‘It Is A Misconception To Say Only The Rich Patronizes Me, I Am Affordable To All……MUDI

Clement Mudiaga Enajomo my not be a household name as such but MUDI has crept in well to the consciousness of many not only in Nigeria but across Africa as an International designer, he speaks to www.timelineng.com on his personality

Q How was Mudi able to climb the ladder of success from the scratch into an international designer? Lots of people out there want to know.

ANS  Around 1992, I was in Ketu, managing a one-room space shop for my work. I made conserted efforts to expand but it won’t just happen, even when you are trying to save money for a bigger shop several things will crop up that you divert the money to solve. But as God would have it, I was able to save N17,000 at the end but the money for new shop was 47,000 naira. It was Richard Mofe-Damijo that gave me 30,000 naira that completed the money, so in other words, he gave me the breakthrough.

Q Are you still very close?

ANS Yes, till tomorrow. He’s my Boss anytime any day. Apart from the support I have gotten from him, other  things I have acquired in this life are just the grace of God and hardwork.

Q How true is it that it’s politicians and affluents that patronize you most?

ANS  People must talk, but its not true. My cloths are for everybody. We do not discriminate between poor or rich, it’s affordable.

Q Some world top designers do some arrogant branding for their product, do you have some specific brands as such?

ANS Not at all, we don’t do arrogant branding

Q What stands you out among the many designers we have?

ANS  You are in the best place to determine that. I don’t really know, I hope you can tell me. I know I have paid my dues, I have added some values to the industry, we have been doing these for the past 24years. Now, I notice people saying MUDI pays attention to details, quality of jobs, good cuttings and so on. They are testimonies of our little effort to be the best.

Q How did idea of designing come to you?

ANS  I am an artiste, and  a good illustrator. I needed a platform to express my talent and I picked fashion designing.

Q Lots of fashion designers do pick up foreign magazines and sketch out designs, do you do that too?

ANS I have never done that, you will never see me with any foreign magazine. We tend to underestimate ourselves because we are blacks. It is a bad gesture, that is why people always agaped at how I was able to build such an office with good designs. Top world designers own private jets, what stops us from having our own too. If after 24years I am still in one small place people will still complain. The industry is wide, there is money to be made there. I also have offices in Port Harcourt, Abuja, Senegal, South Africa , and Kenya. All the little I get from there are money. Hence, at this stage I thank God where I am.

Q Why don’t you make suits?

ANS You can not do everything. I have colleagues that do that, I just decided to base my designs on only African wears.

Q Can you wear a suit?

ANS of course I can, I have two suits, even though I don’t wear them often I have wore them on several occasions before. i just don’t commercialize suits?

Q You have pictures of your first one room apartment decorated in your new office, what does that signifies?

ANS It is delibrate for me to checkmate myself as I grow in leaps and bounds on the job. Looking at the picture helps me remember where I was coming from and where God has placed me today. The passion, talent, discipline that has brought me here. I still resume in my office at 7am, I never gets head over heals because of my level, I have remained humble and desciplined all along.

Q Many believe you are not really involved in the work unlike before, that you just give instruction to your staff?

ANS Its not right, you will always see me here, the quality of my work does not change. If I still work alone I wont get to where I am today. You need lots of hands to serve lots of people and even outside the country.

Q What does style mean to you?

ANS Style is an expression of what you have inside of you, it reflects in every part of your life. Your house, how you dress, office, and cars you drive say lots about you. There is different between someone who dresses well and who is stylish. In Nigeria, it’s people that makes so much noise that they tagged stylish.

Q Do you like special fabrics or colour that you work with

ANS I work with all colours especially those that are good for men.

Q   Are you fulfilled as a businessman?

ANS I am happy. I cannot use the word fulfilled.

Q But you considered yourself a rich man

ANS Being rich is not about naira and kobo, it’s the value you are adding to the society that matters. Everything is not money, it only makes things easy.

Q What is the most expensive item in your wardrobe?

ANS I don’t buy cloth, people say I spend a lot of money on shoes, belts, wristwatches, but I shop anywhere. I don’t always look at name before buying my shoes, there are some shoes I even bought that has no names. It is only when you don’t have style that you tend to goes for certain brands always.

Q People that have style do some craze or abnormalities in their ways, which one is perculiar to you?

ANS I could say my work. This is because I’m married to two wives, my matrimonial wife and my work. My craze is for  my work and family, its either I’m home or with my work.

Q Which of Nigerian designers do you like most of terms of his or her work

ANS  I wouldn’t want to mention because almost all of them are doing well despite the challenges of the industry. Everybody strives to be at the top, I respect all Nigerian designers with all these distractions.

Q When was the breakthrough year?

ANS I also wouldn’t want to say breakthrough, I started seeing more impact when I open out-lets outside the country.There was a day I was in Nairobi at the airport filling a form, a Kenyan woman came to me and said, are you not the Nigeria designer MUDI, I said yes, its was a great day for me, real fulfillment.

Q Placing pictures of lengends like, Fela, Bob Marley and the rest in your office , what does it signifies?

ANS They all inspire me, Yossou Ndour, Salif Keita, Olisadebe, Fela, and others, inspire life in their own right.

Q  Why musicians why not actors or other people?

ANS  I listen to pure African Musics, I love their music. They are spiritual in their songs. You also learn a lot from their lyrics.

Q Are you religious, Are you into the Sunday Church thing?

ANS I am a Christian. I won’t tell you I’m a born again, but you can judge me.

Q Do you still visit your former hood, where you actually started

ANS Yes still do that, because I still have a couple of friends around there. Unfortunately the man that owns the house is dead now but the woman is still alive. I remember the woman used to give me money then to go and deliver cloth, so I don’t have choice than to also give back to my root and the country.  

Q How do they perceived you now

ANS They thank God for my life. I remember a friend that lives with me inside that one room apartment, he once said to me when I returned from a place I went to deliver a work and they didn’t pay me, that “which day will you buy a car from this work? I couldn’t answer because truly there wasn’t any money, not that he was mocking me then, it was reality of my situation then. But they all appreciate what God has done for me now.

Q When was the year you bought your first car?

ANS That’s in 2001, it was a manual Toyota Corrola. I bought it in Cotonou and it has no AC. I bought it around N245,000 which I realized from my savings to daily contributor then. I then take the money to bank for keep until it got to the amount needed to acquire a tokunbo car then. I kept my Pass Book with RMD and told him brother, if they said I am sick, please don’t release the pass book because I was determined not to spend the money anyhow. I remember when I bought the car, I drove to the bank and shared a carton of malt drink for them in the bank. It was a new bride (laughs).

Q If you are to lecture on path to success, what will you say?

ANS I will dwell more on discipline. We have designers who are very creative and have passion but they lack discipline. If you set a target that you wouldn’t eat after 6p.m and you stick with it, that is called discipline. If you shelve your normal shedule on frivolous things, you must stick with it. It would pay in the long run.

Q What are the challenges you have faced and when was that?

ANS I remember after the first two years I paid for during the time RMD assisted me, expired, i had money to pay for only 6months but the Landlord said if I do not have money for complete one year, I should pack out. I became devastated. Then, I went to see a friend to lend me just N20,000, unfortuntely, he told me to quit this job that he doesn’t think the job will pay me. Tears rolled down from my eyes, but today, I thank God.

Q We heard you are starting a school soon

ANS It is like giving back to the society, apart from the little money that will be made I just want to use it to impact the society.

Q Are you not thinking after teaching lots of people they may even take the stage from you

ANS If i think like that, it means I’m selfish. You have to impact what you have into others. That’s my philosophy of life.