The Nation Newspaper

Category: Celebrity

  • Oghogho Asemota moves on

    Oghogho Asemota’s pleasant and optimistic disposition towards life is infectious. Even when her decade-old marriage to Prince Ayo Adedoyin crumbled like a stack of badly arranged cards and it felt like the world was crashing down on her, Oghogho remained optimistic and did not lose her cheerful spirit. Rather than expose the gloomy side of her for the world to see, she took a sabbatical from the social scene to rue her marital loss.

    The dark-complexioned beauty, though still single, has moved on with her life. At a time her matrimonial problem was one of the major issues on the lips of many on the social radar, she came out of it stronger. The third daughter of Chief Sunny Asemota now radiates beauty hitherto unseen in her. The Managing Director of Aralia by Nature, a landscape design company, was full of life when she hosted many of her silver spoon colleagues to a birthday bash as she clocked 40 some months ago. The soiree had quite a number of Lagos rich and happening babes in attendance.

  • GOOD TIMES FOR MOHAMMED ASIBELUA

    With prayers and patience, a childless woman’s sorrow would give way to joy. That much can be attested to by Fati, Mohammed Asibelua’s wife, who is now a proud mother after years of childlessness.

    Fourteen years after she got married to the billionaire oil magnate, the renowned fashion designer of MOMO Couture fame is blessed with twins, sending her joyful husband into cloud nine.

    But Mohammed will have to contest with the confusion that lurks in the corner of his heart over his involvement with Lagos big babe, Marifa Whyte. Prior to Fati’s conception early in the year, Mohammed, in a desperate bid for an heir after years of waiting endlessly for one, was said to have entered into an intimate relationship with Marifa, which eventually produced a child. The development reportedly gladdened Mohammed’s heart so much so that he bought Marifa an expensive apartment on Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, opened Ticklebay, an event park for kids, in Marifa’s name and bought her expensive cars.

    Mohammed’s affair with Marifa naturally strained his relationship with Fati, but the arrival of a set of twins appears to have put all that in the past. As friends and family send congratulatory messages to Fati and Mohammed, they cannot help wondering what will become of Marifa and her child.

  • Why I’m into bridal fashion —Yeside Laguda

    Why I’m into bridal fashion —Yeside Laguda

    Youthful and elegant Yeside Laguda is the daughter of the Minister of Information, Culture and National Orientations, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. She unveiled her luxury store named MyQ Lifestyle last weekend. The graduate of the University of Reading, United Kingdom, spoke to KEHINDE OLULEYE on her designs and family life

    HOW would you describe your bridal collections?

    It’s two stores in one. The bridal shop is called Blush by MyQ. The parent company is called MyQ Lifestyle. MyQ Lifestyle is the result of my passion for fashion. We used to sew, but I needed to balance my work and family life. So, I decided to do something else. I went into the bridal fashion. The bridal industry cushions the fashion industry in Nigeria during the wedding season. When there is a high wedding season, what happens is that there is a lot of work and when there is a low wedding season, there is no work to do. So I decided to go into the industry. I decided to go into the wedding season which does not take a whole year. I have been in the industry for eight years. This is my ninth year, but with bridals, it started this year. I started planning this in January. What I did was that I started getting franchises and partnering with people. It’s not just a situation of going abroad, picking up dresses and coming to sell here. We partner with a lot of bridal stores. For now, it is the bridal stores, like Vera Wang. Since I cannot afford to be a partner, I go through the secondary market, people like Bridal O, a bridal store in London. I will go to them and explain what I want to do. And they will give them to me. Eventually, I’m selling at prices that they will sell. So we are trying to cut out the middle man. We do everything. Even if you have a dress, you have a veil. You want traditional attire, we give it to you.

    What about MyQ?

    MyQ is an indigenous dress: the ankara, the caftan and others. We look at what our women want and cater for them.

    So all the collections here are yours?

    No. This (pointing to a collection) is not mine. I have different designs from top designers, Vera Wang, name it. We have them here. I buy from middle-eastern designers. I produce all my MyQ designs.

    Did you go to a fashion school?

    I didn’t. I’m a builder and a designer. I have a BSc in Environmental Chemistry and a Master’s in Strategic Management. As regards the collections and designs here, I can go to anywhere in the world to get them. The designs and collections that will suit my clients.

    Can you tell us about your father who is now the Minister of Information?

    He is someone who is dedicated to his work and family. My father is not driven by money. He will stand by you, if he believes in your cause and sees that the cause is achieved. He’s passionate about this country. He taught me to believe in myself.  A lot of times I go to my parents for support and they have always been there for me.

    Have you worked for somebody before?

    I have been doing business for a long time. We are getting a lot of dresses. When I was schooling in England, I used to supply many boutiques in Nigeria. I bought clothes, sent them to Nigeria and got my money. I have not really worked for somebody before.

    Can you tell us about your designs?

    My designs are simple, fashionable and not loud. My designs are not bogus. They are not loud.

    Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

    I am married and I have two children. I work and read a lot. I read Environmental Chemistry at the University of Reading,United Kingdom , and I did my Master’s in Strategic Management at the University of Wales, also in the United Kingdom.

  • Good times for Yomi Sonuga

    Good times for Yomi Sonuga

    IT is said that if you bang on the gates of fortune sufficiently, affluence will begin to strewn your path. But popular socialite and businessman, Yomi Sonuga, didn’t really have to go through the troubles of banging at fortune’s gates to be favoured by fate.

    These are the best of times for the boss of Bras Motors, a high end luxury car company. For him, the bad times have been tossed away and it is time to bask in the ambience of bliss as he enjoys the fruits of his labour.

    The days he partied at every given opportunity cannot be forgotten easily. Neither can it be easily forgotten that Yomi’s favourite pastime was having a good time. He was among the top socialites who controlled the party space and ruled the vibrant social space in Lagos. Unfortunately, all that changed when the fun-loving dude had to go underground as a result of hitches here and there.

    Well, Yomi has bounced back big time. The stylish dude obviously kept himself busy during the dark days, strategising and raking in big money. He recently expanded his business frontiers by setting up BRAS Marine and Yacht Services Nigeria, which earned him a sole distributorship position with SeaRay, a United States-based luxury boat building company, in West Africa.

    Seeing how big Nigerians play in water entertainment and the hospitality industry, and how the number of people acquiring boats and yachts had been on the rise, Yomi saw this as a good investment opportunity and quickly cashed in on it.

    Now he is living large, savouring the rewards of good business.

  • Toyin Subair lives it up in London

    Toyin Subair lives it up in London

    ALTHOUGH he might not have known it, Toyin Subair, the owner of the defunct pay television station, HITV, provoked a debate in social circles with his sudden disappearance from the social scene. Not a few people had been wondering his whereabouts. But it has come to light that the popular socialite has since left the shores of Africa and relocated to London, United Kingdom.

    He left Nigeria a few years ago, after his private cable television business collapsed. But he is gradually staging a comeback.

    He was sighted at the Steam Bar of Paddington Hilton Hotel in London with a beautiful lady penultimate Friday. They had an interesting time in each other’s company until the wee hours of that day.

    Contrary to the popular belief that things are not really looking up for him, we have it on good authority that the well connected dude is doing very fine.

  • Richtopia names Abike among world’s top women leaders

    Richtopia names Abike among world’s top women leaders

    It has since ceased to be a man’s world. Indeed the womenfolk are fast taking over the political and business sectors. They are beginning to understand that gifts such as logic, decisiveness and strength are just as feminine as intuition and emotional connection.

    Effortlessly, women are maximizing their potential to become power figures around the world. Online business magazine, Richtopia, recently compiled a list of top women leaders, and numbered among them are names like Melinda Gates, an American businesswomen, philanthropist and wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates; Michelle Obama, an American lawyer, writer and wife of the incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama;  Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a Nigerian politician and former member of the House of Representatives; Oby Ezekwesili, a Nigerian chartered accountant and co-founder of Transparency International, among others.

    These women are accorded recognition for having contributed immensely to the growth and development of their countries and because of the strides they have made in their careers.

  • Ex-Fashola’s aide becomes fellow

    Ex-Fashola’s aide becomes fellow

    Alhaji  Jebe-Abdullahi Ahmad  Kolawole’s former lofty status as a Special Assistant to the ex-Lagos State governor,  Babatunde Raji Fashola, on Hajj and Umrah, would pale into insignificance against a new position he currently occupies. Things are looking up for the respected Alhaji with his induction as a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Management.

    Speaking on his induction, Jebe said it was the fulfillment of a long and tedious period of reading, research and hard work. He said his quest for knowledge was to further prepare for greater service to the people.

    “It was not easy achieving this. It would help prepare me for greater service to my community, Lagos and also to my family,” he said.

  • Okocha’s wife lies low

    Okocha’s wife lies low

    There is a secret to a long reign on the social scene, which is not hidden from Nkechi, the wife of former Super Eagles star, Austine Okocha. She understands that to keep your cherished place on the social ladder, you must know when to consciously raise your profile and when to relax it.

    After years of gracing the Nigerian social scene with her elegance and beauty, Nkechi has gone calm and has adopted a low profile lifestyle. Okocha and Nkechi are without a doubt one of the most admired couples on the social scene. The duo, who exchanged marital vows more than 15 years ago, have made an impression on the social scene, especially after Okocha quit active football. Their astuteness is reflected in the choice apparels and matching accessories.

    It is no news that Nkechi loved the limelight and was more visible on the social scene than her husband. In recent times, however, she has been missing from the scheme of things.

  • Gbenga James still off radar

    No man has absolute control over his life. Providence sometimes takes over the wheels of a man’s life and steers it in the direction it desires. The best way to deal with such situations is to make cold glasses of lemonades out of lemons.

    That was the case with Gbenga James, the owner of Biological Concept and former business partner of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, who got entangled in the web of alleged corruption levelled against him and Fayose over a poultry contract. So peeved were the political elites of Ekiti State that they mounted pressure on the duo and caused the then President Olusegun Obasanjo to personally oversee the ouster of Fayose as Ekiti State governor.

    Although Fayose has since bounced back as the governor of Ekiti State, the poultry contract controversy is still trailing him, while Gbenga has since recoiled into his cocoon.

  • Julius Rone, wife on the roll

    Julius Rone, wife on the roll

    The Nigerian social scene has witnessed an influx of power couples in the last decade, but none can hold a torch to the admirable pair of Julius Rone and his wife, Rutee. Not only do they ooze class and affluence, the couple elicits approbation from all who encounter them.

    Julius Rone is no ordinary businessman. He dines with kings and converses with men of pedigree. A successful businessman to boot, Rone has not only etched his footprints in the sands of time as a major player in Nigeria’s economic sphere, he has carved a niche for himself in the gathering of Nigeria’s business tycoons.

    Julius Rone is the founder of UTM Group, whose subsidiaries include UTM Dredging Limited, a provider of logistic support in engineering, construction, equipment rental, leasing, procurement, supply and general labour services to oil and gas companies.

    Aside a thriving business empire, Julius is blessed with a beauty as a wife. Yutee Rone is an embodiment of elegance and finesse.