Mufeed Adeola was born three decades ago in the Okeho community, Kajola Local Government Area of Oyo state.
His shoemaking career was not intentional at first, his father took him to a shoemaker for apprenticeship to keep him busy while he was in an Arabic school.
He didn’t think of venturing into shoemaking not until he finished
his university education at the Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTMINNA) and his service year.
He is also an NCE certificate holder in Biology/Integrated Science from Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo.
He believed he would find a job in the labour market because of his qualifications.
His goal is to become an employer of labour
He said that a young lady was the one who inspired him after he met the young lady who was doing well in the shoemaking business during his national youth service year in Osun State
“I did not have the intention of being in the shoemaking business until I finished university.
“The dream to become a shoemaker came through when I was in service. I had much belief in getting a white-collar job but when I was surfing the internet, I saw one girl in Osogbo bearing ‘Lade.
“She is the creative director of lade Nigeria Then, I decided that if a female could be doing this, I also could do it better. That was when the idea came in,” Mufeed said
Mufeed said his business gives him total independence, not only financial stability but he is also in control of his time.
The 29-year-old young man stated that he has mastered his job and he uses a variety of materials to make quality leather-made shoes and slippers.
In fact, one of his big clients is an Ogbomoso-born senator representing Oyo North in the Nigerian upper legislative chamber (Senate) Fatai Buhari.
“My company’s name is Dallax collections. I specialise in shoes, bags, sandals, belts, and palm slippers,” he said.
He advised Nigerian graduates to embrace learning skills as it is the only way to reduce the problem of unemployment in the country.
According to him, “having skills will make someone independent and become an employer of productivity.”
Mufeed said he does not feel every Nigerian graduate is built for a white-collar job, he encouraged young Nigerians who are in school or have graduated to learn a vocational skill.
“Having vocational skills would make them relevant to their communities and country in general,” he said.
