Tokunbo Chiedu has a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Master’s degree in International Development from the United Kingdom. She’s from Ijesa land and married to a Delta man but she’s passionate about whatever business she does. Tokunbo is on the Lagos State Government Advisory Board and her main goal is creating awareness among the populace that technical education can provide real jobs and solutions in a developing nation. The Gemology Spa boss spoke to Sunday Sun about her passion, beauty therapy among other issues.
By Christy Anyanwu
You have been the CEO of Compass Consulting for 10 years. Before then what were you doing?
I was working in the UK as service development manager for an organization that provided community services on behalf of government. My role was also to bring the private sector and government together within the service framework I was in charge of. I worked for 10years and I wanted to come back home to be part of the process here. I have a master’s degree in International Development from University of Middlesex but I’m mainly into commerce.
Now that you are here, what’s your main work?
We are facilitators of business. My intelligence is not limited to just business but how we do business in Nigeria. If you are a Nigerian businessman and you want to go abroad, my job is to help you develop your strategy for that move you want to make and identify the critical thing you need to do to make a prospect of that move. We have a beauty division because when you are in international trade there is many countries that are destinations for business. Nigeria is one of the main destinations for business in Africa, as people want to do business here because of the market here. We are the biggest nation on the continent. When people think about Nigeria, they are thinking about the money that they can make here.
If 10 percent of the nation says this is the phone I want to be using, you become an instant success story.
The difficulty of doing business in Nigeria is the problem. People want to come but once they come, there are so many bottlenecks. Every country has its own issues. Even for us here doing day-to-day business it’s tough. When you see somebody that has managed to do something you have to applaud him, because it’s not easy to make anything a success in this terrain. It’s a very tough market; the ease of doing business is not there. It’s only now that the government is looking even more robustly into helping SMEs to access funds. SMEs are the engine room of our economy and people who are there can’t get loans to make their businesses better.
How did you become a beauty expert?
We organized an international exhibition and it became a platform for brands. The brands we represent found us because of the work we had done and it just became a natural progression for us to take interest in representing some of the brands that have approached us, especially because Nigeria is a big market and we like to have the best. We like to be on the same page as the rest of the world. The lifestyle here is changing, so we want to be at par with a lot of global business destinations. Nigeria is welcoming a lot of businesses and in different sectors of the economy. People who are coming into Nigeria with their businesses have needs and some of them can be satiated with what we have.
What’s your take about Nigerian women and beauty?
Nigerian women are beauty itself. An average Nigerian woman is so knowledgeable about what she wants and how she wants it. We are leaders in Africa. People look up to us. When a Nigerian woman steps into a room, you will know somebody has entered. We have gone beyond beauty consciousness, we just want performance. Nigerian women are looking for performers; they want things to work. If you have good products and good services you will do business and because of social media people are more knowledgeable. People are more interested in what is in the product they are buying. They want healthier options. Gemology is all about natural products that are rich in minerals and vitamins. Some gemstones have the same minerals that are found in the food that we eat. Banana has magnesium and there are gemstones that have the same vitamins that are found in banana.
The concept of gemology is such that we extract minerals within the stone by crushing the stones i.e. diamond, gold or sapphire and after crushing they are liquefied. The liquid extracted has vitamins in it. Gemstones are God’s gift to nature unadulterated and they contain the same vitamins you eat in food. The concept of gemology is to put vitamins on your skin, which goes directly to your pores, and it’s just coming into Nigeria.
Who motivated you into business?
I watched as my mum did all these and learnt so much from her. If your mum is selling water, without even paying much attention you are learning that business. Even if you are not interested in it, you are being socialized around what she’s doing. I’m a daughter of a cosmetologist, a daughter of a hairstylist, a daughter of a makeup artist. It’s in my family history. My mum was a businesswoman and she did many things from cosmetology to running a travel agency as well.
At one point, she was a distributor for major manufacturers in Nigeria. She was doing all that in addition to being a cosmetologist. I’m an avid entrepreneur and I love business, I like buying and selling. I’m a natural marketer. Being a consultant is one part of me; the other part is providing solutions, marketing products and helping others.
Were you not anxious about leaving the UK to incorporate a business in Nigeria?
We all encounter the fear of the unknown and it’s not peculiar to coming to Nigeria. Whether you sleep and wake up in Nigeria or you sleep and wake up in London, the fear of the unknown is real. But coming to Nigeria, the best thing you could do is to address it pragmatically. For me, it’s very important that I’m in a stable environment. Stable in terms of a stable living condition. I make sure that I can wake up and function and that was the consideration for me.
I knew I was coming here; I knew there were strange things but I make sure that the basics are in place to make sure that I function and that’s the best I can do. It’s crucial to have a support system and be able to function; people who care about you around you. Your support system is vital if you are coming to a different environment.
Every other thing is bound to you and your faith because there’s no ready-made solution anywhere. Whether you stay here or America you still have to work hard to get things done. There were butterflies in my stomach but they didn’t get in the way of my vision. The sooner you embrace whatever you are going to do the better for you.
Do you regret coming to Nigeria?
No, but its hard work. A lot of hard work. The dream is still alive. If anyone returns from the UK or other parts of the world, it must be for the love of the country because you want to be part of that process. Nigeria is not for anyone who failed abroad; to thrive here you must be successful where you are coming from. Nigeria is not where you come because you have failed everywhere and you want to come and try your luck here. We have infrastructural challenges and if you consider unstable power without generator, low productivity that’s recorded within one hour, it’s unbelievable.
What’s the secret of your good looks?
I love food. I’m adventurous with food but I love Nigerian food. I don’t even like anything diet. I like ice cream and full fats but I think it’s all genetic too. I have good genes. Nigerian environment keeps me fit but my work is very demanding and I do a lot of things. I wish I could exercise more. I love dancing salsa especially as it keeps me fit.
What has life taught you?
Never say never.