Queen | CEO - Entrepreneur | Philanthropist My name is Queen Lodi-Lina Lutterodt Jose, wife of HRH Dr. Alaaye Mayowa Olaide Jose (Traditional Ruler of Yorubas in Dome-Kwabenya). I am a Ga born in Accra-Ghana who is currently residing in the UK. I am a descendant (Great granddaughter) of the late Sargent Francis Cornelius Adjetey of the 1948 shooting which led into the riot that led Ghana into its independence. My mother is the oldest living granddaughter and her dad, who is my grandfather, was the first son of Sergeant Adjetey.
I have a background in Accounting, Business Management, Fashion Designing and Photography; all of these backgrounds come in handy as I have diverse businesses and organizations that I use these skills for. For instance, aside from being the Queen, I am also the Assistant Secretary of the Ga-Dangbe Group in Milton Keynes UK, CEO of Violet Ladies Movement which has a youth wing called Violet Youth Movement. I am also the CEO of Aje Moneta Company Ltd Ghana, a company I started with the King, my husband among others. Currently, I work in education when in the UK. Our kids Clint Jose and Cece-Anne Jose are both supermodels, so my photography and fashion designing skills make us get along with no personality clashes.
My journey
My journey as a Queen hasn’t been an easy one. I want to share my story not only as the Queen but also as a career woman, a wife, and a working mother. When I first met my husband, the one thing that I will be honest about was how I was over the moon when he told me he was a Nigerian Prince. “Oh! my God” I said. It was like a dream come true, but little did I know that he will be a King and I a Queen. He opened my eyes to a lot of possibilities around us, and I love the way he thinks, how he views issues in a positive way and above all he is God fearing. Our being together steered a lot of controversies and criticisms mainly because of our different nationalities. I guess we all know the perceptions people have about the Nigerians but to God be the glory, we stood strong against all odds, and got married and have 2 lovely kids.
It is worth noting that the monarch system of the Nigerians is different from that of Ghana. In Ghana, there are Queen Mothers who rule not because they are wives of Kings but that is their title. There is also a Chief who also rules separately, but his wife doesn’t necessarily rule with him. In the Nigerian monarch system, there are Kings, and their wives are Queens.
Then came the coronation day for my husband to become a Crowned King in November 2020. It was an exciting feeling, but I cannot deny the thoughts that were running through my mind. Fear of the new world unknown, the load of responsibilities ahead, and the sudden transition from being the happy, bubbly, party Lod-Lina to Yeye-Luwa of Yorubas in Dome-Kwabenya. Honestly, some I was prepared for and others I was not prepared for at all, but I decided to take a day at a time. You suddenly become a figure to the people, and you must behave or act in a way befitting a Queen. Everyone noticed the changes in my lifestyle and appearance and was mostly surprised how I changed overnight. I did it effortlessly because I love the Yoruba culture.
Now, I must take on responsibilities for the community and be the backbone of my husband. I help him come up with projects that will help the community; we brainstorm together on how we can move things to the next level regarding the Dome-Kwabenya Community as a whole and not Just Yorubas. We have stood against and will continue to fight against corruption as much as our strength will allow. There have been press releases by the King (my husband) following Incidents that were tagged to Nigerians as a whole but shouldn’t have been the case. There are the Hausas, Igbos, Yorubas and so on so the right people need to be tagged. Amazing Citizens was a charity project we started during the outbreak of the covid19 to help people in the community with food, clothing, training etc. We changed the name to Violet Ladies Movement. Well, the vision got bigger, so we established a VLM wing named, Violet Youth Movement. It has now gone beyond helping the Yoruba community, and it is helping other people outside the community as well. The VLM provides support to women and the youth by providing a platform for business support and engagements as well as emotional support for members of the group. It is a Network Platform to build each other up. With the help of my husband, we have been able to help resolve challenges for people in the community and created job opportunities for a few members of the community. My support and achievements within the community have not gone unnoticed. I was awarded, ‘Outstanding Passion for Excellence’ in 2021 at the Impactful Women’s Award. This came to me as a surprise as well as a motivation to do more.
What were the biggest initial hurdles and how did you overcome them?
The experience has been amazing so far, but it is worth noting also that it has not been without challenges.
My husband lives mostly in Ghana and I live mostly in the UK. This works for us because of the children, their careers and education. Many ask the question how I manage with the workload; I often say God loves me and won’t give me a load heavier than my strength can bear. I travel back and forth so much that people sometimes don’t know my current location. Taking time off work as often as I do isn’t easy, but I always work my way around. We have had proud moments, but distance and time have not allowed us to be at the same place at the same time to witness and celebrate together. This whole experience has made me stronger in a positive way, I’m always on the go and ready for any challenge this journey throws at me. There are moments where we get visits to our Palace as early as 3am, and also get called to step out to attend to emergencies, settling disputes on Christmas day, helping financially where possible. Yes, it can get overwhelming, but we keep going. There have been occasions where my flight back to the UK leaves Ghana in a matter of a few hours and I will be in an event giving a speech. Always late to board my flights but never missed any yet thankfully.
I do recall on our rest day whilst in Ghana, we had a call that someone from the community’s shop was on fire. My husband woke me up; to accompany him to meet the victim as the person was in great distress, we stayed with the person until morning through till afternoon trying to find the right words to say. The King immediately had to put his thoughts together to see how to get financial aid to support the victim ASAP. Everything went well thank God.
I also vividly recall a funny situation that occurred, although it wasn’t funny back then when it happened but remembering it now it is. So, we were invited to a launch, and we were given tickets to sell in support of the event. Funny thing is we could not sell the tickets, so we had to purchase all the tickets and give the money as if we sold the tickets lol. When we finally got to the event, we were caught unawares when the MC announced that the King and Queen wants to pledge to support with an amount of money. We always must be prepared for anything but not this time, you should have seen our faces hahahaha, it came as a shock, and then we had to make arrangements immediately to transfer funds to foot the bill. In the UK, I get invited specially to memorable events such as the Black History Month Awards and Dinner Gala, Nollywood Entertainment and Leadership Awards (NELAS) UK and a few more. Yes, I always do show up, re: whenever I luckily secure childcare.
There have been times when I must juggle between my role as a wife, a mother and as a career woman. Both of my kids are models, so I travel far and near driving them through castings or doing it all from home following specific instructions Phew! (a hectic job). I am their number one fan and support system, cheering them on always. No one can do a better job with them than I do. I constantly have my hubby’s back by helping him with the company as much as I can. Working at my day job and doing all the other things I do on the side i.e., running an organization, teaching the kids, taking them to after school clubs and helping others run other organizations isn’t a child’s play. All these things aren’t easy, it takes a lot of sleepless nights, finances, time and effort. Sometimes you feel you just cannot do it, but you have to keep your head up, chin out, chest out and keep reminding yourself why you started in the first place. You constantly remind yourself all that is at stake if you give up and all the people you will be disappointing.
What books are you currently reading?
In my spare time I love to watch documentaries about women who are breaking the bias and status quo. Even though I am lazy when it comes to books, I learn better with visuals, so I prefer more documentaries to keep me going. Some of my all-time favourites include a documentary about Bethany Hamilton, Wangari Maathai, End of Sentence, Black history month etc.
What advice would you give to an upcoming youth or talents locally and internationally?
My husband is very helpful through it all, he has my back as much as I have his back and together, we work as a tag team.
I also pray to God always to give me strength, guidance and grace to keep moving each day. Where I lack strength to keep pushing, I go to Him for refuge. He is my prayer warrior, my father, my boss and King. I also have a team that I work with in Ghana, and they are very supportive as well and they help move the vision forward. I wouldn’t have known where I would be without them.
I strive to give my kids the very best foundation they need to grow, and be the best mom for them. Be the best wife for my husband the King and a worthy Queen for the people. I want to be his support, his peace of mind, his love now and forever, his best friend and more. I want to be a beacon of hope for young girls to look up to and feel they can be and do more no matter who they are and where they come from. I want to be the Queen for my people, someone they can proudly call their Queen.
Social Media Handles: Instagram: @queen_lodilina
@violetladies_movement
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