I rose through the ranks in dad’s business – Abiola Okoya

Abiola Okoya is the second  child of billionaire industrialist, Chief Razak Okoya, the Proprietor of Eleganza Group of Companies.

The warm, delectable and stylish woman is currently the Goodwill Ambassador of Africa Fashion Week London. Due to the success of the Africa Fashion Week London and the creativity of  Nigerian designers at  the 2013 AFWL, the team has decided to host the Africa Fashion Week in Nigeria (AFWN) as there are still talented  and budding  designers who have not been privileged  to showcase their talents  on an international platform. In this interview, she spoke about the upcoming fashion event and about life as Abiola OKoya.

Excerpts:

As a child what was your ambition?

I imagined a life totally dedicated to being part of the family’s business, mainly because of the size of the organization while doing a bit of my own thing and looking after my children.

 What’s  your  role at  Eleganza Group of Companies?

First and foremost, I am a sales person according to  my orientation at  Eleganza Group of Companies  and of course I’m into real estate too. I am at present working at being part of the local content in the oil and gas sector.

How was it working for your father at a young age, were you a spoilt child?

I was exposed to the family business very early. I was made to appreciate that it’s what you work for that you earn. It’s not because my father is very wealthy, if I wasn’t  I wouldn’t appreciate the value of money or how it’s earned. Humility  is my watchword. I was not spoilt at all. I had good upbringing.

Everyday was quite  memorable while I was growing up. I can’t  remember  my dad spanking me, but he doesn’t believe in sparing the rod and spoiling the child. Obviously, I must have been disciplined at some  point in time while I was  growing up. Now, I am a mother of  two grown up boys. One is in the university and the other is about gaining admission into the university.

You must have climbed the ladder very fast as the daughter of the big boss, didn’t you?

For we the children, we started the training from the beginning. After my education, I wasn’t just placed into any position as the daughter of the boss. I was given a  position that suited my education. I had to experience every rung of   the ladder in my father’s business. I started  as a sales person, then I was  into full marketing and subsequently, I became a manager before I became a director. Then I  began exploring my talents.

What’s your take on budding designers in Nigeria?

At present, I won’t say they are doing very well and this is what has given birth to this platform. There are lots of undiscovered designers in the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. It’s a continuous event whereby  upcoming designers have the opportunity to showcase their talents. Really, the government is not aware of the challenges these budding designers are facing. If you want to make an outfit, you just think a tailor is at the corner and most of them don’t want to be identified as tailors because they probably had acquired more education to improve their skills.  This event, we believe  will  give them the opportunity to be exposed and discovered. Creativity certainly, is not lacking but what is needed is a platform for them to showcase their talents and nurture them. 

How do you feel as the  Goodwill Ambassador of  AFWL?

I’m very excited at being branded a fashion ambassador of such an international event and it’s also a pleasure collaborating with the founder, Ronke Ademiluyi and my darling sister, Life Patron, Princess Fifi Ejindu. 

Tell us one or two things about yourself?

I am a goal-getter,very frank and straightforward . I’m into real estate and but I intend to venture into   oil and gas business soon.

 What are your future projects?

I am hoping to consolidate my various projects, so that I can spend more time with my children.

They are growing up and they are getting to a point where they are becoming adults and about leaving the nest.

So what’s your connection with AFWL?

Well, I’m  a partner and a Goodwill Ambassador.  I have always been  in the fashion line and  you can call me a fashionista, if you so desire. My objective is to give fashion designers a platform to expose  their designs across borders. It’s  just about  empowering the youths, to give them a platform to showcase their designs. 

What has life taught you?

From my upbringing and my background, life has taught me to be very humble, God fearing and  to be generous . The world is  about give and take. Life has also taught me to be patient.  When you are God-fearing, patient and  determined, the sky is your limit. 

You look stylish and beautiful. What’s the secret? 

There is no secret behind beauty. It depends on your line of thought. To be obese is not something I cherish. Since I had my last child 14 years ago, I decided that I would definitely not be fat. I do exercises regularly, eat well and  I make sure I eat right also.

I use the spa a lot. I love to take care of my skin. I know what to use to make my skin glow. I use natural stuffs. For instance, I may use honey and oil to rub my skin and it will give me  a glow. Honey has  healing power. Oil makes the   skin glow and when you combine both, leave the compound  on the skin for thirty minutes, then wash it off. You get an instant glow.

These are things I do daily. So,  thinking right and with the fear of God in whatever I do enhances  my inner and outer beauty. 

What would Abiola Okoya never be caught wearing?

Anything fake. 

Could you throw more light  on  the forth-coming Africa Fashion Week Nigeria?

Being our  maiden edition, you should expect a lot of colors, a lot of designers, creativity and then with  the right atmosphere we should expect something we haven’t seen before. It’s going to be the talk of the town for a long while.

Our grand patron and  father of the day is Chief Okoya-Thomas and the  female grand patron is Senator Daisy Danjuma. Our patron is Hon. Abike Erewa-Dabiri. 

What is your take on style and fashion?

For me, it’s  natural  to combine clothes of different colours and designs  to  suit an occasion. Even as a child, fashion was a natural phenomenon to me.

It depends on the occasion. If I am going to the office, I dress formally, but now that we are on this project, most of the time ,  I wear African attires just to pass on my message as a Goodwill Ambassador.

I wear traditional clothes a lot these days. I have different designers that make my outfits. I love slippers and shoes that complement my dressing.

When you have various colors, it’s not difficult to make a choice. When you are  in a hurry to go out,  just pick anyone that suits your outfit. I’m not particular about brand names, it’s more of quality for me not quantity. Fashion for me is personal. It must reflect beauty and elegance while not being too seductive. My  primary purpose is to be attractive.

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