By Esther Egbe
Clement Mudiaga Enajemo sits atop Mudi Africa, one of the leading fashion designing and clothing outfits in Africa. His outfit has branches in Ghana, Senegal, Nairobi and Johannesburg in South Africa.
In this interview with NET, the businessman and top designer opens up on various issues, including how he built Mudi Africa into a mega brand in fashion.
When exactly did you start Mudi clothing outfit?
I started in the year 1992
Before you started, what was your background?
I was always the best art student during my school days. I came into Lagos and worked but got retrenched after two years. It happened during Babangida era, IBB’s SAP programme, Olu Falae was the minister of finance then, I lost my job. We were 10 in number then and I was living on goodwill.
Some of my friends then in Ketu always sought my opinion about which clothes to buy because they saw me as someone who had taste for good clothes. I started from there, then a friend advised that I should go to fashion school, because he saw that I have flare for fashion. So, I did training for nine months, and went in for another three months because I was not satisfied. The rest is now history.
Can you tell us the name of the fashion school?
It is actually not a fashion school. As an artist, I was always the best art student in school then. That is the foundation, coupled with the fact that I dress well and people appreciated me as such.
When we were growing up, my mum made sure we dressed very well. She used to take us to the best boutique, my siblings and I, to buy clothes. Those two foundations gave me the structure to work from. What I did was just to go and learn how to cut and do a good stitch, because the ability to create was already there, so I dind’t need to learn that.
Can you say education helped you in any way?
Yes, I will say that. I am an artist, if you check my clothes, you will see the details, the finishing, they all represent artistic mind.
What really make Mudi clothing distinct?
People say I am creative, people say I have good finishing. It’s a combination of two things. Even if you have a good concept you must finish it well. What stands you out, because we have a lot of cloth lines, but everybody is like Mudi, Mudi, that is that distinct thing about Mudi clothing. I tell people if you want to go into any venture, designing it could be any other venture. One, you must have flare for what you are going to do, you must have the passion, the drive, the discipline, it’s very important, people say that Mudi is humble, I don’t see myself as beginning that, it’s just the way of life. You don’t say because you’ve gotten to a stage, you allow it to get into your head.
What is your driving force?
All that it takes is sacrifice, though in spite of what we are doing, no support from the government, we rely solely on personal effort. I have jobs outside Nigeria, I have four branches outside Nigeria. I am not really selling there to make profit, I am only creating awareness. Some people don’t think that anything good can come out of Nigeria. So, what I am doing is a sort of image branding, apart from the aspect of making profit, making money, I am selling the name, they say oh Mudi is a Nigerian designer. I am doing PR for the country.
Can you give us the name of the countries where you have offices?
I have offices in Ghana, Senegal, Nairobi-Kenya and South Africa, Johannesburg.
How do you manage them, I believe you cannot do everything?
No, no, I can’t, if for instance I create, I do the cutting, I do the sewing, I can’t get to where I am today. I will be stagnant; you must create space for other people to express themselves too.
How about the price tag, do you have a certain class of people that patronize you?
I won’t classify, I won’t say my cloth line is for the rich, people say that my clothes are expensive, but I tell them good things don’t come easy. If you are saying education is expensive then try ignorance. If you are a civil servant or politician or you are a diplomat and you want to spoil yourself by buying Mudi cloths, fine but I won’t say my clothes are for a particular set of people, no. I pay so much attention to details, well sewn, good design, I put a price tag to justify all that.
Are you saying that an average Nigerian can come in and get something to buy?
If you want to spoil yourself, you can walk in, I won’t tell you not to come but I tell you, my clothes don’t come cheap. Let me say that but I cannot be saying how much I sell my clothes in the media, it’s not nice. But I put in so much effort to make sure they come out well.
How do you manage the home front with business?
Well, I am coping, even our president, also has a family, in spite of what he has on his head, to manage Nigeria is so difficult, so, in our own little level we try to manage the two together.
What really determines your fashion sense?
Style is an expression of inner self, it’s what you have that you give out. If you don’t have it, you can’t give it. If you are someone who is stylish it must show in your way of life, your office, the car you drive. These things must reflect your inner self.
What do you have to tell your clients?
I want to thank them for their patronage and my prayer is God would keep blessing them, so that they will keep coming to patronize me.
So, when you are not in the office working, how do you unwind?
Once a while I go to Federal Palace Hotel, listen to live band, sit down quietly, may be alone or with my family. I hardly go to clubs, I don’t have time for hanging around, go to party or go to club. I will tell you my social life is suffering because of my job.
So what are your philosophical beliefs?
My philosophy is live and let’s live. I believe in simplicity. I am accessible, I tell people. Once your hands are clean, I am not perfect, life will be easy. I take life easy.
Do you have a fashion institute?
I have a plan in doing that but not now, I need to get the structure right, I don’t rush my things, not that people will just come and pay money, no, we have to be able to teach practical basis. There are some, who come back to me for advice after going to fashion schools.
What is the secret of the success of Mudi clothing?
Thank you, I say it anywhere I go. There are people who say we don’t know what this guy is doing, maybe he is doing another thing, for him to be living this type of life. The likes of Georgio Amani, they own private jets, how come in here, you can’t drive a car, people will be saying all sots of things.
So sad, a lot of people have lost faith in themselves, so if they see someone else who is doing well, they say he is doing something else. That is the only way they can condole themselves, because they are failures. If you are a designer, I am a designer, then you get to your office 10 o clock, 11 o clock and I get to my office seven, I get here 7.30 everyday, we can’t be on the same level, except God is partial, it’s simple.
Is Mudi a flamboyant person?
I am not a flamboyant person, though I like good things of life. The fact that the car I drive is better than yours does not mean that I am better than you, I am just opportune to have it. I don’t measure people by what they have, but by their inner virtues.
What is your management style?
I get to the office 7.30; I don’t leave till 6.30pm. Anytime my boys are doing night, I stay with them. I don’t go home to sleep because I am Mudi, I stay with them to motivate them. So you are a designer, I am a designer, if you don’t do night and pay attention to details, we cannot be on the same level.
Award so far?
Best Clothing Line(Effizzie Magazine)2009,Fashion and Beauty Awards 2011(City People),Dynamic Enterpreneurial Ingenuity (Government College)set of 1979 class 2011,Lagos State University Students representatives Council Award of Excellence 2012,Most Influential Person in Fashion 2012,Elegance and Style Award 2011,Fashion and Style Digest Award 2010 and six other awards.
