Wanneka Nkumah: 'Every woman suppose get her own money'

Nwanneka Nkumah na one of di popular human hair vendors for Nigeria.

Di 31-year-old mother of three na CEO of Wanneka Luxury Hair, company wey she found before she clock 30.

Di young entrepreneur get over 800,000 followers for Instagram alone, platform wey she like oda business owners for today world dey use take sell dia market.

In recent times, Wanneka don enta limelight not just sake of her advocacy for financial independence for women, but sake of her business and some controversies wey surround her.

'I fail two times'

Wanneka say she begin her hair business for 2017 during di time of Black Berry. But tins bin no easy. She lost money and fail two times before one idea she get di third time she try, change everytin.

"Di first hair wey I order by myself outside di kontri, everytin na bad hair. Na di type wey dem dey call sponge. Na my first big money, 1.6 million wey I use order hair be dat.

So wen we come come Lekki, I come tell am say see dem tok say Lekki, market dey business dey, say once you open shop you go just dey make money, money money, my husband come say make we try am, e hustle money give me to open shop. As we open dat one, nobody come." She tok.

"Na towards di third time because di third time, e come wait, e tell me say make I no do again, it's ok, say no be everybody suppose do business, but I beg say one last chance and di rent of di third shop wan expire.

I lie down one morning begin chat with my suppliers because I know say di price wey dem dey give me, no be di price, dem get anoda whole sale price wey beta wetin dem dey give me."

Wanneka say she convince dem to give her di wholesale price and she decide to slash her prices and do promo and na so tins change for her as pipo begin dey order.

Fake hair and scam accusations

Wanneka don face several accusations say she dey sell fake hair, dey sell sometin different from wetin she give pipo, say she dey sell di beta hair give celebrities.

Several pipo don also accuse her of scam even as some tori pipo carri di tori.

"I dey always tell dem, I don ansa dis question tire, I don tell dem say no be so.

First of all, most of dis celebrities no dey order through me. Some of dem dey just waka go my shop go look for wetin dem wan buy, buy am, so no be even me dem dey order from cos how many of dem I wan attend to?

By di way, I dey always tell dem say, most of dis celebrities, because dem be celebrities, dem go always take care of dia hair because dem wan appear somehow for public. I don tell dem tire say hair na styling." She tok.

As to accusation say she dey scam pipo, Wanneka deny di accuse.

"Wen dem say scam, I no sure say dem even know di meaning of scam because di word is very wrong to use in dis context, first of all, I no be online store, I get physical stores no be only for Nigeria, I get for Dubai, Ghana, and two for here and I dey go city tours, so e no dey possible say you go buy sometin but you dey see me every day I dey show up everyday, my stores dey open.

I mean, we get delays wen we do online promos… we dey slash di price and di numbers wey dey buy, some times we fit like mix up di order or overlook am but e no get time wey anybody pay money to our , 10 years later, even if we forget to deliver your hair, come back to our store."

'I dey work on my marriage'

Wanneka bin dey very open about her marriage and family, but rumours start recently and some blogs bin carri tori say she don separate from her husband. She tok about di rumour.

"It's marriage, e get ups and downs, I go just say I dey work on my own. I no fit say I still dey married or I no dey married. Nobody marriage dey perfect, everybody dey work on dia own so I go just say I dey work on my own." She tok.

'Every woman suppose get her own money'

Asides from hair business, Wanneka also dey known as a serial entrepreneur wey like to motivate women to get dia own tin. For her, e dey very important for self-respect.

"Wen we dey grow up, we no talk say we go grow, go school finish and just come leave for one man house, because make we talk true, if you no get your own money, e dey cause insult, you no go get say for your house, you no wan just sit down everytin wey you want, you go go beg your husband, or you go go beg man or look for one to sleep wit no.

I no say if man give you money make you no collect, I dey collect, me I like am sef, but no be because say wetin dat money dey meant for I no fit afford am by myself or I no fit even try to afford am." She tok.

Ontop some believe for di region say if women get too much money na big problem, she say dat tok no follow.

"I go tok say if na women dey tok am, na lazy women dey tok am and if na men, na men wey feel very insecure because even di bible tok say you should be a help to di man so how you wan take help am wen you just sidoon for house dey do nothing. We no tok say wen you get money make you dey insult your husband or feel like say you no need man for anything." She tok.

'Social media influencers get responsibility'

Wanneka wey also dey use her platform dey influence for social media chook mouth inside palava of social media influencers wey dey influence for companies wey dey later get problem or scam pipo.

"Truth be say wen you dey sign all these deals you no dey wish say something bad go happun but if e happun, you just need to put yourself in di shoes of di pipo wey trust you wey buy am.

Wen dem pack up like dat, di only tin I can do on my own side is to make sure say di pipo wey trust me to put dia money for those brands, say dem even see, find a way to get dia money back."Wanneka tok.

Video by: Helen Oyibo, Gift Ufuoma