Share!
Chalya Shagaya: Forging Nigeria’s Future on Ladi Kwali’s Legacy
By Kabir Abdulsalam
When she was called to the podium that morning, the MC’s voice carried a certain reverence. “She is entrusted with advancing initiatives under the Renewed Hope Agenda to build a one-trillion-dollar economy by strengthening Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises,” she began.
She listed her previous roles, former Director General of the National Institute of Archaeology and Museum Studies (NIAMS), and a remarkable professional whose career had travelled boldly across sectors: oil and gas, arts, fashion, media, and public service.
The audience listened closely as she described a woman who had once been a certified Forensic Crime Scene Investigator, a Culinary Chef, a professional Photographer, and an Advisory and Editor-at-Large at The Will Newspaper, shaping strategic narratives while mentoring new voices in journalism. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she concluded, “I present to you…”
The applause that followed was not mere politeness, it carried genuine admiration. She walked to the podium with the quiet confidence of someone who had lived many lives within one lifetime.
Her speech at the 5th WenA conference in Abuja was eloquent, steady, and deeply resonant, the kind that inspires confidence in the future of a nation.
That was the first time I encountered her story, a woman whose appointment by the President placed her at the frontline of enterprise development, national innovation, and the reshaping of Nigeria’s youth and women-driven economic future.
As I dug further into her achievements, another name long seated in Nigeria’s historical memory began to surface to me, Ladi Kwali, the extraordinary woman whose fingerprints still decorate the walls of our national identity.
Long before digitalisation, venture capital, and enterprise conferences, there was Ladi Kwali: a young Gwari woman whose hands molded clay into beauty, and beauty into economic power. In the 1950s and 1960s, when female leadership in creative industries was almost unheard of, Ladi Kwali transported Nigerian pottery to global exhibitions, earning admiration from Europe to America.
Her artistry was not merely craft, it was commerce, culture, and identity fused into one. She trained young artisans at the Abuja Pottery Centre, teaching techniques that blended tradition with innovation. Her work, today immortalised on the ₦20 note, represents a pioneering breakthrough in how Nigerian women could transcend local boundaries to influence global markets.
Ladi Kwali built an empire from clay at a time when Nigerian women had limited platforms. She turned a modest cultural skill into economic strength, global representation, and national pride. Her legacy is not just artistic; it is entrepreneurial. She demonstrated that Nigerian women could be exporters of value, builders of industries, and ambassadors of the nation.
Decades later, her spirit of enterprise reappears, this time in new forms, new industries, and through contemporary champions like Chalya Shagaya.
In many ways, the careers of these two women reflect different eras of the same mission. Ladi Kwali shaped clay; Chalya Shagaya shapes opportunities. Ladi Kwali trained artisans; Chalya is empowering entrepreneurs across Nigeria’s digital, creative, and economic ecosystems. Ladi introduced Nigerian creativity to the world; Chalya is introducing Nigerian enterprise to global partnerships, innovation spaces, and digital markets.
Chalya’s professional journey reads like the portfolio of a woman who refuses to be boxed into one identity. With a Bachelor’s degree in Justice and two Master’s degrees one in Management Information Systems, the other in Entertainment Business, she has built expertise in systems, culture, technology, and commerce. She is a creative by instinct, a strategist by training, and a leader by practice.
Her career has spanned oil and gas operations, maritime institutions, capital markets, media leadership, and the fashion and arts industries. She has founded and managed businesses, advised CEOs, shaped public perception, and contributed to Nigeria’s creative and business sectors for more than two decades.
It is this multidisciplinary strength that made her appointment as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Entrepreneurship Development in Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy a strategic masterstroke. She is the kind of leader who understands enterprise not just academically, but experientially—from startup struggles to brand management, from creative innovation to compliance and capital access.
Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, her focus is to strengthen MSMEs, empower women and youth, expand digital access, support innovation, and foster collaboration between government, institutions, and private sector players. Through national initiatives such as the ₦75 billion single-digit loan for small businesses, the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme providing ₦50,000 to nano businesses across the federation, digital training programmes, creative industry hubs, and enterprise partnerships, she is helping rewrite the story of local businesses across Nigeria.
Her work also extends beyond policies into people. Recently, she championed the Set4LYF initiative, empowering 180,000 girls with skills for leadership and economic independence. She facilitated Nigeria–Indonesia enterprise cooperation dialogues to create fresh markets for Nigerian products.
She supported creative industry expansion with Chocolate City Group, helping build hubs where young Nigerians can transform talent into sustainable livelihoods. Through her engagement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, she is promoting financial literacy and improving access to the capital market for MSMEs, positioning small businesses not just for survival but for scale.
Chalya’s story mirrors a new generation of Nigerian women who carry both vision and versatility, women who bring their full selves into leadership. The connection with Ladi Kwali becomes clear on how both women, in different times, used craftsmanship one with clay, the other with policy, creativity, and enterprise to shape narratives larger than themselves.
Ladi Kwali proved that Nigerian women could influence global markets long before the term “globalization” became popular. Chalya Shagaya is proving that Nigerian women today can influence the national economy, digital future, and entrepreneurial landscape with equal impact.
As Chalya marks her first year in office, her influence continues to expand. She has become a symbolic bridge between the past and the future connecting the legacy of pioneers like Ladi Kwali to the ambitions of millions of Nigerian youths searching for opportunity, inspiration, and support. Her story reminds us that leadership is not merely about holding office; it is about shaping possibilities, elevating others, and leaving a trail for the next generation.
Nigeria’s history is full of women who have shaped the nation in profound ways. Ladi Kwali shaped our past. Chalya Shagaya is shaping our present. And the Nigeria they are building across time, across industries, across generations continues to rise on the shoulders of women who dared to create, empower, and transform.
Kabir Abdulsalam writes from Abuja, can be reach via: kbabdulsalam03@gmail.com
No related posts.
