In 2002, Nonso Peter Ozoba and his family were in faraway Anambra State to bury his elder brother who was also his boss at that time when the Jos Main market, also known as Terminus market, housing their fabric business was ruined by a fire disaster.
Their shop’s extension on the other side of the market, Ahmadu Bello Way was their saving grace when they returned to Jos.
Business was moving well and they were building again from their loss when in 2008, another fire gutted their shops on Ahmadu Bello Way.
Those incidents became the unforgettable experiences of the young business man who was trying to walk in his late brothers shoes.
“I started learning this business with my brother in 2001, unfortunately, he died shortly before the Terminus Market got burnt. It was within the space of some months that all those things were happening. We travelled for his burial and came back to a burnt market. We were in the east doing the burial and the market was burning.
“After Terminus got burnt, we moved to Ahmadu Bello Way, to build from where we stopped in Terminus because it was really a big loss, everything got burnt.
“While we were still trying to build the business again, another disaster happened in October 2008, our shop got burnt again and nothing came out of the shop, not even a pin.
“We lost everything both goods and cash. We were called that the market was on fire and we rushed out at 2am just to discover my shop was among the last shops burning and there was nothing we could do, everything was just melting out,” he said.
That marked the turning point of his business as he tried to give his customers the best in a way to recover from the setback he had experienced.
“That was how we became popular after the two incidents because we tried our best to get what people were looking for because that incident was a big disaster and a major setback for us.
“I am a very hard working person that never gave up so, when those incidents happened it was like the world had come to an end. I did not have one naira in my account. That was when I was planning to open Passion wardrobe and almost all the money I had, I had invested it into the boutique and I was left with nothing.
“But then, we had rented this current place already but we had not moved there yet. So, after the disaster, we had to travel to Lagos and Aba where we bought goods and explained the situation to them and some of them were of help.
“They were giving us goods on credit, we remit after we had sold them. Then they send us goods again and that was how we picked up again. It was really tough for us to build back again after those two incidents. It was years after that we were able to stand on our own with the help of God,” he added.
Ozoba said God had been helping them and some decisions they made earlier in the business became their point to rebuild again.
“Fortunately for us which I believe it was the wisdom of God and what has been helping us all along was that we were able to get an extension.
“We were in Terminus but we got a shop in Ahmadu Bello Way. We did not even know that a day will come that Terminus market would get burnt so the moment the incident happened, we moved to that place.
“We were there for eight years then this our current place was just built, we didn’t know that that place would get burnt also. We had already rented it but it was locked and empty so when the other fire disaster happened, we moved again to this place and that has been our journey.
“God has been ordering our steps and decisions in all that we do because he sees the future and knows what will happen and he led us to make the right decision.”
The Anambra man said he started his business with N30,000 after his late brother settled him after some years of learning the business shortly before he died.
“I started my business with N30,000 in 1999. When my brother settled me, he asked me to travelled so I could see how the business was done and start from something. He gave me N30,000 though the money was meant to be N25,000 but he made it that amount for me.
“Because he was my brother, I served for five years but because he saw how active and industrious I was, he asked me to start my own. Though I was still with him, I had my own by the side in my name,” he said.
He explained how the apprentice scheme mostly practised by the Igbo business people works.
“What we do is that, if we feel that we want you to work for us without a salary but work to be settled after some years, after one year of observation and we see that we would be able to work with you, we would go to your people and discuss how many years you’re going to work with us before we settle you.
“For the people that I have settled, one of them worked with me for six years and he is doing well right now. The last person I settled in December stayed with me for seven years because I picked him when he was quite young and I could not just settle him when he just got mature because he wouldn’t know how to handle money. Now, he has started his own and he is doing fine and his family is happy,” he said.
He said the process is difficult as it had to do with patience and endurance and with trust from both parties involved.
“It is a difficult process because it has to be someone who is patient to stay and work with you for long. It has to do with a lot of endurance. I also not only employ Igbo people, I currently have somebody from here, Plateau State that has worked with me for years and he is on salary but for me it is not just working for me, I feel there is need for you to be more useful to yourself so equally settled him as well.
“I travelled with him to show him where we bought our goods, taught him the business and now it’s left for him to be able to succeed. The second Plateau person, I travelled with him a week ago, I showed him where we bought our goods as well, taught him some things and gave him huge amount of money and told him now I want you to start your own.
“That was not my agreement with them, it’s something I wanted to do. I decided so because I saw how honest they were. It is so difficult to find people that are honest to work for you,” he added.
He said it was hard to find honest and committed employees so he decided to encourage and reward the ones that he was able to find
“When you employ people, you would see how they are after their own interest trying to see how they would liquidate you but these guys were committed to the business.
“So, I decided that this is how I can encourage honesty and integrity. He was very happy when I told him he can officially start his own. I also gave them some part of my shop where they can build immediately because it is so difficult so find shops around this area and even if you find, it is very expensive.
Ozoba, while outlining some challenges of the fabric business said every business required discipline and that was what helped them grow again after what they went through many years ago.
“Discipline is very important in any kind of business. I wasn’t spending then because I knew if I spent the money I would be back to nothing and that was how I started and we grew from there and even after all the disasters that happened.
“This is one of the toughest businesses one can engage in. There are several challenges that comes with it. Transporting your goods down to Jos after purchase is very difficult because the buses we partner with are now very few because of the economic situation of the country and the roads are now very bad and some companies are folding up.
“Sometimes when we travel we meet armed robbers on the way. I can’t count how many times I have had that encounter with them. You find yourself running in the bush in the night without knowing where you are running to. Some were shot, sometimes it’s just like a war.
“Then back in the market here, satisfying our customers is quite demanding because no matter what you do, there must be complaints here and there. They don’t understand the language of the business, they prefer you lie to them.
“For instance, a customer just left now she was pricing a material for N1,200 per yard, you can actually get that material in the market for N1,000 or N1,200 as she was pricing but they don’t understand that they are of different quality.
“We get some from China and some from Korea and that is the one I buy. So I can’t sell at that price. Most people go to the market and buy the cheaper one but some of us that buy the quality ones, it is difficult for customers to believe us. And for me, I can’t compromise, this is not a business I started today. We must maintain the standard.
“So, convincing customers is very difficult. I learnt this business in a very unique way that you must get the best quality for our customers. We can’t compromise at this stage,” he said.
Ozoba lamented the lack of industries in the country and how much revenue China makes from Nigerian buyers.
“We purchase most of our fabrics from China, like most of our laces are from there. We used to go there but because of the Covid-19 restriction, we couldn’t go but we order and they deliver to us.
“We need to ask our government a very big question: what happened to our industries? No industry is working here and these are what we can produce back here. Even Ankara, we don’t produce here anymore.
“We are creating massive revenue for the Chinese. Do you know the number of people that travel to China to purchase goods? You need to see what is going out of this country.
If we produce those things, the messy economic situation we have will improve and unemployment will reduce. If I had my way to purchase the machines that would produce for me, I would go all out to get it. I thought about it but I had to drop it. I pray we find the right government to do what is right for us,” he added.
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