Women’s Corner: Self Love and Financial Security

Welcome to 2024, a year that by God’s grace, we hope to see more women empowered to do right by society. Women as we all know are great pillars in nation-building and although a few of our gender have grossly disappointed us by pursuing graft, corruption and outright theft of national funds when they got into high positions in governance in Nigeria, nevertheless, we will continue to believe that these women are exceptions to the rule rather than the way our women are wired.

Women are great nurturers and we partner with the creator to produce life, nurture, tend and raise up responsible men and women for the larger society and our nation. Thankfully for every of those women that have disgraced our gender, there are ten who have made us proud as Nigerian women. Business day Newspaper celebrated 50 of them in 2022. Hopefully our young people will choose role models from worthy Nigerian women.

Our topic today is all about women having self love for themselves. Self Love is not selfishness. It simply means that women should  love themselves and take care of their mental, emotional and financial health. The good book urges us to love others as ourselves so this implies that we must love ourselves or we would not be able to love others.

If women neglect themselves, they would be unable to take care of their spouses, children and home adequately. Self love entails taking holistic care of oneself – physical, emotional and financial well being. Taking care of your physical self entails eating right, going for check ups, yes medical check ups. That mammogram, that niggling pain in a part of your body that is becoming worrisome, have you checked it out with a doctor? Are you sleeping properly and enough? Do you wake up with aches and pains all over your body?  You probably require an orthopaedic mattress. Are you worried about your husband, children or finances? Have you checked your blood pressure and sugar levels.

More and more women are dying before their husbands daily because they are carrying too much burden for their fragile shoulders.

Are you happy in your marriage? If not, please go for counselling with your spouse. The emotional life of every woman is very important. If anything happens to a woman, her children, family and husbands family feel the impact. Take care of your emotional health and find healthy ways to make yourself happy. Find solace in God. He is your maker and He understands you more than anyone else will.

Concerning your finances, it’s important that women learn to plan properly and create a nest for themselves for old age needs. You can start as early as your twenties even before marriage. Build a robust emergency fund. It’s a crucial step towards financial empowerment and safety net. It provides a buffer against unexpected expenses, job loss, sudden ill health or other unforeseen circumstances.

For women, navigating the dynamic landscape of personal finance, implementing smart strategies for constructing and maintaining an emergency fund is paramount.

The importance of an emergency fund: Women often face unique financial challenges ranging from gender pay gap, career interruptions for nursing babies and caregiving for old parents, relatives, to economic disruptions like losing a spouse ( for those living in Nigeria, you may need to add issues like losing a house or property through demolition by Government or it’s agencies).

Having a well established emergency fund can offer peace of mind and financial security. It helps women have confidence while navigating life’s uncertainties.

Having money to spend from on a daily basis also gives great confidence and freedom from worries. It is good for every woman’s emotional health. It’s important to have money you can spend sensibly from without accounting to your spouse . You need not ask your husbands permission to do certain things for yourself and there is no need to feel guilty about it either.

You can take some of this money to visit a spa for massage especially if you have gone through some stress. You may want to visit a beauty salon for a feel good feel, even a boutique, supermarket to buy some healthy stuff or some of your favourite things without feeling bad. Remember, you have worked hard for this money and you too deserve to enjoy part of your hard earned money. Your life should not just be dedicated to serving others. You deserve to be served too and you deserve happiness. Make 2024 a happy year for yourself, your family and those around you. See you on top!

The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko, has bagged a Merit Award from the World Customs Organization (WCO) on the occasion of the International Customs Day, 2024.

The award signed by the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Mr Ian Saunders was presented to Mohammed Bello Koko by