By Oladapo Sofowora

The Olofa of Offa, His Royal Majesty, Oba Mufutau Muhammed Oloyede Gbadamosi, Okikiola Esuwoye II  has so much to thank God for after 10 years on throne.

It all begun after the demise of the previous Olofa, Oba Mustapha Olawore Olanipekun, the ancient Offa throne was thrown vacant. Anilelerin and Olugbense ruling houses presented candidates to contest the throne.

Kingmakers chose the candidate from Anilelerin ruling house as the Olofa elect to be crowned as king. The then Prince Oloyede Gbadamosi now Olofa, was a Lagos business magnate with numerous business pies under his control.

With pressure from his people; most especially his late father, Alhaji Muhammed Gbadamosi Esuwoye, he returned home to contest the stool and was crowned king.

After his coronation in 2010, several typhoons were directed at the royal father to sweep him off the throne. His enemies almost mocked him as he was almost disposed of the throne by the lower court when the Olugbense ruling house instituted a legal case against his selection to challenge the kingmakers with the provision of the law.

The Olugbense ruling house alleged that there was a rotational policy between the two ruling houses. Despite every attempt to pull Olofa down, he returns like a cat with nine lives.

The curtain was finally drawn on the legal tussle on May 1, 2016, when the supreme court ruled by upholding the selection of Oba Gbadamosi as the legal and rightful occupant of the Offa throne.

The news spread across Offa town like a wildfire and the whole town roared in wild jubilation as victory was ascertained in favour of the highly loved philanthropist monarch.

Hence, on May 9, 2020, the Olofa celebrated his 10th coronation anniversary with no celebration.

The anniversary was marked with a list-long of tremendous achievements that included the building of an ultra-modern Olofa’s palace, completion and rehabilitation of Offa Central Mosque, completion and total rehabilitation of Offa Descendants Union Halls, reconstruction of the burnt Owode market, mobilising the community to build Mobile Police Barack in Offa, reviving the Ijakadi cultural festival among others.

By Oladapo Sofowora

In a male-dominated corporate world, some women play a pivotal role in the brilliant coordination and execution of executive plans. These executive-level hardworking women call the shots in the corporate world, politics, and other fields of human endeavor.

The astronomic rise of Juliet Ehimuan, in the corporate world, will surely inspire many women aspiring to be better in their fields of work.

The gorgeous cerebral lady was recently appointed a Non-Executive Director at Nestle Nigeria. Her resume in academics and career is quite an intimidating one.

Juliet graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University(OAU), Ile-Ife in Osun State with a Bachelors in Engineering before proceeding to Cambridge University, where she obtained a Postgraduate degree in Computer Engineering.

Her foray into the corporate world started when she worked as the Performance Monitoring and Quality Assurance supervisor with Shell Petroleum Company for a period of two years from 1995 to 1997.

She later joined Microsoft UK as the Program Manager where she oversaw projects for MSN subsidiaries before promotion as Business Process Manager for MSN International.

In the cause of her stay in the labour market, the entrepreneur in Juliet made her float her business outfit; Strategic Insight Consulting Ltd. Within a few years of operation, she made quality assurance and truthfulness her core values. She as well built a strong reputation for her brand which has increased her list of clientele.

For her continuous commitment to discharging her duties diligently, in 2011, she was appointed the Country Director for Google Nigeria.

Despite her impeccable achievements, she remains humbled with a bright personality that has earned her a wide network of high profile friends from all walks of life.

By: Oladapo Sofowora

Twenty-five-year-old Daniel Ogoloma has his gaze fixed on the participatory role that young people have to play in nation building.

The Oxford trained Anthropologist is a passionate, meticulous and innovative young man who is on a mission to re-engineer society and change the narrative for young people globally.

Having gained grounds as a community leader and advocate for good governance in South and North London, Ogoloma has become renowned for his ability to redefine the focus of many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds making them more socially mobile and strong contributors to their society as a whole.

A young entrepreneur with a media business in Africa that focuses on building and representing business brands and individuals in the public space, the British-born Nigerian is ultimately a voice for this millennial generation and one to watch for the future.

Ogoloma says he grew up getting what he wanted as the youngest but used his older brother and sisters’ lives as a mirror to avoid the mistakes they made.

The young philanthropist says he gets a lot of his willingness to better the lives of others from his mother, who served as a civil servant in the Home Office for over 30 years.

The young Nigerian was dubbed a campaign guru for his involvement with RT Hon Rory Stewarts’ 2020 London mayoral campaign where he was pictured with Stewart throughout the campaign almost like a right hand man.

By: Oladapo Sofowora

Nigeria’s former Chief of General Staff and de facto Military Vice President, during General Sanni Abacha’s regime; Gen. Oladipo Diya is is currently not having the best of times. Diya lost his junior wife Chief Mrs Deborah Folashade Diya (JP) to the cold hands of the grim reaper.

The deceased who bid farewell to mother earth on May 18, was getting set to celebrate her 66th birthday on May 23, with few family and friends before she gave up the ghost.

Sources claimed her death came with a likely COVID-19 related symptom but the real cause of her death was not disclosed to the general public.

According to family sources, she was in great condition until last week. “Chief Mrs Deborah was in good condition until she started feeling funny last week, she was evacuated to an hospital in Ikoyi, Lagos where she was already responding to treatment and the doctors were preparing to discharge her.

Suddenly, we just got a call that she gave up on Monday May 18,” the source said.

Burial arrangements for the deceased are yet to be finalised by family members but series of family meetings are being held to map out plans for a private burial due to the pandemic for the wife of the former military vice president of Nigeria.

The deceased during her lifetime was a devout Christian, a loyal and dedicated wife, a loving mother, an alluring grandmother.

She was a passionate chorister and member at United African Methodist (Evangelical) Church, Abule Ijesha, Yaba, Lagos where she also holds various religious titles.

By Oladapo Sofowora

In the political history of Oyo State, by extension Nigeria, on June 10, 2019, Hon Adebo Ogundoyin made history as one of the youngest Speaker of Oyo state after emerging the head of the parliament at 32. Ever since the Ibarapa East Constituency representative assumed office as the Speaker, he has been having a smooth control of the chambers until recently.

According to sources, Society Rendezvous was told that some caucus in the Assembly has begun a scheme against the speaker with allegations that Ogundoyin lacked transparency in running the Assembly’s affairs and indecisiveness in canvassing for the general desires of lawmakers from Governor Makinde.

“Indeed, the brewing crisis was not only targeted at sweeping Ogundoyin off his seat but also most of the principal officers. The plot against the Speaker was hatched by members of Ogundoyin’s initial inner caucus members, who felt they were beginning to be sidelined in the running of the Assembly,” an Assembly source whistled.

Circa 2019 when Ogundoyin emerged Speaker of the Assembly, members like Honourable Ayo Fatokun; Chief Whip, Hon Hakeem Adedibu, and Hon Olamide Akinajo, were said to have positioned themself to be members of his inner kitchen cabinet.

Like a liberal man, Ogundoyin embraced several other members of the house into his kitchen cabinet like his brothers and even made them committee heads. “This move by the Speaker did not go down well with the initial members of the kitchen cabinet. They were scared that, with the introduction of more people into the caucus, their unwavering influence on the Speaker’s decision may begin to wane out. This sparked off their agitation as they threatened fire and brimstone,” another source added.

To avert the lingering crisis from taking its toll on the leadership and progress of the house, leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, including Governor Seyi Makinde; Chairman, Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), Hosea Agboola and the Commissioner for Special Duties, Chief Bayo Lawal, held a closed-door meeting with the lawmakers to calm them down and look into their grievance. A source said, “The members which include Honourable Akinajo, Honourable Ayo Fatokun, and Honourable Hakeem Adedibu, were alleged to have been causing unrest in the parliament but they all denied the plot moving for possible impeachment.”

An insider told Society Rendezvous that “Some leaders advised the speaker to suspend any lawmaker who causes unrest in the house. Ogundoyin resorted to taking other measures to calm the unrest. The speaker later announced the removal of Honourable Akinajo as the chairman of the House Committee on Works and Transport, with Honourable Kehinde Olatunde named as his replacement. As the head of the Committee on Works and Transport.”

After taking drastic actions to curtail the brewing crisis in the house, calmness has since returned into the chambers as Speaker Ogundoyin reiterates his commitment to quality representation of the interest of Oyo State masses.