A visit to Don Nackson Exclusive you will understand the saying that goes by “seeth thou a man diligent in his work he will sit with kings and not with mean men”. DON NACKSON EXCLUSIVE is a manufacturing company that produces Uniforms for Churches, Banks, schools, including Departmental wears for high institution etc.
Edda Magazine had a chat with the CEO of DON NACKSON EXCLUSIVE ARUA DON CHUKWUEMEKA at their workshop at Ngwa Road, Aba, Abia State. In an industry where players are acussed of insincerity and full of disappointment.
But the man behind the name, Don Nacson Exclusive a native of Ekoli Edda in Afikpo South of Ebonyi state has chosen to do common things in an uncommon way.
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WE CAN COMPETE WITH THE WHITES IF WE HAVE ACCESS TO WHAT IS AVAILABLE TO THEM–Donatus Nnanna Arua
Can we know you please?
I am Donatus Nnanna Aruo, the CEO of Don Nackson Exclusive.
What is Don Nackson all about?
Don Nackson Exclusive is a company that deals on Uniforms, T-shirts and Polo. We produce for schools like nursery, primary, secondary schools, as well as for churches. Some of the uniforms they use for publicity during crusades, choir competitions and more are some of the things we produce. We also produce for Higher institutions departmental and company wears like you see in banks most times.
Can you tell us how it all started?
Yeah, it started like a joke but I like what I do as you can see I’m enjoying myself doing what I’m doing. It all started long time ago, when it was as if there was no help coming from anywhere, of course you know the condition of the country.
I stopped my academics at the secondary level in 1998 with a very good result. Quite unfortunately my father died that same year and there was no way I could further my education. So, I decided to find myself something doing to be self-employed, although it has always been my heart desire to be self-employed right from childhood but I didn’t think of being a tailor. So, in ventured into photography maybe because I was still a child I wasn’t enjoying it, I didn’t think I was going to make something out of it. At that point I decided to travel out of the country. I travelled any way but as God may have it, it didn’t go as I planned, because I couldn’t make it..
Where did you travel to?
Yea, I traveled to Spain, Bacelona in particular when I had a little problem so I came back.
You said you traveled to Spain can you tell us what did you really go to do in Spain, to play football or what?
Yea, I love football but I’m not a footballer, I went for a business but it didn’t work out because the demand there was too much and my papers were not complete, so I was deported and I came back very frustrated. But as a young boy with a boiling spirit I picked a military form, went for the training along the line I was dropped from the camp, I was just like what am I going to do? Everywhere I go, really I was bitter.
One day I was just thinking and I was like I know how to sew can’t I become a big manufacturer of clothes? When that thought came but in the other way round there’s no money to start up this thing, I had the dream like the bible says the spirit is willing but here the pocket is weak…laughs. I was like how am I going to start this thing? I went to some of my people to ask them for money to start up. You know in my mind I was creating something very big but there was no money to start up this thing. Everybody I asked of money nobody was willing to help. Along the line I was praying at the same time God told me to start with what I have.
I started with one local sewing machine, I was managing it as God would have it the thing started growing as you can see that is what led us to where we are right now.
You didn’t tell us how the learning process was for you or was sewing an inherent attribute for you or you learnt it?
I may tell you that this is a talent, let me be sincere I didn’t learn it. In fact, I may tell you that it is a root thing because my uncles in Portharcourt when I used to visit them during holidays while me was in school they were tailors but not in this dimension. They did their thing in their own way and my father was a tailor as well but in a different way and according to his capacity too, so that is how this thing came into me I didn’t learn all these things that I’m doing, I’m just creating all these thing that I’m doing on my own.
Wow, I do hope someday I will have that inherent ability that I’ll just lay my hand on the machine and things will just start happening.
Laughs… But you know is not that easy
Now tell us, who are your clients?
Like I told you, our particularly clients are schools. These things we are doing here are for students like their Friday wears, P.E wears other ones like Banks, Companies, University Departmental wears but they are not based here in Aba. I don’t have clients here in Aba they come from so many places like what we are doing right now is from Calabar, other ones from Portharcourt, Abuja all those far places.
Ok, that means you mass produce?
Of course, that’s what we do.
Looking at how far you’ve gone, now tell us were there times you felt like giving up on this dream, I mean when you felt this is not working and you felt like throwing in the towel?
Yes! there was a time like that, like I told you when I started, I started with a local machine, I started alone at a point I started feeling like can this thing give what I want? But one spirit, in fact my spirit always told me that winners never quit and quitters never win so I summoned courage to move on. All of a sudden I got a contract and that contract gave me a huge sum of money and that was how I started buying these industrial machines and I believe it was the hand work of God.
Sir from your story, it tells us that the Lord blesses us from our humble beginnings.
Now tell us can you say that the gain so far is worth the pain, what are the things you can say you’ve gained from this so far?
Wow a lot, a lot of things but I’ll mention only but a few. Initially people used to say that nothing good can come out of tailoring because of their attitude to the job, like promise and fail and disappointments. Because of that when I started I wanted to be different from that. I didn’t want to be like tailors I wanted to be myself, be my own company and represent Don Nackson Exclusive, so when I started people were coming and by God’s grace I did not disappoint anybody and it has not been my pattern and gradually I continued and as you can see, now I have about 15 workers, 15 industrial machines. Especially I got married last year, January to be precise by God’s grace my wife is a student of Zenith University, Accra Ghana, I have my siblings I support in their academics. I’ve acquired a lot of things, in that last year I bought my first car, just in November same last year I bought another one making it two, I think God is helping me.
It means you are not just a tailor you’ve become an employee?
Exactly, sincerely the way I am seeing it I want to go far in this very business and I will go far by God’s grace.
From what we see, you’re really doing well, we also know that every business has its own challenges. Can you please tell us the challenges you face day-to-day in this business?
Yea, that’s a good question, we have a lot of challenges, but the most alarming of all is electricity, you know that everything we do here is power based and without it we can’t do anything in this business, so in this area let me not say in Abia state as a whole. In this particular area, we don’t have electricity. I mean we have poor electricity, for about two years now we not have had 20 minutes electricity. Though we make some reasonable amount of money here but if you don’t manage it well you will end up achieving nothing. For instance, fuel is now N150 per litre and we consume upto 30 litres every day so if the government can help us with steady power supply atleast we can go far. Secondly, there are a lot of machines we need, like myself I don’t want to stop here I’m imitating the whites and they have a lot of machines that make this job easy but there’s no way you can purchase the machines because it requires a lot of cash you know, so if the government can just help us with some loans and other things. In fact, let the government support us to enable us imitate others outside Nigeria.
Do you think the government is putting anything in place to support the small scale businesses like this in the state?
Yes, I think so, I heard that the Governor is building a factory somewhere in the state to support small scale businesses and other artisans in the state, so if they will come with their plans maybe things can change but while waiting for that let them do something about this power issue like myself am not a politician and I don’t have any political ambition, it means we are not expecting to be elected into any office or appointment from the government but let them do what they have to do for us the masses they can go ahead and enjoy their national cake.. jokes. We will not fight them let them give us electricity and good road that’s all we ask of them we can manage our lives, they can now go ahead embezzle what they can.
All these while we noticed you you’ve been talking and sewing at the same time without making mistakes that means you are expert in this thing.
How do you manage to do this without making mistakes?
As you can see I’ve been doing it, I know you are confused and if you wouldn’t mind I can show you how to do it from start to finish.
It means you are the major initiator of most of the jobs and designs done here?
Yeah I am
Oh! I wouldn’t mind show me.
Lastly, please tell us where do you see yourself five years from now?
Wow a good question again, in five years from now I want to have a very big company that can contain up to 5,000 workers and I’m trying to start something, trying to build a school where I can teach people, young people how to do these things. Let them know how to do it earlier, let them know not only practically they will also know it theoretically when you teach them they will put it down in writing so that when they want to practice it will be easier for them.
How are you going about that?
I’m building a school where I can teach people how to do this thing.
Ok, like a skill acquisition center?
Yes, exactly, by God’s grace in the next five years Don Nackson Exclusive will be there so that people will know that someone like me exist.
Thank you very much for your time for your time.
Below are samples of DON NACKSON EXCLUSIVE:
