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Best Of Wives & Best Of Women
A visitor to Lisabi Mills on Martins Street, Lagos Island in 1942 would have encountered a couple of sales girls at the front desk. And perhaps some other engaged in one task or the other, depending on the hour of the day. To his or her right, the visitor would find arranged the various products of the young, but fast-rising company – Pawa (a breakfast cereal), Lisabi coffee, and others.
Moving past the counter and further inside, the visitor would have met, tucked away in a partioned office, the Secretary to the head of the company – a beautiful and smartly dressed young lady, either in a gown or a skirt and blouse, wearing round rimmed spectacles with a thin frame – Violet Iyabode Robbin.
That visitor would have encountered the liveliness, orderliness and graceful carriage of this young lady. If that visitor was privileged to observe for a while, he or she would have appreciated her powers of
coordination and communication. Perhaps that would be all. It would have been a real stretch of the
imagination for that visitor to foresee that the future of Lisabi Mills lay in the indomitable spirit of that young lady, for the visitor would not have seen or experienced the resolve and strength that resided in that young heart, because there was nothing unusual about her. The day would come when life would make the demand and she would not fail to deliver.
However, on that day, the visitor’s attention and respect would have been riveted on the figure in the opposite office – the dreamer, the visionary, the pioneer – who was fast becoming a symbol of the generation of Nigerians whose names would live on in history for their industrial prowess and business acumen. An embodiment of energy and grit, Josephus Kayode Ladipo was determined to conquer the world of Commerce.
A couple of years back, when Lisabi Mills was still at 4, Labinjo Street where it started, J. K. Ladipo would walk from the office to nearby Broad Street every morning to sell his products. By 7:00 a.m., he would have placed the food products manufactured at 4, Labinjo Street on the pavement by the side of the road, and with a performer’s panache, call on passers-by: “Buy coffee, buy coffee; buy Pawa, it will give you power; buy Pawa; buy your coffee.”
- K. Ladipo was not only an emerging industrial figure, he was also an
outspoken political radical who was both feared and respected by many partisan politicians – a rare combination you would say. He sponsored a weekly advert on the facing page of Zik’s West African Pilot titled: “The British Must Go,” where he eloquently rallied against the continued British presence in Nigeria. He was also reputed for his fiery social activism: he founded the Nigerian League of Bribe Scorners. He would go from organisation to organisation around Lagos campaigning against the taking of bribes. He aso recruited monitors (or more accurately, spies) in offices to report cases of bribe taking.
Possessing the raw energy and undomesticated outlook that is peculiar to such pioneering figures.
- K. Ladipo was hardly given to sentiment and could care less for emotional niceties. He deliberately
disregarded many social courtesies, qualities required to sustain relationships and build consensus.
It was, therefore, his good fortune to marry that young secretary, Violet Iyabode Robbin, in 1943. “She brought finesse, beauty, and laughter into his life”, recalls A. A. Popoola, J. K. Ladipos young cousin who was a constant presence in their home for much of the 1940s. “She organised him and made sure he got married to somebody who is fantastic in homemaking and grooming, this union eventually brought some change into his life.” Iyabode’s inner strength and calm spirit were an adequate match for her husband’s intimidating personality.
Iyabode Ladipo was fiercely devoted to her husband. She put in everything to make him relax at home, to prepare him for work, and to encourage him in his plans. J. K. Ladipo’s sudden death in. 1961 was, therefore, completely devastating. She cried for days. But then, she quickly took measure of the responsibility now before her and made up her mind to succeed despite all odds. She had been
completely devoted to her husband in life, and she would now be as fiercely devoted to his memory and his legacy.
A looming question in those early days was the future of Lisabi Mills. They were days of great pressure on her from practically all sides. A number of people were opposed to the idea of her leading the company.
They preferred that she employ someone to head the organisation, while she stayed in the background
and received reports. But once she made up her mind to be in charge, she never looked back. “It wasn’t easy in those early days, but she didn’t give in to the pressure,” one close observer recalls. “She had internal courage, internal determination, the stuff her husband was made of. She had the heart of a bold man. She was blessed; she was supported by God, helped by God. She was directed by God. God was in her thoughts”.
Even though she resigned her position as Secretary after .marriage, she never lost touch with developments in the company which she visited from time to time. She had been part of the business from the beginning and she knew the challenges. She desperately wanted to see the company succeed.
She consulted widely. Whenever she was embarking on any project, she would ask questions. She was
always seeking counsel from people whose opinion she could trust. “She was saved from financial hawks by listening to good counsel,” recalls one family member. “Those who tried to deceive her in those days who tried to push her through the wrong path, discovered she was intelligent enough to know what their intentions were and she would say, ‘No, I am not in a hurry, I will do it my way! “
One of her early triumphs clearly showed her inner resolve and revealed the leadership style that she
would come to be known for – calmness, courage and sound judgment: the ability to weigh different
outcomes and make difficult decisions even when it would lead to some discomfort in the short-term, but which she was convinced would yield great results down the road. The company was in a major financial crisis around the time that she took over and banks were putting pressure on her to take a loan, using the company’s investments and properties as collateral. But she rejected the offers. “They wanted her to put down all the units of the company to stand for loan. She said No, just give me a little bit of time. I will manage what I have, save a little bit more and re-invest it. When I need a little more, I will call on you.’ She was a very clever woman, she knew where they were going, She was building up gradually. That woman has always been constantly blessed. I can imagine the many times she was weeping on her bed when she was struggling to build that factory up,” recalls a family member. “You couldn’t push her to do anything she didn’t want to do.”
She equally braced up when it came to raising their 5 children. She was in complete agreement with her husband’s philosophy of raising children and she was determined to continue his legacy. “She knew how their father trained them – very hard. And she cooperated with him fully in this. They had the same principles, the same ideas, and the same commitments. She cooperated because she believed in his intellect, his ways, his ideas, “Popoola recalls. She sacrificed everything to make sure they got the best education. She made sure they lacked nothing because of the absence of their father. She was strategic in grooming them to eventually take over the leadership of the company from her. She prepared them for greatness. “She didn’t indulge in unnecessary social events. She sacrificed. She didn’t join all these flamboyant women’s clubs that for every occasion would buy aso ebi. She was serious. She was working quietly. She continually drew her strength from God and from the memory and legacy of her husband. In those days, she shunned many social expectations.”
After the death of her husband and the several battles to keep Lisabi Mills going, her faith was again severely tried by the loss of 2 children – a son and a daughter. Her ability to bounce back from tragedy, which would have broken the spirit of most people, instead of being weighed down, she became a constant source of encouragement to friends and family. Many have been able to deal with their own dark days because of the strength they have been able to draw from her deeply inspiring example. The recollections of her faith, courage and total trust in God in the low moments of her life remain fresh in people’s minds, decades after.
One close friend recalls a scene from the day her son was buried. At some point, while friends and family were gathered around her in mourning, the hearse carrying his corpse was moving past the front of the house. To the surprise of everyone in the room, she went to the front of the house, fixed her gaze on the corpse and started praying, “She was so courageous. She cried, but then, she was praying, then she moved back into the house.” She showed similar courage on the day her daughter was buried.
Today we celebrate a titan – Mama Violet Iyabode Ladipo. Her faith and courage will continue to speak to many generations. Mama’s fierce loyalty to the memory and legacy of her husband has borne fruits and will continue to bear fruits. In the words used by Alexander Hamilton, one of Americas founding fathers, to describe his wife on the eve of her passing, Mama is indeed the “best of wives and best of women”.
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