Princess Latifat at the Palace of the Oba of Benin

have money to start and all that. No matter how little it is, start with it. You will start gradually and build up your business. Rome was not built in a day. So, there are a whole lot of challenges. Like, there is recession in the Nigerian economy, which makes it difficult now for you to raise funds.

How committed are you in the promotion of the traditional Nigerian-African fabrics?

I have promoted the Nigerian-African fabrics since I have been doing my shows at Eko Hotel. I have been doing my designs with Adire, aso oke and ankara, which I love and I use to promote our culture. I lived there (Paris) for many years and I got back before I decided to promote my own fabrics from Africa because I want things to grow. And our fabrics are very beautiful. That is what I use for the Nollywood stars, Adire. When they wear them, they look beautiful. You know our people and their mentality; they want to wear things they pick from the Western world because they think those are better than what we have here. No! We have very beautiful fabrics. All you just need to do is to get beautiful designers to design them for you and put them on; and you will keep on loving them.

Nowadays, foreign cultures, in terms of mode of dressing among Nigerian youths have taken over traditional outfits, where is the society heading?

If you look around, you’ll see a lot of people wearing the Nigerian-African fabrics. You can see them wearing ankara and adire. Those wearing ‘spaghetti’ top are those that call themselves ‘yuppy’ gals and guys because they want to feel like they are still young. These are 20, 25, 27 years-olds. But later they will change. They just want to feel like those people in the Western world. It is what they watch on television. They want to compete with them, but you cannot compete with the owners of those things because they have their own ways of doing things. But later they will embrace our own Nigerian-African fabrics. A lot of people have embraced these Nigerian fabrics by wearing ankara. I know because I do designs in ankara and I see a whole lot of designers are doing the same now. People are wearing it around and they are wearing it to parties now. But for me, I think, we are promoting own our fabrics and it is getting better than it used to be. But I am happy because when I started doing my shows in 2003, I was pleasantly surprised when my designs were being worn on stage and some people were saying, she came from Paris and she is promoting African fabrics, instead of her to bring western things to Nigeria. But today, I am happy because I still remember what it was like when I started promoting African culture in 2003. We are doing well. We are getting there.

How are you promoting the Nigerian culture with your dance troupe?

We have a dance troupe and I have a live band. We dance at functions. They invite my troupe to dance. I dance myself and I sing. I attend festivals and I wear my regalia at festivals and I really dance as well. I dance so well at festivals and by doing so with my troupe I promote our culture. Some troupes don’t turnout well and this makes some people to say, ‘oh, they are local, but the way I did my own band is different, because I have really beautiful girls and handsome guys and they dance very well. That is the way it is. I love it and I promote my culture. I go to festivals and we do all things. But we are looking forward to the future. There is something I want to do, but I don’t want to say it now and so many people are going to come. So, for now, that is the way I have been promoting the Nigerian-African culture.

What is your troupe called? Iwa troupe.

You are elegant; what does it entail?

Because I am a jolly person; when you are happy inside, you would be lovely outside. I am always happy. I don’t let anything to disturb me.

You are married, but how do you feel when other men are try to woo you?

Well, you know men for what they are; they never take their eyes off ladies and so, they will always want to try to