaceutical manufacturing, the sector Okoli highlighted, faces additional pressures from import dependence, regulatory hurdles and infrastructure deficits—issues that affect national health security and job creation.
Alakija’s and Okoli’s emphasis on capacity and value creation aligns with wider development thinking: empowerment is incomplete without agency that produces results. Visibility campaigns and “having a seat at the table” have value, but without the skills, resources, mentorship and systems that turn presence into influence, the risk of symbolic rather than substantive progress remains high. The call to mentor, solve community problems and leave measurable legacies also addresses a common critique of elite women’s platforms—that they can become echo chambers disconnected from grassroots realities. Highlighting Raji’s work with out-of-school children and the explicit appeal for support for women with disabilities signal an intentional effort to bridge that gap.
The tenth anniversary itself offers a moment for reflection. Over a decade, the Voice of Women platform has expanded its thematic range and, organisers argue, its practical orientation. Whether that evolution translates into scaled outcomes—more women-led enterprises accessing finance, more girls completing education, stronger pipelines of women in governance and industry—will depend on sustained follow-through by speakers, attendees, government, financial institutions and the private sector.
In sum, the Lagos gathering moved beyond celebratory rhetoric. Alakija, Okoli, Sonaiya and the other speakers insisted that Nigerian women must treat voice as a starting point, not a destination. Capacity, enterprise, solidarity, mentorship and deliberate problem-solving are the next required steps if influence is to become lasting impact—and if success is to mean something that remains long after the individual has left the stage.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Technology.
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