Nigerian construction developer Angela Jagun. She said that the building industry was not her first choice of a career., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
‘Building Houses And People Is Fun, Hard Work’
SATURDAY, 20 APRIL 2013 00:00
BUKOLA APATA
SATURDAY MAGAZINE - LIFE & STYLE
There are times when mistakes bring in something totally awesome. Angela Jagun, CEO of Burwood Construction, had turned hers around with a lot of tenacity and hardwork. She shares with BUKOLA APATA how it all began.
A MIX-UP during her admission days to the University of Lagos, landed Angela Jagun in the building and construction world. She had applied for Chemical Engineering but had to move to University of Jos for another course entirely.
On getting to Jos, she realised that the course was distinct and had little or no female intakes. She then thought it would be nice to do something different. She confesses that it was a bit hard because Building, as a course, was purely Science, Physics and Mathematics. “But with determination and hard work, I grew to love it,” she says, smiling.
She happens to be the odd one in her family as almost all her siblings are in the media profession. After her first degree in Building at the University of Jos, she did masters in Construction Management at UNILAG.
“Basically, building is now my passion. I am currently undergoing my PhD in Manchester,” she adds.
Carving a niche for herself in the male-dominated industry, Jagun is pushing her company, Burwood Construction, to the forefront. She trains people on Building Management, Effective Supervision Skill, and Microsoft project used for Planning, and Controlling, and Monitoring for building production.
Burwood Construction, established 2009 focuses on construction, building, renovation and building survey. Also, it does consulting and training for professionals.
As the CEO of her company, Angela opens up that knowing that men dominate the profession, she
prepares herself and does her homework well. It might look easy on the outside, she says but “it has not been all smooth.”
She reads a lot, works so hard, and all, her family members gives her backing. According to her, her husband, for her sake, calls himself an “associate builder” and is very passionate about what she does.
“He is proud of me. I built the house we are living in now. My God, the master builder, family and the entire Institute of the building industry has been very supportive and that is a good platform for me to work,” she says.
Family comes first for Angela. When a meeting collides with family responsibility, she tries to reschedule the meeting. “I reschedule and change programmes when I have to and my daughter at the University of Lagos is always supportive too. I also have other children whom I brought up. So, I place their needs ahead of my profession,” she declares.
Her greatest joy is making something out of nothing. She likes to see an ugly building become beautiful or a forest become a city. For her, it is a pleasure and an exciting adventure when people want to build their own houses.
“Building a house is a blessing and something that everyone wants to be associated with. My dream is to give that feeling of extreme satisfaction in delivering their desires.”
As one of the trustees of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild in Lagos State, she agrees that there are lapses in the industry. She says efforts are on to stop building collapse,while blaming most of the problems on “quacks” in the business. She also laments that many clients themselves do not understand the process in procuring good buildings. “So, intensive enlightenment of the public is germane to solving this problem,” she notes.
Jagun is also of the opinion that the issue of professional rivalry is a thing of the past. She reveals that the guild has successfully brought together all professionals in the industry to work for a common cause. When everybody does what they are legally meant to do; an architect does his design and takes active interest in seeing those designs come to life and does not try to produce building, disagreement will not arise, she stresses.
At her early stages in the profession, men used to be a torn in her flesh. Her words: “Men were fond of saying it to my face that they have wives at home too.” Rather than fighting them all the time, now, she gives them their deserved respect because “I am an African woman.”
She loves imparting knowledge to people, especially in the area of management. Since her core skill is in the area of building production management, she trains people on the skills required for the production of building.
“I also train on effective supervision skill, Microsoft project used for planning, and controlling and monitoring for building production. Training is another thing I love doing and I am happy with my students because I enjoy helping them to grow,” she says.
Married for 18 years, Jagun says she feels so embarrassed when she sees a disturbed marriage.
“I have been married for the past 18 years, so I feel that your husband should be your best friend. You should be able to talk to your husband. If you cannot talk to your husband, your marriage is not complete and may collapse.
“Also, a lot of people place their children ahead of their husbands. That is not good enough. I have a daughter, but I do not put her in a position bigger than my husband. Things have been working very well for us and it is going to help my daughter when she ties the knot too.”
Jagun is so comfortable with jeans. She says her sense of fashion is shaped by her job, since she must always look smart.
Jagun tolerates almost everything, except cunning. Nevertheless, she accommodates everybody and gets along with anyone.
“Though I do not really focus on my likes, I really admire straightforward, friendly and honest people,” she informs.
She urges government to support the professionals and patronise them. If the government could always fish out the professionals responsible for collapsed buildings, she says, it would help a great deal. She urges government and aspiring landlords to choose those that are properly trained to do their jobs.
“It is not about calling the press when such a disaster occurs, the government should learn from it….
“We should stop awarding contracts to foreign companies because we need to empower and build up our professionals,” she points out.
As a Former Chairman, Student Affairs, Nigeria Institute of Building, one of the questions young female students usually put across to her is: “How did I manage to get to this post because to get a place for their internship is hard? She adds: “They complain of men wanting to sleep with them, among others.”
Several times, Jagun had advised young ladies to walk away from some opportunities. Though it could be so painful, she says but “you may need to walk away from some things to welcome bigger ones.”
And on her on part, she encourages the female folks by admitting them to work on her sites as much as she could. She urgesother companies to see the younger ones in the profession as their little brothers and sisters. She laments that there is no way she could admit all the students that seek internship with her company.
In addition, she encourages aspiring young female builders to work hard because “no one will give them free ride and complaints of headache or menstrual pain irritates under working environment.” Alady, she insists, must do what others are doing.
“She must wake up when others wake up, etc. But do not for anything sell your body to any man. How long would you continue to do that? What is the price and how many jobs do you think you will get to sell your body? It is better you take to the streets if you really want to go into prostitution. But if you want to work and be taken seriously, you need to take certain decisions and be committed to work,” Jagun advises ladies.
She encourages both genders to read beyond what they are being taught in school. “Read good books, improve your English language and knowledge so as to have intelligent conversations.”
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