Intro
Dr Lami Onayi Ahmed is an entrepreneur and a golfer. As an entrepreneur, she has been a player in the downstream sector of oil and gas for over 20 years. Though a tough sector given the operational dynamics in the industry, she has been able to weather the storms by steadfastly holding to her valued principles of commitment, integrity and focus.
Similarly, her commitment and focus made her grow from being a young golfer in 2002 to become the Lady Captain of IBB International Golf and Country Club and now the President of Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria (LGAN), the biggest umbrella body of female golfers in Nigeria.
In this interview with 120edgenews.com Women in Business, Dr. Ahmed shares her life experiences as an entrepreneur, a golfer and ongoing plans by LGAN to host the female Golfers in the continent of Africa at the All Africa Challenge Trophy in Abuja in November this year.
By Victoria Onehi
120edgenews.com:Ma, could you share your experiences as a woman with value-driven goals since you graduated from school many years ago?
Dr Lami Ahmed: Thank you. By way of introduction, my name is Lami Onayi Ahmed. I am a native of Okene, Ebira by tribe in Kogi state. I am married and blessed with children. I have been working all my life and have been around for quite a bit. I earned my HND from Kwara State College of Technology many years ago and after school, I have been at the downstream sector of oil and gas industry. In the course of my career, I obtained a Masters degree from the University of Ibadan on Managerial Psychology and another Masters in Business Administration from Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife and my last Masters degree on Social Work, was awarded to me at the Ladoke Akintola University. Currently, I work for myself and I am still selling petroleum products.
Let me say that based on my cognate experiences in the value chain of the petroleum industry, the downstream sub-sector is the most challenging. It’s very unstable, volatile, and unpredictable, especially the angle that I am now operating-selling petrol.
So, looking at the angle of the industry where I operate, serving two fueling stations is very stressful and you really need to be up on your feet and very proactive, focused and be ready for anything at any time. You will agree with me that during this period of President Bola Ahmed, we have witnessed some level of stability in the downstream sector of oil and gas. It’s been very stable if you compare what the market is now with what has been happening for the past 20 to 25 years.
It’s one of the very few times that you don’t see people sleeping at the filling stations. You don’t see that very stressful queues and waste of time around. But then, it’s still as challenging as it can be because prices are changed every time. So, people who operate the filling stations are perpetually challenged all the time. When prices are changed, they need to re capitalise, yet the value of what they have has been depleted by the implication of that change in prices and some are such in tight corners that the margins they get do not come immediately when prices are changed as they are not commensurate with the investment that they are making.
But then, it has also been very interesting, particularly if you are service-oriented. If you are a people-oriented person, you want to see people around you. It allows you to enlarge your relationship, your network, and you can actually see a reflection of whether you are doing good or you are doing bad. Where your integrity has been tested and trusted, you see them staying with you. Even when there is scarcity of products, they will stay with you. When there is abundance, they will come to the station. They will remember yesterday. So, over time, you now have friends.
I can say that I’m happy, I’ve had a good experience as a staff because I started my work with National Oil that was changed to Conoil. In fact, I joined National Oil when I just left school, and then I was retained and now here we are. I grew with the company and I’m still on that pathway because now I’m still attached to ConOil as a dealer. So, it’s still the pathway of National Oil all my life, I’ve been with them and I think I’m fulfilled working with the company and staying with it.
120edgenews.com:In the midst of these issues in the downstream market we are going through now, especially the increase in petroleum products prices largely triggered by the US/Iran war, how are you able to cope?
Dr Lami Ahmed:If you look at the implications of this unstable price, which is not downward but upward over time, you will see that most of the times, dealers who operate filling stations are always poorer today than they were yesterday. So, every time they were better yesterday than today because everything that can make you grow, or everything you have taught is your growth over time, can be wiped away in one day, and throw you 10 years backward. But we are coping. You know, this is Nigeria. If you are determined to stay and contribute to the growth of the economy, you will stay on. I’m a Nigerian and we have strong survival instincts in our DNA. I think it is the first in the world. So, when one time comes, we ascribe every situation to God Almighty, and He has never failed in any way.
120edgenews.com:Ma, could you share some of your past experiences and how you have been able to cope through challenging times as a woman in business because that’s one of our focus in the interview in terms of the strategies that helped you to develop over time and stand strong in the midst of the odds?
Dr Lami Ahmed: Okay. I would say I can summarise everything into three virtues. We must understand that we are in a world ruled by men. So, when I have the opportunity to go into the field where men rule and I decided to compete side by side and survive along with them, I think three things stood out for me. Number one, is integrity. Number two, is my very strong commitment and number three is focus.
So, when you visualise life from these three perspectives, they will guide you. Your journey may not be like somebody who is traveling in a jeep but one thing I can assure you is that you’ll get there anyway. It may not be as fast as you want it to be, but you’ll get there.
Another thing is, you should always believe that it is what you have not started, that you cannot conclude. When you take the first step, you will conclude it. You must also be ready to dream big, because our motion in life is driven by our vision. And your dream is your vision.
If you have no vision, you cannot plan, you cannot get anywhere. So, the reason why you must dream big, is that, imagine somebody who just needs to go into next room, or within her flat, to a rest room, to ease herself or whatever. The leisure, the pleasure, with which she will take her strides in walking, is different from somebody who needs to quickly go into the bush, of almost 300 meters away.
Your dream is the propeller that catapults or pilots your plane and you do not need to pay for your dreams anyway. Why do you have to dream small? So, the bigger your dreams, the bigger your plans, the bigger your vision, and the wider you open your eyes to see. Another thing is, you must not look at yourself within the parameter of a blouse and a skirt. You are first of all a human being, endowed with all the opportunities that God has given everyone, whether you are a man or a woman. So, look at yourself that you are first
of all a human being.
You are a tornado of opportunities, power and vision. You only need to look and align yourself to the right perspective. For instance, if you are not able to identify who you are, what you want and your essence in life, you may think you are failing. People might see that you are a failure. Perhaps you are just not in the right trajectory. Like when you bring a fish out of the water, and you put that fish on the land, the fish may find it difficult to move. It’s not that the fish is a weakling, or the fish is stupid, or it is lazy or doesn’t want to move. It’s just that the fish is not in the right environment to excel. If you move that fish into the water, the fish will perform at its optimum. So, you must be able to have self-identity to be able to navigate the difficult terrain of life’s experiences.
120edgenews.com:Could you tell us what really drew you into playing golf or what really attracted you to the game of golf ?
Dr Lami Ahmed: To answer your first question on what drew me to becoming a golfer, I think I became a golfer because I wanted to exercise. A friend that I respect so much, who I know values her well-being, had been a golfer before the time. And then I was a sales representative for National Oil and as a sales representative there was a need for us to get involved with a kind of sport where we can network and get exposed to enable us relate with people, build our capacity, build our network and also build goodwill for the company. So, the first person I spoke to, to advise me, was a golfer and she took me to golf course.
Yes, so I had to follow her and as she was playing I was actually laughing at her. I saw her running after the small ball. I was laughing and she also was laughing. She said, do you think you can do what I’m doing? I said, why not? Then at the next hole, I think, after she teed off, then she put another ball down and gave me her club. I said, oh yeah, I should hit it. I couldn’t see this ball. I tried, she said try again, I tried, she said try again. And by the time I hit the ball, it was like the ball rounded 360 and came back to where it was. And at the time the ball landed, I was already backing the ball, facing the other side. I was intrigued. I said, what’s the meaning of this? That was how my interest developed and I said, okay, I’m going to be playing golf. This was in 2002. I got registered initially in Ibadan and by 2002, when I was transferred to Abuja, I met a friend who was a golfer. So, over time, golf gave me the environment where I can exercise, meet people, and improve on my well-being. And I’ve also groww.
One thing belonging to a group offers you is leadership opportunity because in a group, over time, you learn by the rules, you see others leading and with time, you also have an opportunity to indicate your interest. You can start small until you go to the top, if that is your interest. And that’s what got me to becoming a lady captain of IBB International Golf and Country Club. That was 2016, 2017. I got elected two years back as the Zonal Vice President North, of the Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria covering all the northern states and now has become the President of the Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria.
120edgenews.com: Ma, tell us about the vision of the Ladies Golf Association of
Nigeria LGAN?
Dr Lami Ahmed:The association is an umbrella body for ladies who play golf. But I must say that membership is voluntary. You apply to belong. So, it’s not just because you’re a golfer? No. You have to apply for membership and be accredited to belong to the association. But then, the association exists as an umbrella to create an enabling environment for members to have a true experience of the opportunities that are obtainable in the game and in clubs and in the country.
So, one of the values that we offer golfers is the opportunity to play quality games. Games that are accredited by governing bodies like R&A. R&A is Royal and Ancient of St. Andrews. It’s one of the world governing bodies of golf outside the United States of America. Those are the values. Under their instructions, conditions and supervisions, we are able to expose members to quality and interesting games that are comparable to what operates outside the country. The Ladies Golf Association also has the capacity to open the doors for women, young and old, to play international competitions. It may interest you to know that Nigeria has now been given the hosting right to play a continental championship called All Africa Challenge Trophy (AACT) in November this year. The right was given by the global governing bodies. This is a biannual competition that is played every two years. The last one was played in 2024 in Morocco.
While in Morocco, Nigerian players went for a bid along with the West and Central Africans for the next hosting and Nigeria won the bid. So, on November 2nd to 7th this year, Nigeria will be hosting the Continent of Africa game and we are expecting between 30 to 50 countries to participate in the competition because it is open to all the countries. As we speak now, more than 30 countries have indicated interest and we are still expecting others who are making enquiries about the arrangements for the competition.
So, this is one of the opportunities embedded in golfing. The Nigerian ladies went to look for squirrel and came with an elephant, which is now on the table of the government or the president’s or the minister of FCT’s because the championship is going to be played in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. So, here we are telling our stories and we know that ‘Nigeria no dey carry last.’ In fact, our plan and with the people we have met is to give the foreigners, who will be coming to the country, the Nigerian experience and set a new African standard.
So, we have been telling our stories and meeting stakeholders. We have gone to the Chairman of the National Sport Commission, who gave us the endorsement. And we are working with them now for a successful tournament. We also went to visit the Minister of Interior, who immediately endorsed the championship and is doing everything possible to make everything seamless for those who will be coming and for the organisers. In terms of visa in terms of security.
We also went to the National Institute for Leadership and Democratic Studies. In fact, we are going to be signing an MoU with them next week Wednesday. Let me also say here that we have already signed an MoU with the Minister of Interior.
We recently visited the beautiful Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy and she was wonderful. She saw opportunities beyond sport just like the President, Bola Tinubu, has encouraged us to see sport beyond competition and see it in a different perspective with initiatives for economic growth and national pride. So, that is how far we are going. We are also trying to reach the corporate bodies, corporate individuals and other stakeholders.
120edgenews.com:Ma,could you react to the feeling among some Nigerians that golf is a sport for the elite and rich people in the society?
Dr Lami Ahmed: I think that narrative I can say was battered with the creation of golf itself. It’s like a myth. But is it real? I’ll tell you it’s far from being the truth. If it is for the elite, the rich, the bourgeois, I won’t be playing golf. I started playing golf, like I said, over 20-something years ago. So, here is the thing. What you don’t know, you don’t know and when you do not ask, the tendency is for you to make assumptions. When you make assumptions and you also do not seek clarity after the assumption, then it leads you to confusion. So, people, including myself, prior to my adopting the game as one of my priorities or favourites, I’ve always thought it’s for the rich. But it’s not the true picture of that because when you decide to do something and you have the will, they say where your treasure is, that’s where your heart lies. Isn’t it? That’s where your heart is.
As we speak, there are still some clubs that take as little as N250,000 or maybe N150,000 for registration. So, if you want to play golf and you desire to play golf, you won’t go and register where they pay N2 million, right? Yes, and as your economy improves, you begin to look around. You won’t go and register where Tiger Wood plays. It’s all money. But even what do you need after registration? You need a coach to coach you and what the coach will charge you can be arranged over time. Some women buy an Asoebi of N300,000. I’ve seen people buy an Asoebi of N2.5 million. Yes. And you know when you buy an Asoebi of that amount, then you have more problems. You need to go and look for the shoes that will match it. You look for the tailor that will sew it without damaging it. Then you look for a bag to match your shoes, right? So, by the time you put all these together, you can buy a golf set up to three. If you are going to play and you’re going to start playing, you don’t need to buy Tiger Wood’s type of professional golf set because you will end up not playing professional anyway. You are an amateur, who wants to play to enjoy for your health.
So, golf is not as expensive as people tell me. What is expensive is your knowledge you’re seeking to know, to understand, and your will to get up and go there and exercise because golf is a game of life. It’s a game you can play from cradle any age that you want. We still have people who are 90 years playing golf. We have women who are over 80 playing golf. We have children who are 6 years playing golf. We have youth who are 18, 20 playing golf. So, it’s a game that you can play at any time.
120edgenews.com:You just celebrated the Women’s Golf Day early in June with the theme “Engage, Empower, Support”. How do we support women to engage more in golf and make them see it as a forum to network and all that?
Dr Lami Ahmed: It will interest you to know that you cannot separate golf from engage, empower and support. That’s the true definition of golf. When you are playing golf, you are playing golf with other people who are from various walks of life. You can play side-by-side with a governor, a past governor, a senator, a past House of Assembly member, a past DG, a director, a nurse, a medical doctor, a Barrister and more. So, how do you separate engage, empower and support from this scenario? When you are in the midst of these people playing, don’t forget that golf is a leveler. As long as you are paying your dues, you are equal to the President of the United States of America, who is also a member of that club and when you are on the course to play, you have equal rights as he has. If you are in a team with him, with any of these people we think we cannot see, when you are playing with them, you really know, you get to know them. So,how do you separate this from engage, empower, and support, that is golf? That is the definition of golf. So, as women, and with this association, it provides opportunity that makes women to see themselves as sisters, improves our bonding, and networking. Belonging to an association just gives you that comfort to know that somebody is got your back. So, you can’t separate that from engage, empower, and support.
I believe this is part of what the All Africa Challenge Trophy (AACT) is going to help us achieve because we have players and children all across Africa, who are playing in their various nations. Playing a championship like this gives them the opportunity to be seen, to be given the chance to play and be exposed. It’s like we are showing them to the world and say, look at what we have and most of them get contacted. According to their score, they are rated, they are ranked, they get scholarships, they get called to participate in international competitions.
The theme for the 2026 AACT is ‘Uniting Africa Through the Greens’. You can imagine countries bringing their very best and some of their delegates and supporters and all of us are speaking in one language, golf. This year, as it is customary, the hosting nation always attaches their open to the championship. So, when we have the AACT to be played from 2nd to 7th of November, we immediately have the Nigerian open to be played from 7th to 10th. So, it’s like a festival of golf.
The whole two weeks of golf in the city of Abuja at the IBB International Golf and Country Club could be likened to a whole week of tourism. You can imagine the engagement and each golfer, if you have about 200 people playing the course in one day, you’re going to employ 200 children as their caddies. You’re going to have SMEs, entrepreneurs, they’ll be there. You’re going to know golf is tourism. You’re going to have fashion designers, and art and crafts vendors, and others come and sell and you will see Nigerian culture displayed.
120edgenews.com:Ma,what are your highpoints in life and nuggets you would like to share with us?
Dr Lami Ahmed: My number one nugget is that you should never think that you are alone and to know God is always with you. When you have God with you, you can achieve all things through him who created you.
Secondly, never see yourself as just a woman but see yourself in the intention which God sees you. God created us to nurture his creation, whether your children, whether your husband, your neighbour. While God creates, we nurture and when you have this as a reflection, whatever you have just believe that you can nurture it to greater thing. So, when you have this mindset of how God created you, you will never see any situation as difficult. You will never see a disappointment as the end of the road because every day, in whichever way you find yourself, you can nurture yourself out of it to greater or to a higher height.
So, I will tell all my sisters in the world and my children, anyone that cares to listen, that with God, all things are possible. The greatest problem you have, is not believing in yourself. Another problem, is not having patience for tomorrow because it will come. I tell you, it will come. The greatest problem we face is our mindset, when we are judgmental and when you have your own plan, without seeking the plan of God.
Quotable Quotes
“Your dream is the propeller that catapults or pilots your plane and you do not need to pay for your dreams anyway. Why do you have to dream small? So, the bigger your dreams, the bigger your plans, the bigger your vision, and the wider you open your eyes to see.”
“You must not look at yourself within the parameter of a blouse and a skirt. You are first of all a human being, endowed with all the opportunities that God has given everyone, whether you are a man or a woman. So, look at yourself that you are first of all a human being.”
“Never see yourself as just a woman but see yourself in the intention which God sees you. God created us to nurture his creation, whether your children, whether your husband, your neighbour. While God creates, we nurture and when you have this as a reflection, whatever you have just believe that you can nurture it to greater thing.”
“The theme for the 2026 AACT is ‘Uniting Africa Through the Greens’. You can imagine countries bringing their very best and some of their delegates and supporters and all of us are speaking in one language, golf.”
