By Ekunkonye Junior, Abuja
As Prince Interior Furnishing and Furniture Company Limited celebrates its 25th anniversary, the company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), Evangelist Prince Emeka Egwuekwe, took a trip down memory lane to share the inspiring story of how it all began.
Narrating how it all began, Evangelist Prince Emeka Egwuekwe recounted the humble beginnings of the company, revealing the passion, dedication, and faith that have driven its success over the past two and a half decades.
Read the excerpts from this narration to discover the remarkable story of Prince Interior Furnishing and Furniture Company Ltd’s journey to excellence.
Sending the message across, Egwuekwe said: “The company was established on Sunday February 13, 2000, after I gave my life to Christ at Living Faith Church, Durumi, Abuja. I was Invited to the church by a lady on evangelism who spoke to me about Jesus in a a way I had never had before. As I made up my mind to attend the church, my friend gave me the direction I needed. Then I was living in one room apartment with seven other squatters.
“I went to the church just to honour the Invitation but I was still heart hardened. However, the preacher’s words struck me as he said, life was dynamic and many people were running helter- skelter, looking for what to do and how to start life. He further stated that people who think this way missed it, because it is not about how to start life but about having a vision for what you want to do, staying focused and determined on that which you have proposed to do. He ended by saying we should never neglect the days of little beginning because there is a blessing in it. The entire message that morning was directed to me, as if the preacher knew about all the challenges I was going through. I gave my life to Christ that day and was taught about the Holy Spirit and afterwards was baptized.
“While I stood at the alter when I came our to give my life to Christ, I heard a small still voice inside me saying “Yeah I will do a new thing in your life”. This voice has been guiding me since that day till today. It is the voice that has brought me this far, Initially, I did not know that the voice is the Holy Spirit. I got my right senses back after that day. I saw the need for me to quit living a wayward life and saw the need of getting something worthwhile to do. That day, the entire money I had on me was seventy naira,”
He continued: “When I got home that day, I asked one of my roommates, what he does for a living and he told me he was a furniture maker/designer. I told him I would join him if he does not mind, but he laughed it off. He told me I cannot do it, but I told him I could because I was determined this time around. The next day being Monday 14 February, I went with him to his workshop. On that same day, I went to buy 4×4 board wood and 2×2 wood at N55 from a man by name Gombe with N70 I had. I made a centre table and displayed it by the road side.
“The next day being Tuesday at about 10 and 11am, a man driving pass on the road saw the centre table and stopped. He was the angel God sent to me that changed things for me. The man asked for the person that made the stool and I told him I was the one. He said he admired the finishing of the stool, but was not there to buy it. He later said he was going to buy a wood and would like me to follow him to the place he was going to buy the wood to show me a sample of what he wanted. I obliged and followed him to his office at Primary Education Board in Zone 2.
“When we got there, he showed me what he wanted. He then asked how much it would cost me to make a double seat school desk. I was about telling him N300 for one desk when something held my mouth and told me not to say anything, so I kept quiet. could not explain what it was that came over me. The man thought I was calculating the cost of the desk, which was why I was quiet. He then asked if I will make the desk for N800 instead of the N300 I wanted to charge. The man gave me N800 cash to make a sample for him which I did and delivered after two days. The sample was made at N165.
Egwemwe added: “On the day I went to deliver the sample at the Primary Education Board, The E.S Education Secretary (E.S) was impressed with the work and told me that mine beat all the desks that had ever been done for them. He asked me for the name of my company, I told him prince furniture (even though the company was not yet registered). He then said, so you are the prince furniture we have been hearing about. I surprisingly said yes because I only came up with a name there. He asked me where my workshop was located and I told him Kugbo.
“He asked if I have boys that work for me and I told him I have many boys. He then said okay, he will be giving me jobs and immediately he made me their sub- contractor. That day, I given a contract to make 6000 pieces of school double seat desk at N800 per desk. Everything amount to N4.8million, I was paid 50 percent advance of N2.4million for the job with a guarantor. God was my my guarantor and they were comfortable with that. From the mobilization of N2.4million, I made all the 6,000 desks and had a 25% profit. By the time I delivered the desks, I was paid the remaining 50% balance of the money. This was how I started having jobs from them. Barely a week I ventured into furniture making, I became a millionaire. At this point, I knew it was the hand of God. I resolved to give the job all it takes for me to be successful and from that day I refused to be distracted.”
In conclusion, Evangelist Prince Emeka Egwuekwe stated thus: “Since then, I have been an employer of labour. From the year 2000 till date. Prince Interior has trained and settled not less than 114 apprentices that have been established and doing well on their own. Beside the human empowerment policy and programme of our company, we have moved from that level of cut and nail furniture maker to a higher level where our products are compared with any other standard furniture maker worldwide. We import our materials and make furniture according to international standard.
“So many people today have benefited immensely from our company’s product. All these efforts are worth celebrating and we return all the glory back to God who alone made it possible. The caretaker and staff of Prince Interior is celebrating God’s faithfulness on our company for 18 years. The Holy Ghost is the owner and chairman of Prince Interior while I am the Managing Director, I am not the owner am just the caretaker of the company. That is all the story about Prince Interior and I give God all the glory.”
