+Why Many Call Her FLAKKY SWAROVSKI
Chief Mrs Folake Ijelu Oke-Owo is a popular Lagos society woman. She used to be a health worker in the United States of America before she decided to return to Nigeria.
While many people were crying hard during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Flakky Swarovski as she is popularly called started an Amala joint business in Lekki which she called Abula Spot. One year down the line, Abula Spot has expanded and a bigger branch has been opened on Epe/Ajah expressway.
Many would wonder why a popular jeweller would diversify into the food business. Your guess is as good as mine. This and many other reasons made City People’s DAMILARE SALAMI 08155134152 and Olaoluwa Oguntoyinbo hold an interview session with her.
In the interview, she revealed a lot about herself, her businesses and her family. Below are excerpts from the interview.
This is a very beautiful outfit you have here. Congratulations on this feat again and again. Tell us about Abula Spot, when did you start this business and how long have you been running it?
Abula spot is a long story. I started with Flakky Swarovski, my jewellery brand name. Everyone knows me to be a jewellery seller and I still do that till tomorrow. But Abula Spot came on the scene one day about a year ago during the COVID-19 pandemic when I was very hungry at my office in Ikota, Lekki. I sent one of my girls to go and get me homemade food and she couldn’t find any in the whole of Lekki, Lagos. And then I started wondering what I would do because I am not a fast-food person and I can’t be living on fast food every day. That was how I got the inspiration to start a food business in this area of Lagos. But before I started, I called my daughters to seek their opinions and it was positive. They gave me all the encouragement I needed and we kicked off. Today, I am enjoying what I am doing more. It keeps me a lot busy and it is very lucrative too. I love counting money and this is a way of getting more money, so why not? The business did well in Ikota, everybody loves it, we kept having more demands than we could supply and people come from almost everywhere in Lekki to patronize Abula Spot, such that the Ikota branch couldn’t take all the demands we have daily. So we decided to get a bigger branch here. I thank my God for his help so far, without him, I wouldn’t be here today. I cannot also but mention my daughters, Busola and Bukunmi, they have been very supportive in all ramifications. They are one of the reasons I am where I am today.
How did you come about the name Abula Spot?
Oh! That was a coinage by my daughter Busola. When I told her that I wanted to start an amala joint business and that I needed a name that will be catchy and acceptable, she just told me that it is very simple. She said mummy, just think about abula. I asked her what abula is and she said since I was going to be preparing amala on the spot and people will also be eating it with gbegiri and ewedu, that is abula already. Mummy let’s just call it Abula Spot and that was how we came about the name. Today, we do not only have abula, we also have a bar and suya spot upstairs. So when people are done eating downstairs, they can find their way up here to have a drink before returning home.
You seem to have a lot of young people working with you, what informed that?
Yes, I have a lot of them working with me because I decided to be very nice to them. I understand how difficult it is for young people to survive in this very harsh economy. Our youths are not lazy, they are very smart and hardworking. They only need a favourable environment to deliver and that is what I provide for them. My belief is that if God has blessed you, it is not meant for only you but for those who are around you. So these and many other reasons are why I have so many young people around me.
Who is Alhaja Folake Ijelu Oke-Owo? Tell us about yourself.
Well, people call me Flakky Swarovski because that is what many people know about me. It was my first business and I still run it. I started my business by selling jewellery and everybody knows Folake Swarovski. So the name I have built over the years in the jewellery business has helped the Abula Spot brand a lot. I am the Iyalaje of Ibeju Lekki.
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