Leadership in workplace different from church

By Josfyn Uba

For Chief) Mrs Comfort Oluranti Adepoju, Yeye-Oge-Arobake of Igannaland, Oyo State and the Yeye-Alayo-Ajisoge of Ogudu land, Lagos State, service to the church comes very natural. Before her inauguration as the 4th President of the Busy Bee Society of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Lagos, she had served as the secretary of the Society for a decade. Aside from that, Chief Adepoju had also led the Baptist organisation, whose members are dedicated to the growth of the church, to put up a building of N40m project that include library, laboratory and borehole.

What was remarkable was that she pulled off the feat while coordinating the Society from Warri, Delta State where she was holding down her job as Head of Public Affairs in NGC, an organ of the NNPC.

She spoke to Daily Sun recently on her stewardship of the Busy Bee Society.

You are the President of Busy Bees Society of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. How did you feel at the beginning when you took up the position?

It came as a big surprise to me as I was at that time a “distant” member, being a management staff of NGC, a subsidiary of NNPC, in faraway Warri, Delta State. Nonetheless, I was delighted for the honour, which I think was a result of my strides as secretary of the society for 10 years.

You certainly had some concerns when you took up this position. Can you tell us about them?

My main worry was how to coordinate from Warri, the society made up of 15 powerful women; that coupled with the daunting demands of my job, which amongst others include ensuring zero vandalism of gas pipelines and other facilities of NNPC by the then restless youths of Niger Delta.

What informed the choice of projects undertaken by the society?

At my maiden meeting with the society as a President, I tendered a five-point Agenda to the society, but I laid emphasis on Agenda 2 which was to collaborate with the church executives towards a constant development and growth of the church. At the time, so many projects were ongoing within the church and others outside the church, but I picked the science laboratory and library for the Ebenezer Baptist Academy Oshorun, Ibeshe, Lagos.

President Obasanjo, also a Baptist and a Bonafide member of our church, inspired my choice of project. It was at that period that he launched Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential library in Abeokuta and many good-spirited individuals supported and donated towards his initiative.

How easy or otherwise was it for the society?

Members of the society were skeptical about the project which they viewed as capital intensive. Even though, funding became the greatest headache of the project for the Society, I was full of hope. We decided on a project launch of N40m, scheduled for December 4, 2011 to which we invited very important personalities within the church and notable philanthropists in Nigeria. It was a flamboyant project launch, but the fund we realized was very little. At this point, the Society advised that the proposed project should be jettisoned. I stood my ground that it should go on. “How can you make so much noise about a venture and pull out at the same time?”

So how did you cope?

We later set the ball rolling by taxing ourselves to add up to the amount realized at the project launch. With enough funds, we organised the turning of the sod on May 29, 2012, which was spearheaded by the then pastor of the church, late Rev. Adebowale Adegunwa. The science laboratory was included because of my wonderful experience as a student of a catholic school, Our lady’s High School, where i benefited from quality education and qualitative science laboratory making me what I am today. We have a Father Bee, Mother Bee, Queen bee, Patrons and Advisers. We solicited their assistance which they offered within the limit of their resources.

What was most challenging to you as President of the Society?

Every stage of the project was challenging due to insufficient funds―from the foundation to the German floor, to decking, to roofing, tiling, bore hole, etc. The most challenging was the finishing stage. Many people wanted us to hand over uncompleted building and all to the church to continue. When others realized I wouldn’t budge, a few joined me at the finishing and furnishing of the science lab and library. While the project was ongoing, some members withdrew their membership. The membership later reduced to nine, but God was our strength and we never relented until the project was completed.

And what are the leadership lessons from your experience of leading the Busy Bee Society?

From my experience, leadership in a workplace is a different ball game from leadership in the church; when your staff errs in the workplace, you can query him or her or serve him punitive measures. But anyone in the church can insult you for free without anybody punishing him or her. They will just console you with “we all came to worship the same God, you have to forgive and forget”.” No matter the severity of the offence. Church is a leveler in almost all ramifications. Remember the Scripture in Matt 5:39: “But I say unto you that ye resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

There are arguments that the society will be better off with more women in leadership positions. Do you think women need more participation in the religious space?

Yes, although not all women have the guts to lead. You must be highly competent, knowledgeable, and strong, sometimes with native intelligence, to be a good woman leader. Some women are natural trailblazers and will always achieve in any portofolio and under any condition. If you give a woman a yard she will go the extra mile just to prove a point. Women possess “I can do spirit.” Naturally, women are multitasking, combining household duties with their various jobs. And because many of us are mothers, we tend to apply the touch of empathy and mentoring where we find ourselves. We don’t give up easily until we achieve being mindful of the watchful eyes of our chauvinistic male counterparts.

Many observers have raised concerns about women’s growing influence on religion in the modern age. What are your thoughts on this?

Yes, women are already major participants in the religious space. In any religion, be you a Christian, Islam, or paganism. Women dominate the space. Religion is actually of the mind, but almost all the women in Nigeria practice one religion or the other judiciously for the sake of the family and the children. I don’t support fanaticism in any form anyway