The Nation Newspaper

Category: Happenstances

  • Iyabo Obasanjo lies low

    Iyabo Obasanjo lies low

    That Senator Iyabo Obasanjo lost her bid to return to the upper chamber of the National Assembly in 2011 is no longer news. What seems to be of concern to her admirers is the rate at which the once ubiquitous former Ogun State commissioner for health has rolled back into political oblivion.

    Since the embarrassing loss of her seat in the Senate in 2011, she has been absent from the political and social scenes.

    The veterinary doctor turned politician and eldest daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was once a recurring feature on the social scene when her father held sway as President. By virtue of her father’s position, she became a well sought after acquaintance of many. Not only was she appointed a commissioner by the Otunba Gbenga Daniel administration in Ogun State, she was always on the road attending one inauguration ceremony after the other.

    The ex-senator whose marriage to Jimi Bello crashed many years ago, could not secure a ministerial appointment under President Goodluck Jonathan as earlier rumoured. She then relocated abroad for further studies, hoping to get from academics the certificate she could not get from INEC.

    As 2015 draws closer, it is not yet clear which direction Iyabo Obasanjo will go.

  • Akeem Shodeinde reopens Movida Night Club

    Akeem Shodeinde reopens Movida Night Club

    Now that the recuperation period of the self-acclaimed king of nightclub, Akeem Shodeinde, is over, it is time to get Movida Night Club back on its feet. Akeem who went through a life-threatening renal failure reopened the once hippy club penultimate Friday with a ‘welcome back’ party with friends and fans who have been itching for the resuscitation of the club.

    The ‘General of night clubs’ in Nigeria hosted a lot of happening guys to a swell time and took them down the memory lane. He took time to remind the attendants about how he put all his resources into the night club business at a time it was the most difficult business to do.

    Akeem’s passion for night club business is legendary as he has seen the ups and downs of the industry. The club was shut down when the people appointed to handle it while he was away allegedly messed up its finances. The closure took the pressure off him as he fully concentrated on his deteriorating health.

    Movida’s new bar area has now been redesigned and it is wearing a new look. A new cigar bar has also been added. The cigar bar is now managed by Carline, the ex-Caribbean model who supplies cigar lovers in Lagos, Abuja & Accra.

  • Deji of Akure’s last outing

    Deji of Akure’s last outing

    There is the belief in certain parts of Africa that when an individual is rumoured dead while he is still alive, it is a sign that the individual will live very long. So, when in August the Deji of Akure, Oba Adebiyi Adegboyega Adesida, was rumoured dead, his family members and well wishers paraded the streets of Akure to dispel his death rumour, his subjects heaved a sigh of relief believing that their king would live very long. The king was carried shoulder-high by palace guards in a show of happiness that he was hale and hearty.

    It came as a rude shock therefore when the news of his death hit the airwaves a few days ago. It was even more shocking that his death occurred barely a week after his son’s high profile wedding. His only son, Prince Adetunji Oluwagbemiga Adesida, got married to Frankella Kasope, the daughter of Chief Frank Kargbo-Reffell penultimate Saturday at Yard 158, Oregun, Lagos. The deceased monarch was full of life at the event, as he was seen throwing banters with many of his friends.

    Indeed, there was nothing to suspect that his exit from this mundane world was imminent. It was one fulfilling moment for the king who witnessed the conjugal vows of his only son and heir apparent.

  • Ayo Adedoyin not in a hurry

    Prince Ayo Adedoyin, son of Prince Samuel Adedoyin of the Doyin Group fame, is a guy known for his cheerful disposition even in situations that would rattle others. After the crash of his marriage with Ogogwo Asemota a few years ago, Ayo has been living like a bachelor who is not in a hurry to tie up with any woman emotionally.

    Prior to the celebrated break-up between him and Ogogwo, Ayo was rumoured to have been a toast of a few ladies. But months have grown into years and Ayo remains single.

    But the Chairman of Peacegate Group has not allowed any troubling season to put a sour taste on his mouth. Even when his businesses were besieged with inclement economic weather, the ebullient scion of the Adedoyin dynasty found a way to stay afloat.

  • What’s up with Monalisa Chinda, Lanre Nzeribe?

    What’s up with Monalisa Chinda, Lanre Nzeribe?

    Popular Lagos socialite, Lanre Nzeribe, was sighted at the launch of Monalisa Chinda’s all-gloss magazine at Intercontinental Hotel & Resort, Victoria Island, Lagos on November 22, raising doubts about the rumour that he has severed relationship with his lover, Monalisa Chinda.

    The handsome man, who once dated society lady, Grace Egbagbe, was reported to have parted ways with Chinda, one of Nollywood’s leading actresses, whose earlier divorcee from her former husband, Dejo Richards, was the object of media frenzy.

    Initially, Nzeribe and Chinda were said to be so serious that a permanent union was on the cards. But recently, tales of incompatibility rent the air. With Nzeribe’s presence at the launch of the new magazine, however, it became unclear whether they are back together as lovers or just as friends.

  • Walter Wagbatsama bounces back

    Wherever you come across Walter Wagbatsama these days, chances are you would find him in gay mood. With the way he is living life to the fullest, no one would suspect that he is being haunted with a court case that borders on alleged fuel subsidy scam.

    Not a few concluded that he was heading into oblivion when he was questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission last year in the aftermath of the oil subsidy saga that rocked the oil industry to its very foundation.

    While the case is still being pursued, it will not be a surprise if the oil magnate has secured assurance from his lawyers that he would be freed of the allegations at the end of the day. He simply does not cut the picture of one whose world is being rocked by a storm.

  • Waziri Mohammed’s widow remarries after eight years

    Waziri Mohammed’s widow remarries after eight years

    Zainab, widow of the late former chairman of the Nigeria Railway Corporation and close ally of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Waziri Mohammed, has finally shaken off the trauma of her late husband’s death.

    Waziri Mohammed was one of the passengers on board of Bellview Airline flight that crashed about eight years ago and suddenly turned Zainab into a widow. But now, her eight-year mourning of her former soul-mate is over with her decision to settle into a new matrimonial union with a member of the House of Representatives from Jigawa State, Hon. Sabo Mohammed Nakudu.

    But for death, the love life of Zainab would not have taken the new turn. The delectable woman was so deeply in love with her late husband that some said their love life would make a classic for the Mill and Boon series. But that was until October 22, 2005 when the unfortunate crash occurred at Lisa, a remote village in Ogun State.

    Zainab was simply inconsolable after the incident, unwilling to embrace life once again. Many even feared she might never survive a year without Waziri. But all that is now in the past as she has got married to Hon. Nakudu.

    The 63-year-old winsome lawmaker chairs the House Committee on Customs and Excise.

  • D’Banj, Jennifer Obayuwana part ways

    D’Banj, Jennifer Obayuwana part ways

    It is the end of another highly celebrated ‘union’ of two lovebirds who love to live life to the fullest. Jennifer Obayuwana, daughter of John Obayuwana, Lagos socialite and MD/CEO of Polo Limited, and her close friend and poster boy of the Nigerian music industry, Dapo Oyebanji, popularly known as D’Banj, are no longer an item.

    Jennifer, a director in her father’s luxury company, was known to be very close to D’banj until recently. D’banj is a regular caller at Polo Limited on Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. But after only a few months of the alleged whirlwind romance, the steam in their relationship seems to have evaporated.

    According to information, the very busy schedule of the duo is primarily responsible for the crack in the seemingly cemented relationship. Until recently, Jennifer was reported to cope well with D’Banj’s absence when she needed him most. But things were said to have taken a new turn with Jennifer’s deeper involvement in her father’s business, which lives her with less time for D’Banj.

    It was also rumoured that she got hold of a piece of information to the effect that D’banj was involved with a daughter of a wealthy politician whose identity is known only to a tiny clique in the entertainment industry. And rather than make an issue of it, Jennifer decided to call it quits.

  • Ahmed Dasuki lives it up in Ghana

    Ahmed Dasuki lives it up in Ghana

    A mention of the ex-Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki’s name evokes eminence, royalty and wealth. Even with the Sani Abacha’s deposition of the former Sultan, the family still looms large in the socio-cultural affairs of the country.

    Like every well built dynasty, the Dasuki family has produced prominent people in the nation’s economic and political hubs. One of them is Mallam Ahmed Dasuki, younger brother of President Goodluck Jonathan’s National Security Adviser, Alhaji Sambo Dasuki. In spite of his enormous wealth, you don’t immediately perceive an air of opulence the first time you run into him. Yet the stylish prince is a very big player in the corporate world in Nigeria and even beyond the country’s shores.

    He is the Chairman of Fifth Chukker Polo & Country Club in Kaduna. And in Accra, Ghana where he is based, he is reputed for his connections in the high places. He is not only famous and well respected as a successful businessman, he is also seen as one of the Nigerians who have contributed to the growth and development of the country.

    A philanthropist, Mallam Dasuki has business interests in the various sectors of the economies of Nigeria and Ghana. He is a director in Stanbic IBTC, MTN Nigeria and many other companies.

  • Chris Ogiemwonyi set to give daughter out in marriage

    Chris Ogiemwonyi set to give daughter out in marriage

    Notwithstanding the groundswell of controversies surrounding the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, her estranged husband, Dr. Chris Ogiemwonyi, is glowing with bliss at the moment. Not even the N255m bulletproof car scandal that rocks Stella’s life at the moment would distract Dr. Ogiemwonyi from his fatherly aspirations.

    Not that he is happy about what Stella is going through at the moment. The former NNPC executive and ex-Minister of State for Works is giving out his fourth child, Omosefe Christine, in marriage. Omosefe will be walking down the aisle with Peter Olurotimi, son of a professor of Community Health, Oladapo Hunponu-Wusu.

    The traditional wedding ceremony, a family source said, is billed to hold in Abuja in December while the white wedding will hold in Febuary 2014.

    Ogiemwonyi is very happy at the moment as he seems to have put behind him the intrigues and betrayal that saw him out of the corridors of power three years ago when he was dropped from President Goodluck Jonathan’s cabinet while his estranged wife, Stella, found favour with Mr. President.