Event ushers are not prostitutes — Kemi Oyedeji

Oluwakemi Oyedeji is a woman of many parts. Asides from a choice career in operations, she is the CEO of HIKOD, an ushering agency that caters as event
hosts. A wife and mother, Oyedeji is set to add the title of author to her name with her soon to be released book, The Business Of Treating People Like Royalty’, which according to her is a manual of sorts on running a successful agency. In this interview with ROTIMI IGE, she speaks on her book and issues related to the ushering/ events industry.

How did you get into the business of ushering?

It started from being moral, courteous,and respectful according to our culture.

I used to volunteer in so many organisations, including When Women Pray (WWP) an inter-denominational women’s fellowship. When I filled out the form back then, My pastor changed what I had filled in and pushed me into ushering.

It was out of submission to authority that I agreed and joined the ushering department.

When I started, some day I told head of department to allow me open doors for people. I smile a lot, and people found it therapeutic. The feedback I got was amazing. One particular day, someone in my reporting line, a facilitator and a life coach wanted to launch her book and asked me to coordinate the volunteer ushers. It was a bit disappointing and disdainful for me because it was a glamorous event and I had expected to come there as a guest, sit, be served and waited upon too. But I agreed and the event came out successful. At the end of the event, she came to thank me so excitedly and I believed it was merely the euphoria of having a successful event.

After the event, she kept pestering me to start it up professionally. I then reached out to my brother to help me come up with a name and the acronym HIKOD was created. We launched it officially on April 19, 2019.

What led you to write a book about ushering ‘The Business Of Treating People Like Royalty’?

Before I started, there were many errors and failures because I didn’t have any professional training. My research beforehand yielded no material on what to do and how to do it. People had been in the event industry before now, but I realised that most of them learnt on the job, so I reached out to some of them. Only three or so had my time and gave me some tips. It was at that point I decided I would learn. I knew I was not the only one in that pursuit of that knowledge.

Also, in many cases, there’s a kind of rift between event managers and ushers where they feel that yes, ushers are needed but they are not compulsory. They forget that no matter how much you spend, if your guests do not feel comfortable and they don’t have a good testimonial post-event, then it was rubbish.

Humans are the most valuable asset one can ever relate with, and everyone likes to feel respected and be treated like royalty. That was what birthed the book, ‘The Business Of Treating People Like Royalty’. Ushers are the eyes and hands of the host, they bridge the gaps.

Tell us about the book.

It is a manual and a guide for aspirants of the business. I want anyone that picks it to understand the intricacies of the ushering business. In a way, it will make you value people in service; from the person that opens the door for you to the person that offers you a seat, to the person that serves you. You understand that indeed, it is a prestigious job. It also teaches you to respect people in their profession. A lot of people underestimate ushers.

That someone takes in emotions from different people and waits upon you is not something to be taken lightly. It is also not an opportunity to throw insults and be disrespectful to them. That N2000 or N5000 you give cannot repair the damage you do.

It was then I realised what she was trying to teach me that you must never be distracted at your duty line and that lesson stuck with me.

How long did it take you to put the book together?

Almost a year.

Many times, when people hire ushers from agencies, they ask specifically for beautiful girls that they can take home after the event; like an escort service. How do you draw the line, especially since some of these girls go into ushering specifically for that because they think that the ushering business is an easy way to meet men.

In every profession, there are miscreants and traitors that do not understand the vision and mission. When you start a business without a vision, mission statement or core values, what are you doing? These values are what you instil in your staff and they carry. For example, if as an agency you don’t spell it out that no matter how much a guest pesters you, you must never give out your personal number then you have not started. When such issues arise, the proper thing is to refer them to your team lead or supervisor.

This is not an economic issue that people may argue that things are hard and girls need extra money.

No, that is a personal decision. As an usher, you are an adult who is mature enough to know right from wrong, except you also just want to do it.

Ushers are not prostitutes. That you find a few to have exhibited that trait does not give you license to generalise, a lot of people are doing it prestigiously, and they have a name to protect. I don’t take every job or contract that comes my way because I want HIKOD to be known as a reputable firm. Are we reliable, are we excellent in our service delivery, are we professional?

These are our core values and the rules we follow at every point of engagement.

These things also come when unprofessional, unlicensed and untrained people dabble into ushering and just gather girls from schools and throw them into events. When I started, one of the first things I did was to create a structure, register the business, and then joined the necessary associations. We also organise periodic training.

Tell us one of the more important lessons you have learned on the job.

At the time I joined the ushering department, the HOD was a stern disciplinarian. I remember a day during service and it was worship time, I laid down in worship and I immediately felt a slap on my back. I kept thinking why would someone hit a mature person like that. I was infuriated. But she scolded me and asked if I had ever seen a soldier at the war front being distracted.

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