We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mbuotidem Victor Ori-Nja. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mbuotidem Victor below.

Mbuotidem Victor, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Mbuotidem Victor Ori-Nja from Cross river state, Nigeria, popularly known Victor Nja, a fashion stylist, creative director, fashion designer and cofounder of Tuff World. I now like to be known as an Image & Brand Architect as I don’t just style and design, I build personal brands & businesses.

I’ve has been in showbiz for over 7 years and has styled notable A-listers such as Timaya, Wandecoal, Kizz Daniel, SDC, Spinall. Asake, Rema, Young Jon, Buju, Oxlade, Joe Boy, Nonso Amadi, and Majid Jordan signed to Drake’s OVO, Davido’s new signee Logos Olori, to name a few.

Yes I earn a living off my creative work and one been doing so for a long time now.
The journey has been so easy, it’s been filled with ups and downs, and timer where I almost gave up but the love, purpose & passion for my craft has kept me going.

Seeing a brand I built & managed, Asake before he got his major deal, who is now a global star, is a major milestone for me.
Styling Majid Jordan for a video shoot they were featured in with my designs was also a major milestone for me.
Also Producing & styling Preme magazine’s first afrobeat artist feature Joe boy, was a milestone for me.

I definitely enjoyed every process although some time in 2022 I lost all my earnings & savings to a Ponzi scheme I was introduced to by a “Friend”, that took a toll on me but I bounced back and now I see it all as a learning process. There are somethings we have to go through that would test our faith, love & passion, this things are inevitable. That’s just life.

Mbuotidem Victor, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was Born & raised in Lagos, iba housing estate (09.07.96), i schooled at command secondary school ojo and later on my family relocated to Calabar in 2012 where I then gained admission to study history & international studies. Graduated in 2016. whilst in Calabar I used to model. managed & styled artists, organized events, worked with clothing brands & creatives. I also had my small brand back in university called “Vlassic”. After graduating University by the end of 2016, I Moved to Ghana in 2017 for 6months and later moved back to Lagos where I helped a young creative girl plan & organize “summer fest” where I invited bella Alubo, Dapo Tuburna & YCEE who were hot at the time to perform to a crowd of over 5k people.
Bella Alubo then introduced me to Mag Payne (dice ailes Stylist/brand manager at the time) whom I worked with as an assistant stylist for a year. I also completed fashion design & styling 101 master class program with Toronto Fashion Academy at the time.

I later got introduced to Teni by her A&R/Creative director, Eric Davies in 2019. I worked on putting together Tuff cozy outfits in her wardrobe to form looks she wore at the time. I also designed her bespoke pieces at the time for her shows and also her 2019 homecoming performance.
I introduced Asake to Teni and Dr Dolor whom Teni was signed to at the time, they worked together but no official work was put out. that phase passed and we got into lockdown.
Akpraise then launched a music Management/distro company Divizzion Music, where I serve as the brand manager.. ASAKE signed to his company which we distributed, managed and put out his first official single along with other songs that followed through.
I and Akpraise later Connected with kingperryy during Covid 19 who then was signed to Timaya’s label.. we then started working at the time.
I handled kingperryy & Timaya’s styling, wardrobe & designed bespoke pieces collectively at the time. Timaya being a fashion Guru, would call me into his wardrobe where I paired his luxury items in line with his mood for an event, shoots and appearances at the time. I did same for kingperryy & also designed looks for them both with the available financial capacity.
I handled A&R/image/brand management for kingperryy’s debut album as well as Timaya’s album in 2021/22
I then introduced Asake to Kingperryy & Timaya before Yhemolee got Olamide’s verse for omo Ope, which I styled him for the video, it’s been blissful for everyone since then.

During this period I launched a bespoke brand “Tuff Tayt” in 2019, which I ran with a business partner.. we launched a made to order spacesuit design and a couple of other bespoke designs in 2020/2021.
Seeing that this partner wasn’t fulfilling all that would scale the business, I opted out, left the business for her to own & run.. as I really intend to take the Tuff brand Global and needed a strong force to build with. I then registered and started the company TVFF GVD (pronounced as Tuff god) in March 2022. After which i finally found a solid business partner Duke Ekezie who built a tech company that helps scale small businesses. He was interested in the business after ordering bespoke outfits & seeing the quality services I rendered. we then restructured the company, he invested and we called the clothing brand TUFF WORLD, we launched officially with ready to wear items in March 2023.
At TUFF WORLD what matters to us is creating an atmosphere that stands for HOPE, PERSEVERENCE, STRENGHT, SURVIVAL & LOVE.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I am grateful to have studied history & International studies and to have been raised the way I was raised. Nothing ever came easy but still we found joy in the little things of life. This has built that resilient spirit in me and keeps my passion & love for my craft going further.

When I got into the creative industry professionally, there was barely any structure or a well structured firms that’s accepted creative interns. This has however improved over the years but still without any solid structure but mostly by favouritisim.

My goal is to buid & Export African talents that would bring about creative economical values to the motherland as Africa is filled with so many talented, smart & Goal driven minds.

Bring about a solid structure to the creative industry which subsequently would become a leading sector in world economy.
This way when such talented individuals intend to follow their passion, they’ll have existing firms they would grow with whilst still earning a living to keep them encouraged.

Another pressing goal is to raise a lot of African brands and have individuals invest in this brands same way they do with afrobeat.
This way stylists won’t have to stress or pay so much to source good quality fashion items for clients.
By doing so a lot of jobs would be created for creatives & artisans and also improve the African economy same way int’l brands like Gucci, tom ford, balenciaga, Rhude, YSL, Nike, adidas. YEEZY, Prada, etc are doing for their various economies

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Firstly the Government needs to set aside trust funds for creatives and push for the study of creative courses in universities.

More Parents also need to support their kids to take on their passion.. The creative & IT industry is the future, this both sectors work hand in hand.. Parents need to encourage their kids creative skills more and have them develop this whilst attending the general schooling system.

Contact Info:

• Website: Thevictornja.com
• Instagram: @thevictornja
• Facebook: Victor Nja
• Linkedin: Victor Nja
• Twitter: Victor Nja
• Youtube: Thevictornja

Image Credits
Alem Iwara for 1hundredimages