Nigerian internet went gaga about two weeks ago when photos of a beautiful model, Kenechukwu Ezeh, went viral. We at Fine Sisi Magazine traced this rare beauty to her barbing salon at 5, Ukwulu Street, Nike Lake Road (After SkyVilla Hotel) and got this exclusive interview with her.

HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN KENE?
My mother started it all. She wanted all her children to learn a skill. She insisted my elder sister, Whitney (Chinelo) and I learn barbing. It came as a shock to us. We were indignant about it but she put her foot down. We could not understand why she would not let us learn how to sew weaves or do make up (which seemed more appropriate). My mother would hear none of our grumbling. She said there was more money to be made in barbing.

Way back then, she used to wear dreadlocks. She bundled us off to her barber to pay for our apprenticeship and bought our work tools. Even the barber himself thought it was one big joke. He could not understand why our mother was insisting that young girls learn how to barb hair. But my sister and I had to start reporting to his salon and he got on with or training, no further questions asked.

YOU’VE SPOKEN ABOUT YOUR MOM A LOT. MAY WE ASK ABOUT YOUR DAD..?
I was very little when my father passed on. My mom has been there raising all six of us (one boy and five girls) without ever considering the need to remarry. She is very industrious. In the early part of their marriage, my parents lived in Italy. They were thorough business people till they relocated to Lagos. Even then, my father was a car dealer and my mother ran poultry with about 1,000 birds. She combined poultry farming with pastry making (particularly cakes). She is a phenomenal woman.

WE NOTICED YOU LISTED TWO DEGREES ON YOUR LINKED IN PROFILE. CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND?
My family relocated not long after my father died. When I started my higher education, I got accepted to study Public Admin at the Institute of Management & Technology (IMT) in Enugu State. After the course, IMT reduced the volume of students enrolled and gave preference to Enugu State indigenes. I did not make the quota because I am from Isiekenesi in Ideato Local Government in Imo State.

I spent one year working as a barber before finally gaining admission into Enugu State University of Science & Technology (ESUT) from where I will be graduating from the Department of Co-operatives and Rural Development next year, 2017.

FROM THE INFORMATION WE GATHERED, YOU ARE ALSO A MODEL. WHERE DOES MODELLING COME INTO ALL OF THIS?
Yes I am a model. And my barbing salon plus my studies takes up much of my time. My agent in Lagos usually books me in for modelling jobs when I am on holiday from school. The nature of my modelling contract varies from fashion runway/catwalk jobs, to commercial shoots and even very recently, I considered a debut role into a Nollywood movie but I could not cope with the filming schedule because it would have definitely interfered with my studies and the salon. Our barbing salon is just 3 weeks old and needs a lot of time to incubate. We are busy building our customer base and it is crazy trying to combine it with other interests.

WHY THE NAME ‘GAP’ FOR YOUR BARBING SALON?
GAP simply an acronym for ‘God Answers Prayers‘. My sister Whitney and I worked for other professional Barbers for three years. We undoubtedly improved our skills during that time but we were also short-changed a lot. The pay was never enough for us as apprentice barbers. We worked very hard but were paid very little. We wanted our own place for as long as we could remember but raising the finance was very hard. Barbing equipment does not come cheap talk less of renting a place for a salon. We seriously prayed about it and God answered our prayers. I am a deeply spiritual person. The loss of our father drew my mother and all her children closer to God.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ASPIRATIONS? ANY PLANS OF EXPANDING YOUR BUSINESS?
Absolutely! We are currently based in Enugu. But we already have clients dying to see us in Lagos and Abuja. We would also want to expand into Port Harcourt. Like I said, barbing is capital intensive. And seed capital for business is not very easy to raise in Nigeria. We will focus on our first branch and start a new one when our client base is fortified.

DOES KENE HAVE ANY SPARE TIME FOR ANYTHING ELSE?
I will be very honest; I hardly have time for anything else these days. Even prior to when we started our own barbing salon, it was difficult finding any spare time between work and school. I can even remember one point when, we were employed by Mac Fashion Store at the Shoprite Mall in Enugu. The management of the store bent backwards and made an exception to our resumption hours. This meant we were able to go to school from 8am to 12 noon and resume work from 2pm to 9pm. We have always kept ourselves busy. Maybe as the barbing salon stabilizes, we will be able to find time to do other things. Please, I even want to apologize to all our friends who are mad at us for not being able to see them. It is not intentional and we are not being snobs. Running a business strips you of any personal time for anything else.

KENE IS OBVIOUSLY SINGLE. BUT IS KENE CURRENTLY IN A RELATIONSHIP?
I am not in a relationship right now. And it is not like I have put off being in a relationship. I do hope to get married and start a family one day. It is very important to me that whoever I am in a relationship with can accept me being a Barber. I do not see myself in a relationship with someone who would not want me to continue being a barber after marriage. I believe my mother was not stupid encouraging me in this profession. Asking me to give it up is questioning her sense of judgement.

I also would not like to be in a relationship with someone who gets suspicious and thinks my relationship with my clients is more than professional. I am a very decent person and my job requires developing some level of rapport with my clients. A man who is secure will be able to understand this. It can be very annoying trying to prove yourself when people think otherwise but I guess that is one of the crosses I have to bear with my job.

WHAT IS KENE’S FAVORITE FOOD?
Pasta. Remember I told you my mother lived in Italy…? She makes her own pasta. There is nothing like homemade pasta I tell you. And my mom’s own is absolutely nothing like the one from store shelves. I always look forward to eating it.

Editor’s Note: FineSisi Magazine thanks Kenechukwu Ezeh for doing this interview. It was a pleasure speaking to this warm, well-articulated, focused and inspiring young woman with a great sense of humor. She is indeed an inspiration to a lot of other women in Nigeria and Africa.

SOURCE: http://finesisi.com/exclusive-interview-with-kenechukwu-ezeh-the-beautiful-barber-model-changing-the-mane-game-in-enugu-nigeria/

ah go mari diz geh if ah sea ha

MrKontrovErsy:
ah go mari diz geh if ah sea ha

Una too like better thing 'umu nwoke' loool!

JSayin:


Una too like better thing 'umu nwoke' loool!

lol..who no like ?
and if u talk too much ah go mari yuu join

MrKontrovErsy:


lol..who no like ?
and if u talk too much ah go mari yuu join

Awww, my type of woman, Oluwa bless me with such creative woman, not lazy ass/gold diggers abi blood sucking vampz that lurks around.