‘I'm always excited with elderly wearing splendid hairstyles’

Ure Okezie, affectionately called Queen Ure by her admirers, is an ex-banker and life coach.  Though she studied Physics at University of Jos, she was trained in The Coaching Academy, United Kingdom. She unfurls her lifestyle and vocation lately.

What are you doing at present?

I have a brand that I'm building which is the Porpori. The brand is getting bigger because I have branched into other areas of business. I'm now into my own line of hair products. I have two brands of human hair called Porpori Curls which are curly and Porpori Waves. They are both under the platform I called Porpori Opportunity where all the Porpori products are marketed.

The hairdo world is already saturated with all kinds of hair weaves and braids. What new thing is Porpori hair line going to introduce into the hair world?

First and foremost, the hair itself is original. It is 100 per cent natural. It is tangle-free, a good quality, natural hair and not synthetic. It is hair that you can use over and over again. Also, all the bonuses that are attached to it already are making it to stand out in the hair world.

Can you name some hair plunders in our society that put you off?

What I will call a hair plunder is someone wearing a hairstyle that doesn’t fit. When I was young, I had a cousin who used to say one shouldn’t copy hairstyle sheepishly just because a friend wears that kind of hair-do. Because you may not have the same shape of the head/face, invariably what this means is that no one should opt for a hairstyle simply because it is in vogue without considering if it would fit you. This is the blunder that is common in our society today and it pisses me off. You might see some style on someone and you do exactly the hairstyle, meanwhile you don’t look like the person. This is number one hair blunder. Another blunder is that most of today’s ladies don’t look after their hair. What ladies do now is that they forget their natural hair because of hair extensions. I have seen a lot of women not taking care of their natural hair because they wear hair extensions. Make sure you wash your hair often, treat it if need be and take care of it. Condition your hair and make sure you use the right product for it. This is because time would come when you don’t feel like wearing hair extensions. One of the reasons most ladies continue to wear hair extensions is because their natural hair has gone bad that they can’t show it off any more. While I market hair extensions, I also encourage people to take care of their natural hair. It’s a serious hair blunder to ignore your natural hair while you spend so much on hair extensions.

How about some ladies who wear crazy colours of hair extensions without putting their age into consideration?

 My mum would be 70 years old in December and even at her age she still rocks afro (laughs) and she looks good. So, I think the colour of hair one chooses is an individual thing. And one who is wearing some colour of hair wants some attention. There is nothing wrong after all; what has age got to do with looking beautiful. The colour of hair one chooses depends on who she is and her motive for opting for that. A lot of times, we judge people for what they wear or what they do without knowing their reason for doing such.  I just told you my mum is going to be 70 soon and she loves to wear afro hair style.  You know how afro is now, you can imagine a 70-year-old woman rocking afro hair style. When you see her, you would be convinced that I got my Porpori swag from my mum (laughs). I think I get excited when I see people who are old still rocking some kind of hairstyles…trying to look and feel good.

As someone into a lot of businesses, what is your comment on ladies who fold their hands and depend on their rich husbands?

What I would say concerning this is that every individual has dreams. There were things you wanted to do even as you were growing up. So, when you got married, you shouldn’t throw away those dreams. I believe that everyone, whether male or female, should engage themselves positively in activities that add value to the society. Besides adding value to the society, but something that can also put money into your pocket. Nobody should be a beggar or depend on another. Even your parents already know that at certain age you shouldn't depend on anybody, they are the ones that should depend on you. Rather than go to someone and beg for money, go to the person with something that you are selling. The person would happily purchase an item from you rather than give you money. About women who depend on their husbands, you never knew where the wind of life would blow. What if tomorrow he is not there, what do you think would happen? You become a widow who would be asking for people’s support. I’m not against giving support to widows. I do support widows but I’m saying that it’s good we do something that would fetch us money and not be dependent on men as if we can’t raise our heads without them. If you were doing something, for instance, and you are able to make money, you would be able to establish yourself very well. And if your husband is no more, you would be able to cope. His death should not cripple you. You should be able to take care of yourself and still look after your children. Every woman should see herself as an entrepreneur, as someone that can add value to the home.

  You should have a say in your home; not when you see something that is going wrong in your family you keep mum because you know that when you say it your husband whom you depend on would starve you. You wouldn't talk because tomorrow he would not give you money. You would always dance to his tune even when you are not supposed to get money from him. Such a marriage is not balanced. As a man, be the man of the house, make the money and be the head of the family like we know you should be. Then as a woman, strive to be virtuous. The Bible made mention of the virtuous woman, she is the one given order, who holds her home. So, a good woman is the one who adds even more value to her family.

Why do you think women take all the pains to look good?

Your body is the only thing you have. The items that you bought about five years ago, you don’t know where they are; the only thing that has been with you is your body. That is why we must look after our body. You must exercise it, feed well and then you must look good. This life is not a rehearsal. We are living it, not rehearsing.

By ADAEZE AMOS