The Nation Newspaper

Category: Celebrity

  • Princess Oladunni Odu resurfaces

    At a time she seemed to have fizzled out in the minds of many, the once powerful woman in Ondo State’s political space, Princess Oladunni Odu, made a sudden appearance penultimate weekend. While many had thought that her reign on the socio-political scene was over, Oladunni reconstructed their thoughts as she bounced back to limelight with her trade mark poise and elegance.

    After a long absence from the social radar, the former commissioner for education resurfaced at the ceremony marking the conferment of chieftaincy title on Otunba Gbenga Elegbeleye in Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State.

    Looking fresh and happy, Odu’s looks belied the tales in the grapevine since she left office. She was not only cheerful and excited, she was also beautifully dressed and was generous with banter.

  • Obaro Ibro’s vanishing influence

    Obaro Ibru, the fun-loving son of former Managing Director of the defunct Oceanic Bank, Cecilia Ibru, must have realised by now that fame is not a profession. Rather it is an accident as fleeting as time.

    A few years ago, he rocked the social space to its bottom, gracing A-list events with the class and sophistication that left admirers green with envy. He dictated the pace of high society and brought shindigs alive with his infectious personality. Some even tagged him “the party king” after a chain of record- breaking shindigs.

    He came to represent different things to different people. To some, he was a fun-loving young man with a carefree approach to life. To others, he was a young man from a privileged home who skipped a lesson or two on humility.

    His fortune took a negative turn when his mother, Cecila Ibru, was jailed in 2010 and his status on the social radar was dealt a heavy blow. The once ubiquitous socialite became as scarce as feathers on a fish. He has since tried to rejuvenate his frail social status.

    In 2015, he made a brief comeback to the social scene when he was spotted at the burial of the late businessman, Chief Bayo Kuku. It has been over a year and Obaro’s name is beginning to fade off the lips of socialites who once tooted his horn. Nothing is being heard of the erstwhile party rocker and no one sems to know his whereabouts at the moment.

  • Saved by foresight, Yemi Osindero trudges on

    Yemi Osindero is known to walk with poise and lots of confidence. His financial success, despite the dwindling nature of the nation’s economy, has little to do with luck but hard work and perseverance.

    Like a god with a gift of foresight, Osindero escaped being a casualty of the tsunami that swept the defunct Virgin Nigeria Airways from the grip of its erstwhile owner and seasoned British investor, Richard Branson.

    Armed with a First Class degree in Engineering, enviable experience from Goldman Sachs and deep knowledge of investment finance, Osindero as Chief Operating Officer of the defunct Virgin Nigeria Airways, alerted the company’ s CEO then, Clifford Conrad, of the precarious economic condition of the airline. His fears were dismissed by Branson and Conrad, who insisted that there was nothing to fear. But a suspicious Osindero saw farther than they did and decided to leave the airline when the ovation was loudest.

    True to his suspicions, the airline wobbled and caved in, in the wake of global economic recession. Eventually, Jimoh Ibrahim, a Nigerian businessman, acquired the airline. Dr. Osindero has since joined Standard Chartered Bank Private Equity as a director with the primary responsibility for the West African markets. He is doing impressively well for himself.

  • Emmanuel Uduaghan’s love for daughter

    Emmanuel Uduaghan’s love for daughter

    There is no better way to love a child than offering good advice and showing him or her unreserved support at all times. Dr. Emmnuel Udaghan, former governor of Delta State, understands this better than most fathers does not hesitate to stand by his daughter in all situations. Not only does his daughter, Orode Ryan-Okpu, sip from the brook of his wisdom, she gets the necessary financial support whenever she needs it.

    Uduaghan has unreservedly rendered financial support to his daughter’s project, Rubies Vocational School. The former governor and his close ally, Dere Otubu, were sighted at the event put together by SME 100 and Rubies Vocational School to commemorate the 2016 International Women’s Day at the Civic Centre, Lagos Penultimate Tuesday, where Uduaghan gave a beautiful speech on agriculture.

    The conference, whose theme was ‘pledge for parity’, was designed to develop and inspire female entrepreneurs in their respective fields in order to leave their own marks in a male-dominated sector. Participants at the conference got the chance to be mentored by leading amazons. Mrs Orode Okpu emphasised that women in the rural areas of the country would not be left out of the training programmes scheduled for this year.

  • How Ooni settled rift with brother

    Unknown to many, the keenest contest for the Ooni’s stool against Oba Adeyeye Enitan Babatunde Ogunwusi (Ojaja 11) last year came from his immediate elder brother, Adetunji. The two brothers have many things in common, being blood brothers from the same father and mother.

    Both of them are big players in the real estate sector, particularly in the Lekki-Ajah axis of Lagos. But while the things they have in common had strengthened their relationship over time, the contest for Ooni’s stool resulted in a family feud, as Prince Adetunji refused to step down for his brother until their father mounted pressure on him to yield the stool to his younger brother.

    And it was not only Prince Adetunji’s father that appealed to him. Other influential, well-meaning Nigerians also had to intervene. It was after the pleas and series of family interventions that Prince Adetunji reluctantly agreed to step down for the then Prince Enitan.

    Indeed, Adetunji had to travel out of the country for months after his younger brother was announced as the Ooni. Family sources said their father had to lead other family members to Lagos to plead with Prince Adetunji to step down. But the two brothers are said to have since settled their differences and are now on very good terms.

  • Kingsley Kuku loses supporters

    Kingsley Kuku loses supporters

    The camp of former Special Adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Kingsley Kuku, is getting increasingly depleted as the governorship election in Ondo State moves closer. From the fierce lion that drove fear into the minds of his foes, Kuku has become the butt of cruel jokes among jesters who now put him up as a study in cowardice.

    Since he fled the country over threats of his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, most of his supporters have crossed to other camps. Kuku is yet to honour EFCC’s invitation since July last year, citing a knee injury for which he was receiving treatment at St Andrew’s Hospital, Alabama in the US as his reason for not honouring the invitation of the anti-graft agency.

  • High society honours Sade Okoya

    High society honours Sade Okoya

    A new dawn came for Alhaja Bilikisu Monisola Ashabi Shittu, after her transition to a peaceful realm. Her final burial was held in Lagos last Sunday. The deceased was the mother of Sade Okoya, wife of Nigeria’s foremost billionaire and industrialist, Chief Rasaq Akanni Okoya, the Aare of Lagos and chairman of Eleganza Group of Companies.

    Alhaja Shittu died on March 3, at the ripe age of 112. She was buried on Friday, March 4, in accordance with islamic injunction, at the Vaults and Gardens Mayfair, Lekki, Lagos. Mama Shittu is survived by two children, Alhaja Nimota Adeleye (Sade Okoya’s mother) and Deaconess Rhoda Adebanke Oduniyi.

    The grand finale of the burial ceremony was held at Oluwa Ni Sola Estate, the Okoya family’s sprawling estate in Lagos. Guests were entertained by Musiliu Haruka Ishola.

  • Prince Adetona gears up for mother’s 80th birthday

    The bond between mother and son lasts a lifetime. It is a special bond that can’t be changed by time or distance. It is the purest kind of love: unconditional and true. It understands any situation and forgives any mistake. That is the bond between Prince Adetona and his mother, Olori Iyabo.

    Olori Iyabo, the eldest wife of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, will be 80 in the next few weeks, and there are plans to celebrate the mother of the crown prince, Ade Adetona. A royal event is thus being organised to make the occasion a memorable one.

    Prince Adetona is quick to describe his mother as the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. He believes that he owes her a lot of appreciation for moulding him into whoever he is today, as he readily attributes his success in life mostly to the moral, intellectual and physical education he received from her.

    The Adetona royal family is not known for doing things by half measure. They are set to demonstrate this yet again with a record-breaking shindig for the virtuous wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.

  • Aina Okoya grooves anew

    Aina Okoya is one of the well-known daughters of multi-millionaire businessman, Alhjai Rasaq Okoya, of the Eleganza fame and his wife, Alhaja Kuburat Okoya. Chubby and cheerful, Aina, in her 30s, rubs off a gleeful personality on anyone who has an encounter with her.

    However, she seems to be toeing the path of her siblings, including Biola Okoya, who has suddenly disappeared from the limelight. Until recently, Aina, who operates a Chinese restaurant on the Island, was very visible on the social arena. Perceived to be one of the most extroverted of the Okoya children, she seemed to find solace in jollification while keeping up the search for a Mr. Right, after her romance with the son of a now deceased justice of the high court went sour. For Aina, there was no reason to maintain a gloomy disposition towards life.

  • Biodun Fatoyinbo becomes most stylish pastor in Abuja

    At the moment, Rev. Biodun Fatoyinbo, the Senior Pastor of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, is looking younger than his age. The man of God is well in tune with the book, and he comes out smelling sweet. Presently, Fatoyinbo is regarded as the most fashionable pastor in Abuja. He does not attract any controversy regarding his clothes. In fashion and lifestyle, everyone leaves him alone because he has long been adept at choosing the right items, both traditional and foreign styles. He has programmed a good life for himself. In doing this, he ensures he transforms the lives of thousands through his ministry.

    Another thing, Rev. Fatoyinbo is a highly sought-after public speaker. Recently, he marked his birthday by hosting family members and close friends to an exceptional celebration in the United Arab Emirates. His exotic preference for top-notch designers and state-of-the-art cars cannot be contested and he lives like a king in his Abuja home, which boasts of colourful interior and external decor.

    His love for the good things of life was on display at the newly commissioned branch of the church in Dubai, where he held a thanksgiving service on his birthday. The service was followed by a lavish dinner party at the seven-star Burj Al Arab Hotel, and an all-white party aboard an executive yatch, with some fireworks display to wrap up the celebration. Pastor Fatoyinbo is one of the most sought-after pastors in Abuja at the moment. His church is always filled to the brim with the rich and famous.