Young and In Charge: Omozele Patience Imafidon

While going through our young person of the week's interview, all that kept coming to my mind was 'wow'. As I went through her interview, I was reminded of why I started this section of the blog, to share inspirational stories of young people following their dreams. I was reminded also not to judge a book by its cover, prior to this interview, I knew of her legal background, and a little about her designs, never knew she was this good at it. Meet our young person of the week, Omozele Imafindon, Lawyer and designer!

Tell us a little about yourself?

My full name is Omozele Patience Imafidon, a lawyer, qualified barrister in two countries ;) and currently serving my country Nigeria.

What was growing up like?

As the oldest child out of six, growing up was full of managing my siblings with my very busy parents, it was the best thing ever! My siblings have different personalities which made it fun growing up .

Tell us a little about your educational background?

I started my education at a private school, on to a public school for my primary education and back to a private catholic boarding school for my secondary education. 

Was off to college and then to university to study law. Thankful to God, I completed it after almost giving up in my first year. Today can gladly proudly display my masters in Law in addition to my degree!

So what is Zéls Roärke Production all about? What does it mean and how did the name come about?

Zéls Roärke Production is my lil baby. As I love to point out all the time. 

It's about creating my designs with the traditional Anakara materials. It also about providing foreign designs to the people with prints that are commonly used in our country.

The name Zéls Roärke.... Zéls a cut out from my name meaning 'Because', thanks to my friend Uju, Roärke which is my favourite Irish name, in Gaelic meaning 'Champion'. 

Both names have their special holding on me so decided to combine both and name my first child that! 

How did you go from reading Law to producing these beautiful Ankara pieces?

Law had always been my passion but I always had an attachment to creating designs of clothes, bags and my favourite accessory -SHOES! Clothing was really what I wanted to get into but seeing that I love shoes so much I said why not. 

Ankara materials come in all colours and designs, feeling one could use them with any style, I decided to create comfortable accessories with them. Trust me when I say they do go with anything, even your English attires! 

Do you see yourself mixing the both of them, Law and your production line?

For now I'm trying to keep them as separate as I can. They are both at different ends right now. Maybe which is a very big maybe down the line they would mix but for now... Separate ends.

What is your typical day like?

A typical day would be go to the office, try to organise my business from Abuja as my production line is based in Lagos. Therefore chasing my PA, who by the way is my little brother Eustace, to get in contact with my employees and chase orders because mostly, time is of the essence with delivery.

It's most times a continuous circle.

What do you love most about you what you do?

Its mostly having to see my products with customers. Seeing my designs alive with materials have personally selected. Also have people comment on their beauty n have regular customers! 

It's a special feeling. 

What has been your best work ever?

Would say my "special design" slippers as my PA loves to call it. Its got woven hand n specific flower design. 

Can proudly say it out-smarted the problems I had initially with some designs. 

What are the difficulties involved?

Having to run it from another city. With a line like this, one has to personally see to some things like material selection, which I love to do myself. 

Also to inspect every product, ensuring they are up to my expectations. My rule is- I wouldn't put anything out there that I wouldn't carry myself! I could be really selective :D

There is also the issues of manufacturer's not keeping to assigned date. It gets very frustrating. I try very hard to try to work around those.

If you weren't doing this, what would you have been doing?

Modelling! At this point would say running my own modelling company.

Have you ever felt like giving up on Zéls Roärke Production?

Honestly... Like twice. The thought had crossed my mind. But I go back to look at a product and the pride gives me more determination! 

Who or what inspires you?

I look inwards for inspiration and I'm always looking to improve

Considering the level of success you have attained, youths out there would be itching to know how old you are.

I am 25 years old.

Asides work, what do you do for fun?

I love to party when the feeling arises. This might not count as fun to some, but I sure do love to read! Give me a book, a pool side and music any day and I'm game! 

Advice to youths that wish to follow in your footsteps.

You have to be really determined and not easily discouraged. Things don't always work out at first try but you should be willing to battle it out!

Where do you see yourself and Zéls Roärke Production five years from now?

I see both at a higher level. At international and national fashion shows and a well known brand name!

And to our favourite part, pictures of her breathtaking work.

Modelling her work.

Price range:

Bags: 6500

Clutches: 3500-2500

Shoes: 5500

Slippers: 4000

 

Omozele can be reached on:

Phone: +2348167426124 and +2348157279930

Email: zellyangel@yahoo.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZelsRoarke

Head Office: F261 Road 64 VGC Lagos

Branch office: Suite E8 Ikota Shopping Complex VGC Lekki-Epe Expressway Ajah

Better Nigeria: All we Ogas at the top!

BY ADESUWA ILUOBE


At the office this morning I could  not help but put this down.

So, I woke one beautiful morning to the “oga at the top” joke. I didn’t get the joke until I saw the video and my! I was dumbfounded at first and then it got funny, then I began to think...

First, for those of us that do not know, the man who was being interviewed by channels on its morning show popularly known as ‘sunrise daily’ is Obafaiye Shem, a commandant of the Lagos Nigerian Security Civil Defence Corps.
The interview was about ‘Job Racketeering in MDAs’. He stated that he has never visited the website and he has only been working in Lagos for three (3) months. Quoting him “I cannot be in all departments….it is somebody’s job to report on website”.
When asked about the address of the NSCDC he kept beating around the bush and stated that “I do not want to say one thing now and my oga at the top would say another…” and when he finally decided to give the address he said “ the website is
ww.nscdc. he thought and coughed* that’s all”

Then I googled “oga at the top” and wow! I got thousands of sides to the story.

For me, I am repulsed and highly disappointed that a man of such supposed calibre would actually go for an interview on a renowned television station ill-prepared. Who does not know Channels television and the quality of its staff  in Nigeria and their doggedness during interviews?

As I saw how the joke became widespread I was like how idle are Nigerians? But another thought stopped me “No, how bad are our leaders?”. Now, am talking about leaders at every level, whether at school, at work, our small communities and so on. If at these levels we have bad leaders and we fold our arms and we watch, of course we would have bad leaders at the top. Also, I want to ask we Nigerians, how knowledgeable are we about what we do ?

Well, that aside. My main worry is the way Nigerians took the issue. I thought the joke would stop at the video alone. But no! as I write some people had made handsome sums money off this blunder. We now have branded ‘oga at the top tee-shirts’ with a finger pointing upwards, musicians like Jahborne and springz have individually released solos titled “oga at the top” just in the space of 24 hours. There are cartoons and pictures, and those from whose websites we downloaded the video and songs are richer.
I must commend Nigerians for our creativity. It is highly commendable. However, can we channel this energy to positive things also? Let it not stop at "oga at the top". This issue has shown the power we have in our hands...technology. Through technology we have exposed a lot of ills in our country. Its during times like this I see the good sides of gadgets like Blackberry phones, we all know they are highly distracting too. Has it occured to us that through our phones we can decide 2015? that we can make strong statements  that would be the birth of great things in Nigeria? Comm. Shem's blunder opened my eyes to these facts.

However, I would like to see lasting solutions. I remember Aluu4, we made a lot of noise about it, and soon there were jokes about Aluu community and it ended there. How about we use IT to ensure that things are done the right way. Ridiculing the situation is 1st step..how about way forward?

Just as we broadcast jokes through the media, we can also think up solutions and use jokes,music,videos and so on to spread the message...you never know who is observing.

We are laughing and spreading pictures, videos, cartoons and music about ‘oga at the top’, but the issue is bigger than it looks.

This issue exposes at length, the bad reading or research culture of Nigerians. We would not read, we would not find out, if any one wants to help us, we ask for an easier way out. For example, today, one would send a link to some friends and be like read this, it would help you. About 90% would
Reply saying “abeg I open am e too long, what is the link about?”. Oh well, you opened it but would not read it!

I took part in an interview exercise as part of the interviewing team, I shook my head as I watched applicants mess up, for an interview whose advert was quite detailed. One would expect that as one hunting for job, such person would take the pains to develop him or herself while waiting and try to be acquainted for the job applied for.

So Comm. Shem, was just unfortunate to have exposed his ignorance on television. Many Nigerians would have done same and even worse.

However, I also thought in the line that he knew the website, but after having defended NSCDC for not taking part in job racketeering, and may be afraid that the interviewers would check the website and see that of course no advert for recruitment was on the site, he decided to be smart about it. It is just a thought.

Please Nigerians, lets not condone ignorance and lets not be ignorant ourselves. We should see this as a wake up call, to
be fully informed about who we are, what we do,
why we are doing what we are doing. The world is global village now, tommorow it could be anyone, and would travel the globe like Comm. Shem's and his blunder has done.

Nigerians Let us :
∙ Read widely
∙ Be sensitive, as we spread news, let's give way forward
∙ Beware! The world is now a global village, gossip soon fizzles out, but cyber gist never does . In 2050, google and you would find 'oga at the top'
∙ Suffer not corrupt practices to go without reprimand
∙ Not allow ignoant people lord over us
∙ See this interview as a wake up call to be better informed.

Now, let me go back to work, before my boss reprimands me.

GOD bless Nigeria.

Better Nigeria: Change We Can See

BY IPHIE MANUELZ
Being away from home for sometime, it was very easy to spot changes that have occurred over the time that I had been away, change that people who had experienced the process of this change take for granted. Change they say is the only thing that is constant, whether change is acceptable or not is up to the people affected by this change.

Being away from home, it was easy to notice the change that had taken place in Nigeria, especially in Abuja where I live, over the year that I had been away for. The changes were both good and bad, they impacted the life of Nigerians both negatively and positively. Now I am not here to talk about the negative changes that has occurred since I had been away, we all know them, I am here to talk about the positive changes I could see. Yes Nigeria is besieged with so many problems linked to corruption, but that doesn't mean we should be ungrateful for the little things that the government is getting right. There is nothing wrong with noticing and appreciating the government even though what they are doing is their duty.

I made it a priority to look out for positive change during my visit. The first positive change I noticed on the day I got into Nigeria was that the old domestic area of the local wing in the Lagos airport. It was wearing a new look, when I landed in Lagos in January 2012 for my trip to London, I can definitely tell you that it was in a sorry state. It had working conveyor belts now, there was no disruption of power. That was a good home coming gift I must admit, although the heat and bus ride from the international wing was trying to spoil this joy, I didn't let them.

Next leg of my journey was to my beloved city of Abuja where I noticed some changes too. First change I noticed was the Lugbe express way, on a good day the airport to my house would take atleast 25minutes, but include the Lugbe traffic jam and you had to leave your house 2hours ahead of time, this trip was made in under 25minutes.

The next thing I noticed was the light situation, it had certainly gotten better. Through out my stay, which lasted for almost a month the generator was turned on only twice, once for my aunt to iron her dress and the second time on the day I was leaving for me to print out my ticket, there was even light in one phase, just not on the phase with the printer. Now I am not saying they never took the light, they just never took the light long enough for the inverter's battery to run down and require the gen to be turned on.

If you live in Gwarimpa, you probably know that Gwarimpa houses run on borehole water. Well that is about to change, pipes have been laid for water distribution by the Water board in Gwarimpa, I am not sure when they would start suppling, but it can't be too far away anymore right?

If you drive in Abuja, you probably would have noticed my next observation, the street signs that sprung up all over town are a nice development if you ask me. These signs help maintain sanity on the road, I know I tried very hard to observe them. You must have also noticed how free Wuse market road is now right, thats one development I am sure a lot of Abujans are happy with, I know a lot of you that didn't even use to dare going to that area even if you were paid. In terms of road user regulations, I am very glad to say that when I went to renew my licence at the VIO, I was glad to see that the VIO official were doing a good job of ensuring that the people whose licences were renewed were worthy of being on the road. They are also slowly creating a massive data base, that in my opinion if maintained properly would be a good source of information for the police, drivers are ten printed before being allocated temporary licences, this fingerprints can help solve crime.

The last but not the least has to be my favourite observation during this visit. The Kubwa express road is just a beauty to drive, but the best part of driving on that road is driving on it at night when all the street light were turned on. For the fifteen minutes I was on it, I was transported out of Nigeria. The road had my cousin dancing between 120km/h and 140km/h, we went from Gwarimpa to Garki 2 in under 15 minutes, and no i am not encouraging speed. Funny that not everybody appreciates these roads, when my sister commented on a taxi driver that ran into a gutter, the driver of the taxi she was in went 'aunty na government fault, why them go make the road wide like this'. Really, the government does not give you road, you complain, they have given you road now, you are still complaining. *sigh* you can never win with people.

These were the little changes I can remember noticing while I was around. I am not saying Nigeria doesn't have problems, I am just saying appreciate the little that we have, while we fight for a better Nigeria. Like I always say, the change we want for Nigeria wouldn't just happen at once, it would be a gradual process, so let's start appreciating that change from now. And no I have never met GEJ or any of his cronies, neither am I looking for an appointment, I am just a Nigerian who is saying it as I see it.

I am sure you guys must have observed some positive change, please feel free to let us know through the comment section.

Just my 2Kobo: Cyber Bullying: It Stops Now

BY IPHIE MANUELZ 

When the blog was started, the intention was to have the story of a young person following their dreams every Monday morning to serve as an inspiration to youths that read the blog. The intention was for it to become a culture, even though sometimes we have gone without inspirational stories it was for reasons we couldn’t control. But today’s reason is something we can all join hands to stop: CYBER BULLYING.

Today I had in mind to interview a young lady who was making a headway in her chosen career path, she would have served as an inspiration to thousands of youths out there, but for the fear that she would be met with insults she decided to keep her story to herself. I intentionally decided not to interview anyone because I was sure I was going to be able to talk her into seeing reasons as to why she had to share her inspirational story. Unfortunately I didn’t succeed, instead of using the other interviews I had lined up I decided to tackle cyber bulling. This young lady had been cyber bullied before and so decided that the best thing was to stay out of their way, there was no need to trigger an unwanted attack right?

What is cyber bullying?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it to mean ‘the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person, often done anonymously.

Wikipedia takes it to mean ‘the use of internet and related technologies to harm other people in a deliberate, repeated and hostile manner’.

To my own understanding, it means using the social media for reasons other than those, which they were created for, bullying and bringing others down, causing them to have a low sense of self worth.

The scars caused by cyber bulling are not physical and can go unnoticed because these scars are mental scars that usually lead to self-esteem issues.

Cyber bulling has become very wide spread in Nigeria and its becoming very alarming how it goes on everyday. I am pretty sure 95% of the youths in Nigeria have either been victims of cyber bullying or have been the perpetrators. One only needs to log on to Twitter to see the amount of bullying that goes on in the guise of twitfights, yes those ‘harmless’ twitfights can be termed cyber bullying. It is not restricted to Twitter, it goes on on Facebook too, the mean posts about an individual, the mean comments on an update or a picture, friends ganging up on an individual. On the blogs the mean comments about the individual that is the topic of the post or even to someone that commented about the post amounts to cyber bullying. I had to activate the comment moderation feature of the blog as part of my way to convince the young lady to do this interview, and it still didn't do the trick.

Now I know the next thought that comes to your head would be that, freedom of speech is a right protected by the constitution and so you have the right to say what you please. Remember this though, your right ends where another person’s right begins, remember you can be sued for defamation.

I have been both a victim and a perpetrator so I know what it feels like to be on both sides. Recently I had a twitfight with an individual who attacked my tweet for no reason and also on Facebook when some religious fanatic decided my dressing wasn’t in line with his religion. In both situations I felt anxious and I found my heart beating faster than usual. Now this wasn’t because I was scared of these individuals, but it was because I was anxious to see the insult they were going to come up with and to see if I could beat the insults with a witty reply. In both situation what I did was to unfollow and block this person on twitter and on Facebook I ended the friendship and reported the individual as a bully to the Facebook administrators. Now, I am lucky to have a very healthy sense of self worth so I have no self esteem issues add that to the fact that I have a very strong support system made up of friends and family. My self esteem and strong support system ensured that the only effect these cyber bullying had on me was this passing case of anxiety. Not everyone is as lucky.

Like I said I have been the perpetrator in some instances, I remember a certain post where the blogger said ‘the accident was almost fatal’. Now any educated person knows that an accident is either fatal or not fatal. There is nothing wrong with correcting someone who had made a mistake; it’s the manner in which you correct that matters. I could have simply said ‘an accident is either fatal or its not’, I didn’t need to attack her educational background. In the end of the whole saga I felt ashamed of myself for the way I handled things.

There is a growing need to end this growing trend, as it ends up destroying the psych of a lot of people, I need not remind you that it is a vicious circle, one that may affect you or someone dear to you. Now this is what I suggest be done;

Users of social media have to be more responsible for whatever they update, think about the consequences of what you are about to update before doing so. Intervene when you see the social media being misused, now am not saying go and form social media vigilante oh, but remember how we shut down the page of that girl who tweeted about being happy that Goldie, God rest her soul, was dead, ehhn something like that.

Bloggers have to be more responsible for what they post about people/celebrities and also the comments they upload. As a blogger you have the power to moderate comments and so it lies in your hands to control what gets published on your blog. Use that power wisely, instead of going for cheap hits by publishing controversial posts and comment, publish posts and comments that would engage your readers in meaningful, objective arguments.

Administrators of social media also have to be more responsible, there should be a warning against bullying when an account is being opened, one that is boldly written, not to be looked for in the fine print of the terms and conditions. There should be censorship, there should be a standard for what they let fly. I know Facebook has provisions for reporting and handling bullying, twitter has provisions for shutting down accounts. These are right steps in the right direction.

The government has a role to play in this too, create laws that would stop/control and punish cyber bullying. I know you would say Nigeria has bigger problems than cyber bullying biko, but you need to see the way these oyibo people take their lives because of cyber bullying or even the ones that snap and take the lives of their bullies. We don’t have to wait till we get to that point where lives have to be lost before we do something about it, I mean what harm does it cause by having a law, yes I did my research and I didn’t find any, if you know of any though please let me know.

Family and friends need to be a strong support system for people who have being cyber bullied. I know we live in a society where the mentality is, when something happens, pick yourself up and keep marching ahead. This is a good mentality but sometime what we are doing is continuing the circle and building up an army of cyber bullies.

You might not have been affected personally by cyber bullying but I can bet a £100 that you know some one who has been. Some anonymous person backed with a computer and the internet had the power to stop an inspirational young lady from sharing her story, of course I am angry, this time enough is enough, the cyber bullying has to stop.

Just My Two Kobo: The Beauty Of "Singleness"

BY ELLA

Everything on earth is designed to function according to times and seasons. The sun, for instance, rises from the east at a certain time of the day and it must of necessity change direction and then sets ultimately in the west as it is designed to do. No matter the weather condition, the sun is never static. In the same vein, everyone is designed to also live according to the seasons of life.

Whatever your age today(twenty,twenty-nine,thirty-five,forty or older) you cannot be that age twice or forever; it can only be for now! When the now is gone, that specific time of your life is gone forever and you can never recall it.

Being single is just one of the seasons of life and unless effectively and maximally utilised,it fizzles away so fast and can never be recaptured. I have discovered interestingly that many single ladies are so consumed with wanting to move on to the next phase of life, which is being married, that they fail to realize or savour the beauty of their present phase.

Many of us ladies want to marry but for the wrong reasons without realising that such hasty decisions have consequences. (sharp sharp abuja marriage).

The African society places a huge demand on us to settle down because that is perceived as the "normal" thing to do especially when a lady is through with the basic university education or gets to a certain age. Marriage is almost regarded as the ultimate goal a lady can attain.(Smh)

Parents, especially mothers help to heap pressure on their daughters by making snide remarks about how you are not getting younger (as if you need someone to remind you about the ticking biological clock) .Trust me am still going through this same phase with my mum. I get lectures each time I get an aso-ebi for a wedding and  I know these lectures by heart now (hehehhehhee)

It is even worse for a lady who is not from a well-to-do family  and  is expected to marry quickly to help ease the burden of the family thereby making the lady the sacrificial lamb. Sad.

Sometimes seeing nearly all your friends married  and  showing off doesn't even help the situation. 90% of my friends in my age bracket for instance are married and  some have as much as 3kids already! I have a fabulous time attending weddings  and I am honestly happy for them, why wouldn't I be?

Someone reading this may be wondering if I am happy being single  and  do not want to get married. The answer to that is Yes  and  No.

Yes I am happy being single, I know a number of my married friends who miss being single, not because they are not happy being married but because they can't do certain things that I as a single lady can do! And no, I do not nurse the dream of being an old-lonely-grumpy woman!

To be single is an opportunity to be whole, outstanding and positively different. That you are single does not make you sub-standard or incomplete. No, never entertain such a feeling or thought! Let me emphatically state that marriage doesn't make a woman whole. You were already made whole by God from the beginning. 

To be single is a blessing and there is nothing weird or evil about it! It is simply a phase of life that holds undeniable benefits for those who utilise it.

The benefits of being single cuts across the three dimensions of life- spirit, soul and body. It takes effective harnessing of these three dimension to enjoy the befits of your single years in full.

The foundation for a great spiritual life is usually laid in your single years because your closeness to God at this stage forms the bedrock of your future life and security of your destiny. No other relationship can equal or replace your relationship with God. Truth is, your relationship with God will always reflect in your relationship with people.

Your single years is the best time for SELF DISCOVERY. Many people in life get lost in the shadow of others, living as carbon copies when in actual fact they were created as original. This is the best time to develop your own personality.

As a single, you have the opportunity to accomplish personal goals,pursue a variety of interest and work out personal problems. By so doing, you acquire and develop skills that might become an asset to you in future. You are able to make decisions and be responsible for them. This decisions and your willingness to take responsibility in turn makes you mature.

Here in nigeria there are single women who have carved a niche for themselves: Genevive Nnaji, Fumi Iyanda, Oyin Adenuga, Mo abudu, Daphne Dafinone etc space won't allow me go into details of what they have achieved but they are have done so well without being married. Marriage is good oh, don't get me wrong but marriage is a means to an end  απϑ  not an end in itself!

MOBILITY is another benefit of being single. This is not limited to only the physical body but also the mobility of time, money and decision. For instance, as a single you have greater freedom to respond to new job opportunities. This is because only personal consideration is required before such movement is made. Speed for making such decisions is enhanced because you spend lesser time planning and executing  your decision.

Most importantly,you are free from marital responsibilities and concerns when you are single. Many single ladies who are focused on rushing into marriage fail to realise that marriage comes with attendant responsibilities and they must first prepare for it. As a single lady, you do not have to please or pick up after someone, tolerate another's moods or anger. You do not have to deal with another person's habits that has the potential to create tension in marriage such as squeezing of the toothpaste in the middle of the tube! 

As a married woman you spend most of your time bothering about other people-husband and children- and forgetting yourself! You realise you do not have time to look after yourself as you normally would or even do the things you enjoy doing(eg. hanging out with friends and loved ones and shopping!) Ladies need I say that your single years is the only time you have to pamper yourself, feel good, enjoy life and just think of yourself! Remember, you have a short while to be a girl(single) and the rest of your life to be a woman(married) so why the rush??? 

Of course I look forward to being married. In fact I fantasize  and  dream about it. My close friends would attest to the fact that I have gone as far as planning my wedding even to the smallest detail  and  honestly I have. I simply can't wait for that day, I only pray my man will agree to all  my plans, Lol. I also dream of the kind of life I want with my husband  and  kids. Its natural, I am human. 

But in the meantime while Mr. Right is getting ready to come  and whisk me off to our "happily ever after", I intend to ENJOY being single! 

Finally friends,please do not spend your single years waiting and wishing to be married at all cost. Instead make this phase of your life count by making an impact that you will be remembered for by generations after you. Getting married isn't a problem, STAYING married  απϑ  being HAPPILY married is important. Take your time,pray, be wise  απϑ  make the right decision for YOURSELF  απϑ  not for the society, family or friends. Then you won't have cause to regret! 

God bless

Emmanuella Nwabundo Enweonwu is a lawyer, a volunteer program officer with Society for Community development (SCD), free lance writer and a makeup artist. She is passionate about what she does and very enthusiastic about the quest for a Better Nigeria.

Young and In Charge: Nafisa Omeneke Idris

Deciding on what you want to do for the rest of your life has to be one of the toughest decision a young person has to make, add that to the fact that Nigeria had no properly qualified career counsellor then you would get an idea of what I mean. Any young person who is able to identify something he/she loves should count him/herself lucky, in the midst of people who are still trying to find their path, thats the first step in the right direction. Our young person of the week was lucky enough to identify what she loves doing and successful mixes it with what she read in the University. Meet our Young Person of the Week, Nafisa Omeneke Idris.

Tell us a little about yourself?
  Ok...I’m Nafisa Omeneke Idris (#widegrin# at full name), a freelance makeup artist, I was born on the 24th of march, a Muslim from Kogi state, Egbira by tribe, born and bred in Jos, Plateau state... I’m the third of six kids(a boy and 5 girls), I love food, movies, makeup and some other stuffs I can’t say here! I smile a lot, laugh hard and say very little #can’t explain why#

What was growing up like?
The greater part of it was fun. Lots of ‘suwe’, ‘ten-ten’ and extra lessons. Mum was the no-nonsense type then, but she calmed down as the years passed. My dad always had my back, with my siblings there was never a dull moment!

Tell us a little about your educational background?
 I attended University of Jos Primary school, then University of Jos Demonstration Secondary School and finally University of Jos to study microbiology! #yup I know*coversface*#

So what is Uzoza Signature all about? What does it mean and how did the name come about?
Uzoza Signature is a makeup outfit based in Abuja, we specialise in bridal makeup, photoshoot makeup, gele tying, Lash extensions, brow grooming and skincare consultations. Uzoza means beauty in Egbira. Hmmmm....it’s a pretty short story oh!: Was at a brides’ place with my mentor-Patience Ifere (Patel), at some point we started gisting about company names and we thought Uzoza would be cute and voila! Uzoza was born! #widegrin#

How did you go from Microbiology to Make up artistry?

 Though at some point, I lost the love I had for practising microbiology, I believe it led me to makeup somehow. Then I met a friend who said ‘there is no greater joy than getting paid for something you love to do, all you need is passion and skill’. So I started searching for what ticks me, tried hair dressing for sometime but it just didn’t click, after much thoughts, spoke to my sister (she retailed Sleek products at the time) about it and she said ‘have you thought of makeup?’, I said yes but I had no idea where to train because if I would go into it then I would have to train at the best place my pocket could get me because I’d have to be really good. Thankfully she offered to help me. The next day we set out to find the best makeup artist in jos, found Patel.#whew#. The rest is history!  Though I’m not practising microbiology fulltime, I still carry some aspects of it into makeup, so you see...no knowledge is a waste!#smiles#

Three years in the makeup industry, what has the experience been like?

It hasn’t been all rosy, setting myself up was a huge task and I still thank God because my finances was so little as I sponsored myself through the training process and contracted at Patels place so I could get funds for products and all. Then getting clients became an issue, but when I started working full time I got lots of referrals and contracted more often.#wink#

What is your typical day like?

Usually up by 5am, pray, plan my day mentally, write it out, sometimes lazy around till 8am, clean up, eat, meet clients, make appointments, do some jobs and go back home. Sometimes I reward myself after a hectic day by stopping over at hatlab#widegrin# for some scoops (of ice cream) then I go home!

What do you love most about you what you do?
That satisfaction and joy that clouds me after each job. I love the smile and hugs I get from my clients. Like seriously, when you add to someone’s joy you get some kind of satisfaction deep down. It’s priceless.

Which would you say has been you best work ever has been your best work ever?

I sincerely can’t think of any. Every job I do is the best of my work at that point. I believe I improve every day, new skills and all.

What are the difficulties involved?

The makeup industry in Nigeria has been growing, so  we have so many makeup artists around who are willing to get underpaid by those clients who under price our services, so with that you have to work double hard( I constantly attend seminars and study makeup extensively)  to prove you are worth the pay. Also, meeting different clients, with different temperaments and trying to satisfy each of their needs. Believe me it’s not as easy as it sounds.

If you weren't doing this, what would you have been doing?

I’d be in a laboratory somewhere practising medical microbiology. #not looking forward to that#

Have you ever felt like giving up onUzoza Signature?

Yes!  Even though most times I know I’m just bluffing.

Who or what inspires you?
The quest for perfection: where beauty and flawlessness meet. #bliss I think#

For the ‘who’ part, my family, friends and the wonderful Nigerian makeup artists the likes of Pat, Banke, Mil, Love, Fati, Lola Maja, Jide,... my list is long o! Anyone who has influenced me positively.

Considering the level of success you have attained, youths out there would be itching to know how old you are.

Ok...I’m 26.

Asides work, what do you do for fun?

Painting my face!#widegrin# ok... movies, gist and cook.

Advice to youths that wish to follow in your footsteps.

I believe everyone has a gift, pray to find yours and follow it. Life is too short to live in peoples shadows, so be yourself, live your life and do what you love.

Where do you see yourself and Uzoza Signature five years from now?

We would definitely not be where we are today, by the grace of God, we’d be bigger and better.

Time to feed your eyes. 

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Nafisa at work

Nafisa can be reached on:

Phone number: 08068928086

BB pin: On request

Email: naphysai@yahoo.com