Aisha Salisu is a business executive, an entrepreneur and humanitarian. She studied political science at Bayero University Kano, proceeded to work in the bank after graduation, where she had eight years working experience in the banking industry. She proceeded to establish her own oil and gas firm. She started in the downstream sector with haulage and distribution, international oil and gas trading, then launched into upstream services.
I have always been an entrepreneur
I started my carrier as a banker, though, l never had the intention of working in a bank, my passion was more into
political activities and development, but fate will have it I found myself working in a bank. I’ve been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember while working l was still engaged in a buying and selling selling, and have strong in business, it was my then boss that introduced me to oil and gas business because I wanted to do something different as I was not getting the fulfillment I sought after in the banking industry. Though, It all
started with a casual conversation, but l was determined to take the risk, as it is often said, life is a risk, and l was ready for the risk to succeed and happily, He then referred me to an Engineer who gave me all the background I needed to know to start up.
While still working, I started my oil and gas haulage business, It was a whole new dimension from what I was used to, I hen resigned to concentrate on my newly found passion that brought me some job satisfaction and fulfillment. I later realized that only a few women are into the oil and gas business but I got tremendous support l got from my male counterparts in the industry. There was a whole lot of set backs but the goal was not to fail.
Whenever I face challenges I pray then resort to my Team
I’m a very spiritual person and put my full belief in Allah. I do not compromise work, you have to put in the work for prayers to be answered.
Having an excellent team is also key, because without these team players I wont be here, they play a key role in the success growth and development of the organization. I have a team of seasoned technocrat and their wealth of experience and commitment to work have been instrumental to our growth.
So, whenever there’s a challenge we go to the round table brainstorm deliberate until we arrive at the key solution to any issue.
The fact is the oil and gas industry globally is dominated by men, doesn’t deter me, I don’t see gender, I see humans, beings that can achieve what they are set out to do irrespective of being male or female. I want to use this medium to tell all female to after their dreams, let them not allow anyone or themselves use gender as a barricade.
Right now as we are conducting this interview, I see us as two human beings, Mine is to achieve my set goals, and that can only happen if only if l remain focused and steadfast in maintaining my integrity.
I got my entrepreneur skill from my mother
Anybody that knows me knows that I barely talk without mentioning my father, I grow up in a home that was dominated predominantly by boys and my father treated us equally, he made me love sciences ships and the ocean because he was a marine engineer,he did want me to become some sort of engineer so I learned from him, he always made me feel I was capable of doing anything, just need to preserve work hard and smart, that has always been embedded in me since my childhood, I don’t feel intimidated and I don’t think anyone should.
My mother is a person I got my entrepreneur skill from, my mother is a jack of all trade an. I grew up seeing her doing catering services, selling fabrics, utensils and till date she still owns catering services, so I learned how to maximize profit from her, she do sit down know when an idea is profitable and knows when to talk and
when to walk away from unprofitable business venture, those two people have tremendous influence on my life and business, they jointly shaped me to the woman I am today.
Education defines a man
Education is very fundamental, if not for education, I won’t be where I am today, education makes you ahead, it makes you define yourself, it broadens your scope, and it also widens your intellect, I believe that without education you are undermining your potentials, because education defines an individual.
I am still aspiring to be the president of Nigeria
At some point in my life, I want to be a doctor, lawyer, president and at this point I am still aspiring to be a president, I never thought that I will go into oil and gas, when I was growing up I want to be an engineer because of my dad and maybe tomorrow I will be doing your job, who knows, but the bottom-line is remain focus and refuse to
deterred in actualizing your dreams and passion.
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I also want to advice women particularly to believe in themselves in both business and aspiring for political positions. I also want to advice more women to go into politics, if there are more women in politics we would have moved farther than this in this country. They should be key players in politics and stopped being used as political football used during elections. They should take the mantle of leadership and play their role
I pray a lot
My company is ‘March Energy limited’ our core activities are in exploration, production, marketing and distribution of petroleum product; supply of industrial equipment materials and support services for oil and gas operation.
We aim to be the most cost effective indigenous oil and gas company in Nigeria
Integrity is ultimate in business
In business, integrity is the ultimate, without integrity you are wasting your time. I strongly believe how people will feel after rendering services to them. The network is also key. Your network according to the popular maxim is your net worth. In fact, we have grown to this level because of our strategic alliances, so networking is vital. As an entrepreneur you have to network.
Success is my drive
I want to live this world as someone that has motivated, touched the life of people positively, aided the growth of someone, without this, I feel I have not lived positively, also being successful is my drive.
Northerners are hard working
The negative report always emanates from the north which is not true. Northerners are hardworking, peaceful and successful people and that is why we are trying to curb the menace of insurgency, crime, illiteracy, drug abuse and kidnapping incidences, and above all and we are kind people.
Believe in yourself
Be consistent and don’t allow anyone to stop you even yourself, believe in yourself, it might not be fast, but be consistent.
Hard work, consistency and great team are key for growth
Hard work and powerful team, I started small from Kano, but hard work, consistency and a great team have made me achieve what I am today. I am a co-founder of a non-governmental organization called ‘Care for Heroes’. It is an NGO that looks into the plight of children and widows of officers, I mean the men in uniform. There a lot of NGO that looks into the plight of non-combatants, so we are focusing on combatants because there are lots of suffering of children and widows of combatants who died defending the territorial integrity of this nation. They deserve enough, there are lots of widows passing through undue hardship owing to the demise of their loved ones. I think we
should do everything to support them because their husbands have paid
the supreme price for Nigeria.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
March Energy Limited (MEL) is an indigenous company established in Nigeria to provide an array of specialized services within the oil and gas sector. We possess the experience, versatility and capacity to help businesses achieve their objectives in a cost efficient manner fully compliant with quality, health, safety and environmental standards.
Our core activities are in exploration, production, marketing & distribution of petroleum products; supply of industrial equipment, materials and support services for oil and gas operations.
Email: info@marchenergy.org
Tel: +234-803-896-4202
Website: www.marchenergy.org