Brands Must Inspire Young Company- Elvina Ibru
This is another young Nigerian woman who has rise in
entrepreneurship and rely much on entertainment.
Elvina Ibru is the Chief Executive Officer of 2wice As
Nice Nigeria Limited. Elvina who will be 38 this year
is an ex Beauty Queen, Miss Big and Beautiful, London,
1997. She is the daughter of the business guru,
Michael Ibru. This amazing humble Elvina bares it with
Tijani Adegbola on her career as an entrepreneur in
showbiz. Excerpts:

Strategies of Getting West African Idols Right
One of the first strategies was to have worked with
the right people. I can only give thanks to God
Almighty. To have worked with experienced people in
the industry was a plus for all the crew that worked
on the West African Idols. I thanked God for the
foresight and talents he gave me. The encouragement
I’m having now also came from my late mum. When she
was alive, she thought me many things. She inspired me
into entertainment, music precisely. Therefore, this
actually started from home.   
She was a unique woman. She is a kind of person who
doesn’t listen to music alone. She usually asked who
sing and write the song. She would even tell us that
this one is alright, this is not. As a result of that
style, we also grew up with her musical style. Had it
been she was alive, she would have seen the success of
West African Idols. Even see her daughter representing
her in entertainment. I and Gloria fell in love with
music. In fact she loves singing. But I’m the one who
is into the world of entertainment. I’m involved in
drama, music, movie and others. My mom really played
active role. I know I have passion for it in a great
deal.

Journey Into Showbiz
I’ve been in showbiz since. But stage has been my
first love. Directing, theater, musical theatre, movie
love later follow. So, that’s why I’ve been producing
shows.

2wice As Nice & Brand Identification
When you write proposal to corporate bodies they
hardly support you. It’s a tough one. It was with the
grace of God we got support for West African
Idols.2wice As Nice is the name of my company.
Corporate bodies find it very hard to believe on what
we can do. It’s a little bit of vicious cycle. I want
to implore corporate bodies to believe in fresh ideas
and the youth. How do you want to encourage us without
your support? When I say it’s difficult, I mean that
people tend to work on what they’ve seen and
experienced. If you know you can do something, you
have to start, but if nobody will let you start, how
will you show then what you can do? When this Idols
thing started, some people even told us we couldn’t do
it. We went to lots of brands they said, it is
fantastic, wonderful. We’ll do it, but sorry, is this
the first one? If MNET had not come up with broadcast
and financial support, how would we have done the
first one? The only advice I would give corporate
bodies is, if I go to them, having never done any
projects to say, listen, I have a project to do and
it’s going to cost a 100 million naira. If it’s a good
idea, don’t just turn me away.

Elvina As Actress
Be a full-time Nollywood actress? This is a big area.
I have a business to run. Film is not my joy really.
Theatre is my joy. Unfortunately, Nigeria showbiz has
gotten to that level but we can survive through
theatre. If I have I script that is good. I would do
it. It is something I really want to go into. Who
knows what would happen tomorrow? Producers might
bring good script to me day by day. Before you know
it, I might become a Nollywood actress.

Nollywood & Professionalism
The standard of Nollywood is all about
professionalism. We are not there yet. Being a
professional is when you are called and told that time
for set is Seven ‘O’ , and you are there at the actual
time. In term of production, being a professional is
to do a story board before directing; learning your
line before the proper shooting. You don’t start
calling yourself a professional simply because you go
to school of theatre. Some people go to school but
they don’t appreciate it. They don’t actually make use
of that opportunity. Even when I’m employing people
degree doesn’t mean anything to me, people don’t
really know. But what I observe is your personality. I
look at your potentials to learn. I watch out for the
curiosity in you. As far as I’m concerned, degree is
just like marriage you put on papers. It doesn’t mean
because you put it in paper, it would last. This
doesn’t mean I’m discouraging people to be educated. I
believe in education. Our people here judge too much
on education instead of potentials.  

Background
I started as a normal human being. My background was
normal. I went to school like any other person. I went
to a nursery school in Apapa before I later went to
Corona School, Victoria Island. I then traveled to
England to school at Drama College in London. I worked
as an artiste at Amsterdam College in London. I worked
with lots of people. I was earning good money but my
father instructed me to stop. So, much pressure was on
me. After two years of working as an actress, I
decided to back to University.

Performance Capsules

God
Nothing one can use to compare with God him. Without
him, I’m nothing. He has contributed a lot into my
life. Cynics think we can’t do West African Idols. We
have surprised them. God has done it.
Passion
Passion is one of the key to success in life. I
started what I’m doing now at a very tender age and I
love it so much. This assists me to be exposed in the
industry. This is an aspect that is very vital. This
has made my brand to grow quickly.
Hardworking
You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps. You have
to work very hard to get to the top. This is the
philosophy of my working style. I work very hard to be
at where I’m now. This helps my personality as a
brand.
Statement
Behold the turtle, a woman who makes progress only
when she sticks her neck out. I was able to stick my
neck out to make a different. My new jobs also speak
for me. This aids me to achieve my aim quickly.
Exposure
To have seen it all, this has helped me to know the
direction to take in the industry. That is why we were
able to get it right during the project.
Courage
Courage isn’t a brilliant dash, a daring deed in a
moment’s flash. It isn’t an instantaneous thing. Born
of despair with a sudden spring, but it’s something
deep in the soul of man. This has assisted me to
succeed. Any role I play, I always make sure there is
courage in delivering my part. The people surrounding
me have assisted as well. Most especially, my late mum
really inspired.
Determination
Some men succeed because they are destined to, but
most men because they are determined to. This is the
same direction I took. I’ve been determined to succeed
with any project I lay my hands on. I’ve also have
determined within my self that no matter all odds, I
shall succeed. This key factor assisted me.