[img]http://cdn2.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/300x327xAnih-Blessing-John.jpg.pagespeed.ic.bq7knebbeR.webp[/img]
The saying that ‘what a man can do a
woman can do better,’
is sure not fiction. The maxim is actually
holding sway for a
woman, who has plunged herself deeply
into a man’s
profession and she is not looking back
and not doing badly at
all. That can be said to be the driving
force behind the story
of Anih Blessing John, a female painter
based in Abuja,
striving to make a name for herself in a
profession dominated
by men.
Anih John, a 26-year old single lady, says
she has nothing to
fear engaging in a man’s job, especially
one as tedious and
daring as house painting. Indeed, her
dexterity in handling the
brush and climbing heights bring to the
fore her
determination to excel in the art of
polishing homes and
offices. And she comes across with an air
of authority in
doing her job in the past two years.
Although
she could
not
further
her
education
on
account
of poor
funding,
Anih, has
decided
to make
ends
meet
using the
instrumentality of the brush without
qualms. She had tried
other menial jobs before finally settling
down to do the job of
beautifying homes and offices as a
painter. She can be
described as one of a kind. In Abuja, the
Federal Capital
Territory, where she plies her trade, she
becomes a cynosure
of some sort when she adorns herself
with a coverall and
carries her brush and is set for action.
Her story is that of someone who does
not want to give up
just like that. After leaving secondary
school, Anih could no
longer further her education due to the
fact that there was
no one to help. She decided to do menial
jobs. She went
from selling plumbing materials to
selling recharge cards. It
was during the period of selling the cards
that she came
across a friend who was into painting
and decided to join
him.
Two years into the male-dominated
trade, Anih admits she is
very proud to have made the decision to
be a painter. She
loves the job to the extent that she does
not think she could
easily trade it for another.
Recounting how she got into painting,
John said she needed
money and the only way to get it was to
get up and do
something useful since her dad who is a
Disc Jockey and her
mum who sells Okpa, a sort of bean cake,
in Enugu State
could no longer further her education.
“After my secondary School education in
Enugu State, I came
to Abuja to live with my elder sister since
there was nobody
to help further my education,” she
opened up to Saturday
Vanguard.
“The only way to survive was to get
something that brings
me money. I ventured into jobs like
selling plumbing
materials and phone booth business, and
then I met a friend
called Zaccheus. We call him “The Lion”,
who was into
painting and I decided to join him and
he taught me the job.
I’ve been doing this for the past two
years and I love my job
because it brings me satisfaction.”
Beyond the circumstances that pushed
her into painting, Anih
says she prefers doing things different
from what other
women are doing.
“I need money to enable me to meet my
needs and the way I
know I can get it is through hard work,”
she says.
Anih, who hails from Enugu State, says
she prefers painting
to any other job because it not only pays
her well but also
affords her time to do other things.
“I would encourage my female siblings to
go into painting
because apart from the fact that you do
not have to go to
work every day, it also affords you time
to do other things
since you are not working for anyone
and you also make a lot
of money from painting. For instance, I
could make what
some people make in a month in just a
week.”
Sitting in one place like some housewives
do must not be
part of Anih. Action is more like it
especially when one
controls her time.
When asked if she had any fear about
falling from the top of
buildings while painting, Anih explains
that it takes the mind
and believing in yourself to do a job such
as this and
everyone-whether male or female- is at a
high risk of falling.
“Everyone doing this job is at the risk of
falling; not just me,
even the men. It takes the mind to do a
job like this. I
believe if these men can climb and not
fall, I can also do it,”
she says.
Anih also recalled her most challenging
experience on the
job. She said “My most challenging day
as a painter was in
Port Harcourt. It was more like slavery to
me. There was no
money at the site and most of the time
we went to bed
hungry. Being that it was a contract, we
had to find a way to
survive and complete the job. We usually
picked up corns
from farms in order to feed. It wasn’t as
challenging for me
as it was for the men.”
Anih said she prays and hopes that in
the next five years as
a painter, God will give her big projects
to work on as a major
contractor. By so doing, she hopes to
realize enough money
to take a break to further her education.
In spite the rigours of the job, Anih does
not entertain any
fear that the work can expose her to any
health issue. For
that reason, she has never contacted any
doctor to seek their
opinion on the kind of work she does.
But to convince herself
that she is on the right track, she has a
little research on
possible health implications and she
found no health risk
associated with her job. She, however,
knows that she must
always be decked in her coverall and
protective gloves and
also cover her nose properly to prevent
inhaling anything
while painting.
She quips: “I haven’t consulted any
doctor as to how this job
can affect my health but I have done
some research online
and found out that there is no risk
associated with the job as
long as I cover my body, my face and
hands with protective
materials.”

She says she would have been a writer if
she had her way to
further her education. “Apart from
painting, I also love to
write. When I have no job to do, that is,
during my off days, I
sit and write. I’m working on completing
my first novel about
an uneducated girl who was forced into
marrying an already,
her travails and how she surmounted the
challenges.
One thing upsets Anih: she does not feel
happy seeing other
women sitting at home complaining and
waiting for a man to
assist them financially.

Her words: “I don’t feel comfortable
seeing some women
sitting at home, waiting for a man to
open a shop for them or
to provide for their basic needs. I would
therefore, advise and
encourage women to go into painting
because what a man
can do as long as he can do it with his
hands, we women too
are capable; it only takes hard work and
determination.”

Source: Vanguard Newspaper
http://mp3naijaloaded.com/index.php/2015/07/06/photos-26yrs-old-female-painter-who-fears-no-height-in-abuja-shocking/

climbing a 15 ft (max) ladder, mtcheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew, i was thinking she would be hanging on the balconey of the 23rd floor of a skyscraper...

Following

i bet she will trip if she sees a lizard!....women, very fragile creatures!.....'quote me at ur own peril'

misssclassy:
Everything a man can do, a woman can even do better.
That's because we are smarter and stronger.

So let no man born of a woman even for one second think himself higher than a woman.

Calm down love...
Res Ipsa Loquitor

misssclassy:
Everything a man can do, a woman can even do better.
That's because we are smarter and stronger.

So let no man born of a woman even for one second think himself higher than a woman.

not everything... don't deceive yourself.... she's a daredevil but she's taking a risk...if a man falls,he will survive...let's see if she will survive if she falls

she never reach better height ni

misssclassy:


Are you okay?
What makes you think that if a man falls from the same height that he would survive, while she wouldn't.
Do men have an invisible iron protection coating their epidermis?

Women are made with gentleness....men are solid...ave seen a man fall from the roof of a two-stoery building... can u try it and defend ur claims?

misssclassy:
Everything a man can do, a woman can even do better.
That's because we are smarter and stronger.

So let no man born of a woman even for one second think himself higher than a woman.

well said....but d moment i see a female phcn officer on a pole trying to disconnect or fix light in my area, i will agree with u!

misssclassy:


Women are made with gentleness? How? Were you there when we were made with gentleness? or are you the one that applied the flavor of gentleness?

Look here young man, strength, agility, balance, survival instincts and tactics are not a function of gender, they are products of training and exposure.

so ur not made with gentleness.... re u a tom boy or a muscular woman?

Dharniel:
climbing a 15 ft (max) ladder, mtcheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew, i was thinking she would be hanging on the balconey of the 23rd floor of a skyscraper...

haba 23rd floor, u want kill am..

misssclassy:


You are going off topic. You said women were made with gentleness, I asked you to explain how and why you thought so. Which you haven't.

By the way you haven't explained your phrase; "Made with gentleness"

it is obvious... look at yourself then look at any man...if u weren't gentle do u think ur touch will have any effect on a man....why is your flesh made with fats and a man with raw muscle...why aren't women pushing Barrow?.....list continues

misssclassy:


You are going off topic. You said women were made with gentleness, I asked you to explain how and why you thought so. Which you haven't.

By the way you haven't explained your phrase; "Made with gentleness"

You can't talk like this nah..

we all know that women are our soulmates.
we should also know that they are secondary to men.

God knew why he created men first and he can't make a mistake..

Finepaparazy:


haba 23rd floor, u want kill am..

that's what i thought when the op said "no fear of heights"

robinicule:
i bet she will trip if she sees a lizard!....women, very fragile creatures!.....'quote me at ur own peril'

u sha want make pesin quote you...

I salute her .

She is a courageous woman. A lesson for all the 'amebo' women sitting at home from morning till night doing nothing .

They be like 'if my husband no return, my kitchen will not open'

Godfullsam:

I salute her .

She is a courageous woman. A lesson for all the 'amebo' women sitting at home from morning till night doing nothing .

They be like 'if my husband no return, my kitchen will not open'

Lolz..


I know she will inspire others in her folks