‘Being A Cleaner Gives Me Inner Joy’– Former Miss Bold And Beautiful Reveals Why She Dumped Pageantry

Twelve years ago, former Miss Bold and Beautiful in Port Harcourt and Ada Ndi Igbo (Imo State), Eke Chigozie Ihuaku, was confused about what business she would venture into after pageantry. But she found the solution in cleaning industry at the age of 19.

Iheako founded her own cleaning firm, Nelgra Industrial Cleaning Services in Owerri, Imo State in 2011 where she acts as the Chief Executive Officer. The firm has now found its way deep into Eastern Nigeria.

But she confessed in an interview with THE WHISTLER that the journey was not rosy after she left pageantry at the expiration of her tenure as Ada Ndi Igbo back in 2010.

She said, “After winning a beauty pageant the ‘Ada of Imo State’, I asked myself what next after my tenure as a beauty queen. In 2009, I met my neighbour, she and her husband were into cleaning but they never took it seriously. We have never exchanged pleasantries before but one day I knocked at their door and told them I wanted to be their apprentice.

“They were shocked and asked how possible it was for me to do the job. So, I did an apprenticeship for two years. I learned for two years without receiving a dime. After everything in 2011, I started my own business. My First client was Nnamdi Aniehe. When I started, they were not paying me much. Many of them didn’t believe in me because I was still very young at the age of 19.”

Before she started in 2011, cleaning business in Nigeria was seen as a mediocre affair.

But her passion which stemmed from her father’s penchant for “clean environment” made her believe she would have a successful career in the Nigerian growing cleaning industry.

Ihuaku said, “I love a clean environment. Like, I grew up in a house where my father literarily makes us turn the house sparkling clean before leaving for school. So, I saw it as an opportunity to have a career after pageantry. With that passion, I clean my client’s houses like mine and it gives me joy when I turn a dirty environment sparkling clean. It gives me inner Joy to clean.”

The 31-year-old CEO revealed how she started from scratch with little investment.

“I didn’t spend much because the industry was still growing then and I didn’t have to buy machines like air-blower, floor polishers and vacuum cleaners etc. I started manually with my workers. But when I cleaned, my clients were impressed. From there I started growing. My first machine was an air-blower,” said the Nelgra CEO.

Today, Nelgra handles big clients that are willing to pay an average of N300,000 for a five-bedroom duplex.

She disclosed that the industry has grown and is now very competitive. According to her, most competitors underprice their cleaning service to attract clients which in turn affects the worth of the whole industry.

The CEO further said the challenge in the industry is that most Nigerians do not value cleaners.

“The professional cleaning industry in Nigeria has grown into a multi-billion industry. In Nigeria, there are many people claiming to be cleaners but most of them are not professional. I went through a cleaning programme for two years. In the East, they don’t value cleaners. Sometimes when you give a quotation, they undermine it.

“When you even agree on their price, they will want to exploit you. In fact, they don’t see cleaning as something that should be expensive. They downgrade the work. Some cleaners are petty and they make the industry unattractive. Some of them can charge as low as N50,000 for a job that should worth N200,000. Some clients think cleaning is just pouring of soap on the floor and scrubbing. But cleaning should be treated like art. But competition is very high in the industry. If you are not good at your work, competitors will run you out.”

But despite the challenges in the industry, Ihuaku said she is ahead of the “game and has a hedge over others.”

“Most of my clients are on referrals. I’m only on Instagram but I’m getting patronage of big shots. I get four to five jobs every month. The average price for a five- bedroom duplex where they have done the evacuation is between N250,000 to N300,000. But I hardly say no to an offer so long as I can’t make a little profit. If I can even get N50,000 profit after expenses, I’ll accept the offer. When you start cleaning business people will come, but when they come don’t be greedy because they may refer you to people that will give you big jobs. That is why I hardly say no for a job,” she revealed.

Nelgra has employed over 100 Nigerians since its inception but she said her major challenge is the attitude of workers and gender discrimination.

She said, “My advice is for people to start somewhere. When you don’t find a job start one. The start is not always rosy. But I’m sorry to say that a lot of young people don’t want to work. They are always looking for quick money. Today, I earn far more than most salary earners as an industrial cleaner. So long as, money is coming, I can do anything legal to earn leaving.

“Some of my workers don’t even like working. Some will come today and abscond the next day because they don’t want to learn. They just want it fast. The only regret I have is that most times, other workers want to oppress me at the site because I am female. But I don’t give them that space. But I’m now enjoying it.”