Rotarian Olanrewaju Kuburat Lawal, a chartered accountant and director of finance within the Lagos State Ministry of Financial Planning and Price range
Rotarian Olanrewaju Kuburat Lawal, a chartered accountant and director of finance within the Lagos State Ministry of Financial Planning and Price range, just isn’t new to management or service. She now wears a brand new hat as president of the Rotary Membership of Ikeja, the foremost membership in Rotary Worldwide District 9111.
On this unique interview with Taofeek Oyedokun, Lawal shares how her early days as a Rotaractor within the late Eighties formed her ardour for neighborhood service, the distinctive identification of her membership, and her plans to broaden Rotary’s attain by way of vocational empowerment, microcredit schemes, and digital visibility. She additionally addresses misconceptions about Rotary, provides perception into balancing a number of management roles, and divulges the legacy she hopes to go away behind: a Rotary that does extra, reaches farther, and touches lives deeply. Excerpts
Are you able to give us a abstract of your profile?
My title is Olanrewaju Kuburat Lawal. I work with the Lagos State Authorities as a director of finance and accounts. I’m a chartered accountant, married with kids. I graduated from the College of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo College, and I’m additionally an alumnus of ICLED Enterprise College. I’m at the moment serving because the president of the Rotary Membership of Ikeja.
Your Rotary journey began as a Rotaractor in 1989 earlier than becoming a member of the Rotary Membership of Ikeja in 2015. Are you able to inform us about your journey as a Rotarian?
Sure, I began as a Rotaractor in 1989 on the Rotaract Membership of the College of Ife; it was academic-based. Again then, golf equipment have been both educational or community-based. We have been younger, however Rotary taught us the significance of service to humanity. Regardless of our restricted sources, we all the time pooled what we needed to perform tasks in communities round Ife, like Ifewara and even so far as Ilesha.
Generally, we partnered with close by Rotary golf equipment for extra influence. That have ready me for the journey again into Rotary years later. In 2015, I joined the Rotary Membership of Ikeja after the membership visited LASUTH to empathise with sufferers. At the moment, I used to be the director of finance on the hospital and a part of the administration staff that obtained them. That encounter jogged my memory of my Rotaractor roots, and I made a decision to come back again.
The Rotary Membership of Ikeja turns 58 in August, but you’ll be the second feminine president come Sunday, July 27. How does that make you’re feeling?
It’s a optimistic growth. I simply occur to be the second feminine president. We have now different feminine Rotarians within the membership, and I imagine that after my tenure, we’ll see much more girls in management roles. We’re rising steadily and inclusively.
It’s apparent that your membership is male-dominated. What steps are you taking to usher in extra girls?
It’s positively on our agenda this Rotary yr to develop our membership and encourage extra feminine members to hitch. Nevertheless, we wish people who share our imaginative and prescient, no matter gender. So whereas we’re open to bringing in additional girls, we’re centered on attracting these genuinely aligned with Rotary’s beliefs.
What makes the Rotary Membership of Ikeja a novel membership and differentiates it from different golf equipment in District 9111?
The Rotary Membership of Ikeja is the primary membership in our district. We’re generally known as a management training-ground membership. The membership prepares members to tackle management roles wherever they discover themselves, whether or not at work or locally. It’s a spot the place human capital is developed.
We even have a powerful community of achieved people, and eminent Nigerians like Previous District Governor Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi; the Osile of Oke Ona, Egbaland, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso, additionally a previous district governor; Previous President Chief Michael Ade-Ojo; Previous President Chief Olusegun Osunkeye; and Previous Assistant Governors Samuel Bolarinde and Olabintan Famutimi are members of our membership. You meet and study from these individuals who have excelled of their professions. This mixture of mentorship, networking, and repair makes it a satisfying expertise. And in terms of neighborhood service, we go all out to make sure our influence is felt.
What are a few of the main tasks and plans you’ve lined up for the Rotary yr throughout your tenure as president?
We’ve already begun some impactful tasks. We had a microcredit scheme empowerment early this month for the market women and men of Obada Market, Isolo, the place we gave loans to merchants. As soon as repaid, the loans go to a brand new set of beneficiaries; it’s a revolving scheme. We have now been doing this for many years.
We additionally preserve a long-standing relationship with the NAFOWA Vocational Coaching Centre. We donate tools to their graduates. This yr, we supplied stitching machines, hairdressing kits, and cooking tools, and we supported ten of their graduates.
Final yr, our membership donated a vocational constructing to Ikeja Junior Excessive College. This yr, we plan to equip it for abilities coaching in barbering, electrical work, style design, catering, and extra. This may assist college students purchase abilities whereas nonetheless in class, empowering them for the longer term.
“We additionally guarantee good publicity for each challenge. Our public relations staff is all the time on the bottom to doc and share what we do, not for self-promotion, however to let others know what we’re doing and to draw partnerships. It helps different communities attain out to us for comparable interventions.”
This July is the Maternal and Baby Well being Month, and we visited the Major Well being Centre Ojodu. We engaged moms on childcare finest practices and donated objects like child formulation and different necessities. We additionally plan to put in a water-generating facility in a neighborhood quickly. These are only a few of the tasks for the Rotary yr.
How do you propose to interact the neighborhood and promote Rotary’s intervention packages as president?
Rotary doesn’t imagine in randomly distributing assist. We all the time conduct wants assessments, and a few communities write to us outlining their wants. Primarily based on this and the sources obtainable, we decide the way to assist.
We additionally guarantee good publicity for each challenge. Our public relations staff is all the time on the bottom to doc and share what we do, not for self-promotion, however to let others know what we’re doing and to draw partnerships. It helps different communities attain out to us for comparable interventions.
How do you envision your membership’s progress and influence within the subsequent yr?
Rotary Membership of Ikeja already has a powerful legacy, and we intend to construct on it. A key focus this yr is to boost our visibility, particularly on-line. We would like a powerful social media presence that displays our actions and encourages extra engagement. Anytime we meet, we wish folks to see us and perceive what Rotary stands for.
As a chartered accountant, how will your profession affect your management in Rotary?
Rotary Membership of Ikeja is a membership of execs, and monetary administration is essential. As a chartered accountant, I’ll guarantee due course of is adopted in all monetary issues. We have already got a price range for the yr, and each expenditure will align with it.
We’ll conduct month-to-month evaluations and share stories with the membership so members are absolutely conscious of our monetary place. There will likely be full monetary transparency. I perceive the implications of mismanagement, so all the pieces will likely be executed by the ebook.
The Rotary presidency looks like a full-time job. How do you propose to steadiness this along with your function as a director within the Lagos State Civil Service and as a mom and spouse?
It’s about construction and planning. Rotary is designed in such a means that you simply work with a succesful board of administrators. With correct delegation, time allocation, and clear boundaries, it’s all manageable.
Additionally, I’m not only a mom; I’m a grandmother. My kids are grown, they usually, together with my husband, are absolutely supportive of my Rotary work. They help me when wanted, so all the pieces is so as.
Some folks imagine Rotary is elitist and even cult-like. What would you say to these with such misconceptions?
That’s a fallacious notion. That is the age of knowledge. All anybody must do is to go to myrotary.org to study extra. Extra importantly, you’re free to fellowship with Rotary golf equipment, and in case you are in Lagos, you possibly can be a part of us each Monday by 1pm at Lagos Airport Lodge.
Rotary just isn’t a cult or an elitist membership. Sure, we now have members from completely different professions, however it’s not about standing. It’s about service. Some assist with cash, others with expertise or time. It’s a collaboration of people that genuinely care about humanity.
Cash alone can’t do all the pieces. It takes completely different types of contributions to make Rotary work. The assumption that it’s a fetish or elite group is totally false.
What legacy do you need to depart as president of the Rotary Membership of Ikeja?
I need to depart behind a Rotary Membership that not solely impacts lives however continues to do extra, one which takes up peace initiatives, promotes love, and builds sturdy communities.
I need us to create a Rotary the place folks be happy, secure, and supported. A spot the place we make folks pleased. That’s the legacy I need to depart: a Rotary that actually serves and uplifts humanity.
