No club can intimidate us – Patrick Shina Edo

That the Cave strip club is perhaps one of the big­gest in the entire country is not in doubt. Purpose built and situated in the heart of the commercial nerve cen­tre of the country, it has within its over four years of operation, grown to be­come the toast and bride of night clubbing, particu­larly in the Lagos metropo­lis. Patrick Shina Edo, the brain behind the exotic lair and who was recently honoured by the Common Wealth university, South America, for his outstand­ing achievement in the entertainment business, talks about his impressive success record, setting the pace for others to follow, from a distance.

You have within a short period of operation, surpassed people’s expectations, making The Cave, one of the most sought after strip club. What is your secret weapon?

Nothing but the manage­ment skill I have put in place, competence and dedication. I know what I’m doing and I know how to manage the situation. This strip club isn’t only the largest in Nigeria, but in the whole of Africa. So I have no choice but to run it well. Besides, Nigeria is an open and fertile ground for business; if you know what to do and how to do it well, you will succeed, regard­less. Anything entertainment in Nigeria succeeds, if you know how to go about it. This ‘game’ of strip clubbing is my forte, I know how to play the game. I know how to pick my girls, take care of them and also take care of my custom­ers. Once you’re able to do all of these perfectly, then you’re on top of the game. And I’m able to do that, that’s why I’m on top. Don’t also forget that Nigerians love fun especially this kind of fun be­cause initially, you could only find this kind of place in the Western countries but now that we have it here, people are so happy that it exists. Patronage is high and it will always be because we are giving them exactly what they want, the kind of girls they want to see.

Didn’t you have any misgivings when you were setting it up, say, the state government being against it, among several other issues?

No, I had no misgivings. Concerning the state clamp­ing down on it, setting up a strip club is not against the law, it isn’t illegal. But when we first started, I didn’t have a license but now we are licensed to operate it and that helps because people can now freely come in and generally have a good time. Clients now patronize us without fear. We have a cli­entele made up mostly of the big boys. We don’t look for customers, they look for us.

How do you get the girls judging by the huge number of them that work here?

We don’t look for them, they look for us. Once you are able to position yourself in this business, the girls would come looking for you. We have accommodation here at no cost and they have all the freedom here. They make good money while also catching their fun. They don’t pay anything for accommodation, they don’t pay for feeding, their welfare is well taken care of and they make good money, that is why they all keep trooping in. When girls outside of Lagos hear that we even pay them here, they quickly jump on the band wagon. We have about 70 girls working here if I am not mistaking.

Human wants are unlimited. Even though you say your customers are satisfied, what more are you thinking of doing to keep them yearning for more?

I agree that human beings will always ask for more and when they do ask for more, we know what we give to them.

Have you had any parent or guardian come here to fight you over their daughter?

No, because we don’t take minors here. In any Nigerian pageant, a minor is some­body below 23 years unlike overseas where a minor is somebody below 18 years of age. Once you are a minor, we don’t allow you here in whatever capacity; whether as a dancer or a customer and for guys, once you are under 27 you are a minor and we will not let you in, you must be close to 30 before we let you in, you must be very matured and very re­sponsible.

A lot of strip clubs are springing up here and there. Don’t you consider them a threat?

They’re no threat to us. They are all small timers. You don’t expect a river to threaten the ocean. Some of them convert a sitting room to a strip club but this is a purpose built strip club. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s the largest in the whole of Africa and one of the largest in the world, it’s not easy. When you put all the strip clubs in Ikeja together, The Cave will swallow all their customers at once.

Have you thought about replicating The Cave elsewhere?

Of course. Expect some­thing bigger than The Cave, something more compli­cated. We’re coming up with a lot of new things, building other strip clubs all over La­gos. I won’t disclose the lo­cations now but it will be in about three strategic loca­tions within Lagos. And we are setting up other busi­nesses too.

You were recently honored by the Commonwealth University, South America. Why do you think you were singled out to be honoured?

I will say it’s because I’ve excelled in what I’m doing. It’s not easy to put some­thing like this together and also run it well which is what I’ve been doing. We’ve been on for over four years now, we’re leading and we keep leading. I started the former TT bar which is now called Club Unique before setting up my own. If you know what it takes to be in the business, you will stay on it. No club can intimidate us. Our girls are comfortable, they are well-paid and our customers are well taken care off. Ev­erything is perfect here. We have both local and foreign customer coming in here and they are all happy.

What came to your mind when you’re being called on to be honoured?

Well, it is a well deserved honour. I was given a PAN Africa award as the best Nightclub in Nigeria. I’m sure they must have gotten some information about me be­cause I don’t know them from Adam. When I saw the letter, I didn’t want to go initially.

How do you separate your family life from your business?

Without money, you can’t take care of your family. And without the family, you’re a nobody. So both are equally important but I try to separate my business from my family. Once it is my business time, I face it squarely. I keep my family out of it. And that is why it is difficult to see me during the day time which is when I attend to my fam­ily. Once I’m attending to my family, you can’t see me.

What will be your advice to any young man who wants to come into the strip clubbing business?

Strip clubbing business is a little bit complicated. You must be very serious about it. Look for good girls and don’t mess around with the girls. Don’t mess around with your customers as well. Take good care of the dancers like they are your sisters. Treat and pay them well. Let them feel happy and feel at home.

While building The Cave club, did you envisage this turn out?

Of course, I have God by my side all the time. I’m a very strong child of God. In anything I do, I call on God first before I embark on any endeavor. And when God says go ahead, I move ahead. If God says stop, I will feel it and I will know that God doesn’t want me to go ahead.

Would you consider yourself a fulfilled man?

By the grace of God, I am fulfilled. And I’m going to be more fulfilled in Jesus mighty name.

Where do you see The Cave in the next five years?

To have given birth to the largest strip club in the whole world. And it’s going to be sit­uated in Lagos, Nigeria.