Inspiration Thursdays: One-on-One With Nike Davis-Okundaye

Hi Friends, I know you have missed Inspiration Thursdays, well I did but I have been very preoccupied with the upcoming event. I hope to post regularly. Get the details of our upcoming event here. I hope to see you there.

Today I decided we should not go too far from home and the first name that jumped into my mind was Nike Davis-Okundaye. She is a very inspirational woman. I met Mrs. Nike Davis-Okundaye in January and what struck me the most about her was her humility, love for country and passion for culture.

Those are three distinct things that will notice about her before you hear about her humble background and the fact that she had no formal education. However, her wealth of knowledge about her field is quite outstanding, little wonder she lectures at Harvard and other global universities.

Nike Davies-Okundaye was raised from a humble background. She lost her mother at the age of six and was taken to live with her grandmother. Her father’s little income from farming wasn’t enough to train her in school but she says that the turn of events worked in her favour. After her mother’s death, she went to live with her grandmother who was at that time the leader of cloth weavers in the community, she was able to come in contact with art.

Nike in 1983, opened Nike Art and Culture in Osogbo, Osun State where training is offered free. The center has trained over 3000 young Nigerians and international students.

Nike has trained over 2000 young Nigerian sex workers in Italy on making of Adire and traditional fabric and in 2006 she was awarded the highest Italian national award of merit by the Government of the Republic of Italy for her efforts in addressing the problem of Nigeria sex workers in Italy.

She has also met with former US President, Bill Clinton and George Bush who personally requested for her during their visits to Nigeria. Her adire painting is being displayed in The Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum located in Washington DC, USA.

One distinct thing about Nike is the fact that she embodies her brand, from her hair to her clothes. She is known to always wear her Adire fabrics anywhere she goes.

You have no excuse: You have no excuse not to succeed, Nike at 64 with no formal education, is fulfilling her purpose. Irrespective of limitations around you, you have no reason to fail.

Find what you are passionate about: Nike speaks passionately for hours about art, in fact, permit me to say she is art. Find what you are passionate about.

Help Others: Nike is passionate about passing her knowledge down to the younger generation and she gives them an avenue to display their works at her gallery. To watch Nike’s Ted x talk click here, she stresses the importance of sharing and passing skills to the future generation.

Here is STM’s brief interview with Nike Okundaye

Be inspired!

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