Neglect of vocational trades cause of unemployment– Taiwo Ige, woman spray painter
In Ota, a border town between Lagos and Ogun states, a woman is making waves with her dexterity in painting cars. The workaholic woman’s workshop is directly under the Power Line along Oju-Ore/Ilogbo road near the cattle market where vehicle owners queue to have their vehicles painted or repainted. The Ogbomoso, Oyo State-born artisan, Mrs. Taiwo Ige, has excelled in the male-dominated vocation and believes that it is impossible for an artisan to be unable to feed his family. She, therefore, appeals to the government to take vocational training seriously.
Razaq Bamidele
How did you embark on the journey to men’s world?
It started after my West Africa School Certificate Examination (WASCE), at Ogbomoso Grammar School in 1982,. I had travelled to Lagos to cool off a bit before deciding on what next to do.
I wanted to relax a bit with my mother’s younger brother, Uncle Solomon Oyedele, an auto mechanic in Yaba. It was in my brother’s mechanic yard that I picked interest in vehicle painting, as a profession. It was just a coincidence, as what I beheld in my uncle’s work place fascinated me to the extent of deciding on this trade as my life vocation.
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As I was lazing around the yard, running around for my uncle and some of his friends, a scenario played itself before my very eyes. The yard served as work place for a lot of other artisans like rewires, panel beaters, iron benders and battery charger; it was also a workplace for a painter, Oga Muda, who eventually became my master.
Just from nowhere, a recovery van towed in a battered vehicle, which, I thought had, had an accident somewhere and I sympathised with whoever the owner was. A few days later, the car was repaired and moved to the painter’s shed where it was, like magic, turned to a brand new car because of the expertise of the painter. There and then, I decided to be a painter and not a few people, including my uncle, nearly laughed their heads off. It was like, I was not serious or something.
To cut the long story short, in 1985, at age 15, I was reluctantly put under the watchful eyes of Oga Muda, the painter, with the conviction that I would be pissed off later and change my mind but that was not to be.
That is why I was not given an apprenticeship form to fill. They subjected me to doing menial jobs like fetching water and buying food for all the masters as well as senior apprentices in the yard. However, after six months of commitment to duty, an apprenticeship form was given to me to fill while my uncle, Solomon, gladly signed as guarantor. After my dedication and enthusiasm had convinced them that I had genuinely fallen in love with the job, I was signed on for five years. And that was how I spent five years from 1985 to 1990,” learning the job.
What impression did people have about your choice of vocation?
My classmates and other friends were not comfortable with my chosen vocation, describing it derogatorily, as “Feyin gbole college”, connoting dirty job. But they have now realised that the dirty job is highly lucrative, more lucrative than some white collar jobs they are running after. Interestingly, children of my peers, who once mocked me for learning a ‘dirty job’ became apprentices I trained and are also making good living through the car painting job.
What about your parents; what was their reaction?
I did not live with my parents as they were in faraway Kaduna. So, they did not influence my choice of career. I lived with one of my uncles. And when my parents heard of my choice, they were surprised but never disapproved of it. They just prayed for me and that is part of what is keeping me growing,” she explained.
How lucrative is the job?
Waoh! It is very lucrative for any hardworking person. The job is so lucrative that my husband, an artisan too, and I, were able to train our four children and have shelters over our heads,. I thank God that my husband has a house and I also have a house.
How did you meet your husband?
I got married in 1993, three years after my graduation to a member of my church, Ige. I never knew he had been eyeing me and studying my conduct since the time of my apprenticeship. We met at our Church of God in Lagos and we were very close just as church members without any string attached. I never knew he had interest in taking me for a wife. If you see the picture of my graduation, you will think we were a couple.
What are some of the challenges you face as a lady car painter?
As far as I am concerned, there are no special challenges in the trade except the general economic downturn globally. Paints, especially, the imported ones, are now very expensive and that influences the cost of painting cars nowadays. There times when we used to charge just N500 (five hundred naira only), and we would spend just N350 (three hundred and fifty naira only) to buy painting materials and make N150 (one hundred and fifty naira only) on a car. but not anymore. This has affected the business.
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What have you to say about the rate of unemployment in the country?
Unemployment in the society is as a result of neglect of vocational trades. No person with vocational training could go hungry at all. There is no way an artisan would not be able to feed his family because patronage does come sometimes when one least expects. I, therefore, enjoin the youth to stop searching for white collar jobs that are not available. I blame the teeming jobless youth for their “get rich quickly” life style, and urge the government to resuscitate all the moribund technical and vocational colleges across the country to train the youth in vocational trades.
How do you cope with men’s love advances?
Some male customers patronise me with a view to asking me out. They feel disappointed and at the same time marvel at my level of politeness, faithfulness to my husband and superb service delivery. Some of them, however, would not come back after telling them that the Lord’s grace has taken care of their advances with a lovely husband.
Does being a woman in the vocation confer any privilege or disadvantage on you?
For me, being a woman in this trade reputed to be exclusively men’s is an added advantage, as people would want to find out whether it is true that what a man can do, a woman can even do better.
So, how is family life?
We are doing well. I am a responsible mother and faithful wife. I have four children; they are students. However, two of them, ThankGod and Elizabeth, are also my apprentices, as they assist me in the painting job.
