Neglect of morals in education is costing Nigeria more than people reckon with, says Dr Mashuud Fashola, Executive Secretary, Fadhil-i-Omar Ahmadiyya Muslim Educational Foundation (FAMEF).
He linked the level of corruption in the system to the failings of the education sector to inculcate moral education in children right from the foundation at a briefing to announce the 21st anniversary of Mahmud Ahmadiyya College, Ijede, a suburb of Ikorodu, Lagos, last Tuesday.
Fashola, an economist, who taught at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), said the moral gap informed the founding of the college 21 years ago to provide a smooth secondary education transition for pupils of Fadhil-i-Omar Nursery and Primary School, Somolu, Lagos.
“We started Fadhil-i-Omar Nursery and Primary in Somolu and when the first set of pupils was completing their education, public schools were in shambles. Morally, physically and academically they were nowhere. Coach Yusuf (head teacher) was worried. Will the children be sent to useless secondary schools after all they had been taught? That was why we started the college.
“We want to produce moral, academic and social indoctrination of children. It is easy to indoctrinate children. But the best way to indoctrinate them is positively. The greatest asset you can give your child is morality,” he said.
Fashola warned that failure to address the problem of immorality in the society through education could lead Nigeria to deteriorate to the level of Syria if care is not taken.
“Nigeria cannot make headway until we adopt integrity, discipline. These problems will kill us if we don’t kill them. We are going towards destruction. We don’t have to wake up and be like Syria,” he said.
Fashola noted that quality education must be accessible to the poor in the society. He said schools should exist to serve humanity.
“The purpose of this school is to develop humanity – those who serve God and his creatures. Many Christians and Muslims are focused on rituals but forget the substance. You cannot get the blessing of God unless you serve humanity,” he said.
Fashola acknowledged the roles played by various people who have contributed to the success of the college from inception.
Another director of the School Management Board, Mr Lakunle Bello, said products of the college have excelled in their various endeavours, a testament to the school’s quality.
In his address, the Principal of the college, Alhaji Ibrahim Ogunmola, said at about N120,000, the school’s fees was affordable for many parents. He said indigent pupils get support from the foundation. He also noted that defaulters are not sent away but their parents given opportunity to pay up.
Ogunmola, the foundation principal, said the school also does not make profit from the foundation but ploughs back all into its development.
“From the beginning the mandate the owners gave was to meet all our needs and plough back whatever remains to the development of the school. All the structures we’ve been able to put are from our funds and we have never taken loan,” he said.
Activities lined up for the forthcoming anniversary include a symposium holding today, which would feature two lectures titled: “Child Upbringing: Islamic Perspective” by Missionary Muhammad Qasim Oyekola; and “Beyond Mining” by Missionary Rabiu Uthman; a thanksgiving service and free medical service is scheduled for tomorrow; while luncheon and awards ceremony would hold on Saturday at the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Hall, Ikeja.
The programme would end with a Hafiz (Quran memorisation) class graduation on Sunday.
As Nigeria battles youth unemployment, SIKIRU AKINOLA reports that production of special Yoruba traditional fabric known as aso-oke is generating employment opportunities and millions of Naira for youths of Iseyin, an Oyo community.
Iseyin, the rustic town in Oyo State, prides itself as the largest producer of the Yoruba traditional fabric, aso-oke.
Located about 80 kilometres away from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, Iseyin is the gateway to Oke-Ogun, the northern part of the state with 10 local government areas.
Fabrics estimated at over N3 million are rolled out daily to meet the needs of several Yoruba people holding one ceremony or the other. The venture provides ready jobs for teeming youths who derive pleasure and contentment in earning decent living from it.
For its economic importance and social relevance, demands for aso-oke in all parts of the country, and by the Yoruba in the Diaspora, continues to make Iseyin the hub of local production, and employment generation.
For wedding ceremonies, funeral, landmark birthdays, coronation and conferment of chieftaincy titles, among others, aso-oke remains the toast of the Yoruba people. They come in different styles and quality such as sanyan and alari among others.
Biodun Sangotikun has a post-graduate degree in Electrical Electronic Engineering having completed his Higher National Diploma (HND) in the same field from the Polytechnic, Ibadan seven years ago.
One would have expected him to be working in an engineering company or be self-employed but his case is different. He still weaves aso-oke, even after he got employment with Iseyin Local Government Area. Almost 22 years ago, while in secondary school, he had begun weaving because “as an Iseyin indigene, we inherited the art from our forefathers. Weaving actually began in Iseyin. And it will interest you to know that all my educational pursuit were sponsored with the proceeds I made from this business,” he told Southwest Report.
It was later discovered that Biodun rides a ‘pencil’ camry. He, however, said the challenges in weaving aso-oke are more than the profit.
Revealing how he works for 10 hours per day, Biodun said: “What they (dealers) make in less than two hours is far greater than what we make in three days. Our effort is not commensurate with what we get. There are many challenges associated with this business. The materials we use in weaving this fabric are too expensive. It is expensive compared to the amount we sell the product.
“To make an ipele (shawl), the material will cost us between N2, 300 and N2, 500. What caused this is the fact that we don’t value our industrial sector. There is no help from government. We have seen inferior materials brought from China and people buy them. People from Ghana import materials into the country and government continues to watch. Our hand-woven fabric is better than the ones made by machine.”
In the olden days, you are not completely dressed without an ipele (shawl) for women and an agbada with a fila abeti aja (dog ear’s cap) cap to match.
Apart from the fact that the Yoruba believe that the trade began in the ancient town, everybody is involved. Behind every shop you see, with massive wares, there is a weaving point. You will be delighted to know that most of the residents make fortune from weaving and selling the fabrics.
Southwest Report learnt that people who are into other businesses and have big shops are in the business.
Popular among the Yoruba people and used for every occasion, the fabric comes in various colours, designs and qualities. It takes quality time to weave the fabric because the wool is delicate, though silk can also be used to enhance the colour and material. Aso-oke, which is woven with elaborate unique patterns made from dyed strands of fabric that are woven into strips of cloth, are of three major kinds namely alaari, sanyan and etu.
Biodun further revealed that most of the popular people are trained weavers as all the beautiful houses built in the past four decades were owned by weavers.
To make aso-oke, it involves a tedious process. The thread used in weaving aso-oke is made of cottoný.
Usually planted during the rainy season and harvested between November and February of the following year, it is kept in the bar for spinning. The cotton seed are removed from the wool with a bow-like instrument, splindler called orun in Yoruba language.
After sorting, pattern and designs would be made on the aso-oke while the cloth is being woven. In doing this, akata (propeller), iye (long wheel), akawo (short wheel), gowu and kigun (rollers), aasa (strikers), omu (extender) are used in holding the reels.
To make the cotton into bundles, the cotton reels are put upon the hangers on the sets of metallic pegs on the ground during patterning. With this put in place, the weaving process begins.
For quality and durable production, the thread is first washed, using starch after which it is left out to dry in the sun. It can take up to three hours to finish weaving one piece and can take up to two weeks to finish a complete customised aso-oke cloth. This process can be much longer during the rainy season.
Describing the process, one of the weavers said: “The rolled cotton will be neatly inserted into the striker through the extenders. The weaver will tie iro (filler) on his seat. There are two or more holes on the staff in which a small peg is tagged. On the upper hand of the omu (extenders), there is okeke (wheel or axle) for pulling the omu up and down. There are two step pedals under the extenders (omu) which the weaver presses down interchangeably during weaving.
“The pedal, when pressed, enables the cotton to open and the reeler put through to one side while the striker knocks the reel to and fro to another side. The striker allows the reel to be finely set interchangeably. The weaver handling the oko (motor) throws it inside the open cotton to be received by his other hand. Movement of the motor continues faster as if the weaver is not touching it at all.
“The reel inside the motor will start giving a peculiar sound; sakala – si – sakala –sa, sakala – si – sakala – sa.
“As the weaver continues this way, the cloth is weaved and gradually extends forward. The weaver uses the drawer to pull the cloth towards him and the carrier obeys the force and moves towards him while weaving continues.”
Fortune from an unusual venture
If not for the weaving business, crime rate would have increased in the town as unemployment would have taken its tolls on the teeming youthful population. They youth would have engaged themselves in nefarious activities. Even most people who are into other businesses, according to our source, set up their business with proceeds made from weaving business. As it is, it has continued to provide employment opportunities for the bulk of their population and has contributed to the growth of the local economy.
At Arapa’s compound in Iseyin, Southwest Report encountered a 44-year-old Waheed Isiak. He began professional weaving over 20 years ago.
He said: “I learnt the trade from our people. When I finished my Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), I intended to further my education but was unable to do so due to lack of finance. Faced with the situation, I then decided to learn a trade. Weaving was what came to my mind. Since I started the business, I have been making it.
“To the glory of God, I have my own house. Two of my children have finished their National Certificate of Education (NCE) programmes while the third one is in his first year at the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education; Oyo.ý It is through this industry that I became what I am today. I have no other means of livelihood.”
He, however, expressed concern over lack of government’s intervention in the business. He said the importation of what he described as tapanpa (damask) almost killed the business during the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. “The importation of damask by government, especially during Obasanjo’s second term threatened our business,” he recalled.
On the gains of the profession, he said: “We have achieved what we never thought. Even if we continue to encounter challenges, we will overcome it.” Pointing to one of his children weaving aso-oke, he said: “He has started his own. I will not allow him leave this profession; but I will encourage him to be educated to the highest level. Moreover, many of our people are currently observing hajj (pilgrimage) as we speak and it is through this business they were able to sponsor their trips.
“Government can project us by making us listed in the world trade. By doing this, we will be known and people will patronise us. Also, they should ban the importation of similar products. Sometimes, we lose; supply is more than demand. However, we make brisk business during Christmas and festive periods.
”If there is no rain, the production is high. If government can provide a factory for us with a covered sheet or tarpaulin, it will help our production as we will work all night.”
He said the importation of damask by late former First Lady; Stella Obasanjo made people to lose interest in aso-oke.
“Our people had to rethink and came up with new initiative. We were using cotton before; we had to resort to the use of metallic thread. It makes our works to shine and compete favourably with damask. People have started using our product again,” he said.
Continuing, he said the trade has generated employment for most of his brothers and friends. “Some of them sell while some of them weave. They are making millions from it. And I must tell you that there is no weaving joint you will get to that you won’t see a graduate,” he said.
Southwest Report encountered some underage children helping their parents and brothers in the weaving just as children between the ages of four and seven years were not left out as they were seen assisting in shifting the okuku.
•A boy with rolls of weaving threads for making of Aso-Oke
When asked if he would like to continue with the trade, 16-year-old Adewale Waheed, an SS 2 student of Faramora Grammar School, Atori Iseyin said he was born into it and will never leave it for anything except his pursuit of education.
“I have started long ago. I started by helping my father separate the wool. And it has not stopped my studies. I want to be a broadcaster in the future,” Adewale said.
The case of Olaide Waheed was not different from that of Adewale. The JSS 3 student of St. John’s Grammar School Iseyin, who wants to be a medical doctor in the future, started weaving five years ago.
In the case of Saheed Awoniyi, he has not made enough from it despite the fact that he started 25 years ago. Though his parents were into the trade, he also learned it as an apprentice. He said their price has not changed despite the inflation in the cost of materials used in making the fabric.
Moshood Lukman Alani said he would not leave the trade even if he becomes a professor as he won’t stop at anything to raise money. The holder of National Diploma Certificate of the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic began weaving in 1989. He learned it from his uncle when he was in primary school.
“I will go to his place and watch as he weaved. Afterward, I became interested. I have never looked back since then. That is the work I do. Even most of the teachers and principals of schools here in Iseyin still weave. The work has reduced poverty.
“If not for this, you would have been able to count all of us in Iseyin. Many people are in the work place. This is the only work that brings youth together. I financed my education with this and established a barber’s shop with it and I am happily married and have children. Government should subsidise the cost of the materials,” he said.ý
Mrs. Iyabode Ayantunde was born into the trade and she said: “At first, I did not have interest in the business until I grew up. I saw the opportunity in it later and I must tell you that it has been rewarding,” she said, adding that “there is no work without its challenges. It is not preventing me from the home chores and other things. I go to pray at the appropriate time. Everything I have done, I got the money from this business,” she said.
How the material gets to the end users
They are either taken to the market for sale or dealers come to take them. One of the weavers told Southwest Report that they want a permanent market in the town to boost their trade. With this, people from all walks of life will have come to Iseyin and it will further boost the town’s economy.
Currently, there are two major designated centres for the trade. One is in Oje, Ibadan while the other is in Ede, Osun State. They attract buyers from Ondo, Akure, Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and even other countries in the West African sub- region.
While Alaari is very expensive because it is used for important occasions, the average price for either of these ranges between N25, 000 and N30, 000 for a complete attire. To get an ipele and gele, the price is between N7, 000 and N10, 000, depending on the chosen design. The high price cannot be unconnected with the high cost of materials and the time it takes to produce them.
To reduce the high price and improve quality, the weavers urged government to resuscitate the old cotton industry to make materials cheaper and accessible. The high price of imported materials is affecting our profit margin. A complete material which formerly goes for N9, 000 is now as low as N4, 500; whereas the cost of material is skyrocketing.
These materials come in different colours and sometimes they are not even available in the market in the desired ranges.
Apart from declining patronage, high cost of materials and unhealthy competition with foreign textile, one other major challenge confronting the industry is lack of access to loan. The inability of the people in the industry to access loans from either the commercial banks or attract government’s direct assistance is partly blamed on lack of credible association to stand as guarantor for them.
A young entrepreneur, Gbenga Akinyemi, finds fortune in growing bell apples, DANIEL ESSIET reports.
Apple Wealth Ventures boss Gbenga Akinyemi’s passion for growing bell apples started after he discovered the fruit planted around where he lived is a money spinner. Before then, the fruits were just wasting away as they drop from the tree. At first, the graduate of Crop Production from the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State, did not see growing fruits as rewarding. They only looked beautiful to him.
According to him, the bell apple tree was unique. It was bigger than the local apple. The other qualities, compared to the imported apple, ar attractiveness, nutritious, and medicinal natures.
“I started with a tree in my family house at Okota. My aunt, now based in the United Kingdom, planted it. From that singular tree, I began to sell the fruits and make cool cash,” he said.
Akinyemi, who has been in the bell apples business for over six years, said the business is a money spinner and wealth creator. Today, prominent farmers troop to his place to purchase bell apple fruits, seedlings as well as seek technical advice on the crop husbandry. He has managed to popularise bell apple plants following years of research. It was then that he resolved to grow apples to meet the demand. He added that he was not only making money from growing bell apples seedlings, but also making money selling bell apples.
According to him, raising bell apple seedling can actually bring one a good fortune within a few months.
Starting bell apples seedling farming,he said, requires as little as N20,000.
Of this amount, N10,000 will go for seeds. At N100 per seed, one can plant 100 seeds. The remaining N10,000 goes for construction of container and other miscellaneous expenses.
He encouraged new entrants to start with 100 seeds to maximise profit. One do not really have any other expenses until the bell apple seeds grow to seedling level, and ready for sales.
He offers training for new entrants and link them to where to get good bell apple seeds. According to him, bell apples grow in any soil, except sandy soil. Hence, the plant will do well in one backyard. Though the tree grows in virtually every part of the country, it is more prevalent in the South, especially the Southsouth states – Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River, Balyesa and Edo.
During planting, the seeds are pressed into the soil so that they are barely covered: Bell apple seeds require light to germinate. Space the seeds one inch apart. The farmers need to keep the soil moist until the seeds germinate: This may take as long as three weeks.
The major cost of running the bell apple seedling business is purchasing the seeds and containers, among other things, such as watering can. Bell apple seedlings are ready for sale after 10 weeks of planting and can be sold for N750 per seedling.
According to him, one can make 650 per cent profit from investment in the business. The more bell apple seeds one plants, the more money one can make within the space of 10 weeks.
However, it takes at least three years for the seed to grow to a tree and begin to produce fruits.
Each tree produces over 1,000 fruits per harvest and there is a minimum of two harvests in a year.
Akinyemi said there is a need for millions of the plant seedling in the country. He noted that growing of the seedling is best done between now and April because there is a high demand for during the raining season.
There is a market for bell apple seedlings, as there are only few the trees in Nigeria. There are high demands for the seedlings by big agricultural firms and fruit producing farms in the country. The Apple Wealth Ventures boss noted that the business of growing bell apple seedlings requires little time while it gives so much proceeds, “and I must say that the market is just growing in the country, while demand for it is so high. This gives better opportunities to anyone who ventures into it. He has grown more seedlings as demand for fruits and seedlings grew monthly. He has sold seedlings to prominent farmers across the country. He sells one seedling at N100 while a fruit goes for between N100 and N500 depending on the size. The fruits are harvested in three seasons yearly. One tree can bear 1000 fruits or more according to age as production improves.
He said though the tree has no disease threat, it is usually affected by pests from other plants in the farm which he easily fights using organic fertiliser. The tree is easy to tend, like other cash crops as picking is easy and does not require a lot of weeding. His work is not without challenges.
He said though he is regarded as the best producer in the country, he has been unable to meet the market demand which has resulted in loss of tenders. That is why he wants more people to go into the business. He said the way forward is to embark on a campaign to have as many people as possible grow them so that together they can meet the demand.
For him, an innovative agricultural management is key to success. This begins with determining the soil quality and making crop selection. He works for the betterment of farmers by employing few changes to maximise the returns from the land and increase their profit. According to scientists, an apple a day keeps one away from chronic diseases.
MUFUTAU Akuruyejo is a 500-level Computer Engineering student of the University of Lagos, Akoka.
The second of two children, Mufutau had always expressed interest in ICT, hence his decision to study engineering. His brilliance and commitment to his studies have helped him to win an MTN Nigeria Foundation (MTNNF) scholarship.
But the scholarship, which is worth the sum of N200, 000, did not come on a platter of gold for him. To win, he had to maintain the required minimum CGPA of 3.50.
With the win, Mufutau became the first Nigerian nay African to be selected for the ICT training programme in CERN Openlab, Switzerland.
His journey to stardom began after he read an advertisement on the MTN Nigeria Foundation website. “As a second year student in 2012, I saw an advert on the MTN Nigeria Foundation website requesting for application into a scholarship scheme by the Foundation. I forwarded my application and I was invited for an exam, which I passed. Since then, I have diligently worked at maintaining my CGPA to meet up with the required 3.50 standard. Based on this, I have enjoyed the scholarship worth N200, 000.00.
“Early this year, there was another post on the MTNNF Facebook page requesting for applicants to take part in a nine-week advanced IT project. Some of the skills required for eligibility are: project management skills, data base skill, analytic framework and an understanding of Linux applications. I applied for the project and after a rigorous selection exercise, which included recommendation from my department, I was selected.”
He told The Nation that winning the scholarship and the expectation of a nine-week ICT training programme in Switzerland has impacted on his education.
“The scholarship has a positive impact on my education. The difference between an average student and a very brilliant student is the extra mile walked by the very brilliant student. The MTNNF scholarship has really helped me resolve financial challenges that could have limited my capabilities to go the extra mile; and getting requisite course materials for my study. The scholarship has greatly added value to my academic pursuit and my life generally.”
Winning the scholarship, Mufutau, who said he draws inspiration from Microsoft owner, Bill Gates and Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle, confessed is a dream come true for him. And ahead of his trip to Switzerland, he is already making plans on how to maximize the gains of the scholarship.
“I feel highly elated to have been selected. For me, it is a dream come. The first time I received the call, I was doubtful and needed the caller’s repeated assurance that I have been selected. Right now, I am strategising on how to maximise this opportunity while in Switzerland. This is an opportunity of a life time and I will forever be grateful to MTNN Foundation and Oracle. I hope to learn enough about Oracle data base while I also make enquiries on possibilities of furthering my education; probably as an intern in a research institute because I am very passionate about technology. Through education, a whole community can be liberated and only skills like this can bring about such change.”
Winning the scholarship has made the undergraduate come to the realisation that hard work has it reward.
“Hard work pays. When your achievement is based on merit, it takes you very far. Whatever you get on merit will be sustainable. With hard work and dedication, it may be easier to get to the pinnacle of your career. Personalities like Bill Gates owner of Microsoft; Larry Ellison, the CEO, Oracle and a host of other people who worked hard to get to where they are today inspire me. To my fellow Nigerian youth, there is always a reward for hard work.”
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has urged the Court of Appeal in Lagos to nullify the sale of “Fortune Towers” by Union Bank Plc.
It said the building on 27/29 Adeyemo Alakija Street in Victoria Island forms part of the assets of defunct Fortune International Bank Plc.
NDIC, which is Fortune Bank’s liquidator, appealed against a ruling by the Federal High Court in Lagos which dismissed its suit which sought to invalidate the sale.
It had urged the lower court to nullify the sale because it was done while winding up proceeding was pending.
The appellant said Union Bank sold the building to Cowrie Business Solutions Ltd on July 27, 2007.
However, Justice Okechukwu Okeke (now retired) dismissed NDIC’s suit, holding that it was an abuse of court process.
The judge said the suit “is a clever attempt to circumvent the import of the decisions of courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction.”
According to the judge, the plaintiff’s suit sought the same reliefs as contained in two other related cases.
Dissatisfied, NDIC, represented by Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN) appealed on three grounds.
Ngige said the reliefs sought in the suit before Justice Okeke were not the same as those in two other cases.
Besides, the appellant’s counsel said it is not the law that once a party files another suit before another court on the same subject matter, it amounts to an abuse of court process.
“An act can give rise to different suits. A subject matter may activate different rights of action.
“Different suits can originate from the same subject matter, but with different right, reliefs and parties,” NDIC said.
Ngige argued that there is abuse of court process when there is a multiplicity of suits between the same opponents on the same subject-matter and on the same issues.
In the suit numbered, FHC/L/CS/1321/2005, the parties were Fortune International Bank vs Union Bank; the second suit, with no. ID/1098/2007, had Fortune International Bank vs UBN Property Company Limited, Union Bank and Cowrie Business; while in the suit before Justice Okeke, the parties were NDIC vs Union Bank and Cowrie Business.
Besides, the appellant said the judge erred in law in failing to consider documentary evidence before him.
NDIC is urging the appeal court to set aside Justice Okeke’s order dismissing its suit; an order restoring the appellant’s suit to the cause list, and an order directing that the suit be heard on merit by another judge.
However, Union Bank is urging the appeal court to dismiss NDIC’s appeal.
It said NDIC’s appeal is in bad faith “as the intended outcome is to undermine existing orders of competent courts.”
Cowrie Business is also urging the appeal court to dismiss the appeal because NDIC failed to disclose valid ground for setting Justice Okeke’s ruling aside.
Justice Amina Augie reserved ruling, saying parties would be informed when a date is fixed.
Looking good, the popular saying goes is good business. Bukola Afolabi and Dorcas Umunagbe write about how some entrepreneurs are making money from doing make-ups for others
Tara Durotoye, Banke Meshida, Sam Fine and B.MPro are some of the big names that come to mind when one talks about professional make-up in Nigeria.This line of business has created lots of small and medium scale businesses that are thriving all over the country. Instead of waiting for the typical white collar job, a number of unemployed graduates and other young people have discovered their talents here, created jobs for others and are smiling to the bank on a daily basis.
AdeyeyeTemitayo, a successful make-up entrepreneur, talks about how it all began as a passion. “I have always loved to play with people’s faces. I liked to do make-up right from my days in school. I can say I am obsessed with make-up. At times if I see you are not looking very fine, I give you my own make-up to use. I just like to transform people and so when I left school, I went for this job. As a matter of fact, I had also wanted to be independent and work for myself and so make-up did that for me.”
For Temitayo, starting out was not easy. “I just worked on the faces of my friends and family to start then,” she said. “I went to photographers, models, magazines and worked for them to see and by doing that I created awareness and along the line, I got to work for some big people in the industry. It might take time to see the result you want but you just have to keep working. Know what you are doing, keep your make-up box clean, have a good attitude and be pleasant with people. By doing this, the change will come.”
To make it a profitable venture, Temitayo advises that it is better to have good contacts or a good network of people. “There are make-up artistes that are not so up to the task, but then they get the pay because they know a lot of people and right people at that. So, if you have the contact, it will be profitable. A bride called me for a job and I gave her my price and then she did not call me back, but the amount she used to do it eventually was worth more than mine. Later, I discovered that she felt like I did not know what I was doing because my price was too cheap. We are talking about N80, 000. So, when you have the contacts, it gets profitable. When you know what you are doing, it gets profitable.”
Getting customers, she says, is a major challenge but she has mastered the art to overcome this. “I work within London and Nigeria, and in London without advert, you won’t sell and so I do flyers, I make complementary cards. At times the complementary cards and flyers don’t work because some people might just throw them away and so I go through the stress of making myself up every blessed day to advertise for myself. Also one’s work should be able to convince people that you are good. There are many make-up artistes in Nigeria, though that is not my challenge because my work will speak for me. You just have to work hard. Another challenge could be that people are not ready to pay as charged; some people have underrated the business and so they are not ready to pay. They offer what is not worth your stress.”
Her achievements in the past seven years include setting up her studio worth about N1.4 million, buying a car and much more. “I work for weddings, birthdays, graduation, etc. I go for parties that I am not invited, have rapport with the photographers and then stay with them and so when people come to take pictures, I do make-up for them and then they pay me. I can do make-up for like forty people. I might still tip the photographers but I have enough money.”
Happily, she recounts one of her memorable moments on the job.
“I did a make-up for a wedding and in the course of the wedding they projected pictures of the couple on a screen projector at the reception. They projected the pictures of the engagement of which I handled the make-up and everybody was just commenting and commending it. The Master of Ceremony then asked the make-up artiste to stand up and I stood up and people were clapping for me. It was on point and I was very happy.”
Oluyinka Oyindamola’s journey into the make-up business was about six years ago with one of King Sunny Ade’s videos. “His manager, then, introduced me to the job and I was always there to work,” she said. “That was before I did my training with Shapes and Shadows. I really love doing make-up and I have a passion for it. It has also helped me to pay a number of bills with the economy of the country.”
She goes on to talk about some of the challenges encountered in the business. “There is a financial challenge in the sense that people look at make-up lightly and don’t want to pay much for it and so they want a cheap work, but then the work differs. Quality is quality. It could also be a little challenging to get customers because there are now plenty make-up artists out there.
Her major clients include some artistes, brides and everybody. “I look at other people’s works, see what I cannot do, practice it till I can do it. I practice a lot. I learn from people who are better than me. I wish to be a makeup artiste known all over the world. I want to do make up for real big people like Michelle Obama. I want to be known.”
Asked what inspires her on the job and she replies: “Okay, when I just got into the business I did some free jobs just to create awareness and some people have just got used to it. Just recently, I went to Ibadan to do a job for my cousin and if I tell you how much she gave me, you won’t believe it. People don’t just appreciate others. They feel she is my cousin or friend, so I can call her anytime.”
Tolulope Oluyemi also recounts how she got into the business while studying in the university. “Then, I was a Mary Kay distributor and I discovered that my blushes do not usually sell. That was the time when people used blushes above the cheek bone, just very close to the eye ball and it looked like they have a burnt face. In my own little way, I could do make-up but I did not still know how to use the blush and so in my quest to know how to use blushes I signed up for a make-up training when I saw an ad on Facebook. The first day I was going to resume, I had plenty make-up on my face just to show them that I could do make-up but when the lady that was to usher me in opened the door, I was ashamed of myself; I realised I had rubbish on my face.”
Going down memory lane, she recalls some of the challenges encountered at the beginning. “In Lagos, you have to be in traffic for hours before you get to where you are going, so that’s one. Another challenge is that people always think that prices are too high. You can call a price for someone and they will be like but say “it’s too much, is it not just powder and foundation? Meanwhile, you know what you are going to put in for them. So, most people don’t understand what make-up is all about and why you have to charge so much for make-up and it could actually pose as a challenge.”
Asked what she has achieved in the past four years and she replies this way: “I have achieved a lot, I can’t mention all but most importantly it has taught me how to tolerate people because in make-up you meet lots of people, some are really nice and some are really nasty. I also got a professional camera for myself (laughs). I have a little studio outside Lagos State where I sell basically Mary Kay products. I am still working because I still have a lot to achieve.”
For her, the future is very bright and her prospect is she intends to have her own make-up line and also wants to be a well-known make-up artiste. “I also want to have a bridal fashion house. I attend make-up workshops. I watch makeup videos on YouTube and some of them I buy and I practice a lot.”
Asked about her memorable moments, she says: “When I first learnt make-up, I did not learn how to tie gele (women’s traditional headgear) and then having to do my first bridal make-up, I was nervous. I actually did not think about tying gele and so when I did the make-up, everybody liked it and commended it and it was time to tie the gele and I could hear my heart beat but fortunately for me, the gele was fine and thereafter, I learnt how to tie gele.”
Ashley Qualls set up whateverlife.com 2004, when she was just 14 years old. It was originally a portfolio site for her design work, but she soon branched out into offering Myspace layouts that appealed to girls in her age group. The layouts were free, but Ashley offered advertising space for companies that wanted to target her millions of visitors (7 million a month in 2007). Before she was 17, Ashley had bought her own house and turned down a $1.5 million offer to acquire her company.
Farrah Gray
From just six years of age, when he started selling body lotion, Farrah Gray tried to make his own money. At the tender age of 13, he founded a specialty food company, Farr-Out Foods, and just one year later, orders of over $1.5 million made him a 14-year-old millionaire. Gray holds the record as the youngest person to have a Wall Street office. At 15, he set up the Farrah Gray Foundation, using some of the income from his speeches and best-selling books to fund literacy programs and scholarships for inner-city youth. He’s certainly a fitting role model.
Abbey Fleck
In 1993, Abbey Fleck was just eight years old when she witnessed her mother chastising her father for using part of a newspaper to soak up bacon grease. Her father maintained that without paper towels, the newspaper was the next best solution. After all, he couldn’t simply let it drip. That was all the inspiration that Abbey needed to invent the Makin’ Bacon Dish, which would hang bacon in the microwave so that fat could drip off. She and her father founded a company, and in 1996, Walmart placed their first order: 100,000 cookers. Not bad for an eight-year-old!
Richie Stachowski
When he was just eleven, Richie Stachowski found his family’s holiday to Hawaii frustrating as he couldn’t speak to his father while they were snorkeling. That evening, he began drawing designs and ended up spending his $267 of savings to build a prototype underwater megaphone. He took a few days off school to present Toys “R” Us with his idea and was rewarded with an order for 50,000 units. Other retailers, including K-Mart and Walmart, soon followed, and his Water Talkies™ were the hit of the summer of 1997, netting Richie’s company $500,000 in revenue.
Kelly Reinhart
Kelly Reinhart’s parents had an innovative game they used to entertain their children: draw an invention. Kelly took inspiration for her sketch from cowboy holsters. She came up with the idea for the Thigh Pack, a product that would help kids carry video games and similar items.
Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has broken into the rank of the top 25 richest men in the world.
Forbes, the world’s renowned business/financial news magazine, has said that Dangote, the President/Chief Executive of the pan-African conglomerate, the Dangote Group, has become the first African entrepreneur to lay claim to a $20 billion fortune as the stock value of the flagship of his holding, Dangote Cement, leaped just about three-fourths since March when Forbes last released its annual ranking of the world’s richest people.
With a current market cap of $20.5 billion, Dangote Cement becomes the first Nigerian company to achieve a market capitalisation of over $20 billion.
Forbes reported that Dangote’s 93 per cent stake in the cement company is now worth $19.5 billion.
Added to this are his controlling stakes in other publicly-listed companies, such as Dangote Sugar and National Salt Company of Nigeria and his significant shareholdings in other blue-chips, such as Zenith Bank, UBA Group and Dangote Flour; his extensive real estate portfolio, jets, yachts and current cash position, which includes more than $300 million in recently awarded Dangote Cement, Dangote is now worth more than $20 billion.
Dangote is richer than Russia’s richest man, Alisher Usmanov, richer than India’s Lakshmi Mittal and running neck and neck with India’s Mukesh Ambani. He is catching up to such Americans as Google’s billionaire founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Dangote Cement has recorded an unprecedented surge in its share price, largely due to market response to the company’s impressive results in the first quarter of this year.
The cement manufacturer’s unaudited results for the three months ending March 31 had showed that the company’s pre-tax profit rose to $339 million, representing an 80.6% increase from last year and a strong indicator of the company’s future earning potential. The results also indicate a 79.5 % rise in its earnings per share over the corresponding period last year.
Carl Franklin, Dangote Cement’s Head of Investor Relations in the United Kingdom, explained the company’s share boost, in an email response to Forbes that in the first quarter of 2013, the company had a huge increase in demand across Nigeria, gas supply improved considerably and the capacity was much more ramped up.
“So Q1 was the first sign of just how profitable we can be in Nigeria. The amazing thing is that 66% of our gas-fired production in Q1 was done at 84% gas. Imagine what would happen to margins if we did the same amount at 95%. This has given investors a good sense of what we can really do when everything goes in the right direction,” Franklin said.
“It’s certainly a landmark for a Nigerian company and we’re proud to be the first to achieve it. Obviously we are focusing on building long-term and sustainable value for shareholders through our investments in Nigeria and Africa. Nigeria is a very entrepreneurial country and I can assure you that other companies will follow us in achieving this.”
Forbes reasoned that other companies might eventually achieve this, but it’s going to take a bit of time. Dangote Cement accounts for more than a quarter of the total market capitalization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The second largest company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is Nigerian Breweries, West Africa’s largest manufacturer of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The company has a market cap of $8.5 billion.
Dangote made its debuted on the Forbes billionaires list in 2008, with a fortune pegged at $3.3 billion. His fortune dropped to $2.5 billion in 2009 and plunged further to $2.1 billion in 2010. It surged 557% in 2011 to $13.8 billion after he took Dangote Cement public. He dropped to $11.2 billion in last year’s rankings, but rebounded at $16.1 billion this year. Since March, Dangote’s fortune has jumped another 30%.
Dangote started building his fortune over three decades ago after taking a loan from Sanusi Dantata and started trading in commodities like flour, sugar and cement.
He became a billionaire after delving into manufacturing these items. He started making pasta, salt, sugar and flour in 1997. But he found his gold mine in cement, when he was awarded a government owned cement business in 2000 and began building his own plant in 2003. He listed Dangote Cement in 2010.
Today, it is Africa’s largest cement company, providing cement to Nigeria and other African countries that otherwise would likely have to pay to import much of the materials.
Dangote told Forbes Wealth Editor Luisa Kroll at Davos in 2011 that he expected his firm to have a market cap of $60 billion within five years. At $20.5 billion, Dangote Cement still has a long way to go to live up to that dream.
