The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has honoured award-winning author, Ms Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, with a digital closing gong ceremony in recognition of her literary exploits and successes.
Mr Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, NSE, during the ceremony on Friday in Lagos, described the novelist as a testament that Nigeria is blessed with talented people.
Onyema, while welcoming Adichie, said that as a mentor, she had continued to promote equality in terms of opportunities that inspired women across the globe.
“It is my pleasure to welcome one of Nigerian’s leading literary exports to the NSE for our digital Closing Gong Ceremony.
“Adichie is a testament that Nigeria is a reservoir of talent. She is a mentor who consistently promotes equal opportunity and inspires women to believe in their ability to achieve set goals.
“As an Exchange, our values align with the aspiration to create a world where gender is not a criterion for success, rather, the strength of a person’s character and their capacity to deliver in their engagements.
“We are, therefore, glad that our platforms offer opportunities to tell the Nigerian story of strength and brilliance as well as inspire the greatness in our unity and diversity,” Onyema said.
According to him, the Exchange has continued to demonstrate that gender equality is at the heart of its Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility (CSR) strategy, and it has continued to contribute to strengthening diversity within the market.
“In terms of increasing female participation across its operations, NSE has achieved a 1:1 women to men ratio across members of staff, and a female representation of 27 per cent on the National Council, the highest level of leadership of the NSE,” he said.
Adichie, on her part, said she was delighted to be at the event and hoped that her story would inspire someone to know that you can keep trying and keep doing.
“I often speak about how important it is for women to be included not because we are doing women a favour, but because it makes economic sense to tap into the wealth and knowledge that is often underutilised, under-recognised and under-celebrated.
“I must, therefore, commend the policies of the Exchange in this regard. Ultimately, 2020 has been a strange year and it is my hope that next year will bring more clarity, and I will be able to participate in this Closing Gong ceremony again, this time physically,” she said.
Recall that NSE collaborated with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on the Nigeria2Equal programme to help its listed companies close gender gaps within their businesses and ensure women are more represented on the board of the companies.
