JERRYMAN: From Civil Engineering to Hair Dressing

A Ghanaian civil engineering graduate turned hairdresser in Lagos stirred the curiosity of RITA OWOLEOR enough to probe into some men thriving in the business in an exclusively woman’s world. Her report.

Jeremiah Ihionu Mbama’saccount is not the usual story of necessity pushing agraduate into doing just about anything to survive. No. He confided to Daily Times that the passion came to him while rounding off his engineering course just to please his father.

An indigene of Accra, Ghana, Jeremiah is a graduate of civil engineering from the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. He did work with his degree with an engineering firm — Marubini Engineering & Construction Company —and was in the technical team that constructed a dam at Ijede back in 1984.

When he came to Lagos, Jeremiah also worked as a Technical Supervisor with Flour Mills, Apapa, Lagos,before he resigned of his own free will.

“I resigned of my own freewill, I knew what I was pursuing and in order to achieve this task, I had to quit Civil Engineering for hairdressing with a resolve never again to be subject to anyone.”

Something told our correspondent that there was something Jeremiah was not telling her, so she asked where his lines crossed between continuing as an engineer and becoming a hairdresser.

“Like every promising young man, my initial dream was to become a Lawyer, but my father thought that was going to make me a radical. Secondly, a lawyer had once deceived his grandfather, taking over his piece of land, leaving him with nothing. So, he has vowed that none of his children would become a lawyer and insisted I read engineering.

“After graduating in civil engineering, I handed the degreeto my father and told him the certificate belongs to him; that what was left was for me to fulfillwhat my heart has always longed for, which is becoming a hairdresser.”

Jerryman What would pass as his headquarters is located along the roadside of mammy market in Signal Barracks,Mile 2. There you will find the elderly man wearing curly hairdoas a brand of his trade and the steady flow of his clients who fondly call him ‘Jerry man’ attests to his success. But Daily Times found that it has not been all smooth sailing for the Ghanaian. The now bubbling business area was a dumpsite and unmotorable about 22 years ago.

“I used my bare hands to clear the bush and also employed labourers I was paying 5kobo per day for five days. When my colleagues in Flour Mills saw me at the site, they were dumbfounded.”

One of his clients who spoke with Daily Times said Jerryman is one among many who does a perfect finishing to jerry curls. She said, “I come here regularly from Ikorodu not considering the distance because my hair does not undergo breakages with the method and treatment employed by him.”

On the flow of business, Jerry said there is never an idle moment. “My customers patronize me from far and near within the state, and I welcome both the young and the old.

“In fact, I once opened a new place around Waterside at Apapa in a warehouse that was given to me free, but my customers refused going there because I was not there. They continued to come all the way to mammy market in search of me to make their hair.”

Secret of his trade

Jerrymansaid that the key to his success with women is patience.

“Patience is the only way to handle a woman, and if you can tame a woman, you can tame a tiger. Also, when dealing with a woman, you must tolerate a lot of nonsense; not only nonsense. You have to come to their level in order to give them total satisfaction and value for their money.

” One of his clients, ‘Lady B’, told Daily Times Jerryman is a very humble person. “He is reliable and always patient. But one part of him we customers always like is his humorous nature. Jerry can make you laugh throughout your stay in this boutique.

Jerryman himself has this to say, “Comedy brings laughter to my face and it has helped in making me look younger than my age. Also, whenever I am praising God, my customers usually join me and that gives food to my soul.”

A regular client told Jerry why she could never leave his boutique.

“She told me I am the remedy to her sickness. She said her children always provoke her at home, but whenever she comes here, she is always happy going back home, relieved by the jokes I share with them.”

A very satisfied client, Mrs. Abigail Ossai told Daily Times she makes her hair every two weeksand commended Jerryman for his sense of humor. “I always laugh my eyes out whenever I listen to Jerry’s jokes, and we don’t even pay for that!” she laughed, adding, “My husband always admires me whenever Jerryman makes my curls every Saturday, and you know what that means to a woman.”

Jerryman confided he has never regretted quitting his civil engineering job to hairstylist. He specifically said the era of Engineering is gone that he is now in the new era of hairdressing.

Besides giving him the joy of meeting new and interesting people always, Jerryman testified that hairstyling is a very lucrative business, especially when you are good at it. “The job gives great joy; especially because people search for me instead of me searching for them”, Jerryman said.

Furthermore, the old fellow said the job has blessed him abundantly, even with landed properties both in Nigeria and in Ghana. “The job meets all my needs and caters for the entire family, especially my old father who initially opposed the profession saying it was a waste of the hard- earnedmoney he spent sending me to school…”