As
National President and lifelong Trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of
Nigeria (FADAN), Mrs. Folorunso Alakija
– a philanthropist, fashion icon with an infallible sense of style has broken
many uncharted territories, and continues to be a source of inspiration to
many.
Photo via Societyreel
Seven years was my age at the time; God’s number for
perfection. Not that I I was perfect, but it served as a new beginning for me,
and new it was, as it changed the course of my entire life. In 1958, fifty
–three years ago, my parents decided to send my sister, Doyin and I abroad for
further studies.
This was to be the new beginning into my God-given destiny
that caught the attention of many whom I would meet later on in life. My
parents’ epoch-making decision became news in reputable local newspapers,
because sending children so young to study abroad was extremely expensive, and
therefore rarely done at the time. As soon as the news was out that they were
sending not one, but two children to school in England at the same time,
visitors started trooping into our house. Friends, family and well-wishers came
with goodwill messages and gifts. My sister and I were full of excitement and
longing, as children are, and so we went shopping almost daily.
We bought
clothing, shoes, and African foodstuffs that were not readily available to give
to our relatives living in England, who were eagerly awaiting our arrival.
There is a saying in my language that translates to as remaining only one more
day to ‘D’-day.
Read full post about Folorunsho Alakija in the December 2012 edition of Mania magazine.
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