Found this report on Mail Online and they titled it "Nigerian doll created by man who couldn't find a
black toy for his niece is so popular in his country that it's
outselling Barbie". Never heard of these dolls but they are lovely and it's an interesting read. Find below...
A man who couldn't find a black doll in the shops as a gift for his niece decided to take matters into his own hands.
In
2007, Taofick Okoya, 43, created his own doll that Nigerian girls could
identify with by recreating their skin colour and style - and it is now
so successful that it is outselling Barbie. The doll, which is called
Queens of Africa, comes with traditional outfits and accessories and
costs around £4.50.
The dolls'
look is modelled on three of the country's biggest tribes and aims to
promote strong feminine ideals, like love, peace and endurance.
The
doll is now so popular that, according to Reuters, it is selling up to
9,000 units a month - a staggering 15 per cent of the country's toy
market.
But
the Queens of Africa aren't just selling in their home country. Thanks
to the doll's online presence, customers are coming from as far as
America, Brazil and Europe.
Speaking to ELLE
about his dolls out-selling Barbie in his native Nigeria, Okoya (pictured above) said:
'My mission is to make the Queens of Africa a symbol of hope, trust, and
confidence by promoting African history, culture, and fashion.'
One
person that Okoya really hopes the dolls will have a positive impact on
is his daughter, who, he explains, once wished she was white.
He explained
that even though they live in Nigeria, there was a lot of Western
influence. He said: '[This] might have been responsible for her wishing
she was white. It made me aware that I needed to make her proud and
happy being a black African girl, and not limit it to her alone as this
was a common trend among the younger generation. The Queens of Africa
became a platform to achieve this.'
Unfortunately,
Okoya has been told that he won't be able to sell the dolls on the
shelves of mainline stories in America and will have to limit his
business to specialist stores.
But he is determined to see the decision overturned, he said: 'I am looking to prove them wrong.'
