Answer To Prime Business Africa Christmas Quiz – Our Winners

Last week, as part of our Christmas celebrations, we brought to you a Christmas Quiz. To refresh your memories, the quiz was:

Mr Okoro was a Nigerian businessman. A fortnight ago, he was driving down from Kaduna to Ilorin to attend a wedding ceremony. He badly needed a haircut but did not have time to go to the barber otherwise he would be late for the wedding.

At a little village near Jebba, his car broke down, but luckily for him, there was a mechanic stationed in the village who promised to have the fault fixed within an hour. Mr Okoro had no choice but to wait for the car to be fixed. But while waiting, he decided to kill two birds with one stone and asked the mechanic if there was a barbershop in the village. The mechanic told him that, there were only two barbershops in the village, situated close to each other. The mechanic gave him directions, and off Mr Okoro went.

At the first barbershop, the barber’s hair was badly cut (ie Barber A). Mr Okoro was shocked and decided to go to the second barbershop. To his relief and joy, the second barber (ie Barber B) had a beautiful haircut, in fact in the style favoured by Mr Okoro.

Within an hour, Mr Okoro joyfully resumed his journey spotting a beautiful haircut.

You were asked:

Which barber cut Mr Okoro’s hair? Was it:

A. Barber A with a bad haircut?

Barber B with a beautiful haircut?

Participation: Of the 500,000+ readers who viewed the quiz within the week, less than a 100 chose to respond to the question by sending either A or B as an answer.

(Christmas Quiz)

CORRECT ANSWER:

The answer is A. It was barber A with the bad haircut who cut Mr Okoro’s hair.

Explanation: Remember there were ONLY two barbers in the village. Mr Okoro already knew that Barber A’s hair was cut by Barber B as there were only two barbers in the village. That was why he was shocked when he saw Barber A’s haircut and decided to go to Barber B to check out his haircut. And when he saw Barber B’s haircut, he was happy and relieved that he would be killing two birds with one stone: having his car fixed and getting a haircut. So, he went back to Barber A to have his haircut.

In summary, Barber A’s bad haircut was cut by Barber B, and Barber B’s fine haircut was cut by Barber A. In other words, both barbers cut each other’s hair. Therefore, Mr Okoro’s new beautiful haircut was cut by Barber A.

P/S: If you answered correctly, congratulations. It meant that you are observant and thoughtful, and not easily deceived by first impressions.

But if you answered incorrectly, don’t despair. You are not alone, for many people from students to professors also failed the quiz. But you really must take time to understand a situation before you take action. All that glitters as the saying goes, is not gold.

Only 16 people got the answer (A) correctly, and PBA did not have to do a draw anymore. The 16 lucky winners are: