Old students of various schools nationwide have been advised to actively seek for avenues to add value to their alma maters, by creating benefits for current and future students of the school. Giving the counsel was Mrs. Taba Peterside, a 1978 alumna of Queens’ College, Yaba, Lagos at the First QC Mentoring Symposium and Recognition Awards 2015.
In a keynote address at the occasion, with the theme, “The Lighthouse: Be The Source”, held at Theresa Chukwuma Hall of QC, Mrs. Peterside asserted that old girls and current students of all schools, need to look into the existing state of these institutions and find ways to build capacity in existing students, teachers and workers.
Mrs. Peterside, a widely recognised authority in capital markets, was, until recent, the General Manager, Listings, Sales, and Retention, at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, responsible for bringing new companies to list, and enhancing the value of already listed organisations. She has a passion for mentoring, taking time to share her working life experience with younger women within the Women in Management and Business (WiMBiz) and other circles.
She explained that, “We can pass on the thoughts, skills, and learning to those coming behind us that they, indeed, may build where we have planned.” By so doing, “we pay it forward, that is, we invest the benefit of our life’s experiences in another, thereby contributing our quota to making the world a better place – and improving the quality of our own lives also.”
Acknowledging the stresses of daily life, Peterside said this may make us think we do not have the time, resources, or motivation to invest in anyone else. However, she emphasized, “You can be a lighthouse!” A lighthouse, she explained, is an essential aid to navigation. It emits light, primarily to guide and indicate the presence of land or dangerous coastlines, hazardous reefs, rocks or other marine features, to mariners. “As a mentor, by shining your light, you are also helping a younger or less experienced person navigate their way through life”, she said.
Drawing an analogy from the Bible, Mrs. Peterside recalled that God Himself tasks us to ‘let our light so shine before all that they may see our good works and praise our Father in heaven’. As mentors shine their light, they would warn about dangerous cliffs or reefs ahead; or at least help others recognize such dangers. She therefore admonished every one present to look up from ‘our busyness’, or what has been described as ‘the prison of self-absorption’ and search for those we can invest in, people to mentor, on life’s journey, as they are all around us.
In conclusion, she said, “as long as you are breathing, you have something to share with someone younger or less experienced. All it takes is willingness and a commitment to be your true, authentic self, but with it comes great reward.”
Mrs. Peterside was Head of Listings, Business Development and General Manager at The Nigerian Stock Exchange till July 2015. She served as Head of Alternative Securities and Private Placement Exchange at the NSE until March 2011.
She was Head, Corporate Finance at the former IBTC; Top deposit insurer, on risk management and corporate governance compliance at the Canada Insurance Corporation. At the International Finance Corporation, she was Program Manager on equipment leasing technical assistance in Ghana, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
She is a member of IoD Nigeria; Council Member of WiMBiz; Trustee of the Nigeria National Committee of United World Colleges; and member, Governing Council of the West Africa Theological Seminary.
