Early Years
Growing up, she was a child who followed her dad and hung around him a lot, especially at his shop, where she could be found after school, this led to her learning a lot from her Dad’s windscreen business. Evangeline knew the prices of the windscreen from the biggest truck to the smallest car and also mastered the art of carrying the windscreen carefully while offloading imported windscreen containers. Her dad did not spare her and her sister when it came to teaching them about his business and being an active part of it.
At 8, she begged her mum to let her sell something as she liked the idea of carrying a waist bag and how money is made and kept in said waist bags. Her mum decided to let her start selling since she was always at the shop anyways. She started selling cold sachet water and beverages from her father’s shop and in the process got to understand the art of buying and selling, which ended up not just being about putting money in and out of waist bags. She went ahead to cut out the pocket of a Ghanaian sack otherwise known as a Ghana must-go bag, she added a rope to enable her to hang it on her waist and it became her money bag. Her mum eventually gave her a proper purse after seeing how serious she was.
Her dad was strict and taught mostly by action. He was the kind of father that had, but didn’t give all nor just gave in to whatever you wanted. Anumba was rich and popular, and of course, people outside thought the Anumba’s kids were well catered for and lack nothing, as they probably got whatever they pointed at, but dad was strict with his money, as it was important to him that he instills financial discipline and a go-getter mindset in his kids.
Growing up to know him in his 80s, he loved to walk long distances, he loved to walk a lot even though he had cars. Being her daddy’s side bag, she always made sure to follow him, even though she wasn’t a fan of all the trekking, at the time, looking back, she holds those memories of her walks with him and cherishes them today. They trekked to his other shops, to the market, to the abattoir, to wherever he needed to be, except there was a windscreen to be transported.
At a very young age, her dad let her keep the key and account of his money in his box, as the tradition was to take the money made to the bank at least once a week. She was given the responsibility of counting the money after the day’s business and collating it for bank deposits when it was time, giving every little account of what was taken out or added.
Before her teen, she was already going to the bank, filling tellers, to depositing huge amounts of money. The bankers were always so amazed that sometimes they’d dash her mint money, to encourage her.
She lived with her grandmother for two years, from JSS 2-3, when her mum had to go for her youth service in Abuja and more importantly because her dad wanted her and her immediate elder sister to learn how to communicate in Igbo (their native dialect) correctly. It was a time she didn’t like but also appreciates it today. It was premium village life with her lovely but disciplinarian grandmother. She did a lot of farming, fetching of firewood, water, livestock farming, fetching food for the goats, pounding Akpu, making red oil, making soap, trekking long distances to school, etc. It took a lot of begging to get her dad to take them back to Kano. Her grandmother groomed her beautifully and always believed she was smart, was going to go places and be rich and successful, which is probably why she named her “Nwanyiego” which meant “a woman of wealth” which is what she called Evangeline every time she visited, as she never forgets to remind her that she was a smart young lady, who was going to be successful.
Business & Achievements
Below are the established Businesses under Nwanyiego Enterprise Limited over the years.
- Evaclothsmith.
- Naija Concierge Girl.
- Nwanyiego Beauty Hub.
Evangeline loves reading books and she sure knows how and where to get them. She loves her big sister so much that she wanted to do whatever she did. Onyinye Anumba (her elder sister) loves to read a lot, so she wanted to read a lot too. Onyinye wanted to study law, so she also wanted to study law. She first started with whatever was readable at home, especially her elder sisters’ novels and magazines. Eventually, when she ran out of books, she bought books every week from bend down select thrift books, in Igbo Road, Kano. At the time, ₦500 could get her 7-8 books, so she had her fill of books to read. Following her dad a lot made her a bargaining guru, so getting good deals on books from those Alhajis at the market was easy for her, especially as she could add her little knowledge of the Hausa language when bargaining. Books were her getaway and she had a space for them in her mum’s wardrobe.
By the time she was 13 years old, she already understood perfectly from her dad how to be self-reliant and vowed never to solely rely on anyone. Escaping into the worlds she found in books also helped shape her ideologies and what she wanted out of life. Books also helped her get through bullying and shyness in school as she was the youngest in her class in senior secondary school and was often picked on.
She loved to play football with the boys, but her mum wouldn’t let her play professionally, as she believed it would turn her into a full-grown tomboy eventually. She, however, got her to join Nigerian Referees Association at the time. She learned the Laws of the Game and trained a lot because being a football referee required you to pass a running test, as well as written examinations from Grades 3-1 and so on. She eventually started earning from officiating local matches in Kano. She did both fourth official, Assistant referee, and center referee. Even when puberty started hitting her silly and she became conscious of her body, the silly or playful remarks from players didn’t deter her from learning and earning from the game. She was being encouraged and groomed to go for a FIFA training level before she got accepted into a private university, which didn’t allow her the freedom to continue on that part.
By the time she got her admission into a university, she had saved enough to convince her dad that he can only pay her school fees while she handles her pocket money and expenses to buy things for school. It took a lot of convincing for her dad but he eventually agreed.
Education
Evangeline is a bright and intelligent child, who loved reading and finished secondary School at 15.
She attended Holy Trinity Mission School, Kano. She finished in 2008, however, her dad felt she was too young to be let out into the world at 15 and refused to allow her to go to university immediately. She however was intent on not sitting at home and not using her curious mind. She insisted on starting a Diploma course at Bayero University Kano (BUK). She got accepted into Bayero University Kano, where she studied for a Diploma in Public Administration. She attended school from home 3 times a week and graduated in 2011. Although she was consistently writing jamb Exams, hoping to get admitted into the university to study law (the love of her life) and convince her dad to let her go off, it never happened. She however got Direct Entry Admission into the 200 level to study Political Science/Public Administration in Rhema University, she joined the Pioneer Set of the School.
Going off to college was a bit challenging time, as her school was a movement-restrictive school, where you only get the opportunity to go out once a month, with tangible reason or permission from your guardian, her routine daily was Hostel-lecture-library- cafeteria-church. Then being part of the pioneer set, they created activities in the school to make up for the extracurricular activities that hadn’t been created in the university at the time. Evangeline was the founder of Rhema Theater, an Art and Drama club at the University. She was also the Vice president of the Department of Political Science Association.
Fortunately, Rhema University helped her build her spiritual life, she was backed up with words, professions, and prayers that are manifesting today. Being in that school, and often in the library, helped her stay articulated, focused, and prepared for the future outside the school. She graduated with Honors as the best-graduating student in the Faculty of Management Science and the best-Graduating student in the Department of Political Science. She got her Master’s in Public Administration in 2023 from National Open University Nigeria.
Career
Having graduated in 2014, she was posted to Abuja to do her National Youth Service at Sun Newspaper as her primary place of assignment.
As a corper and budding journalist she worked enthusiastically and relentlessly while learning on the job. She published well-detailed feature stories in the National Newspaper and even cover stories at the time. Her hard work and consistency got her the gig to become the Abuja correspondent for education in Sun Newspaper. Usually, beats (correspondents) aren’t assigned to corp members, but she was assigned the beat due to her hard work and proven ability and she went ahead to revive the education beat in the Abuja newsroom.
A Google search under her maiden name Evangeline Anumba will bring up a pop-up of some of her feature stories. She was a full-time journalist by day, and a fashion design student at night. She learned how to sew from Pinterest DIYs, YouTube videos, and everything she could learn online, she tried her best to, thus she spent her nights practicing cutting, sewing, and all aspects of fashion design.
At this point, she was living in a tiny gate man’s house in Arab Road, Kubwa, and a 70k little room without a kitchen, she however improvised and built a kitchen on the veranda. So when she got a sewing machine, she had to make space, she removed her tiny bed and put it on a couch gifted to her by a colleague, and for two years, she didn’t sleep on a bed. In that little room, she blossomed.
After one year of service, she continuously freelanced with Sun Newspaper. She worked with the CEO of Impact Business Alliance, Mr. Martins Itua. It was a very dynamic and strategic part of her career as she learned a lot as an Assistant, Administrator, Manager, Human Resources Manager, Supervisor, and other roles as assigned. She learned to be a top-tier administrator. She was mentored by Mr. Martins to be or do more even as an employee, it is a lot and brings a lot when you are mentored by a perfectionist. He placed her on commission for effective earning and outputs in the company as well as encouraged her to see beyond the now.
She went on to start her clothing business. So, as she worked 9-5, she did a lot more practicing and designing at midnight towards becoming a fashionpreneuer.
She made ready-to-wear clothes during the week and sold them at the Kubwa Sunday market. She also made use of social media marketplaces like Facebook and Jiji to sell her clothing. That was how she got her first customers.
At some point, she started approaching boutiques to sample her ready-to-wear clothes. Two boutiques eventually agreed to sell her outfits. She leveraged the internet as she was designing from home. She will sew swim wears and propose to event planners to sell swimwear at their pool parties. She sewed ready-to-wear dresses and took them to trade events. At these events, even if she sewed only a few pieces, she was consoled by the thoughts that she was getting customers, who eventually became repeat customers and even referred her to others.
Alongside her clothing line, in 2017, she started running a concierge service called, Naija Concierge Girl, they helped people get Assistants or be the assistant they needed ASAP. They help people virtually and offline run errands they could not run, they also help in organizing, supervising, Writing proposals, letters, and more and get paid.
She was also into real estate as she was intent on making money from multiple streams of income. She leveraged highly on the internet. However, offline, it was hard going up and down as a female without mobility when called upon to view a house, which if eventually not rented or bought, led to no form of compensation being paid, but she consistently did it until it did pay off.
She sold her first house in 2018 and also became the administrative officer at Mannab Pharmaceutical. After selling the house, she was able to officially have a fashion house in Kado, as she had been sewing from home before then. She employed staff and made more output, adding making of traditional wear as she had solely concentrated on English wares before then.
In, 2020, She was appointed Personal Secretary to the Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor and People often asked if she hails from Kogi or is married to a Kogite.
While building up on her administrative career, she believes in helping budding entrepreneurs start and soar, hence she started a beauty Hub where she allows Beauticians to rent a space at a highly affordable rate and they pay at the end of the month. It’s a fully furnished space, where Beauticians just come with their work material and be their boss, do business with their business name, and grow at the pace they want. She intends to expand these space rentals to other businesses
At the time when her boss was one of the leading gubernatorial aspirants in Kogi State early 2023, she headed the Asuku Media Team, until the party ended with a consensus candidate.
She is a big supporter of the Yahaya Bello administration, constantly highlighting that Kogi State under the leadership of his Excellency, Alh. Yahaya Adoza Bello is one without any atom of bias, division, tribalism, or sentiment. He is a true Nigerian and it reflects in his leadership style. Little wonder why the Igbos are thriving in Lokoja. His administration is known to include all, regardless of any kind of perceived division or stereotype, including gender.
Working alongside Abdulkareem Moh’d Jamiu Asuku, the youngest Chief of Staff in Nigeria, has been an enriching experience. His meticulous attention to detail and tireless work ethic have constantly challenged and motivated me to enhance my skills and meet assignments promptly. He leads by example, inspiring initiative at every juncture.
Furthermore, having a boss who is a dedicated philanthropist, living a life of daily generosity, has profoundly influenced me. Witnessing his commitment to giving back to those in need has instilled in me a similar passion for helping others. I believe in personally reaching out to individuals in the community to address their immediate needs, making it a monthly, non-negotiable commitment.
Personal Life & Interests
In 2019, she got married to Prince Green Orizu. She married a man who understands her, who consistently encourages her to think, do more, and who supports her uncountable ideas and plans to soar, by her own words, he is her biggest cheerleader and partner.
Ifunanya is blessed with two lovely kids. As a working mum, she takes her time to teach her son with educational materials and plans to continue being a very hands-on mom even after they start school, as she hopes to instil all the values she was blessed to have learned from her parents and life on them.
As a fitness enthusiast, she is starting a lifestyle Vlog to share her life as a working mum who teaches her kids with educational gadgets she sells, and her fitness life, including how she used her fitness routines to get through postpartum depression after she had her second baby via emergency C-Section, she is hoping to get through to other moms that went through the same issue via dance workout and more. She believes that exercise is an integral part of a woman as it helps every part of her life, her health, and her general well-being. It helps intellectually, mentally, and sexually, it helps in making a woman feel empowered and more, it can never be over-emphasized, as it keeps a woman at a point where she’s happy about her life and well-being and shows that women do not even have to go to the gym to achieve that.
Hence, she plans to have a fitness studio for women. A space where women can come with their babies as there will be a space set aside for kids to be looked after while their mothers work out.
With the support and encouragement of her husband, she is working on launching an online marketplace very soon.
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