Itoro Okopide is into real estate, finance, and investment as well as the founder of Bond Hair. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she takes you into her world, experience in real estate, finance, and investment as well as life as the founder of Bond Hair. She also talks about her experience working at the Lagos House of Assembly, memorable moments, and how her father, a journalist, inspired and motivated her.
What inspired you to go into the beauty sector?
It was the need to be and feel different. I wanted to stand out. When I was growing up I had a mother that was very particular about things. My mother reminds you that you have to stay beautiful; you have to check your weight and be organised. All that she stressed are things that will make you a beautiful woman. You have to eat well, diet, and exercise.
She is a retired banker, very fit and she works out four times a week for one hour. She is trimmer than I am and she has always wanted that for us. I have three other siblings, three girls and a boy. My dad was the Manager, Public Relations, the National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria. Just before that, he worked at Chronicle Newspaper as a journalist and interviewed many people like Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He told me then that there were three professions in the world, Journalism, Public Relations, and Law.
How did he inspire the things that you do?
He inspired me to chase the career that I have now. I also intend to do a Masters in Journalism. I have a passion for it. When I was small I used to help him read his scripts and he would ask me different questions about it.
What were you doing before this?
I studied English and Literary Studies at the University of Uyo. When I left school, I did my Youth Service at the Lagos State House of Assembly and worked with the Deputy Speaker, Wasiu Eshinlokun.
What was the experience working at the Assembly?
It was a different experience and I was just starting life then. I learned a little about politics and Lagos State. I remember that his PA then was always encouraging me to read about different constituencies, LCDA’s, and all that.
Does politics look like something you are interested in for the future?
No. I am not just cut out for that. It is not a thing of passion or interest. Politics has never been there for me.
What did you do after that?
From the House of Assembly, I pursued a professional degree in Public Relations and then I worked in a PR firm. I also did a short course in journalism at NIJ and then I worked in a travel company as a reviewer. Then, I would go to the best restaurant and do a review. Right now, I am in the Finance sector at Coronation Group. It is a financial firm and we do asset management, merchant bank, and registrars.
Tell us about your experience in the hair sector.
It is an interest as well as a passion. I like to look good all the time, even when I get to the office at 6 am, I am made up. So, I had to learn how to make up for myself to always look good.
Why did you choose the word bond for your brand?
You are supposed to have a bond with your hair. It is personal like a relationship. You have to love it, take care of it, and nurture it. So far, my experience has been good and I am working with a great team and the best manufacturers in India. India is the origin of good hair. A country where the term raw and single donor came from. My experience in the sector has been unique and the quality and supply chain is reliable. I also have some international clients and those who appreciate and value our product. We started just before COVID in 2019 as a luxury hair brand to provide women with a product that, in its raw form, creates an unforgettable impression on me and some
What are your inputs to the collection?
We are creating different designs, artistic designs, several textures, and mixed textures. You can also request your design and it comes in different colours.
What makes yours different from others?
The styles of the weaves and bundles are very different. It is something that has not been used here. I am also working with my models for shoots and marketing purposes.
What challenges do you see for the future?
I would constantly innovate. Also, we have to research to find out market needs. We have a strategy and research analyst with the team that would be working closely with us.
The year is wrapping up, what were some of the high points for you?
I traveled extensively this year for projects. I also have an interest in housing. I love beautiful houses and decided to partner with an agency, Africa Real Estate International. We traveled recently to host a Summit. Then I went to Europe on a Cruise, I went to five countries and now I am launching my bond. So, it has been a good year.
The foreign exchange rate has been a challenge. What has been your experience?
It has affected a lot of business. Initially, when I placed my orders it was the same exchange rate. But, luckily I have built a relationship in the business and they can easily wave some cost for me. That has helped, they are very empathetic and they understand what is happening.
Do you have people that you are mentoring?
The idea of going to study Journalism was to become a humanitarian journalist. I also took courses from the Nigerian Leadership Academy. I also intend to pursue an advanced degree related to social work because my mum has a keen interest in helping children. She is devoted to helping children go to school. So, she has committed her time to this, even though she hasn’t registered the foundation. I would be supporting her with this as it expands.
Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Yacoob Ekundayo Alebiosu, in this interview with OYEBOLA OWOLABI, warns against indiscriminate dredging of Lagos waterways and illegal reclamation of land along waterfront corridors, insisting that these must stop, else Lagos tastes the bitter side of Dubai.
The government has been trying to flush out illegal dredging operators. How do you intend to curb this menace?
The state has laws which stipulate functions and duties over reclamation, dredging and other things. Illegal dredging affects our lives in different ways; it affects our economy. Gambia has a population of about 2.1 million, but they receive about 300,000 foreigners per annum. Why? Because they have clean waters. Anywhere you have clean waters, people will always go there but, unfortunately, indiscriminate dredging is the reason we have dirty waters here. This of course affects our outlook and how people choose to come here. If you would spread the 300,000 that visits Gambia annually, that is about 20,000 foreigners monthly. Now picture how it affects our economy, even among the local traders; the woman selling roasted plantain, the lady selling akara, bread and things like that.
Are you then saying dredging operation and operators should be regulated?
One of the things that really scares me, and that gives me a lot of concern is the Dubai experience. After Dubai reclaimed all its islands, it ran out of sand. Dubai and in fact most of the Arab nations, now import sand from Australia. You can imagine the cost. God forbid. But, of course, there’s a possibility of that happening here too if it is not controlled.
Some would tell you dredging is Lagos and Lagos is dredging. In some areas like Ojo, that is their traditional job, and they are already passing it to their children. How much of this sand dredging would affect the environment, how bad can it be? And would stopping it not deprive people of employment?
I am not saying we won’t dredge because we can’t survive without dredging, but it must be controlled. If it’s not controlled, it becomes a mess. I’d give you an example of how it affects every day households. Dredging is basically sucking sand from water, and that is where you have micro-organisms. These micro-organisms serve as food for fish. Every time you disturb the water, you mess up the food for fish, and mess up their habitat. The fishes thus have to go further to look for food. And the further you go, the more tedious and expensive it is to harvest the fish. The effect of this is that the fish that should cost N500 will now sell for N5,000. And I think the traditional dredgers who use baskets, like their forefathers did, should be protected, just like the Native Indians are protected in America. They are not the problems, the problem is those who dredge indiscriminately at alarming rates and then reclaim. The sands dredged are used for two reasons. The first is to reclaim land which is also done illegally, and it affects the alignment of the state, and the second is they reclaim to stockpile.
But how are they able to dredge indiscriminately without government’s knowledge?
Well, every community is aware. They see them but are afraid to talk because they are also members of the community. But, of course, there are several cases in court. There was the High Court judgment which went in favour of NIWA, and then the Appeal Court judgment in favour of the Lagos State government, saying that states are allowed to regulate their waters. NIWA approached the Supreme Court for interpretation. Regardless, we as a government need to know the amount of sand that is pumped from our waters. Again, how many beaches do we see right now, because every time you dredge, you’re taking out sand, and nature has a way it works. What happens is that it compensates for what’s been taken out. Nature sends out water to reclaim sand, and where’s the first place the water goes? The beach! The beach mops up the sand and brings it in. When all that is done, it leads to erosion.
What are plans to sensitise people on the negative effects of dredging?
The journey of a thousand miles starts with a step. We’re also reviewing our policies because it is important for us to know the amount of sand that’s being dredged. In the past, we gave licenses and permits for dredging. When you’re licensed, it says you can dredge but then we would have to control the quantity you dredge which means we have to keep an eye on the amount dredged. To answer your question, yes, we’re working on that.
What are plans to improve our waterfronts and make it more attractive?
We have a lot of ministries coming together on that, like Physical Planning, Environment, Transport, Survey, Lands, etc. When people apply for reclamation, we make sure it is not sent for approval until we get their Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) and Drainage report. We don’t proceed on approvals until we get those things. One thing I am happy Physical Planning does is, if you reclaim, there’s no way you’re going to build on it, Physical Planning will not process your planning approval until they get clearance from us. And, of course, you have to get approval before you reclaim. Indiscriminate dredging goes hand in hand with indiscriminate reclamation because when you reclaim illegally, it affects the coastal lines. We had a meeting recently with some MDAs, where we all agreed there’s need to redefine an alignment so that we’re able to effectively monitor. Just like blood diamond, there’s need to monitor sand from when it is dredged to when it gets to the end user.
Do we even export sand?
Not that I’m aware of at the moment. But I can tell you that sand is the second most sought after natural resource after water. It’s used for a lot of things, especially in building, construction, and so on. So we must control and regulate the sector to avoid the Dubai experience.
While the japa trend continues to rage, creating anxiety in the country, especially among skilled labour employers and citizens genuinely concerned about the future of the country, the recent murder case involving a Nigerian couple in the United Kingdom and other unsavoury cases has brought to the fore the not so good side of the trend. GBOYEGA ALAKA explores.
The word for it today in Nigeria is ‘japa‘. That is the current trend of Nigerians finding their way out of the country, purportedly for greener pasture- by virtually any means. Usually their destinations are any of the first world European countries, the USA, Canada; and the not so first world European countries, like Malta, Romania, Greece; anywhere but Nigeria. Many young people actually think it’s a new trend because that’s the much their memory serves them and because they gave it that local nomenclature.
But for those above 45, 50 years of age, the trend dates back to the early 1980s, after things went awry at the hands of the Shehu Shagari-led civilian administration and the military took over in a purported effort to rescue. Things, however, got to a head under the succeeding Buhari/Idiagbon and later Babangida junta, that the young and the middle-aged people started exiting the country in droves. It got so bad that the Babangida regime under its MAMSER (Mass Mobilisation for Self Reliance) programme had to sponsor a television campaign tagged ‘Andrew no check out,’ played by the then popular actor, Enebeli Elebuwa, now of blessed memory, to reorientate the people and stem the alarming trend.
While there may have been a brief lull in the trend for about two decades, it seemed to have picked up again in the last decade or so, especially among the younger generations.
Macrotrends.net magazine, the premier research platform for long term investors put Nigeria’s migration rate in 2023 at -0.273 per 1000 population. Even though this is a 2.5% decline from that of the year 2022 of -0.280 per 1000, it is nevertheless significant. Besides, the reduction is by no means due to a lack of interest but more because of a lack of means.
Literally, a huge chunk of Nigerian youths and middle age people want to travel, as they feel frustrated with a system that they consider frustrating and limiting their potentials. Some get so desperate that they sell off all they’ve worked for just to get a passage to their perceived El Dorado countries; while some go through irregular routes, endangering their lives and sometimes perishing in the desert, in the Mediterranean Sea or even ending up as modern day slaves or worse, as sex slaves.
Literally, they’d give anything to be out of Nigeria.
But beyond these are other issues ranging from disappointment, to loneliness, troubled/ruined marriages, even spousal murders, like the one that broke in the United Kingdom penultimate week.
Murder in Suffolk
On Tuesday, November 28, David Abodunde, a Nigerian migrant allegedly strangled and killed his wife, Taiwo Owoeye, a former ophthalmic nurse at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital at their Suffolk home.
Interestingly, the mother of three, according to the police, had reported a case of assault by her husband to the police a day before.
The police, paying a routine check, had found Owoeye’s lifeless body in the living room of their home; while the husband who was also inside the apartment was arrested.
Her death prompted many observers to question the essence of the relocation, especially since Abodunde only joined Owoeye early this year.
Owoeye, had on agreement with her hubby, gone ahead in 2022, ostensibly to settle down and pave way for Abodunde.
Following the unfortunate incident, the couple’s three children have been taken into the protective custody of the UK social services.
As it stands, no concrete reason has been given for the unfortunate incident, save ‘tale of marital discord, domestic turbulence’, as told by the police; but a number of possibilities have been put forward in the public space – namely tendency to export the controlling culture of African husbands; wife’s insubordination or insistence on her rights as guaranteed by the UK law, which may be strange to the husband; possible allegations of infidelity; distrust- which of course could have led to the persistent domestic violence as acknowledged by the police.
The Owoeye murder was the second ‘çelebrated’ spousal murder involving Nigerian family migrants abroad in less than half a year.
In August 2023, a Nigerian man, Hassan Teddy Adeyemo was arrested for shooting and killing his wife, 43-year-old Nanchin Hassan Adeyemo in East Orange County, Florida, USA.
He was arrested on a first-degree murder charge by the police.
Although the Sheriff’s office didn’t release any additional details on the killing, it however said it was “domestic in nature.”
In another horrific domestic incident two years ago, a Nigerian man, Obinna Igbokwe, shot his wife and grandmother in Texas, USA, and thereafter, committed suicide by shooting himself, when he found that he had been cornered by the police.
Reports later confirmed the grandmother dead, while the wife was critically injured.
In an almost similar incident, another Nigerian man, Udoamaka Nwamu, 34, in June 2021, committed suicide after killing his estranged wife and mother-in-law in Douglas County, Georgia, USA.
According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Nwamu, who had just separated from his wife, Khaliya, shot his way into his in-laws’ home, killed his ex-wife and mother-in-law, and later took his own life.
The difference here is that the in-laws were not Nigerian.
Lonely… lonely abroadians
In a short social media video post, a Nigerian who neither identified himself nor showed his face, last year tried to convey the lonely life Nigerians and indeed Africans who reside abroad go through. The video, according to the male voice, showed a lonely and deserted town on a Christmas morning.
His motive was to intimate Nigerians with the life that awaited them if they chose to go live and work in Europe, going by the eagerness and desperation with which they chase migrating to those countries. He also spent time describing the extremely cold December weather and the fact that if Christmas, which is usually loud and bubbly in Nigeria, could be so quiet, with the streets so deserted, they should then imagine how lonely other days would be.
In a rather dramatic narrative, Mercy Item, a Nigerian broadcast journalist and radio news anchor based in Enugu literally corroborated the content of that post, when she narrated the extreme lonely life her friend who had relocated to the UK was living.
Even on her birthday, she narrated how her friend, Nnenna’s repeated responses of ‘I am tired’ got her worrying.
“Since Nnenna moved to the UK some months ago, I noticed her mood swings. Sometimes she’d be mirthfully bursting with energy, and then suddenly she would slump into a state of melancholy.
“… Within 12 minutes of our conversation, she had said, ‘I’m just really tired’ more times than I could count. Although I’ve heard such expressions of frustration and exhaustion repeatedly in our previous conversations during the past months, something was heart-wrenching about hearing her say it over and over again this time. Today of all days – her birthday!”
Similarly, a foremost Nigerian female makeup artist once lamented the huge burden going to put to bed in Europe and America could be.
Said the artist (name withheld): “It was a totally burdensome experience and I don’t wish to go through it again. Once you’re delivered of your baby, you’re on your own. You bath the baby; do the laundry and all other chores yourself. This is unlike the situation back in Nigeria, where the whole extended family are by your side, falling over themselves to help and ensure you don’t in any way go through any stress.”
Infidelity
A UK-based Nigerian in a recent social media post, warned Nigerian men who intend to migrate abroad (japa), not to send their wives ahead. “If you’re a man and you intend to japa to the United Kingdom, please do not send your wife ahead of you. I repeat, do not send your wife ahead. If you do, they will snatch her from you…”
Above is a modest translation, as the original form was a mixture of English and Yoruba, and a little too vulgar for this medium.
But his warning may have come too late for Karim, a Lagos-based engineer with a telecoms company, who, a few years ago, got the opportunity of a UK visa and propelled his young wife to go over ahead of him, while he served out the required number of years for proper exit gratuity in his company before joining her. If Karim imagined that he stood the chance of losing his wife to voracious UK men, he probably consoled himself that her seven-month pregnancy would ward them off. But he thought wrong, as his wife barely put to bed before she started dating another man and promptly sent him a message to get himself another wife in Nigeria.
Needless to say, this hit Karim so hard, as all his plans had centred on her and their child.
The biggest pain, Karim, confided in a friend, was the fact that another man became ‘father’ to his son.
Had he known, he lamented that he would never have sent her abroad.
In a video currently trending, a distraught Nigerian man could be seen filming his wife and his purported lover (both Nigerians) and asking the man in pidgin English that: ‘So you’re the one sleeping with my wife’? A long altercation ensued with both the purported lover and the wife trying to downplay the allegation and at the same time ward off the camera from their faces. But whether this one allegation was true or false, one clear fact, as testified by Nigerians in these countries, is that a lot of infidelities play out among women who live abroad in wait for their husband.
The same applies for men, who go ahead of their wives.
Disappointment
For many, it has been tales of disappointment, with some even packing their bags and heading back to Nigeria. Some, however, are too ashamed to head back, preferring to soldier on, albeit as destitute.
Just last week, the International organisation for Migration (IOM) advised intending migrants to be cautious of a syndicate that specialises in offering fake employment letters for non-existent jobs in the United Kingdom.
The United Nations agency disclosed that over 1000 Nigerians are currently stranded in the King Charles country, having got visas based on fake employment letters procured for them, only to get there and the organisations deny they issued such letters.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, the IOM Chief of Mission, Dr Laurent de Boeck said: “There are some of them who lost over $10,000 only to be given fake employment letters, which allowed them to get visas….”
An X user, Gbenga Samuel-Wemimo, once narrated the story of a thriving Abuja-based Nigerian man who at the persistence of his wife, sold off all they had to relocate to Canada.
This was a man, a civil engineer in his prime, 37, who had two houses, a huge supermarket and thriving construction business, wining and executing federal government contracts and money in the bank; could be said to be comfortable.
To boot, they had three healthy children – a perfect life, you may say.
But the wife felt they had seen it all in Nigeria and the lure of the North American country seemed overwhelming to her. Eventually, the man capitulated.
They sold all that they had, raised 100,000 dollars and relocated.
But Canada didn’t turn out the El-Dorado they imagined. They stayed in her sister’s house for a while, until they found an apartment of their own. It took four months for the wife to find a local supermarket job but almost forever for the husband, who wasn’t certified as an engineer to work in the country. Ultimately, he needed to undergo fresh training before he could be registered to work even as a skilled labourer on construction sites.
Not the spectacle he expected.
Things got so bad that the only option was for him to return to Nigeria, which he took after some honest counselling from his friend.
Eventually, he returned, with two of the kids, while the wife stayed back, and things gradually picked up for him again.
Akin to the above story would be that of an elderly man who had gone to have a haircut, as narrated by a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based barber.
“I once had an elderly Yoruba man who was crying while getting a haircut, and I had to ask him, ‘Kilo seyin sir? (What happened to you sir?) And he said he wasn’t happy the way he was being spoken to at work. He said he was already a boss of his own, with a driver and everything in place’.” So I had to play the role of a comforter by telling him, ‘Daddy, you don’t need to see it like that.”
Delphine Okoronkwo is a top celebrity makeup artist and cosmetic manufacturer. As the CEO and Creative Director of Bare to Beauty, she has successfully grown her brands and mentored others. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she opens up on her success story, inspiration, working with celebrities, and more.
Tell us about your experience as an entrepreneur.
My entrepreneurial journey has been a very interesting one. I knew I ultimately wanted to be a beauty entrepreneur, but I needed to raise the capital. So, I started a series of businesses including procurement and logistics, subcontracting with Hitech Construction Ltd, and real estate, all to get me where I needed to go.
What inspired you to go into the beauty sector?
I have always gravitated towards beauty. I have always liked makeup. When I was in university, I used to do makeup for my friends. I am self-taught, this is my natural talent. So when the time came for me to leave the corporate world, I already knew that the beauty business was a no-brainer.
What are some of the achievements and challenges?
I have won both local and international awards as a brand and as a makeup artist. Bare To Beauty is a household name not just in Nigeria but all over Africa and soon to be all over the globe.
Like most entrepreneurs in Nigeria, I have faced economic challenges such as the exchange rate issue, inflation, taxation, and finding dedicated and competent staff.
What is your assessment of the performance of women in the sector?
Beauty has mostly been a female-dominated sector in Nigeria. I feel like women have thrived in this industry and it shows. There are women who have become established symbols of inspiration in the beauty industry and have and are still paving the way for aspiring up-and-comers. Amazingly, women can become extremely successful and make a good and sustainable living from beauty as a business.
What are the things that drive what you do?
Simply put, as my brand name (Bare To Beauty) implies, the joy of seeing the happiness and satisfaction on my client’s faces after a makeover or using any of my products is all the drive I need.
How would you describe your experience working with established brands and multi-national organisations and how has it influenced your business?
I have worked with quite a few multinationals on various projects and have noticed a few common themes that I have been able to effectively apply to my business. Discipline and consistency are key. You have to maintain a global professional standard always, to which you must hold yourself accountable. Strategy before action is critical. It is important to weigh and measure all the moving parts when embarking on a project.
Tell us about your experience as a makeup artist and working with celebrities.
As much as there are a lot of upsides to being a makeup artist, it comes with its own challenges which require a lot of patience. I work regularly with celebrities and high-end clients with hectic schedules who may not keep to appointment schedules, which can cause an overlap with another client’s appointment. Shout out to Aunty Mo Abudu with whom I have traveled around the world as her makeup artist. Her punctuality never ceases to amaze me.
What are some of the changes that you would like to see in the country today?
For the country? Honestly a better, safer, more prosperous Nigeria. But specifically for the beauty industry, I would love to see more unity, collaboration, coordination, regulation, and structure.
Did you have mentors at the beginning? What has been their impact?
At the time, I never really had mentors in the space, but there was an American makeup artist called Jay Manuel who was also the creative director for America’s Next Top Model. His energy and enthusiasm for beauty fueled my passion.
What advice do you have for young people about the current challenges in the beauty industry?
My advice is that they should try as much as possible to be consistent. Don’t give up, just like any venture in any other industry, the makeup and beauty industry is filled with many ups and downs but you must continue to push and one day, you’ll get your big break.
Who or what do you consider as the greatest influence in your life?
My mother, because of her tenacity. She is truly one of the most hardworking people I have ever known.
What lessons has life taught you?
Life has taught me many lessons, but one of the most important ones is putting God first in everything you do.
Tejumola Maurice-Diya is a former model, and designer known for a children’s clothing line, stylist, Principal, and founder of The Fashioned Museum. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she talked about her passion, inspiring the younger generation, and more.
What inspired your Program titled Bridging the Gap?
This is an event that we plan to have annually and this is our maiden edition. We recognize that it is important to catch people at the grassroots. The morning Session for this event is specifically targeted at students and this is to help them identify who they are. It is time for the youths to embrace themselves as Nigerians and know that there are negative Associations. This is also to help the students understand that every country in this world has negative associations but it all depends on what you choose to focus on. It is important to change that narrative and help students recognize that they need to focus on the bright side of things, embrace African, and embrace being Nigerian.
They should be able to know that at the end of the day, their dreams are valid and they have a place in the world.
So, regardless of where they find themselves, they can shine their light and they can identify themselves as a proud Nigerian, making waves and contributing to the world at large.
The second part of the event is specifically targeted towards Business owners in the fashion industry. These are people who are new to the fashion scene and they can scale their businesses. They can strategically position themselves to be ready for partnership with international brands. So, we have Speakers who are looking at things even from a legal perspective. One of the things that you need to do is to make sure that you are ready for the future. How do you make sure that people do not steal your designs? There are different areas and people need to ensure they are fully covered and prepared for such partnership.
There is a lot that has gone on in the past in terms of getting to a point where people are talking about Jollof rice. It is globally recognized, it is the same with Afrobeat. Now, it’s time for fashion to take its place in Africa. We are highly creative and there is a place for us.
Tell us some of the things you have done before this.
I have been doing different things for over a decade. I modeled in the past and worked with The Macy’s Fashion Incubator. At some point, I started a children’s clothing line. With all these experiences, I am fully aware of the challenges that business entrepreneurs have.
I also style people so I am fully aware of the challenges that business entrepreneurs have. Certain things that designers complain about, in terms of scaling and their designs. Also in terms of finishing, certain things need to be addressed.
That was why this idea was birthed and overall, people need to get to a point where they find solutions to their problems. That way we can take our rightful place in terms of fashion to the world.
What informed the choice of students and the message?
We did a Presentation that walked them through the history of Africa before we went through the history of African fashion. We talked about natural resources, food, and culture in general. This is important for them to understand what Africa represents. Then we went to the African fashion aspect because we want them to know that there is a place for them to express themselves through fashion or whatever it is that they want to do.
The essence was to let them understand that their dreams are valid. It was targeted towards students who were passionate about fashion in general and overall it was helping them to recognize that at the end of the day, they can be successful in whatever it is that they choose to do and have the right mindset towards those goals.
Tell us about your experience as a model.
I modeled over 12 years ago. I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. I went to the University of Illinois Urbana Champagne and I studied Communications. There we had an Association of African students and we often had events and parties and I would always model. That was when my modelling started and then when there were other opportunities for me to model, I always took up those opportunities as well.
What are we likely to find in your Museum?
The Fashion Museum stems from the fact that I am actually a fashion historian. What I do is to walk people through the history of fashion and I kind of help them see between the history and their fashion. For example, if you go to my page on Instagram, you will see that I will do a reel for example talking about Shade Thomas Fahm, one of the earliset designers in Nigeria. She came up with the first design of the boubou. I would then put a picture of how Boubou was worn years ago and how we wear it today and you are able to see the contrast. So, the fashion Museum is an accumulation of what we do and what we have to do as Africans.
It is beyond just now. It is a collection of the year’s past and even the future to come.
What inspired the choice of Speakers?
It is important that we talk to people that are established and people that have successfully done this thing called fashion. We had Lisa Folawiyo who is somebody that is highly recognized in terms of her designs. She uses African prints and tries to pride herself in that. In every collection you see her Ankara and adire with different patterns and designs.
So, it is important for me to have people who are using our designs. Emmykasbit for example is known for using akwete. He gets his textiles specifically from that region of the country. It was therefore important for the students to see designers that actually use the natural resources that we produce as Africans.
I thought it was a great idea to have people that have successfully done that, inspire the students to recognize that the future is really there. Also, they need to know that doing it well, they stand a chance to establish themselves as Nigerians using our natural resources. Not having to import from other countries. It is not that importing is bad but let us start with what we have and then we can export our own goods, positively impacting the economy of Nigeria.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
My inspiration is from the Holy spirit. I can’t help it. Everything that comes to mind is about me partnering with the Holy spirit. This helps me to identify what it is that I need to do and where the gaps that needs to be bridged.
Are you working on a fashion brand?
Let’s see what God has in mind, dont know what the future says. If it is meant to be, then I would go for it. I am very passionate about fashion. I would love to have a collection some day. Maybe potentially partner with an International brand like Louis Vuitton or Chanel. I am open to International partnerships.
Let’s talk about your personal style?
I absolutely love African textiles. As you can see, I am wearing a combination made with aso oke and Ankara. I am very passionate about using our fabrics, our beautiful and absolutely amazing prints.They are sustainable and comfortable for me. This particular dress was made by shakara couture.
Do you still model?
Not really. But, I am very open to modelling. It is something that I am passionate about. If you check my page, you will find that most of the reels are a result of my modelling.
Hakeem Condotti is a former banker, CEO and founder of BLK Hut Media. In this interview with YETUNDE OLADEINDE, he goes down memory lane talking about his experience working with Asa, Adekunle Gold, Simi, and Burnaboy. He also talks about bringing back the popular TV show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the role of gender, culture, and technology.
Do you have a background in the Media?
No. Simply put, I am a businessman. I have been an entrepreneur since 2008. I had worked in a bank for a couple of years, worked with Sony in the UK when I did my masters. I returned to Nigeria and found myself working in mobile technology for MTech. From MTech, we were doing content; mainly creating mobile content for the telecoms – MTN mainly.
That is how I got exposed to content monetization. The artists, musicians, and movie makers all create a lot of content and the traditional ways they were used to were not the most favourable for them then. It was just Alaba that they were relying on – this was not very forthcoming. The way mobile technology was then, you could turn songs into a ringtone, ring-back tone and get them more popularity, and the artist got paid regularly.
So that exposed me, and a whole generation of us towards monetizing content, and what that meant and what that could look like.
What was the experience at that time for you?
It was interesting! The whole thing started because all of a sudden, artists started getting paid from avenues that they did not plan for. They started getting paid from people that were not music marketers, they were not Alaba distributors, and they were not marketing people in ways that seemed corporate and more professional. So, naturally, they gravitated toward us in terms of anything that they wanted to do. If an artist wants to record an album before, they would go to Alaba and talk to a distributor. But now they would come to us and say “I have this music that is recorded, I want you to release it. Can you have an album release party for us or can you launch the album and produce a concert for us?” They saw us as reliable partners that they could work with to help them make more money from their art. So, the trust was there, and that sort of exposed us to the entertainment side of the industry.
The first album release party done in Nigeria then was Styl-Plus. We did it for them as MTech at Eko Hotel in 2007, which gave us exposure to the entertainment industry.
Would you say that it was a smooth experience?
Nothing in life is smooth. Anything in life that is smooth would not be worthwhile, it will not be rewarding. That started the journey and further down the line, it developed into me producing concerts professionally. We did an All-African music concert in South Africa in 2015 and our lineup consisted of 33 African artists from different countries. Afterward, I did the first Asa concert in Eko Hotel in 2016, followed by, Adekunle Gold’s.
What was the experience like working with Asa?
Brilliant! I couldn’t have asked for a better way to start solo concerts on my own because it wasn’t just about doing the concert and making money. Of course, making money was important but the focus wasn’t that. It was always delivering quality to her fans; always being professional and getting everything right. Asa had one of the best teams; I still say she has one of the best managers in the industry.
Every artist needs someone who has got your back and can supervise everything that you are doing – to the best quality. A lot of the industry gatekeepers didn’t think that we could pull it off. I like challenges and I like working with wisdom, credibility, and experience. And also people that can do the work; not just because they have been the ones doing it. So, we don’t do concerts with a lot of people that would normally do it.
I don’t go to concerts myself because I don’t enjoy the experience. So, when I want to do one, I don’t see the reason why I should work with people that have been doing it the way I don’t enjoy doing it. So, I did mine and even the host that hosted the event said, “How can you do this and you didn’t involve this and that person?” I said, “Let’s see how it goes”. After it, they were all amazed at how well it went. It was one of those pictures etched in their memory and they all gathered outside Eko Hotel talking about the show. I got a lot of calls, people asking who did your sound, lights, and more. It just taught me that doing things properly works. Even though we didn’t make money from it then, we established that we could do things well.
Asa had always been doing something in France, but I’ll say that we brought her back with the concert we did for her. She’s always been a huge personality and a huge talent. A lot has happened in the industry that has not made us see her at her best yet. I think Asa still has a whole lot to offer Nigeria. That exposed me to the world of concerts, and I followed that up with Adekunle Gold and Simi’s concerts.
Adekunle Gold and Simi are a couple, what do you think of them? Also, Adekunle Gold just released a song Ogaranya that is making waves, let’s talk about that.
They were not a couple then when I worked with them. However, his album is fantastic. After Asa, I did Adekunle Gold’s concert the following year and then Burnaboy’s. I am quite selective about the kind of artists that I work with. I like talented artists and talented people. It’s easier to work with people when you have the right product. Adekunle Gold was an artist like no other as well. He was very professional, he had a great team, a great manager; he didn’t have a big team and he was always involved in everything. It is different when you are relating with someone and you can gain from them. He wants to deliver the best to the people, irrespective of their fans. They both have that in common. It was Adekunle Gold first and then Simi the following year. They were kind of together then but now really out there as a couple. So, the successes we see today from them are not accidental – it is because of years of hard work. They have put in a lot, invested a lot in their trade and that is what is coming forth for them. Simi is going through her phases, and the way the world is structured, it is always easier for men than women – she hasn’t attained the heights. As you can see, you do not have a lot of female musicians. The journey is never easy, different things happen to different artists – it takes a lot of grace to make things work together – being level-headed, and having a good family structure. Those things worked for Simi and Adekunle; they are both very good people, people you can work with and be at rest that they will deliver their part.
What about Burnaboy, another artist that is exploding all over the world? What was the experience like?
That is one experience that I wouldn’t want to talk about. We had to cancel the concert three days to go due to circumstances. That was when he had the issue with Eko Hotel where an artist got beaten up and he wasn’t around to address the police. The day he landed was on a Friday and the concert was on a Sunday, and when the police arrested him. Circumstances happen around artists but one thing you can never take away from Burnaboy is his talent; he also has a solid management structure.
When we are doing concerts, it’s beyond the concert; we are marketing the artist and looking out for endorsement, ambassadorship, and selling their content on different levels – anything to push the artist’s brand.
How would you describe the sector now?
The sector is big but not growing. The artists are growing, they are blowing and doing well. The sector in Nigeria is not doing well. Nigeria is not gaining from it for the simple fact that the investment into that sector is almost like it’s coming from outside. The people that are promoting the artist are not in Nigeria. The artist is earning all this monies internationally and they are investing it wisely internationally, GDP in Nigeria is gaining very little from it. All the streams and global attention, they pay them in dollars. The money is not coming here, the money is going into their account and they are investing it wisely. That is because the structure is not here to encourage them to do things here – it’s a big loss. It’s one of the things that I’m happy and sad about; I’m happy that the artists are doing well and sad Nigeria is not gaining from it. The last government tried to address this but it is a very intricate Nigerian problem. You see artists doing well internationally and we are suffering, the system in Nigeria is suffering. Our artists are filling up stadiums but you cannot do a stadium concert in Nigeria.
Talking about filling up stadiums, Asake comes to mind. He is doing very well in Europe. How do you see the Asake moves?
Asake is doing well here as well. He’s very popular and over there he is bigger. He has a couple of unfortunate things that happened at his concert last year in the UK, but he is doing another one this year, this same August, and it’s going to be sold out because there is structure to it, there is a system to it, and guidelines. To be honest, Lagos State tried with regard to safety at concerts and events; if you have done an event outside Nigeria you would understand what I am saying.
What inspired you to bring back the “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” show?
In line with monetizing content, we had a project with Sony Pictures UK. They were trying to sell their movies. They have tons of movies that they distribute globally directly in Nigeria to the end users. So, we said why not create an app and we launched that with MTN. We were in that process when they invited us to some of their events and told us the formats that were available. Who Wants to be a Millionaire was available and we pitched for it.
We all know that it is doing very well in Nigeria and was off-air for a while because of sponsorship. We went to sort it out and after a long round of biddings and propositions, we got it. It belongs to Sony and they guard it very jealously. It’s the longest format running on TV for 20 years plus globally. We have been able to empower people with the celebrity specials we did for charity. For the children’s specials, we have been able to pay school fees for eight children, and we would be doing that continuously.
Was there any gender input?
I have a very interesting concept about women in that regard. I think gender sensitivity in the world is an imported problem for Africa, it is not an African problem originally. As Africans, we have our biases for and against women which also should be addressed. But it is not the same tone as the West. For example, culturally and traditionally, some of our tribes are gender-neutral, but because of the influence of the colonials, we missed that perspective. Yoruba is a very gender-neutral language, there is no Yoruba word for son and daughter. No Yoruba word for brother and sister.
When we started translating our history, the white men started assuming that all our kings were men. A lot of the women who were kings were not recorded. A couple of Ooni’s are now proven as women and if you look at our history, we have a lot of great women warriors.
Is AI something that we are looking forward to?
There is currently a strike going on in Hollywood because of AI deployment and we are still kind of far from it here in Nigeria. You can make a movie with just the voice and impression of an actor once you have recorded him once. But here we don’t have fears of AI yet. It’s a matter of time but we are still miles from it. For Who Wants to Be a Millionaire we did a trial run using questions from AI and questions from our researchers, just to compare and understand what is going on.
How do you combine all this with family life?
My main support system is my family – I lost my dad this year. My wife and kids, three girls and a boy. My wife is a fantastic career woman. She is the chief legal officer for Eko Electric.
What did you see in her?
It was God’s grace. We were fortunate to be able to meet each other and help each other to grow to what we are now. Family is a big part of what we do together. That peace you have in the house is underrated in terms of what it enables a man or a woman to do out there.
That means you give her a lot of support. Some men feel that if their wife is strong they may lose her.
That is a whole different conversation. We will finish today. A lot stems from the experiences that they have had or seen people close to them have. Sometimes something happens to you and because of that, you move to the extreme. But then, nothing beats being able to work together with your partner and having a unified front that you are both working towards the same thing. That way you know that the win is for both of you.
Foluke Michael is the CEO, founder and Project Director of Solution17. In this interview with YETUNDE OLADEINDE, the civil engineer talks about her experience working with children, teenagers, youths and artists.
What was the inspiration behind Solution 17?
In partnership with the Lagos State Government in 2012, we launched the award-winning ‘Vision of the Child (VoTC)’ under the supervision of 1986 Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka. The project began in 2002 with Art for Good Governance and Democrazy, supported by Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The maiden edition of VoTC was held in 2012. Thousands of children from over 400 public and private schools in Lagos State participated between 2012 and 2019. Different themes created by Prof Wole Soyinka were researched, interpreted and developed into poetry, painting, dance, and music by the children.
VoTC scaled to Solution17 for Sustainable Development Goals in 2018 and Solution17 for Climate Action in 2020. Solution17 utilises a problem-solving and solution-driven approach to championing climate action and amplifying the voice of children and Youth whilst driving change by creating solutions to community problems.
What were you doing for Professor Soyinka before this?
I started my career as a civil engineer in 1998/1999 and transitioned into a social enterprise focusing on the youth, artistes, and women. I founded Women Empowerment Youth Organisation in 2000 and the African Cultural Heritage Project (ACHP) in 2001.
In 2002, ACHP was invited to participate in the prestigious Caterina De’ Medici International Painting Awards in Florence, Italy. On December 13, 2001, I received an email asking our organisation, the African Cultural Heritage Project (ACHP), to participate in the Caterina de’ Medici International Painting Competition and Award in Florence, Italy. I supported and led four young Nigeria Artists to participate in the competition in Italy. Over 65 countries participated; two Nigerian artists won.
The news made Headlines in Italian newspapers. When the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Literature was visiting Florence, it was a divine coincidence. Professor Wole Soyinka discovered me in the land of Italy. I met him on arrival in Nigeria. Our conversation in 2002 transformed my life and birthed a series of projects, including Caterina De’ Medici in Nigeria, Vision of the Child, and others.
The Vision of the Child began in 2012 in about 66 schools in Lagos. The first year featured how children view the environment they live in. The theme for 2013 was A Thousand and One Faces of Corruption. Followed by the Rule of Law and Impunity in the third year, and the fourth year focussed on Chibok Girls, The Road to Sambisa. We concentrated on the City of Lagos in 2016, Lagos at 50. The theme was Sisi Eko@ 50, Aging Gracefully or Na So So Pancake. By the 7th year, we had transitioned into Project management of Lagos; Enhance the Heritage, Advance the Future.
By the end of 2017, we redesigned VoTC and incorporated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We had over 50 past winners, awarded by Diamond Bank (Now Access Bank) and Lagos State Government. The 50 winners worked on different projects at the VoTC Innovation Hub. The project outcomes enabled us to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals.
What were the children doing in the projects?
The journey begins every year with a call for registration. Each participant must submit an essay on a yearly theme created by Professor Wole Soyinka. The entrants researched the topic with the help of their teachers and parents, studied with other students, and submitted their essays, poem, or prose before the closing date.
So, we received thousands of essays from all over Lagos. We then review all the essays, call them for the first interviews, and cut down from the thousands to hundreds and then 30. During the interview, the children must create their earlier submissions in painting formats to qualify for the last round.
What goes through your mind as you sift through all the scripts written by these children?
A New Nigeria is possible! The contributions, positivity, passion, and responses from children and youth on our platforms are indications that Nigeria will rise again! The solution providers to national problems are already born. Investment in young people will transform our society. They must be part of the future!
Can we say this is a form of inclusion?
Yes, that is it. Policy makers must include young people in decision-making. It doesn’t matter what level of education they are in. Young people must be included, right from the nursery schools.
It means Nigeria must transition from the traditional education delivery method to solution-based learning. Technology-driven education; Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is the way forward. That is the Policy that our government must put in place. Now!
How many years have you done the children’s project, and what are the challenges?
As I said earlier, The Vision of The Child began in 2011; the first edition was held in 2012. At some point, we needed to expand, and we needed funding. I remember meeting Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2017 to help us with land to build VoTC Academy because he believes in youth development. I pitched the idea to him within 10 mins, and he was fascinated. He immediately contacted Governor Ambode, who promised to follow up and ensure we achieved that feat.
We tried hard to scale but never gave up despite some setbacks. I saw a bright future, and we went for it. The major lesson learnt is to focus on the end goal, challenges notwithstanding.
How does climate change come into the picture?
In 2017, we incorporated the UN SDGs into all VoTC projects. The infusion of SDGs helped the children to think of solutions and project implementation within their immediate environment.
By 2018, we had won the United Nations SDGs Action Award- Innovator Category in Bonn, Germany. The award inspired us to design Solution17 for Climate Action.
Let’s talk about the experience of going to Germany to receive the award.
About 740 projects/organisations were nominated globally and from 125 Nations in seven continents for the UN Award. We emerged as one of the 30 finalists three months after the nomination. The news brought so much joy. It was compensation for our work over the years, and we celebrated.
We were invited to Germany for the award in March 2018, and behold, we won! It was a beautiful evening of celebration.
We returned to Nigeria with renewed energy. We went back to the drawing board to create Solution17 for SDGs. Solution17 combines SDG 1-17 to solve one problem at a time. We implemented Solution17 for Good Health and Wellbeing 2018 in partnership with UNODC, followed by Solution17 for CRC@30 with UNICEF in 2019, and Solution17 for Climate Action by 2020. Between 2019 and 2021, the projects were published by United Nations as Good Practise, Success Stories, and Inspiration Breakthrough toward achieving SDGs in 2030.
We worked across all education levels; nursery, primary, secondary, and university.
What are some of the things that you have done with Solution 17?
We have built a community of young people turning ideas into solutions. We are currently creating a global movement where our champions can collaborate and partner across borders to develop sustainable solutions for social impact and profit. We are also championing Social enterprise, Climate Action, and Entrepreneurship.
What are some of the challenges encountered?
Funding is one of the biggest problems. But it is not big enough to stop us. We are winning.
Where do you see the organisation in the next few years?
By 2030, we will have built a sustainable ecosystem where members can access funding, partnerships, training, education, and a marketplace to sell goods and services. It will stand like a mini United Nations, and all the young people we are working with will have their organisations as agencies, working together with Solution17 to solve problems, creating solutions, solving unemployment, poverty, and other issues.
What advice do you have for young Nigerians out there?
Dear Young people, you have more opportunities in your hand; you have the technology. You are tech-savvy, with unlimited access to the internet and social media. Please use these tools to create solutions. Ignore the harmful content, learn more skills, become an expert in your field, and shoot for the sky.
Be a positive influencer and a solution provider to Africa. Reposition yourself as a Joseph to your generation. In no time, the kings of nations and African government leaders will chase you and pay for your expertise, services, or products.
Prof was 89 recently. Tell us about the man, Soyinka. How did he inspire you?
I met him in 2002, 21 years ago. Meeting him itself was an inspiration. When you have a note that says, Folu, congratulations, meet me when you are in Nigeria (I received the note after our artists won the Caterina de’ Medici International Painting Award in Florence, Italy, in 2002). That was a one million dollars cheque! Somebody you have seen through books and television, and you are dreaming to see in the future, and the future knocks on your door in the present!
So, he inspired me, and secondly, when I finally met him, he gave me access as my teacher, mentor, coach, and father. I worked under his supervision for many years and learnt life lessons, discipline, and a culture of integrity.
Then the third was, ‘he allowed me to serve as Festival Secretary for the Lagos Black Heritage Festival, Accountant, and Project Coordinator on various youth projects.
He inspired me to write my first book, and I’m working on other books. I went through the school of Prof Soyinka, the best school anyone can attend. I met Prof as a young civil engineering graduate, yet I began as a nursery school pupil from WS’s School of Wisdom and Knowledge. Prof would give you one thousand and one things to do, and you will need to figure out how to do it effectively and efficiently. Prof will dot all i’s and cross the t’s. He pays attention to details. I learnt those qualities from him. Today, I’m a dedicated worker and multi-tasker. He is a great father.
How did you cross so easily from science to arts effortlessly?
My engineering knowledge is why I am this strong. Then, I grew up with 7 boys, and I am the only girl. So, having engineering as my background made me a strong woman that I am right today. Growing up was tasking. I had to struggle with the boys for everything at home. I have a passion for arts, children, and youth development.
Engineering gave me a platform to earn money, which I used to finance and implement my dream projects many years ago. I later returned to the University of Salford in the UK to acquire MSc in Project Management. Learning as a Civil Engineer and Project Management Expert contributed significantly to my success story in Art and Social Development! I have taken more courses in startups, entrepreneurship, design thinking, and tech. I can’t stop learning.
AI is the main thing at the moment; what does this mean to you?
AI is the latest boom! AI is transforming the traditional way of accomplishing tasks. AI allows machines to model, or improve upon, the human mind’s capabilities. We see AI capability in self-driving cars and the proliferation of tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. It’s becoming part of everyday life — many companies across every industry are investing in AI. He is a member of Solution17 community. This is one of the advantages of investing in youth. In a few weeks, we will utilise AI, Technology, Innovation, and Literary Art to create solutions on CANVAS to generate awareness and drive climate action and collaboration on youth-focused initiatives for COP28 in the United Arab Emirates.
Says she’s not bothered by rumours of husband’s extra-marital affair with Abuja lawyer
Despite the allegations and rumours of dalliances with several women that have dogged their marriage in recent times, Biola, wife of billionaire businessman, Olatunde Ayeni, decries such inglorious labelling of her husband and declares emphatically that he is no flirt. Rather, she describes him as a good father, husband, and person whose good nature has been exploited for far too long, writes MUUJEEB OYEDEJI.
The charm of a trusty wife strikes at first sight but it is her merit that wins the heart. Through war and peace, thick and thin, she submits herself to the task of protecting her husband and her marriage. Biola Ayeni does this with the valour of a trooper and the passion of a poet. Thus it may be said that her love for her husband is true as the needle to the pole or the dial to the sun.
The fashion entrepreneur and wife of former Skye Bank Chairman, Tunde Ayeni, commits diligently to upholding the sacred tenets of their wedlock with the devotion of one who understands that the best moments in life are spent in the glory of a worthy spouse.
If you ask her, she would tell you that suspicion lowers the most promising matrimony to the petty level of the meddling Joneses. She would tell you that love’s transcendent bliss while surreal must scorn the fungus of distrust in order to fully thrive. Thus her decision to stand by her man in the wake of disconcerting allegations by an Abuja-based lawyer, claiming to be his wife and mother of his child. Beyond family, Biola asserts herself in her craft with matchless ingenuity. The mother of three competes convincingly with the leading brands in the United Kingdom and the United States. She has won the most sceptical fashion buffs over even as she titillates the interests of the random enthusiast with her inventiveness and entrepreneurial depth. Ultimately, she has even her most ardent critics eating from her palms. In this interview, Mrs Ayeni bares her mind on several issues including the travails of Nigeria’s fashion industry and rumours of her husband’s alleged infidelity. Excerpts…
Married to a billionaire whose business tentacles spread all over the world certainly comes with challenges. What is the experience like?
What I want you to understand is that life is a package, and just like the pineapple, despite being known for sweetness, it has different segments that come with it. The first and the sweetest part is the bottom. The upper part of it is not that sweet, and when you cut it into two halves, you have the hard core, and when eaten, it has a mixture of bitter sweetness; it can cut your tongue or itch you. The outer skin is also another part of it that itches and can poke you, and the crown of the pineapple another part that is basically useless. Six parts all in one fruit! Such is life.
Being married to a successful man will definitely come with its own challenges, but how you manage everything that comes with it makes you a happy and fulfilled person. As for me, I woke up to that reality early in life when my husband started moving up the ladder of success and tended to travel a lot and I felt this is not what I bargained for in marriage. But I had to tell myself that if you have a husband that is always at home, you will not get some of the comforts you enjoy. It is the choice life has made for me, and i had to adapt to the unpleasant side of it.
If you ask those whose husbands are home and around all the time, they would probably tell you they prefer to have a husband who is hardly around with all the comfort you get. The earlier one understands that finding satisfaction in what life throws at you is the only way to be happy in life, the better.
It was one thing for me to come to term with this reality and it is another thing to make our young children understand why their dad is not around most times like they see other parents do. When Iyiola was in the kindergarten, his graduation from nursery clashed with Bolaji’s graduation while she was doing A Level in London and I had to travel for a week to stay with her for that period. I told my husband to ensure he attended Iyiola’s graduation but a meeting came up that he needed to attend that day, and he tried to delegate someone to attend the meeting because he felt it was only a nursery graduation. So he told my sister to attend on his behalf.
Iyiola, went to wake his dad up in bed early in the morning and said: ‘Dad, you mean you won’t be at my graduation?’ He was about four years old at the period. My husband said he was compelled to shelve everything and attend the event because the way the boy put the question to him convicted him like it was a crime he was about to commit. At that young age Iyiola knew how to demand his rights. Sometimes he came home insisting his dad had to come and pick him from school because his friend’s dads used to come to pick them up from school and he couldn’t understand why his dad couldn’t do that. I had to sit him down at that age and explain to him that his friends’ fathers are not in the same line of business as his dad. The fact that your Dad doesn’t pick you up from school doesn’t mean he loves you less than those whose father made out time to pick their children from school either because they didn’t have a driver or they just felt its right to do so.
These are some of the challenges I faced because of his business. I passed through the phase of suspicion of extramarital affairs, checking phones and insisting on accompanying him on a trip, and I grew up to see that those were mere traps and distractions that destablise peace in marriage. And finally come to realise that the best way to follow a man around is through prayers
One thing you have to understand is that a handsome, successful and prominent man doesn’t have to be a flirt for him to start cheating on his wife, because even if he doesn’t chase women, women will chase him. And if they don’t, friends will influence him. And in these days of desperate runs girls using diabolical means to seduce innocent men, it is only a naive wife that will be blaming or fighting her husband over women.
These girls even go as far as trying men of God! So when married to a successful man, you CAN trust your husband with everything but NOT with women! Its time to shift that trust to God and TRUST GOD concerning your husband that He will not allow him to hurt you or Let you down
What is the greatest sacrifice you have made in life?
You just hit something. The greatest sacrifice I have had to make in life is having to give up my own career as a lawyer to obey my husband’s directive to stay with the children because we can’t both be running after money, leaving home at 8 am and leaving the children in the hands of nannies. However, when I flash back or see some of my mates who are now Judges and Justices or SAN, the sacrifice hurts. But I thank God today that my children are well mannered and are doing well to the glory of God, And in the line of business that I chose for flexibility to work around the children, I found fulfillment.
Because of your husband’s prominence, he is always in the news. Only recently, a an Abuja-based lady alleged that your husband is the father of her baby. How do you react to such news and how has this affected you?
Let’s take it one step at a time. Thank God you said because of his prominence he is always in the news. When a man is successful, you know he will have a lot of enemies and they would write a lot of things about him. When you have made a name, you will become a target for traducers. And that is when it’s good for you to know whom you are married to. It’s important to know the kind of person you are married to.
There was some publication about some incident and people started calling me to make inquiries. They asked me how I was feeling or coping and I told them that I was fine. I don’t listen to what they say about my husband outside and I don’t need anyone to tell me who my husband is outside. I have my husband beside me. When I need to clarify things, we talk about it. We don’t hide anything from each other. I prefer to hear it directly from his mouth no matter how bad. He has no reason to lie to me because he knows I will stand by him any time, any day.Thus no matter what anyone says about him, it doesn’t bother me.
I know my husband to have a good heart and will stand by you through thick and thin once you are his friend. He is a loyal person to a fault. And even if you decide to make yourself his enemy by letting him down or cheating him, you will never find him looking for your downfall.
There was a friend of his who was even living with us when we newly got married, to tell you how close they were. They set up a business. My husband put down the money and the guy had the skills, and he ended up cheating him out of the business. They fought and parted ways. Four years down the line, my dad broke the news of the death of the guy and I was shocked.
When my husband returned from work that night, I broke the news to him without thinking of how he would react to it because I thought they were enemies, and he broke down and cried all night. I was so shocked that his anger over the friend on the issue of money had nothing to do with his love for the friend, because this was someone who hurt and offended my husband. If he can have some empathy for someone who offended him, imagine what he could do for someone who didn’t offend him.
So he took up the education of his late friend’s kids at age 4 and age 2 and sponsored their education in private universities till they graduated. In the area of compassion you cant fault my husband. In the area of loyalty, you can’t fault him. My husband can be too trusting, and I warn him every time that it is not everybody that has a good heart towards you like you have towards them; but I see that he can’t change himself. It is his nature, so i just always pray that God gives him discernment of spirit to know who to run away from in his endeavours.
As for the impostor you mentioned, I will not glorify her by calling her a lady but somebody’s child. Because the age gap between her and my husband makes it more of an insult to refer to her as a lady. Her matter is not something I want to entertain. As per your question on how I reacted to the news of her claim, truth be told, the first thing I did when I heard the news was to check with God if truly He would fold His arms and let anyone destroy a home He used His hands to build and guard jealously for 31 years, and He told me it is a lie, disregard it.
In the end, the truth will prevail. She knows the father of her child. And when i checked with my husband he told me the child is not his! GOD has spoken and my husband has also spoken, nothing else matters. So I am not moved by naysayers or rumour-mongering or her claims
She claims that she is Mrs Ayeni and her child is Ayeni’s daughter. How would you react to that?
I am not surprised she is parading herself to be who she is not, because by so doing, it becomes clearer that she is a desperate gold digger who thinks she can become Mrs Ayeni by merely pinning a child on her highest paying victim. And its quite surprising to know that despite her degree in Law, she needs somebody to tell her that a child is not a marriage certificate. Neither is it a security to maintain a fake lifestyle that she has become accustomed to. And to now think the child does not belong to my husband makes her claim more embarrassing.
Anyway, she has been warned through our lawyers to desist from parading herself as Mrs Ayeni, because she is not and she will never be as the Lord lives.
My husband and I are legally married. And as for her calling her child by my husband’s surname, Ayenis are many. The child is not Tunde Ayeni’s child. Period!. When she is tired of calling the child the borrowed name she will change it to her father’s name.
You said that your husband is quite generous and has a good heart and people take that for granted to say different things. It is alleged this particular impostor gets things from different men and claimed it’s your husband who buys her all this stuff…
(Cuts in) Let me tell you something; I didn’t want to go to this length before. But since you asked, I will answer. Hear is my take: it may appear as if my husband’s name is always associated with being in a messy affair with one lady or the other. It doesn’t change my opinion of my husband and you cannot convince me that my husband is a flirt, because i didn’t marry him as a flirt. Even if you show me all the evidence of how many women he has been with. Why? Because money makes a man misbehave, Friends make a man misbehave, and strange women seduce men with all manner of jazz to make a man misbehave! Rather, I pity my husband as an unsuspecting, and naive victim of the level of desperation and diabolical tendencies of this kind of woman he got association with because even with men, my husband is too trusting. So you can imagine level of his nonchalance that led to the mess.
I mean you too take a look at it. How can a man who is happily married in his right senses be spending lavishly on a woman of that age? Such magnitude of spending should raise the question “in return for what? five-minute pleasure?” When spending becomes unusual, you should suspect that a man is under a spell. So whatever she claims my husband bought for her, she knows what she did to get it from him. But that season has ended. I promise you.
To answer your question on whether the allegation has affected my marriage or my home, I am happy to let you know that Christ is the bedrock of my home. He has built a wall of fire around it and I can confidently assure you that my home is not threatened, My marriage is solid, my husband’s love for me is not threatened, my husband is not lost. My children are unmoved by the claim, and my husband has no children outside of the three children we have together.
Do you have any advice for young ladies out there?
My advice is that they should marry their own friends and know what your husband is capable of doing or not doing so that you can properly defend him. In addition, build your home on Christ, not on trust. Trust may fail you along the line!
When you marry your own friend, it’s easy to see their pain and struggles rather than their faults and the injury they inflict so that you can render them the necessary support they need to live up to your expectation. That support is prayer. You cannot have a successful man or marriage without being prayerful.
A lot of people get into marriage praying for their husband to be rich without being prepared for what success brings with it. You need to know who your real spouse is. If I didn’t build my home on God and put my trust in God and have the power to differentiate an action that is my husband’s from what he did under influence, the enemies would have succeeded in their plans. But I thank God for his faithfulness in my life and the life of my husband and children.
As a fashion expert, can you describe Nigeria’s position in the world of fashion?
What I can say about the fashion industry in Nigeria is it has improved tremendously from what it used to be, but we are very far from what obtains in the western world because the improvement is wrongly channeled to made-to-measure that we have been practising since the colonial era!
If you look at the fashion industry in the Western world and compare it with the fashion industry in Nigeria, you will see that we are not even ready to compete. In Nigeria, as we speak, the leading designers are still practising made-to-measure and freehand cut and are making garments that cannot be sold abroad. Why? Because the focus is on Nigerian market and getting little money here and there. And because a lot of our designers still practice measure and sew for client, and do not have any defined sizing they can use to compete abroad, because sizing forces you to update your skills. We need to develop our skills and bring it at par with the Western world standard where garments are made through pattern making and computer-aided designs.
I have a passion for fashion designing, and when my husband mandated me not to practice I saw it as a great opportunity to practice what I enjoy doing. So because it was something i enjoyed doing form young age, it’s a talent i developed. My driving force was to develop my skills to be at the same level with what obtains in the fashion industry abroad. So I introduced pattern making to my business as far back as 1997 and I switched to computer aided design in 2014.
If you want to compete with global brands, stop thinking locally. Think outside the box. If you don’t compare yourself with fashion designers abroad, you have not started. It’s not about making fantastic designs alone for individuals without being able to produce such in different size range within the shortest possible time and at the lowest possible cost.
I can understand that some people chose to be in made-to-measure to cater for celebrities and high end clients. But the kind of tailoring they practice to achieve it still leaves much to be desired compared to made-to-measure designers abroad. Divine Endowments started with made-to-measure in 1999 and has given birth to four arms of fashion industry to take care of diverse needs in the Nigerian fashion industry. Namely the ready-to-wear where we make our local ankara fabrics into ready-to-wear Western styles in blouses, dresses, men’s shirts, trousers, suits, children’s wear available in UK/US size ranges all located at international airports, new and old terminals in Lagos airports, MM2 Lagos and old domestic airports and Abuja International Airport in Nigeria, thereby ensuring foreigners who love to wear our ankara can bypass having to go to a tailor before they can have an ankara dress or African souvenir to take back to friends.
We also have the children brand, BJREMY, which takes care of children and young people’s fashion, and we have the Owambe by divine endowment, which takes care of the aso ebi and party wears of individuals
Lastly we discovered a need in the area of uniforms and we launched DEuniforms, established to take care of all professional uniforms, namely construction and site uniforms, hotel and catering uniforms, outdoor catering uniforms, medical uniforms, domestic staff, security, ‘corpers’ and force uniforms, school uniforms.
How would you say the economic reality of Nigeria has affected the fashion industry as described by you?
Basically the economic situation has affected a lot of things. COVID-19 especially changed a lot of things as a result of ban on large party gatherings, which made people to organise parties without aso ebi and with less crowd. I’m sure that this affected a lot of people whose line of business depended on made-to-measure. But for me, I practice more of ready-to-wear, and with the introduction of uniform line, we are grateful to God He has kept us busy and flourishing.
Are you a member of the fashion association and do you relate ideas like these back home to Nigerian designers? What do you think can be done to help the fashion industry?
I will not lie to you, when I used to have the time, I registered as a member of the FADAN, and as I widened my scope, it became very difficult be an active member.
What are your other business interests?
I am involved in the hospitality business. I like looking after people. Having attended parties and observed lapses, I decided to open an event centre.
Now that the kids are done with school, as a strict Christian, what are you looking at?
Face my husband, my business and my ministry, because I am a pastor, and also guide my children to become firebrand Christians and become successful in life.
What does money mean to you?
Money is a good thing to have because it gives you comfort and respect. Money is something everyone needs and values. But the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. So for me, the rule is “never value money more than relationships”. Relationships outlive money. And that is one thing I see in my husband.
It was like a bachelorette party at the just-concluded Drum Queens Festival as female drummers across the state converged in the city of Lagos to showcase their drumming dexterities. The event was organized by one of the leading female drummers in Nigeria, Temitope Odebiyi, otherwise known as Topsticks. OLAITAN GANIU reports.
The hall of the Breath of Life Ministry appeared like a studio theatre as guests were surrounded by heavy speakers of all sizes and special lighting effects just to feel the sounds coming out of the five-piece acoustic drumsets arranged for the line-up of female drummers. The drum queens are young ladies, beautiful and highly-spirited. They came in from different cities—Port Harcourt, Edo, Enugu, Ibadan, Ondo—not only to exhibit their drumming mastery nor for pizzazz but to break down barriers of stigmatization against womenfolk.
Some of the drummers are: Teesticks, Marvie sticks, Faithfulsticks, GDMustickz, Faithsticks, Tessy, Divine sticks, Christiana, Psticks, Chistickz, Biebele and others. Aside from the drumming, the festival also featured diverse genres of cultural exhibitions, including spoken word, dance, percussion, workshops and awards. There was a circus performance from a band consisting of five teenagers who thrilled the crowd with their bike show, acrobatic and athletic activity.
Tagged, ‘Drum Queens Festival’ held live at Obanikoro, Lagos, on Sunday, June 25. Before the show kicked off, people most especially the youth, were trooping in and out of the well-decorated hall to pimp if the ladies were ready to flaunt their talents. Only the elderly remained seated at the front row, patiently waiting for the show to commence. Some notable personalities in attendance include veteran actress, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, highlife legend, Yinka Alakija, world-recognised drummer, Segun Shaba among other art enthusiasts.
The event opened with a drumline performance by a band of female drummers. With their customised navy-blue jackets, they roll the drums like a committed pacifist who is on a special parade, creating a peaceable anthem to calm the people’s nerves. The audience left with no choice than to jive and applaud the presentation. Next was a solo performance from the list of emerging ‘drumstars’. One thing I observed about the drummers was their confidence. No form of stage fright. Once the MC called their names, they walked up to the podium with cheerful faces to make a statement with their exceptional rhythm.
Meanwhile, the cynosure of all eyes was when the renowned female drummer and music instructor, Topsticks, stepped on the big stage to display her artistic competence and classiness. The shouts of excitement from her mentee as well as the congregation ushered her onto the stage. As expected, the ‘Queen drummer’ proved her elegance and professionalism by switching the beat to produce a more complex sounds suitable for the event. Topsticks demonstrated vivacity that excited the audience, which clapped and said: “Topsticks, we want more.”
Since the sound of drumming generates dynamic neuronal connections in all parts of the brain, Topsticks said she’s playing her drum to promote healing and therapy for people.
“Drumming or beating has a mental benefit. There’s something called the neuroscience of drumming, which is the ability of the right and left sides of our brains to work simultaneously. We need both sides of our brain to work together to create strong neuropathways, making focus and recall much better and easier. It allows you to do things simultaneously without losing focus. I’ve seen the importance of drumming and rhythm in my personal life because I multitask and my mind retains everything I’m doing. So people called me a jack of all trades,” the graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, who is currently running her Ph.D in History and Strategic Studies at the University of Lagos, said.
“Drums are a fantastic instrument. It embodies what music is all about. When you hear all these artists’ songs, if you remove the drums, there is emptiness, but when you infuse the drums, it adds value to the lyrics. What makes people dance and vibe are the beats.”
While speaking on the mission of the platform, she says, “It is to give visibility to these drum queens. Let people know that there are a lot of talented female drummers in Nigeria. So if musicians need their services, companies need their endorsement. We have established a training programme, where we train these girls in the art of drumming and give out certificates to our students. We want to use it to empower them to also become coaches on their own, as we’re trusting God for and seeking some form of support from the government to set up the school and establish some of these queens who are into coaching. Some of them read music in school, and setting up a home studio is quite expensive. And in light of that, the certificate we are giving out is basically for female drummers, even though the school is open to both male and female students.”
Topsticks future plans are not to break the Guinness World Record (GWR), but to keep expanding the female drummer community. When asked if she would like to break a GWR, she says: “I’ve not thought of breaking a Guinness World Record. The only record I want to break is to keep expanding the female drummer community.”
Maybe one day, which is my dream, we are going to host a drumline show at a stadium where we will have the largest number of drummers performing. My desire is to have 100 female drummers just play like a marching band in a field. I desire that someday at a national event like October 1, we just usher in and play the national anthem with our drumline being all female.”a
Joy Ebere Ekekwe is the new Miss Tourism Nigeria. Her story brings to memory the popular fairy tale, Cinderella, whom no one gave a chance to succeed but eventually became the queen against all odds. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she goes down memory lane talking about early life and coming from a poor background to the limelight.
What was growing up like for you?
I was born and brought up in a humble Christian home in Aba, Abia State. I have two older siblings, I’m the last child actually.
Growing up was quite traumatic for me because I had lost my mom at a very tender age. She left even before I could recall her face, and I was given away to grow up elsewhere and subsequently became a housemaid.
I went through physical and mental abuse from my guardians, In fact, I never knew I would turn out this pretty because I had scars all over my body while growing up. My childhood was a nightmare that I hate to recall.
Tell us what you do for a living.
I am an entrepreneur. I am into Meat Processing. I run a business known as Heldi Global Products. It’s a food processing brand that manufactures, supplies, and export beef jerky popularly known as kilishi. We export to the UK, US, and Dubai, and also supply to supermarkets in Nigeria. We have over 30 independent distributors too. I’m also a financial educator. I have a community where I teach young people especially women, how to make money legitimately, run successful businesses, and live a wholesome lifestyle.
What are your values?
Youths today no longer live by values. But I have a different perspective and that’s what has been keeping me going. I believe so much in hard work, integrity, and financial prudence.
Did you ever believe you will emerge the winner of the Miss Tourism pageant?
Yes, I did, that’s why I auditioned in the first place. My 3 years in business have taught me to treat every adventure as a new product. So, I cross the t’s and dot the I’s to enable me to launch it successfully into the market, just as I successfully won the crown.
The background plans that helped me win include strategic planning. I also did the right things at the right time, I made sure I stood out in a very subtle way, you will never see me coming. Yes, strategic planning helped me win.
What life challenges inspired you to win the crown?
I remember running away from my guardian’s home after she had beaten me to a pulp. I was bleeding like a thief and almost died, people told me to return to her or else I won’t be able to finish school because my father was poor.
They told me I would become a roadside seller hawking pepper and okra. Some told my father I would take in for a street urchin and end up in the slums, but I said no and decided to prove them wrong.
That singular sentence has never left my heart, it challenged me to be better each time and win not for anyone, but for myself.
Today I have my own business, with workers that I pay. I have published my own book and traveled the world legitimately, I have also become a national queen and I won’t stop here. If I can do it, every other girl who has been cast down or spat upon, can.
What were the stages of the competition?
The process began with a virtual audition of over 300 contestants with a live interview by 8 judges in the preliminaries. Thereafter, we had a cooking competition, speech presentations, and character analysis.
Then we went on to the grand finale, where we were judged based on 5 different costumes from traditional, Egyptian, creative, dinner wear, and swim suit respectively. We also had a question and answer session on stage before a winner emerged.
What are the support system and values that aided you to win?
My biggest support system is my family, and family isn’t necessarily those whom you share blood ties with, but those who have stuck with you through thick and thin.
I’m so fortunate to have such a small circle in my life and I’m super grateful for them. One value that helped me win is my openness. I’m a very open person, I’m also very sincere and do not really take things too extreme. I believe that when it’s my time, it’s my time.
What are the lessons learned from the pageant?
One important lesson I learned from the Miss Tourism experience is that preparation is important. Luck is simply an opportunity to meet preparedness. If you want to really have a fair run in pageants, be prepared mentally, financially, spiritually, and emotionally. And most especially, go for competitions that align with your views and goals in life. Don’t just aspire to be a beauty queen, but look out for an organization that goes in sync with what you have outlined for yourself
What do you intend to achieve with this Crown?
Just before I became the 11th Miss Tourism, I was already empowering young people especially women through financial education. I had an online community of over 15,000 members where I do business consulting, teach financial management, and also published a book that has helped over 500 entrepreneurs buy their first properties and also invest in other profit-yielding sectors.
I’m not stopping and this crown on my head is going to amplify this movement, not just to Nigerians alone but Africa and the entire world at large.
Financial empowerment is my mantra, and with the help of my position as the 11th Miss Tourism Nigeria, we will empower more Nigerian youths and permanently lift them out of poverty
What are the benefits that come with the office?
There are a lot of benefits that come with this beautiful crown. First, there was a monetary reward, that aside, the social recognition that opens extraordinary doors for me.
Next month I will be traveling to Sri Lanka to represent Nigeria in the miss world tourism, that is me putting Nigeria on the map and it’s not just a win for me but a win for every single Nigerian.
Another huge benefit is the gain of a new family. The Miss Tourism organization and its entire crew are one big family, and they treat their queens like their younger sisters. To me, I have gained a new family and I’m huge on family.
What advice do you have for young ladies about pursuing their dreams?
My advice for young ladies pursuing their dreams is always to find the means to develop themselves. Never give up no matter your background.
I want to encourage them to read, network, travel, study, make their own money, and never depend on their physical attributes. Most especially, add value to yourself because it gives you an edge and provides a level playing ground to achieve your dreams.
