The Nation Newspaper

Category: Celebrity

  • Rahama Indimi: The pains of a mother

    Rahama Indimi: The pains of a mother

    If having and rearing children is a mother’s greatest joy, losing custody of them against her own wish would definitely amount to great sorrow. Rahama Indimi, estranged wife of Muhammed Babangida, is at the moment like the mother hen mourning the loss of her young, tender chicks.

    Many years ago when Rahama, daughter of billionaire businessman Muhammed Indimi, got married to Muhammed Babangida amid pomp and fanfare, her joy multiplied with the arrival their children. She felt a great sense of fulfilment, never expecting that a day would come when she would no longer be in possession of both her husband and her children.

    Now, one year after her marriage to the son of former head of state, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) crashed like badly-stacked cards and the bitter fight over the custody of their children, Rahama is still feeling the pain of separation from two of her four children who are with their father. For emotional reasons, she is holding on to the other two in spite of a court order Muhammed custody of the four kids.

    As the birthday of one of her daughters came and went a few days ago, Rahama was broken-hearted at not being able to be with her or physically wish her happy birthday. Muhammed was, however, not moved by her public lamentations as he has vowed not to allow her near the kids again. Rahama, on her part, has vowed to continue the fight.

  • Dangote celebrates Eid-el-Fitr with Otedola, others on yacht

    Dangote celebrates Eid-el-Fitr with Otedola, others on yacht

    Nigeria surely has its fair share of billionaires. But none compares to Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the boss of Dangote Group of Companies, rated by Forbes as the richest man in Africa. With his abundant wealth, no one would expect him to be a stranger to any good thing of life. Along with his fleet of luxury automobiles and private jets, he also owns a luxury yacht which he bought in 2013 for an estimated $43 million.

    He and his clique of billionaires, including the likes of Femi Otedola and Tunde Ayeni, are frequently out to make a statement. One of such occasions was the just concluded Ramadan period. Having faithfully taken part in the month-long fasting programme like every other Muslim, Dangote gathered some of his close friends together on his private yacht to celebrate the Eld-el-Fitr.

    On board the yacht were Otedola and Ayeni as well as others like Segun Awolowo, Sam Iwuajoku, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, former Cross River governor Donald Duke and the rest of Dangote’s friends who chatted and bantered away as they relaxed on the tastefully-furnished yacht named Mariya.

  • Fatai Owoseni’s daughter holds classy wedding in US

    Fatai Owoseni’s daughter holds classy wedding in US

    Aminat, the beautiful daughter of Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, recently exchanged marital vows with her heartthrob, Abayomi Apooyin, in far-away Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Interestingly, Aminat’s new husband is a police officer like her father. The wedding was a classy and expensive affair witnessed by numerous dignitaries flown in from Nigeria and elsewhere to lend colour to the occasion.

    The bride’s father left no stone unturned in giving his daughter a befitting wedding. Earlier last month, Aminat and her beau had their traditional wedding in Lagos, which was the talk of the town. The high-class affair had in attendance no less a dignitary than the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, among other prominent sons and daughters of the land.

  • Nsima Ekere turns the tide

    Nsima Ekere turns the tide

    It is no news that many people see their appointment or election into a high profile office as their chance to amass illicit wealth while paying lip service to their mandate. For the boss of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Nsima Ekere, the story appears totally different. Since his appointment as NDDC boss late last year, the Akwa-Ibom big boy has set about his task with gusto.

    With his appointment in November last year, the wind of change of the Buhari administration has finally reached the NDDC blowing away, bit by bit, the corruption that had engulfed the commission from top to bottom. Under Ekere’s watch, NDDC now follows due process in the procurement and award of projects, while embracing the culture of transparency in line with international best practices.

    The lethargy that once pervaded the commission like a dark cloud has been dispersed in favour of a new, boundless energy to carry out the commission’s mandate and bring smiles to the faces of the people of the oil-rich Niger Delta.

  • All set for Niyi Adebayo’s son’s wedding

    Come August, former Ekiti State governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, and his wife, Angela, will once again rock the social scene with the wedding of their one and only son, Dotun Adebayo. The Adebayos will host the first of the two-legged affair on Saturday, August 12 as the traditional wedding ceremony holds in Lagos. The second leg will be the white wedding where the bride and the groom will exchange marital vows. It will hold in far-away New York, USA.

    While the bride, Rennie, is little known at the moment, 30-year-old Dotun already heads a company of his own, Fortis Projects Services, as Executive Director. He handles the affairs of the thriving hybrid construction company with Loatsad Promomedia boss, Seyi Tinubu, who is widely expected to be his best man at the upcoming wedding.

  • Eyitayo Jegede returns to ‘first love’

    Sometimes, the road of life offers a U-turn where the journeyman can abort his misadventure and retrace his steps. That exactly is what the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the last gubernatorial election in Ondo State, Eyitayo Jegede, has just done.

    It will be recalled that the lawyer turned politician won the race against all comers, including billionaire business mogul, Chief Jimoh Ibrahim, for the PDP’s flag at the election only to be defeated by the APC candidate. Having been betrayed by some party members who undermined his candidacy by siding with the opposition, Eyitayo has decided that the waters of politics are too murky for him to swim in. The head honcho of Tayo Jegede & Co has therefore gone back to his first lovethe legal profession.

  • Gbajabiamila’s amazing gesture at birthday

    Hardly does a week go by without news of an earth-shaking birthday shindig thrown by one rich dude or the other. Sadly, however, these men and women of means hardly think of doing something for the common good. And when they do, it is usually a publicity stunt designed to massage their own egos. But once in a while, a public figure comes up with a deed borne out of genuine feeling for the common man and the desire to make a difference in his life.

    Step out Femi Gbajabiamila. The Leader of the House of Representatives turned 55 a few days ago. But rather than organise a lavish party to mark the occasion, the soft-spoken dude settled on the wonderful idea of using the opportunity to grant freedom to people who were held behind bars for petty offences. Femi’s prison decongestion initiative gave 40 inmates of the Kirikiri Medium Security Prison the chance to enjoy freedom by paying the fines and penalties required to secure their release.

    For Gbajabiamila, a devout Muslim, this gesture is in keeping with the spirit of the just concluded Ramadan. And in giving the 40 lucky people the chance to celebrate the Eid-el-Fitr with their families, he can celebrate his own birthday with a clean and happy conscience.

  • All set for Femi Obat’s 40th birthday

    Big boy of high society and prominent player in the oil and gas sector, Prince Akinfemi Akinruntan, a.k.a. Femi Obat, will be celebrating his 40th birthday next month. However, those who are expecting him to throw a lavish party will have to swallow the bitter pills of disappointment. The stylish man behind Obat Oil will be celebrating his birthday with the people.

    The popular Ondo dude will hold a four-day event to mark his birthday whereby the people of Ondo will have access to free health services for the four days. Having decided that his money is better spent impacting the lives of the people, Femi Obat plans to make those four days one in which anyone with health concerns can get a check-up and be treated free of charge.

    The four-day event has been set for 16th to 19th July at the Obamakin Osangangan Civic Centre, Olugbo of Ugbo Palace, Ode Ugbo, Ondo State. It will be presided over by a team of professional doctors who will be paid from Femi Obat’s private pocket.

    However, Femi’s party-loving friends will not lose out as there will still be a grand birthday dinner later that week in honour of the handsome young dude.

  • Michael Ade-Ojo celebrates another beautiful year

    Chairman of Elizade Motors, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, turned 79 a few days ago and celebrated the occasion with a grand birthday soiree organised by family members. Mr. Toyota, as he is fondly called, was in his elements at the occasion, radiating energy and effervescence at the grand age.

    The golden boy of Ondo State is regarded as the face of Toyota in Nigeria as his company, Elizade Motors, has the sole right to distribute Toyota vehicles in the country. High society was on hand to witness the golf tournament held in honour of the founder of Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, at Smokin Hills Golf Resort in his Ilara-Mokin hometown.

    The two-day event witnessed spectacular display of golf on the 18-hole course by amateur golfers. That was followed by a gala night of colour and merriment. Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, was the guest of honour at the occasion.

    Chief Ade-Ojo was born on June 14, 1938 in Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State. He is one of the country’s foremost businessmen with interests in automobile, shipping, insurance and telecoms, among others.

  • Who is after Senator Ita-Giwa?

    Who is after Senator Ita-Giwa?

    It is a fact of life that it sometimes takes a setback or misfortune to wake someone up to the realisation of their full potential. While some wallow in a pool of their own tears of self-pity after any little defeat, others take it in their strides and quickly move on to greater things.

    Funke Fowler, daughter of the boss of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Tunde Fowler, is firmly in the latter camp. Having been subjected to the heartache occasioned by a failed marriage at such a young age, rather than spend precious time lamenting her fate like many of her peers, she took the setback on the chin and has since moved on.

    It will be recalled that Funke and Abby Kuku, son of the late Ogbeni Oja Bayo Kuku, got married in 2011 in a talk-of-the-town transcontinental wedding whose splendour left many mouths agape. But no sooner had they returned from honeymoon than a crisis occurred, culminating in Funke walking out of the marriage two years later.

    Undaunted by the ‘we-told-you-so’ gestures from friends and acquaintances, Funke threw her mind and soul into her Ashton business and has been reaping the rewards ever since. Her high-end Leila Fowler Boutique has become the fashion destination for trendy socialites.