THE CRAFTER'S SPEECH

The crafters' conference has come and gone but it will come again. 

THE 2017 CRAFTERS CONFERENCE - WELCOME ADDRESS

Azeezat, ZazeeCraft CEO, The conference creator.

Respect to everyone here present, listening and/or watching. Distinguished speakers for this occasion; Professor Niyi Osundare, Mrs Oluseyi Abdullahi, Mrs Tosin Oludosu Adebowale and Mr. Kuti George, members of the panel of discussants, representatives of SMEDAN and BOI, the media and corporate partners, crafters, and exhibitors, please accept our warm welcome.

We are delighted to have you with us to be part of the maiden edition of The Crafters Conference which is being hosted by The Zazee Crafts. Your presence here serves as a re-assurance to us on the premium you place on crafting as a vocation and indeed crafters as an integral part of the Nigerian economy. We thank you once again for coming.

The Zazee Crafts is committed to promoting and projecting crafting as an enjoyable and profitable vocation that can help galvanize the Nigerian economy. We want crafting to be elevated as a viable option in the national entrepreneurship drive; and also that crafters be recognized as valuable contributors to the nation’s development.

Our immediate goal is to forge solidarity with crafters, bringing into focus their peculiar challenges and the prospects for a successful career in crafting.  Hence, the theme for this year’s conference: “Crafting the Future with Both Hands.”

The general point of this theme is to show that crafting has a big role in the future development of this country. But of more urgent and particular importance is the need to properly shape the crafters – current and aspiring ones – to fit into and meaningfully impact that future that is unfolding.

We are honoured to have Prof. Niyi Osundare, Mrs Oluseyi Abdullahi, Mrs Tosin Adebowale and Mr. Kuti George to help address the underlying issues. Prof. Niyi Osundare is a renowned poet and university lecturer. I have no doubt that his decades of mentoring experience would be a vital resource on this occasion. From both Mrs Abdullahi and Mrs Adebowale who are established entrepreneurs, we could expect practical guides on how to chart a course to success as crafters. And I am quite sure the deep insights and experience of Mr.Kuti in financial matters would complement the other speakers excellently.

So, clearly we are in competent hands – for knowledge, new insights, inspiration, excitement and fun.

I welcome you once more, on behalf of Zazee Crafts, to the 2017 edition of The Crafters’ Conference.

PANELISTS DISCUSSING

ME AT THE CONFERENCE

It was worth it. To see videos and pictures from that day, check out their Instagram @thecraftersc or mine @thefrancesokeke.

Hope you'll attend the next one?

INDEPENDENCE DAY BLUES!

(Blast from the past. I look forward to the year I'll discard this article.)

   The Nigerian Independence day has come. I always have mixed feelings every time it comes around.  Why? Despite all the money pumped into the country, sometimes borrowed, the country doesn’t seem to be moving forward.  Some people spend their time blaming the colonial masters for taking different confederacies and gluing them together to form a country; some spend their time blaming the leaders past and present, then the rest don’t even care. Well, the general news is that our leaders are the problem the country has, they destroy the country by stealing away the money meant for the masses, they say.

This leads me to the heart of my thoughts on this. Our national anthem, which I regret to say, some don’t even know the words, others know it but recite it like a poem they had to cram. They don’t know the meaning of the words in the National anthem, especially the first line.

‘ARISE O COMPATRIOTS, NIGERIA’S CALL OBEY

TO SERVE OUR FATHERLAND

WITH LOVE AND STRENGTH AND FAITH

THE LABOURS OF OUR HEROES PAST

SHALL NEVER BE IN VAIN

TO SERVE WITH HEART AND MIGHT

ONE NATION BOUND IN FREEDOM

PEACE AND UNITY’

Well, the National anthem should be scrapped because it is nothing but a farce.

THE CRAFTERS' CON

The Crafters’ Conference

Theme: Crafting the future with both hands,  

Date: 23 Sept; 2017

Venue: The Shalom Park and Events Centre, Unity bus
stop, Igando


The Crafters’ Conference is a platform designed for members of the craft community to showcase various talents and creatives that will beat your imagination.

The conference which is the first of its kind is organized by The Zazee Crafts; a paper and fabric crafts venture.

The Crafters’ Conference is a capacity building forum for people, especially the young, in different dimension of crafting. It is mainly in consideration of the important role of entrepreneurship in the development of the nation’s economy.

According to Azeezat Sanni; the Founder/Executive Creative Director of the venture and Convener of the conference;
‘We feel obliged to organise an event such as this to contribute our quota to youth and
entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. It is our conviction that many aspiring and already
established crafters would benefit immensely from various interactions ensued with the conference audiences and fellow crafters.
The conference which is also enriched with exhibition, training and retraining, it's our believe that the initiative will positively impact our image as a growing institution that is genuinely committed to promoting the spirit of enterprise, through craftsmanship, among young Nigerians.”

Participating in this laudable idea are Mrs. Oluseyi Abdullahi; the pioneer crafter in Nigeria, Founder/MD of Crafties Hobby Limited, Mrs. Olutosin Oladosu Adebowale; Founder Tosin Turn Trash To Treasure (5T) Foundation, Mr. S. T. Kuti George; President, Nigeria Small and Medium Scale Industrialists (NASSI) and Professor Niyi Osundare.

For further enquiries on events activities, registration and participation visit
www.craftersconference.zazeesworld.com

DEAR GOV. AMBODE AND LAWMA

Dear Gov. Ambode and Lawma,

Do you live in Lagos? Can you picture Lagos, August last year and now?

Don’t get me wrong, I think you, Monsieur Governor are doing well e.g. Berger i.e. the entrance of Lagos looks amazing. Back to the main issue.

WRITE OR FLIGHT?

  It’s been weeks, ok months, I wrote a word down. Not screenplays, I’ve been writing those. I mean an article, my thoughts for you, here, on my blog. I don’t have writer’s block, don’t misread me. I’ve never had that.  It’s far from that. Let’s just say, I decided to still my mind, stop thinking or sharing my thoughts and just go with the flow. Of what use is it?, I think sometimes. Do you read? Do you share them? Do they make any difference at all in your life?

   I just fell into a robotic comatose state. Frances, thou shalt not think. Lol! My thoughts catch up with me sometimes. They flood in. Then I begin to ponder, ‘which do I write down first?’ Then I will myself not to think and not to sit before my computer, stare at the