Apprentice Deox is open for business

Homeboy Deox Tibeingana became the 15th contestant to be fired from The Apprentice Africa show. I'm still shocked to write anything as you well know my money was on him to win. But here's an article about him that run in Sunday Vision.

He may have been fired in episode 15, but Deox Tibeingana was arguably Uganda and East Africa’s most outstanding candidate in the Apprentice Africa show.

The 30-year-old lawyer, who specialises in land matters and debt collection, will go down in Apprentice Africa’s annals as the only contestant who walked away with an unblemished record. He never failed a task as Project Manager.

He may have been fired, but he may end up the real winner as the three finalists prepare for the boardroom showdown in the Apprentice Africa house.

Wannabe tycoons Eunice Omole, Blessing Njoku and Isaac Kwabena are fighting it out to become Africa’s first Apprentice. Despite one of them being handed a six-figure job in CEO Biodun Shobanjo’s empire, Deox believes he’ll end up real winner.

While victory in the Apprentice Africa house will bring about a sense of obscurity for the actual winner who will most likely be tucked away in an office working for the $200,000 (sh360m), Deox, who says he’s now a “superstar in his own right”, is ready to cash in immediately after appearing on the show. His main regret is missing out on the $50,000 SUV that comes with becoming the first African Apprentice.

“With the blessings of the show producers, I am already printing a book — a behind-the-scenes look at what actually happened at the Apprentice Africa house. It features a lot of what the fans never got to watch in different episodes as the show is heavily edited. It is a must-read. I have also started a website, www.tibeingana.com, where I’ll interact with fans,” Deox, the CEO of Tibeingana & Co. Advocates, who appears in all but one of the episodes, assures.

Interestingly the untitled book, edited by James Amuta, the editor of the Apprentice Africa website, will be released in November 2008, before auditions for Apprentice Africa II. It will also act as a useful handbook for the contestants. If Deox’s arithmetic translates into legal tender, he’ll amass sh2b in record time. “If I sell a copy at $15 (sh20,000) and distribute over 100,000 copies, we are talking sh2b. As the only one among the 18 contestants to write a book, I’ll leverage from the show, whose biggest fans are in the US and UK. Nigeria also has a very big following,” he says.

We might soon see a lawyer doing an art exhibition in Kampala, for Deox still toys with an idea of auctioning memorabilia like the art pieces, paintings and school uniforms designed by the Zulu Corp. in the different tasks. For him, it’s all about the money — and this isn’t because he’s a lawyer. He’s a hustler.

As a fresher at Makerere University’s Lumumba Hall in 1996, he pioneered the art of vending fresh fruits from Kalerwe Market in the early mornings before packing and vending them at students’ canteens for more pay. He then started organising student trips to South Africa and Mombasa and in came more money and exposure.

So, how could a hustler get reduced to smithereens by Blessing Njoku and the CEO, when it appeared he would outwit them into survival?
“The CEO’s mind is made up. He acted like Blessing’s lawyer. If he looked at track records, Blessing should have been fired. You guys watch edited stuff. Forget his official advisers Mini and Paul. The CEO is even advised by the cameramen. The build-up to the firing is just like any drama which builds up to a climax. But a lot goes on. A firing session can last three hours,” he says.

Did you know Blessing had a “crush” on Deox? Behind the scenes, she stuck onto him like chewing gum under a shoe sole. He apparently never gave in, for, even if he wanted, there was no time and, besides, it was the already fired Regina Agyare who struck him the most. But the thought of his wife and two lovely sons kept him in check. “The Blessing you saw in the boardroom was a woman scorned. Blessing acted for the cameras. She even cried before the cameras. Can you imagine a CEO crying? Could you hire such a person? Her tears were a build-up for the boardroom. She knew they (tears) are the only necessary lubricant to get you out of tight situations: they worked on the CEO. Blessing was a drama queen. Period.”

Interestingly Deox has issues with his other Ugandan counterparts, Nancy Kalembe and Oscar Kamukama. “They never did research about Nigeria. I learnt a smattering of Yoruba and Pidgin before the show. I blended in well,” he says.

As for Nancy, she never studied the dynamics of the game. She never saw through the scam of the West African ladies. They are go-getters and would do anything to get the money. Nancy paid for opening up too much to Blessing, Eunice and Kathleen off-camera. They exploited her good nature, in Deox’ estimation.

Oscar had a blast, though. Deox reveals that he, together with Kenya’s Eddie and Anthony and Nigeria’s Nnamdim used to go to bed at 5:00am daily, for the obvious reasons: drinks were plentiful. The teetotaller Deox often settled for coffee.

For Deox, Biodun Shobanjo might not be a Donald Trump, but he (Deox) believes he left a more rounded person who can now do things he never dreamt of doing. The way he caresses the plaque issued by Troyka Holdings to his team for an outstanding performance in Episode 10 would make his own wife envious.

Without reservations, Deox mentions 30-year-old Ghanaian Isaac Kwabena, the person whom he thinks will win the first episode of Apprentice Africa.

“He won my respect for his brilliant ideas,” he concludes.