Controversial nightlife entrepreneur and socialite, Mike Eze-Nwalie Nwogu, popularly known as Pretty Mike, is never far from the spotlight. From dominating Lagos nightlife conversations with his dramatic entrances and headline-making antics to building one of the city’s most talked-about club brands, he has mastered the art of staying relevant in an ever-changing entertainment scene. But behind the flamboyance and social media buzz lies a businessman navigating one of the toughest phases of his career. In this revealing interview by TUNDE AYANDA, Pretty Mike opens up on the shutdown of his club, the challenges that came with it and the lessons the experience taught him about loyalty, business and survival in the nightlife industry. He also speaks candidly about his comeback plans, revealing strategies aimed at repositioning his brand and reclaiming his place in Lagos’ competitive entertainment circuit. Beyond business, the nightlife king also surprises many with a softer, more personal side as he discusses growing older, family and his genuine desire to finally settle down and find a wife. Bold, reflective and characteristically unapologetic, Pretty Mike offers a rare glimpse into the man behind the spectacle.

Your club was shut down about 9 months ago, can you tell us exactly what happened?

It was a very sensitive period for me because I just buried my father and got back from the burial. The burial took a lot from me, especially because of the kind of person I am. I was trying to put myself and the business back together. I just saw a raid by 2 am in the morning. The Military and NDLEA officers invaded my building and suppressed everyone, people were all made to sit on the floor. I felt like it was the end of the world, this was a building that was barely a year old, the anniversary was supposed to be in December. I was surprised when I saw the NDLEA because I have no connection to drugs. I was shocked if I was the target or someone in my club.

When I got to their office, they said there was a flyer circulating that I was doing a drug party. I was even surprised because who still does flyers? I was thinking I could talk my way out but I got arrested in Abuja and it even made it more difficult to penetrate or talk to anyone. I was sad and angry. What they claim wasn’t even found inside the club. It was with the gate man and the person had already admitted to owning it. Nothing was even found on the customers and it was one of the things my lawyer pointed out. What you found was a handful of weed in the security man’s house. ‘Laughing gas’ was also found in his house. They eventually found out that those substances were not even illegal. Also, in my anger and sadness, I found out that everything happened for a reason. I’ve learnt to not use the anger in a negative way. Business was lost! As at the time Proxy was among the top 5 clubs in Lagos. I had people from the diaspora looking to come have the Proxy experience. Proxy isn’t an average club. Thank God we overcame it and at the end of the day, the Judge discharged and acquitted us of all charges.

What did it cost you ? The club was shut down while the case was on, how did this affect you?

A lot! I’m sure it ran into billions. The actual raiding made us lose a lot of money, no customer paid that day. The facility was destroyed, doors broken and equipment damaged. We were shut down for 9 months. Also, the huge legal fees that were paid. We had SAN and 6 other lawyers. Also, the final stage of trying to come back, renovation and promotion to bring the confidence of the people back.

Did you think you were a target?

I’ve always looked at myself as a unique individual. The Pretty Mike brand is like an open book. As long as you’re in the public space, you’d have those that are for you and against you no matter how clean you are and that’s what has been one of the attributes of this brand. A petition was actually written to bring the brand down. Some of them did see me as a force and said since I opened my club, their customers reduced and I always tell people that the Nigerian market is so huge that if we had 10 clubs on the road, it’ll still be packed. People have always had stuff against me and it’s not what I can stop. There are people who like me and also people who don’t like me and they even take it personal. It’s part of the Nigerian market and some of us have to deal with it. Unfortunately, It’s just the society we live in and I take it as I see it. I tell people to have a thick skin and hold God tight. Also try to relate well with people. There would definitely be ups and downs.

You now have a picture of the NDLEA and EFCC Chairman at the entrance of the club, was this part of the come back strategy?

Not really, every business has pictures with these people. At the end of the day, I just want to do business and entertain people. We understand the environment we are in and we don’t want it to overshadow us or kill us. We don’t want it to take us out of business. There’s so much more going on in the country than someone to now pick on you and drive you down the gutter. You can still determine to manage all situations. At the end of the day, try and do the right thing and keep your hands clean.

What strategies have you put in place to ensure there’s no repetition of such things and to also attract people back to the business?

I’ve done a renovation that has cost over a 100 million, we bought new equipment and interiors that are very different. We changed the furniture and light as well. The place was totally changed. There’s also something unique every night when you come. One thing I can promise you when you come to Proxy is fun and great music that would make you dance. You’d also meet various people, we don’t discriminate. You’d meet all age group, even a 70-year-old man and you’d think he’s a Gen Z. That’s what makes us unique but the common goal is to have fun. It’s a nightclub that unifies all other nightclubs. The crowd and cars would always attract you to stop by. The ambience is always different.

Would you say you now have good relationship with the law?

I’ve always had good relationship with the law. Irrespective of how much you have, mosquito would still bite you and you need to understand it’s part of the game. I just feel the whole thing was a shake-up to solidify my stand in the society. I don’t see it as a bad thing. Every great man needs to be shaken up, what you need to do is to prepare for such. What I’m trying to do now is to prepare for the unknown in the future.

What are your other sources of income and is Proxy solely owned by you?

Let’s not forget there’s a Pretty Mike brand that generates money regardless. I hate when people call me a celebrity because I don’t sing or act but somehow they’ve put me in that category of celebrity, so instantly, the brand pretty Mike is one of those brands that can’t just die because the appearance fee is a goldmine for some of us. I’m being paid for appearances. The brand is always making money. I also have a construction firm, I’m slightly in the real estate business, it’s just not something I constantly push out. Then of course there’s the family, I’m the first born and only son so I have inheritance. It’s not something I brag about but I have it. I also have well-to-do siblings. My friends always show me love from USA, Canada, UK and all over. I’m the sole owner of Proxy. There’s also a difference between a sole owner that has investors. I definitely have investors, it would be wrong not to have investors. There are investors that are not owners, that you gave me money doesn’t make you the owner. People feel safe investing with me because I can’t run away. I’m a safe bet to invest in.

For someone that has 4 female siblings and understands women a lot, do you have a girlfriend?

I have plenty girlfriends. I’m not married. I am also looking forward to having a wife. I tell men that if you are not married, you haven’t ascertained the full definition of manhood. Unfortunately, some of these marriages don’t work. In the last 10 years, I’ve been a best man 42 times and countless groomsman; unfortunately, more than half of the marriages have scattered. The fast pace of broken homes in this time is getting so high that it scares some of us that are yet to be married. Regardless, I’ve made up my mind to not be one of those people. I’m also looking forward to getting married, marriage is a major achievement. There’s nothing as beautiful as a man and woman getting married and having kids. I look forward to having a wife and kids.

What qualities are you looking for in a woman?

I’m one of the few men that don’t necessarily have a physical spec. The body doesn’t attract me because I’ve had all of them over the years. My track record speaks. It’s all about the behaviour, attitude and personality. Most people that got married to their spec have a high tendency of cheating in their marriage. No matter your spec, after childbirth, the spec would scatter. So for me, it’s about her upbringing and training.

You court controversies and many people do not understand you, can you tell us Who Pretty Mike is ? How best do you describe yourself?

That’s a question I always shy away from because I’d be forced to go into the depth of my family background but of course with the passing of my dad, I started opening up a little bit to that aspect. My dad was big in the telecommunications industry and was the founder of NCC, he’s one of the founding fathers of the telecom world but it’s something I rarely talk about. He’s worked with all the past Presidents. One reason I don’t talk about him is because he was in charge of the telecommunication industry during the Military regime and practically in charge of all the air and sea transmitters but always kept a hidden identity. I grew up in a well-established home, I’m one of the few people that won’t tell you I was from a poor background. I’ve always been known to be humble. My father taught me never to brag about anything. If you go to my social media page, you’d not see me post about my parents. I had my early secondary up until University in the University of Texas and then I came back. I was eager to return back to the country and I did. I was in the category of those who believed I could come back and change the country. My dad was a business man who was always going back and forth. All my other siblings stayed back but I came. I decided to dabble into the Nigerian corporate world, through my dad’s connection, I got a good job. I worked there for four days; on the third day, the person I was handed over to was insisting on a certain percentage of my salary, he threatened that if I didn’t give him, he’d make my stay unpleasant. The fourth day, I told him I was going to leave the job that I didn’t come back to start working in that condition. I dropped my resignation letter and left. My dad heard of course. I told my dad what happened and he was upset. I had a feeling corporate work wasn’t for me.

In the US, I was known as that child that partied a lot and liked to have a good time. I was always amongst my 4 sisters and friends, partying. All my siblings are medical doctors. My father wanted everyone to be doctors because even he is an engineer with PhD but I was different. I wasn’t as smart as them, but I’m street smart and that’s what drove me into the night club business.

My uncle came in from California and started a nightclub business in Ikeja, he was short of funds so I gave him the funds I had and that was how Club Uno started and it blossomed. I didn’t know anyone when I started and people wondered because I didn’t even grow up here. I think it was just a combination of knowing how to do things differently. I came up with different strategies and one of those strategies was hosting birthday parties and events, something other clubs were not doing. I was able to drag people to the club by the girls that came and associated with the club and that’s how the business boomed. And eventually, I have my own club, Club Proxy. When I left UNO, I was trying to build my own club. Obi Cubana called and we started building a club too. I was pretty heavy in building the Cubana club and that’s why I paused in building mine because his was way bigger than mine. And for me, I like to think and so we sat down and strategised and that’s what everyone is seeing as the Cubana family. When UNO was reigning, I was with Akeem Movida, there was Lolu Rehab but they have all faded away but the Pretty Mike brand needed to do something to keep going which is what brought about the stunt you see now. I sat in my room and asked about ways to keep the name in people’s faces and trending. If the name is not in people’s faces, I’d be forgotten and that’s what brought about the stunts of me going to weddings and functions. There’s no year you would not hear about Pretty Mike, it was intentional to do that and it has kept the brand relevant. Some have gone viral, and some sour.

How did you feel about the ones that went sour?

I simply took it as part of the business. I’m always prepared for it. I hate the word OG because it’s for people that are about to fade away. I’m still a Gen Z, I’ve been able to develop a thick skin to understand people just talking. Even those that have gone sour haven’t affected me psychologically or mentally because I know it would eventually die down.

How do you come up with those concepts?

I think some of the concepts are divine. I just wake up and it stumbles on me. Like the pregnant women, it was divine, they were all really pregnant. Every stunt of mine has taught me a lesson, there’s something to pick from them. Starting with the pregnant one, there’s a lady that buys my white t.shirt from Lagos Island because I wear white shirt a lot. I had the thought of pregnant women and I asked her that I need some set of pregnant women who can do some stuff with me and she said she has several of them. I’m like really and she affirmed and said I’d have to pay them. I asked how many she could bring and she said if I wanted 50, I could get them. I asked her for 20 for the following week and she brought them. Now who are these women? For example, Ronke was pregnant with her fourth child for a runaway husband, there are several of them, raped and abandoned, so they have like a union of pregnant women that are helpless, like a community where they all help themselves. When I met them, none of them had done antenatal and they all had unique stories. One had just gotten laid off because she got pregnant and she was idle. I even have a WhatsApp group for them, I did antenatal for them and explained the stunt I wanted to pull. I put them in a hotel and even bought them new clothes. They all had sensitive and unique stories. I also found out that we all discriminate against pregnant women, either knowingly or unknowingly. But we don’t even know how she got to that state, you just discriminate unconsciously and say ‘learn to close your leg’. Or even for a job interview, you don’t even want to hire her. So how is she able to fend for herself? You don’t even know the baggage she’s carry along. What if the boyfriend ran away ? These are lessons I learnt from different stunts. When I see a pregnant woman, I see them differently. And that’s even why we have a lot of abandoned kids in the thrash can. You don’t even know what the mother is going through.

One other stunts is the one with leash on ladies, that generated quite a lot of feedback. Even feminist came out and questioned why you’d treat women that way. What necessitated it and how did you feel after the backlash?

It was one of my very first stunts, there was a message. And I prefer to pull stunt first before giving an explanation because that’s what makes it more fun and draws attention, it’s also what keeps the brand afloat. So with the leash stunt, some had negative views about the stunt. Kizz Daniel was even there, the girls were dancing and it was fun. someone even wrote a petition and said Pretty Mike chains girls and take them to well-known parties to sell them as sex slaves against their will.

All the feminist picked on it. But one thing that has helped me is the fact that I’m not a new comer, there’s no office you’d enter that they don’t know me, so they discarded it eventually. There were rumours I was even arrested. I was invited by the government and we had a meeting. I even showed the Governor messages on my phone where I made payments to the girls and they were thanking me for the exposure. I explained before the cabinets and even the Commissioner of Police. He said I shouldn’t do it again and I even told him I don’t repeat stunt, it’s usually one appearance per stunt and that’s why I don’t collect money from people to do stunts. The moment I collect money, it becomes watered down. And some times, I don’t even have an idea on ground so I wait till the idea comes.

Do you tell your hosts before pulling these stunts?

I have never told any event planner about these stunts or what I’m coming up with. It’s just always a surprise. Even those that are following me don’t always know until we get there, I like the surprise element and that’s why it sort of always clicks. Even the celebrants don’t click. But I don’t just go to any events, 99% of the events I’ve gone to are my close friends, it’s never a random event so I can’t be bounced. The element of surprise is that you shouldn’t be able to predict me. Predicting kills the excitement.

How much do you pay the women?

There’s really no limit to what I can pay for a stunt. There’s no limit to what I can spend to achieve that particular rush in a stunt. It’s the same way I go out and drink and spend 4 or 5 million Naira, the stunt is also fun for me so I can’t spend whatever amount. Our definition is different. I don’t put a budget to my stunt. That’s why you can never come out and hear anyone say they were not paid properly; it’s not possible. I make sure they are well taken care of.

What is your daily lifestyle asides clubbing?

I like business and I’m always thinking of business ventures to go into. I’m also about to venture into the pharmaceutical industry. I’m always looking for an avenue to create wealth. I don’t plan on retiring anytime. The average age of retirement should be 80 years. (Saturday Tribune)