The Nation Newspaper

Category: Celebrity

  • House of plush boss moves uphill

    Don’t stare in confusion if you hear some people call Princess Kikiope Okewale Hope. She is simply being acknowledged for being a success just one year after opening her fashion store.

    Sited on Opebi Road, Ikeja, Lagos, House of Plush is one shop that caters for the fashion needs of the high and mighty. Elites troop into Kikiope’s fashion house to fulfil their desire to remain classy and stylish. There is no denying the fact that Princess Kikiope has made a fortune from the venture.

    Kikiope is the wife of popular Lagos-based doctor, Babatunde Okewale. The stylish lady is a shrewd entrepreneur with a good eye for business. And not a few people commend her humility, which easily endears her to many. Her in-depth knowledge of trends is also a plus.

  • Kola Karim opts for back bench

    Kola Karim is no ordinary businessman; he is a god with power to build business empires from dust. Kola seems to have had an intimate relationship with fortune. His remarkable feats and the magnitude of his wealth have caused many to wonder why he has chosen to ignore the limelight to hide in a shell of anonymity.

    In the oil and gas sector, Kola Karim is one of the big players and, through him, many have realised their ambitions to become oil barons. Among other multi-million-dollar business outfits, he is the Group Managing Director of Shore Energy International.

    Kola Karim is a successful businessman in every sense of the word. In addition to his fleet of luxury cars, Kola also owns a private jet and a yacht. Although he has carved a niche for himself on the Lagos social scene, he has chosen to maintain a low profile lifestyle for reasons that many cannot comprehend.

  • Joseph Yobo ends career in style

    Until former captain of the Super Eagles, Joseph Yobo, appeared on the scene, not a few had thought that the shoes Nigerian football legends like Nwankwo Kanu and Austin Jay Jay Okocha left behind were too big to fill. The reality, however, is that after a record 101 caps for the senior national football team, Yobo is easily one of the greatest footballers Nigeria has ever had.

    It came as no surprise, therefore, that renowned soccer stars like Samuel Etoo, Kanu Nwankwo, Stephen Appiah, Austin Jay Jay Okocha and others gathered in the city of Port Harcourt penultimate Friday to honour Yobo with a testimonial match. Yobo and his wife, Adaeze, were thereafter conferred with chieftaincy titles as the Mene Aborlo 1 and Waamene Aborlo 1 of Ogoniland in Rivers State. The titles were conferred on them by the paramount ruler of Ogoniland, His Royal Highness GNK Gininwa. The soccer star took to his twitter account to share his joy at being conferred with the title.

    Yobo made his Super Eagles debut against Zambia in a 2002 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Chingola, Zambia. He quit international football at the age of 33 after getting his 100th in the match against France at the World Cup in Brazil.

  • Alabi dedicates promotion to ancestors

    With the understanding that those who turn their backs on their ancestors cannot look forward to posterity, Oloye Lekan Alabi has always had high regards for his ancestors. He was recently promoted to the lofty position of the Agba-Akin Olubadan of Ibadanland by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, and he thought it fit to dedicate his promotion to his four ancestors who were high chiefs in Ibadanland in the 19th and 20th centuries.

    It will be recalled that Oba Adetunji on Friday, May 13 this year promoted Oloye Alabi, a senior traditional chief of the town, from Aare Alaasa Olubadan to Agba-Akin Olubadan. A journalist, author and PR consultant, Alabi was press secretary to four former governors (one civilian and three military) of old Oyo State (present Oyo and Osun States) between 1983 and 1989, and four-time Coordinator of Sketch Press Limited, Ibadan.

    While some people have raised eyebrows at his decision to honour his ancestors, Oloye Alabi justified his action by explaining that his new position as Agba-Akin Olubadan is at par with the position of his great grandfather, Sanni Ajengbe IV, the Agba-Akin Balogun of Ibadan, during the reign of Olubadan Shitu Omo Aare Latoosa (1914). Before Ajengbe IV were Oyinlola Ajengbe III, the Ekerin Balogun of Ibadan, during the reign of Olubadan Akintayo Elempe (1910), Suberu Ajengbe II, the Ekerin Balogun during the reign of Olubadan Fijabi I (1890) and the progenitor of the family, Molaja Ajengbe I, Ekerin Balogun of Ibadan, who died in the Kiriji War at Imesi-Ile.

    Ajengbe 1 was a signatory to the MoUs between Ibadan and the British colonial government in the 19th Century. Oloye Alabi’s late uncle, High Chief Samuel Layiwola Durosaro, a lawyer, also reached the Otun Olubadan rung of the Ibadan traditional chieftaincy ladder.

  • House of Lords confers posthumous honours on Bola Amole

    When death snatched Chief (Mrs) Bola Amole from her loved ones, it left a void that caused a wrenching pain in their hearts. Amole lived an inspiring life’ a life that spurred success in all those she came in contact with. She was an epitome of diligence, hard work, generosity and loyalty.

    In her lifetime, Chief (Mrs) Amole was regarded as a woman of great influence and a role model to many. Her status as a businesswoman of international repute was never in doubt. As an agriculturist, she made her mark with her company, BIMS African Foods, and became one of the very first women to export agricultural crops from Nigeria to the United Kingdom and the EU.

    Since inception in 1994, BIMS has grown to become not just a reliable supplier of African food items but also a company that Asian outlets in South London can hardly do without. Bola strongly believed in giving back to the society. For this reason, she got involved in community work both in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

    Her demise shortly before the general elections last year was a rude shock. From Ibadan to London, people mourned the exit of an icon. On Thursday, May 19, 2016, Chief (Mrs) Amole’s contributions again came to the fore as she was honoured at the House of Lords, United Kingdom by the ex-Mayor of Southwark and current Councillor, Sunil Chopra. The Certificate of Appreciation, which was accepted by Mrs Amole’s daughter, was presented by Lord Popat, who was appointed a Minister of the Crown Government Whip in the House of Lords, United Kingdom.

  • Aisha Babangida trudges on

    One of a mother’s greatest gifts is to teach her child that to grow is not to timidly sit on some safe shore at water’s edge and clumsily grab whatever floats by. Rather, it is to deliberately step into the waters in calm and turbulent times in order to wrestle great things to shore. It is a lesson that is better taught by a mother who stands before her child in soaked apparel.

    Hajia Aisha Babangida has received this great gift from her late mother, Dr. (Mrs) Maryam Babangida; an icon of a woman who fought for better life for African rural women and Aisha sat and learnt at her feet. Today, she has grown into a hardworking woman who is determined to accomplish more than her mother did. She is the Chairperson of the Better Life Programme for the African Rural Woman, a non-profit organisation founded by her late mother.

    The foundation recently floated a new bank called Egwafin Micro Finance Bank in Suleja. Hajia Aisha Babangida’s vision is to empower and support rural African women and give them a sense of purpose and development in their various communities. She has since altered the modus operandi of the organisation to soothe the prevailing economic climate. Some of her impactful activities include job creation, scholarship programmes for youths from primary school to the university, financing women cooperative societies and clusters involved in agro processing such as the groundnut and Shea butter value chain, empowerment of Rural Woman through skill acquisition and entrepreneurial training, rehabilitation of prisons, provisions of relief materials to victims of disasters, youth empowerment and Adult Literacy programmes for rural dwellers.

    In order for to carry out some of the above activities, Aisha Babangida has partnered with both local and global agencies. She is also a member of the Governing Council of University of Abuja, the Globa Shea Alliance, Mentor and Mara foundation.

  • Yomi Folawiyo, Bimbo Kashamu’s marriage in trouble?

    The glitz and glamour that accompanies a wedding does not necessarily guarantee its endurance. Little wonder celebrity marriages crash in record time. Popular Lagos socialite, Yomi Folawiyo, and his new bride, Bimbo, are said not to be enjoying anything near marital bliss at the moment as their four-year-old union is said to be under severe strain. There have been divorce rumours trailing their marriage for quite a while now and it seems the high society is about to produce yet another sad story of a happy union gone sour.

    Yomi is the son of late billionaire businessman, Alhaji Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, who in his life time was the Baba Adinni of Nigeria, while Bimbo is a member of the popular Kashamu family in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State. Both had been married previously, but at the time they began their romance, Yomi had reportedly been separated from his ex-wife who has a child for him. Bimbo too had also separated from her ex-husband for whom she has a daughter. So, for those who knew the genesis of their relationship, it was like a round peg going into a round hole.

    But the story in town since the beginning of the year is that their marriage has packed up and Yomi has moved out of their Apapa, Lagos home, leaving his wife and daughter behind. Their quarrel is said to be proving irreconcilable as efforts so far made by friends and family members have yielded no result.

  • Ambassador Olu Agbi becomes Asiwaju of Akure Kingdom

    Chief Olu Agbi has always been an achiever, and he seems bent on keeping the tradition as long as possible. From being the Nigerian Ambassador to Greece, Agbi has risen to the lofty position of becoming the new Asiwaju of Akure kingdom.

    Speaking during his installation, the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, described the newly installed Asiwaju of Akureland as a commendable ambassador of the kingdom, who had contributed immensely to the development of the town. The Oba noted that filling the position was long overdue and it came as a great relieve that the right man for the job was picked.

    The paramount ruler said that Prof. Agbi had paid his dues towards the development of Akure community, and called on other sons and daughters of the town to emulate his virtues.

    Prof. Agbi, on his part, pledged to continue to add value to the kingdom, saying he had been serving its interest since his days as an undergraduate at the University of Ibadan. He said he knew and understood the needs of his people and had been using every position he had occupied to drive development to his fatherland.

  • The beautiful world of Ooni’s new olori

    You cannot but envy the new life of Olori Wuraola Otitia’s new lofty title; servants at her beck and call, luxury cars, designer’s outfits and a constant air of sophistication that surrounds her are only few of the goodies that Olori Wuraola now enjoys.

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi’s new wife needs little or no introduction. A socialite par excellence, the Olori is also a cousin of silver-spoon kid and Executive Director, Polo Limited, Jennifer Obayuwana. Fondly called Zynab by close friends, the entrepreneur, who used to run an upscale fashion outlet in Abuja, has become the most fashionable Olori in the South West on account of her high taste for fashion.

    Those who understand the language of fashion now look up to her as their mentor. Always dressed to the nines, always doning white, she has shown what creativity and fertile imagination can do. Without appearing monotonous and drab, her costumes are exciting. Many women now look forward to seeing her at events in company with her husband.

    Olori Wuraola has no doubt fitted into her new role with a classy demeanour and an admirable sense of style.

  • Eno Olafisoye unfazed by break-up rumour

    Eno Olafisoye must have planned to carve a niche for herself the moment she registered her presence on the Nigerian social scene. And she has worked tirelessly to accomplish this.

    It cannot be forgotten so soon that she was once married to Biyi Olafisoye, a popular hotelier and successful businessman. But their marriage crashed and the details of it graced the pages of newspapers. Eno refused to let the unfortunate end of her marriage slow her down, so she left the doors of her heart open until Benue State born businessman, Terry Waya walked in and she bore him a son.

    While there are unconfirmed reports that Eno and Waya are experiencing a strain in their relationship, nothing about her demeanour suggests this. She recently attended a function in Lagos and was elegantly dressed in designer’s wears and accessories.

    With her head held high and with the grace of a queen, she strutted as she ignored whispers.