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  • 11 celebrity couples with big age differences

    11 celebrity couples with big age differences

    Age is increasingly becoming less important in many marriages, as demonstrated by some celebrity couples. It shows that relationships with significant age differences can thrive as long as both partners are compatible, have mutual love, respect and understanding.

    Here are 11 celebrities with big age differences:

    1. Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Matthew Ekeinde 

    An airline pilot, Matthew Ekeinde and superstar actress, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde have been happily married since 1996. 

    With a notable age gap of 10 years, they tied the knot when he was 28 and she was 18.

    Their 27-year-marriage is blessed with four children. 

    2. Peter Okoye and Lola Okoye

    Peter Okoye is a popular musician and part of the musical duo P-Square, alongside his twin brother Paul Okoye. He is married to his wife Lola Omotayo Okoye who is reportedly nine years his senior.

    Marketing representative and social media influencer, Omotayo got married to her husband in 2013 and they have two children.

    Their marriage has remained free of any controversies since then.

    3. Deola And Darey Art Alade

    Rhythm and Blues star and his serial entrepreneur wife, Darey and Deola Art Alade are another couple with a big age difference.

    They got married in February 2007 and are blessed with two lovely children.Darey is eight years younger than his wife, Deola.

    They have been married for more than 15 years without any scandal.

    4. Fisayo Olagunju and Anita Joseph

    MC Fish, as popularly called, an influential comedian and event host, got married to actress Anita Joseph in 2020.

    The three year marriage has been nothing but a massive display of love despite the wife being eight years older than the husband.

    5. Rotimi Makinde and Oyebanke Makinde

    Former lawmaker Rotimi Makinde’s marriage to former Miss Osun Oyebanke Makinde began in 2013 with the husband being more than 15 years older than his spouse.

    Their marriage is blessed with children.

    6. Stan Eze and Blessing Obasi

    Nollywood stars Stan Eze and Blessing Obasi tied the knot in 2021.

    According to reports, the husband is believed to be ten years younger than his wife.

    They recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary and revealed that they are expecting their first child.

    7. Ufuoma McDermott and Steven McDermott

    Actress Ufuoma McDermott got married to her American husband in 2010

    She got married when she was 29 and her husband was 45, indicating a significant 16-year age gap between them.

    Their marriage is blessed with two children. 

    8. Silver Joke and Olu Jacobs

    Veteran actors, Olu Jacobs and his wife, Silver Joke got married in 1985 as they celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary last year. 

    Despite a remarkable 20-year age gap between them, the couple is one of the most respected and beloved in the Nollywood industry.

    Their marriage is blessed with two children.

    Read Also: Four celebrity marriages that crashed in 2023

    9. Richard Mofe Damijo and Jumobi Adegbesan Damijo

    Renowned actor, RMD tied the knot with Jumobi Adegbesan Damijo, a former TV presenter and media personality, back in 2000.

    Their marriage remains strong despite the ten-year age difference between them.

    They are blessed with children.

    10. Regina Daniels and Ned Nwoko

    Nollywood actress Regina Daniels tied the knot with billionaire businessman Ned Nwoko in 2019.

    The 22 years old actress is the sixth wife of the 62 year old businessman.

    The couple celebrated their 4th year of blissful marriage last year. 

    They are blessed with children.

    11. Sade Okoya and Rasaq Okoya

    46-year-old Sade Okoya is married to 83-year-old industrialist and owner of Eleganza group of companies, Rasaq Okoya. 

    She was in her 20s when she got married to her husband who was in his 50s

    The couple has been married for over 20 years and blessed with four children .

  • In Atlanta, I was a celebrity but became an upcoming act in Nigeria – Davido’s offical DJ, DJ Ecool

    Ebianga Ikpeme, better known by his stage name, DJ Ecool, is the official disc jockey for Davido Music Worldwide (DMW) boss, Davido. DJ Ecool, who was signed to the record label(DMW) years ago in this interview with OLAITAN GANIU, shares his experience working with the hip hop artiste, his latest single, ‘Personally’ among other issues.

    After your mega hit with Davido, fans have not heard from you. Is there any reason for the absence?

    No, after I released the single, Ada with Davido, I did another follow-up titled, 4u featuring Peruzzi and Davido. That was in November last year and I also dropped the visual. The song actually made wave but not as the first one.

    What influenced you to record your latest single, Personally?

    The single is titled Personally and I have to reach out to Peter of PSquare on it. Though, people don’t accept that you can diversify your craft. They will ask: ‘Are you not a DJ, when did you turn to an artiste?’ It was hard to convince people but we need to change that orientation. Since actors can sing, there is nothing wrong for deejay to also sing. I think, there should be no limits.

    People don’t really respect the disc jockey’s pricing. People prefer to pay artistes more than DJs who can also move crowd, but for whatever reason, artistes are of more value than disc jockeys and this is why I was trying to establish the other side of my brand. That is why I’m out with my latest single. Since I already have my fan base, I was like, let me invest my money into single and see if I could make some profit and benefit the brand.

    You grew up in Ojodu (Lagos) before becoming a global star. How did music start for you?

    My family is music-inclined. But I will say that I was introduced to music while I was in London in 2006, because my uncle is a music promoter. He used to promote Dru Hill and other big stars in that era. Though, I was very young,  I used to follow my uncle to most of the concerts because I love dancing and seeing Dru Hill perform on the big stage. This  made me lose my mind.  So, he made me have the dream that one day, I would  perform on a world stage. My uncle also owned a studio, so I started learning music production. I  later ventured into disc jockeying.

     Why did you choose disc jockeying over dancing and producing?

    Aside being a deejay and dancer, I was into computer graphics and software engineering. With all these skills, people would always come around for me to  help them download songs and burn it into CDs because as a software engineer I have some apps that enable me  to download a lot of songs. So, I started do a mixtape and people started liking it. They are the ones who encouraged me to choose disc jockeying because at that time, I didn’t have passion for it. I preferred to be a dancer or music producer.

    At what point did you decided put your own song out?

    Funny enough, I put up a song the same year Davido dropped the smash single, Dami duro, in 2011, but my song did not get to my backyard (laughing).

     So how did you feel then?

    I feel like I was just testing the water (laughing).

     When did you actually start working as a dee jay and how lucrative was it then?

    I finished school in 2003, here in Nigeria before I left for London in 2004. After some months, I went to visit my aunty in New York and I never returned to London. I later travelled from New York to Atlanta to see another aunty of mine and I got stuck there too (smiles). On how lucrative disc jockeying was at that time, it was not a means to an end, it was just to create a niche for myself. I wasn’t thinking about the money. But because of my educational level, I found a way to go around with the business side of it. I was always negotiating deals and branding myself to make it look like I was already made. And as a graphic designer, I was able to brand myself with captivating designs. So whenever people see my posters, they will be like ‘who is the new guy?’

     Could you share some of your struggles as a DJ abroad?

    There was this popular disc jockey then in Atlanta, his name is  DJ MarryMic, who had to quit deejaying for school. So, there was lack of professional disc jockey  in city. As an undergraduate then, I felt this was an opportunity to showcase my talent. I took a major risk of quitting school. In fact, I was writing exams in Electrical Engineering and I had a year and a half to graduate. I just got up from the exam hall and went straight to admission office to withdraw from school.

    Then, I was famous in school because I was so brainy. I was studying Calculus 1, 2 and Differential Equations. I got home telling my mum to shift the choir practice from Friday night to Saturday because I didn’t want it to affect my every  Friday nights’ play. My mum happens to be a pastor in a church; she was like ‘how will she tell the congregation that my son is playing in a night club?’ It was a strong decision for me but I was determined to make money through disc jockeying. I was lucky to start making money from it just within a year and I started giving my mum some money.

    So, this was a struggle for me but I utilized the opportunity because Atlanta is occupied by different ethnic groups including Cameroonians, Ghanaian and other blacks.

     Any plan to back to school?

    (Sigh). No, but after sometime, I decided to take online classes but it still didn’t work. But I can still go back because I still have a year left in my former school.

     But if you were doing that well in Atlanta, why did you decided to come back to Nigeria?

    For me, disc jockeys from outside earn more money than the in-house one like me. Though, I get fame and recognition by people but I was just a household name. I was always playing in the clubs and I knew that playing in the club alone would  not bring more money. So I felt like everyone in Atlanta has recognized me. I had toured all the top clubs, so I decided to find a new challenge.

    At the same time, I was also freestyling gigs with Davido. Most times, they booked two of us together in the same event. Although, then he was rolling with Dj Olu but he mostly didn’t travel with him. So, Davido will be like: ‘You are booked here too now. You roll my P for me, make we run thing.’

    You know, every artiste needs that DJ who can really give them that hype to turn up their audience. Different events kept  joining us together and because I was already establishing as a disc jockey, he always respected my decision. His personal assistant, Kamal, would  call, ‘Hey, Ecool, David get gig tomorrow, abeg make you show ooo.’ Then, I didn’t ask for money for travelling from him. I would  just arrange the ticket and join them where he (Davido) was booked. I kept representing well which I saw like a sacrifice. One day, he just called me to join his team for the Sony Tour, in December, 2016 and during the show, people started commenting on my hyping energy.

    Immediately after the tour, he just messaged me that he wanted me to be his official disc jockey. I was so excited. I didn’t think twice to join his brand because we connect so well and we are both valuable to each other’s brand. And since then, we’ve toured round the world.

     What is it like working with Davido?

    He used to put pressure on me. David will just say, ‘Ecool, you know as e dey go now. Make we  kill this P’ and that simply means, I must put-in more energy to introduce the brand to the crowd. Like when he is coming out walking on water (laughing), so I have to deliver.

    Though, he makes me stronger because I have tackled my own battle, I have mastered how to introduce the brand to the audience, how I make the performance for the artiste.

    For example, as we were about to start the performance at the Wireless Festival in London last year, I noticed that my laptop was malfunctioning. I was like, they will abuse Africa here today because we were the one representing Africa on that global stage. Davido didn’t know what was going on with me, though with faith I went on the stage to do the hyping but thank God, with my little knowledge on how to troubleshoot computers, I managed to play audio from the laptop and the show went successful.

     As at the time you came back to Nigeria, we already had some established disc jockeys. What makes your brand unique?

    I think everything that is good would be expected and even though I was already established abroad. So, coming to Nigeria, I have to accept that I was up and coming because many people didn’t recognise me. And this was what made me hungrier and that is why you see me crack jokes, hyping, dancing and back-flipping at shows because I wanted to stand out a disc jockey. So, if you book me as a DJ that means you also invite Ecool the dancer, MC, comedian and not just DJ and this sets me aside from everybody else.

    And you know, there was a time when musician were only releasing through DJs and there was something called, Coalition of Nigeria DJs worldwide and I was part of the administrators. I already made name through that platform because many Nigerian DJs knew me.

     What is the craziest thing a fan has done to you?

    A fan has once bitten me on my back and they’ve also stolen my necklace too. I was wearing a Rolex that day and I didn’t want to pursue him with a Rolex. As I was trying to give Davido the Rolex to chase the guy, Davido was like: ‘No, no, leave them ooo.’

  • OMONI OBOLI lashes social media trolls

    WHILE it is not really clear who Omoni Oboli is hitting at, it is obvious the toe of the mother of three boys has been stepped on.

    On Wednesday, the actress and movie producer lashed from her Instagram.

    “If all you do with social media is troll people and spread bitterness, you are of all men, the most miserable,” she wrote.

    “People are busy making money.”

    Read Also: AY, Omoni Oboli star in Hollywood Xmas film

    Known for her entrepreneurial drive, Omoni who tagged 2019 as ‘The Money year’ revealed that she is excited to partner popular beauty outfit Tara, to help empower a lucky fan.

    “But I’m super excited tonight because I’m partnering with my @houseoftara_intl family to empower someone who wants to become a beauty entrepreneur. I will pick one lucky person to get a beauty rep starter pack worth 50 thousand naira! Yes!!! It’s still the season of love. I’m a boss babe! I’m all about empowering my circle of influence…actively seeking and creating opportunities for them to make money.”

  • Celebrity makeup artiste makes last wishes

    Getting ready for death, celebrity makeup artiste Buntricia Bastian has said that her ashes should be brought back to Nigeria by her husband after she passes on.

    She revealed this yesterday via her Instagram account.

    The make-up artiste who also bid her fans goodbye revealed that her lungs are no longer working, with her heart at 30 percent.

    She said: “Is with deep sorrow and much regret that I must say goodbye to all. My lungs are gone and my heart is only working at 30%. I for the first time have run out of words to say other than I love you and I already miss you.

    “If I could put all the love that I feel right this minute from the people that I have already said my goodbyes to I would live to be 150 years. Nigeria my husband is bringing my ashes home so welcome him. It has been my honor and I am truly humbled to have touched so many of yours lives. To be honest me calling you to say goodbye to you is quite selfish on my part this way I leave you better than I came full of your love. I love you more than you will ever know”.

    For more than three decades the International Master Educator has worked as a make-up educator; celebrity makeup artist and hair stylist.

    Currently the corporate trainer for Sandals and Beaches Resorts & Spas worldwide, Buntricia has trained thousands of professionals and students abroad. She was the former director of The Arnold Padricks School of Cosmetology in Atlanta, Georgia and the Director of Education at Dudley Beauty College in Washington, DC.

    A straight talker, Buntricia challenges students to be smart about their business and to know their worth, whether they’re just starting out or are established professionals. Her vast work experience has afforded her many opportunities, including working at the White House, television and movie projects and for various magazines.

  • Celebrity cake maker, Tosan Jemide

    Celebrated cake maker, Tosan Jemide, reputed for making the iconic “Tallest Cake in Africa”, has announced that he will officially be retiring from active cake-making to focus on new projects including mentoring and setting up a cake school. This is coming after more than two decades in the business.

    Jemide of the Cakes by Tosan fame is known for designing some of Nigeria’s most iconic cakes and winning several awards.

    The baker who is turning 50 this month will also be launching a book, Sugar Icing, as part of activities marking the celebration.

    Speaking on his retirement plans, Jemide said that he is indeed grateful for the many opportunities he has received over the past two decades. He also expressed his excitement about what he called the “new phase” of Tosan Jemide, which will be referred to as CBTImpact, focused on giving back to society and mentoring Nigeria’s next generation of cake masters.

    “I am not retiring into oblivion; actually, I may become even busier with some of the new projects we will be embarking on over the next few months and years. The whole idea is to help the new generation of entrepreneurs and professional bakers be better at what they do by instituting a new and minimum standard for excellence in the industry,” he said.

    Jemide also said he owed his success in part to the formalized training he received as a young baker in the United Kingdom, and that, even though he faced several challenges as a rising star, he never lost hold of the fundamentals.

    As a master icing expert and cake decorator, Tosan Jemide’s iconic ‘Tallest Cake in Africa, a 28 feet masterpiece was unveiled in 2013 to global recognition and acclaim. He is currently the President of the Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN). He is also the Managing Director of Topcrust Bakeries.

  • Dealing with celebrity high risk lifestyle

    MUNACHIMSO Obiekwe, prolific, even if controversial Nollywood actor, died on Sunday, January 18, due to complications arising from kidney failure. He is survived by a wife and two children. My sympathies are with them at this difficult time.

    There is, understandably, sustained media focus on the incident. He is after all a fine actor (and I mean that literarily too.) No role was too controversial for him; he would play the role of a homosexual with almost the same fervour he acted as a randy womaniser. An intensely private person, he managed to keep the press out of his business- that is until his business spilled into the news.

    It is then important to use this opportunity to bring into the front of burner of public discourse, the danger inherent in the high risk lifestyle of Nigerian entertainers. At what point does living recklessly to seek validation from admirers get too much? How much of you really belong to the public?

    Those who were familiar with the late actor spoke of his fondness for the green bottle. While this is not in itself a crime and my intent is in no way to denigrate the late actor, however, there is need for caution in the use of alcoholic drinks by both entertainers and the youths in the larger society. Media reports indicated that his doctor’s warnings against excessive use of alcoholic beverages went unheeded.

    The rate at which drinks and drugs are celebrated in music and movies today has become alarming. If I had a dollar for all the times Moet and Hennessy are mentioned in pop culture music, I may be on some of Forbes list of rich people.

    In Instagram photos, Nigerian celebrities routinely pose with wads of cash and stare at the camera like they have no idea how it got there. Cars and other luxury items are always on display too. While they claim the objective is to motivate others, ‘surulere’ story, as it is called, the problem is it elevates the quest for money into the only ideal and encourages reckless lifestyles.

    Many Nollywood movies, especially the Yoruba variant, give the impression that the only way to have a good time is to soak your brain in alcohol, smoke weed and trolling nightclubs.

    However, medical reports warn that too much alcohol and smoking damages vital organs of the body. A great problem with some of these celebrities is that since they make their fortune so early in life, many are denied the benefits of normal upbringing. Some lack the right values and seek validation from an audience largely consisting of those with warped values. Hence some become victims of their own success. Though tragic, the death of this promising actor should encourage others to beat a hasty retreat from destructive lifestyles.

    —By Isaac Anyaogwu

  • Big Brother, celebrity-maniacs and other ‘guinea fowls’

    If we could take a minute to introspect, we would find that our obsession with Big Brother Africa (BBA) game show is only a symptom of our malaise. We would find that the decadence we lament started with our descent as a people and our ‘creative’ perversion of our media.

    This minute, conversation degenerates into mere gossip and heartfelt dreams manifest as perfection of perversity, everywhere. Everybody is a sucker for “high-society.” Like heat-maddened farm rats, ordinary people are persistently yearning for news about “high-society.”

    It’s the little packets of madness that we need to fear. How unforgivably silly the society becomes in its lust for celebrity gossip. The news we read, for the most part, is too paltry for the human genius. I do not know why our news should be so trivial.

    It is the stalest repetition. Yet we madden and lust for celebrity humdrum to the point that one is tempted to wonder why too much passion is squandered in pursuit of too little substance. We live for idle amusement and thus…the nature of our daily news.

    Our facts appear to spiral in the atmosphere, insignificant as the spores of the toadstool, and yet impinging on the surface of our mind, poisoning it, till it becomes not much in expression and thought. Superfluities meet superfluities; when our life ceases to be inward and absorbed, interaction degenerates into mere tittle-tattle and humanity relapses into the filthiest of averages.

    Every celebrity is a media creation; I repeat. While some may be deserving of the exaltation liberally accorded them, not a few celebrities, like Beverly Osu, Karen Igho and a host of other BBA past ‘inmates’ are undeserving of the hero worship they receive and so desperately seek. It is hardly the fault of the celebrity however, that the press and the society in general have chosen to accord them immeasurable hero worship despite their deficiencies.

    It takes more than newsworthiness to create a celebrity. The vast, interlocking web of resources and institutions involved in creating and maintaining a single celebrity is astounding. From media outlets to fan clubs and agents, from media products to gossip columnists, a star is never solitary, but often the result of hundreds of backstage orchestrations and player deals.

    It is even all the more disturbing to watch our fascination with celebrity gossip slide into precisely the kind of ruthless pursuit of its subject to which we claim to be ostensibly opposed; it is disheartening to observe the infringement of morals and humaneness at the heart of our inquest.

    There is no such thing as virtuous curiosity. Our curiosity oftentimes does violence to its object. On the flipside, it leaves the society stuck in a revolving cycle of spectatorship that believes in its own virtue even as it corrupts itself – a perfect representation of Jacqueline Rose’s the “perverting of curiosity in motion.”

    And even our so-called superstars have learnt to profit albeit fraudulently from the society’s perverse curiosities about their affairs. From Chaucer’s early poem, “The House of Fame,” whose hero-poet wrestles with the fame bestowed on him by society to Martin Scorcese’s film, King of Comedy, in which an amateur comedian jokes to a national television audience that it is “better to be king for a night, than schmuck for a lifetime!”

    Not to forget Nigerian actress, Genevieve Nnaji’s illuminating response to a CNN interviewer’s poser about her celebrity status, “Oh yeah, I don’t even need to wake up. Just sitting down sometimes, I’m like (sighs), sometimes I hate my life, but I can’t complain” — these celebrities and their works speak to us, even give voice to our own desires, as they reflect back to us the realities and illusions of today’s celebrity culture.

    Celebrities who insist, often with apparent desperation, that they do not court publicity, who try to hide from the public gaze on which they are totally dependent (they are legion – open any paper), are either naive or unapologetically fraudulent. With respect to Nigerian celebrities, being fraudulent and then, infantile, comes easy. Not only are most unable to discern that this is the balancing-act they are required to perform, they believe –erroneously so – that by virtue of their claim to stardom, they should have both the press and the public subjected to their whims.

    Therefore, the juveniles that they are at heart fail to realize that they are never functioning quite appropriately as befits their status; never perpetuating so perfectly the drama and duplicity on which celebrity thrives, as in the moments when they make that exasperating and utterly deceptive claim.

    If truly they do not crave media and public attention, let them desist from making their affairs known to the public. Let them desist from scorning such attention only to divulge news of their purported “best kept secrets” to the media surreptitiously. Celebrities who do that while making a show of their distaste for the limelight embody the worst form of infantilism and narcissistic tendencies.

    The vanity of their renunciation contains its own disavowal. It is a blatant hypocrisy that they perpetrate claiming that they do not want to be seen or become the subject of public attention; it simply says very much about their impoverishment in character and worth.

    It is even more disturbing to watch the society’s curiosity translate into precisely the kind of ruthless pursuit of subjects perpetrated by celebrity journalism. It is about time Nigerian journalists learned to focus on the issues that truly matter. How are news of the “high-octane” wedding of a telecommunication company proprietor’s daughter’s wedding, a Reality Show contestant’s current boyfriend, a professional hip-hop dancer’s pregnancy – outside wedlock – and the likely father of the child more beneficial to the youth and the society than a report about the dwindling culture of scholarship on the nation’s campuses and outside them? How is such news more beneficial to the public than the lack of functional local government authorities at the grassroots and the deplorable state of vocational and public primary schools across the country?

    It should be the media’s job not to give equal time, not to give 12 inches in a newspaper story to the idiocy and eccentricities of Nigeria’s middling rich trash and their spoilt kids. It is apparent that a passion for celebrity gossip has become the next illogical evolutionary step of journalism and readership in the country.

    Basically, it is in the media’s best financial interest to pervert its principal role as “Status-Conferrer” according to the public’s yearnings. This bespeaks a deeper perversion of the journalism ethic particularly, its “Agenda-Setter” function.

    But the fault is hardly the media’s alone. Now that it has been confirmed that the Nigerian press is fundamentally a trash can cum sounding board for the psychosis and perversions of celebrity trash and their families, the public’s role in their perpetuation of such depravity is undeniable.

    Given the public’s fascination with celebrity trash and their world, everyone remains complicit in the societal perversion. In essence, the Nigerian society is being ruled by base desires and voyeuristic inclinations for accounts of celebrities’ lives. This has led us to the point where we are not getting the journalism we need but rather the journalism we deserve.

    •To be continued…

     

  • ‘The challenge of being in a relationship with a celebrity’

    ‘The challenge of being in a relationship with a celebrity’

    SHE was barely known on the scene until she started a relationship with Peter Okoye, one-half of the dynamic group known as P Square. Pretty looking Lola Omotayo who has two kids for Peter posits that she really can’t define herself but she gave an insight as to who she really is.

    “What you see is what you get. I can’t really define who I am per se, but I’m humble, caring, loving and a professional in the oil and gas profession. I take my work and family very seriously because they are very important to me, my immediate family in particular.”

    For one who has mixed parentage, Lola revealed that her upbringing was really interesting as she had to contend with growing up in a household where the cultures of both parents were deemed as very important.

    “The journey has been a very interesting one. My Dad is a Nigerian and my mother is Russian. I was brought up in a household where both cultures are very important to my family. As a child, I went to boarding school where I learnt how to speak Yoruba. It wasn’t one of those glamorous schools, it was in Ondo State. Basically, my father wanted me to have a reality check of where I come from and what I need to aspire to be as an adult. From my mother’s angle, she imbedded her own culture on us as well. She insisted that we speak Russian at home, and we speak Yoruba at home as well, so I got the best of both languages.

    “In 1990, I went to the University of Ife for a short while to study Psychology, but Nigeria was in a terrible state then; universities were on strike and all that. So my father said ‘why can’t you come to America,’ because he was working there then. So I applied to study theatre and film in San Francisco University, America. I wanted to focus more on directing because I didn’t want to become an actress, but eventually life just took me through a journey and I started working for an I.T company there. That was how I started building my career. ” Lola said.

    Some years later, she decided to quit her post at the I.T firm as she thought seriously about establishing herself back home in Nigeria- a move she eventually made when found her way back to the buzzing city of Lagos.

    “I decided that I’m going to move to Nigeria after I spent some years working with the I.T firm, but before then, I did some interviews to ensure that I secure a job before coming here. I got a job with ECONET as their Events Manager. I worked there for over a year before Daily Times called me. The paper was trying to rebrand then and they have secured the service of Adrian Wood who was with MTN. I decided to join them because Adrian Wood was like my mentor.

    “I joined Daily Times and gave it my all, but some top people there didn’t really inspire me at the time, so I had to find my way. I worked for an advertising company called FKG2 and spent about five years there. We did a lot of things and it was interesting, that was where I met Peter actually. One of our clients, British American Tobacco (BAT) and P Square were doing something on Benson & Hedges then. We were on a road show together. I was still in the company when I gave birth to my son, but because the job was so demanding, I opted to work in my father’s company, Nosco Oil & Gas, so that I can have time to take care of my baby. I joined as an executive director in order to bring fresh ideas to the company. It was a new terrain for me, but I learnt quickly.” Lola averred.

    One also wonders Lola’s driving force considering the fact that the mother of two does not seem to depend on Peter’s wealth despite the fact that he has been quite successful over the years.

    “I believe that as a lady, you have to support your partner. You can’t put everything on your partner; it is important to add value as well. Even though I’m not bringing as much as he brings to the table, at least, I’m adding value and making things a lot easier. Honestly, that’s the way I was brought up; I can’t rely on someone for everything. I have to be independent. I should be able to buy something for my kids without asking their father for money. I feel good as a person knowing that I can do things for myself, not that I want to feel above him in anyway, but I just feel it is important for me to add some value to his life as much as he adds to mine.” She said.

    Lola also has a word of advice for Nigerian ladies who put all their financial burdens on their partner.

    “I think that is the core of our problems in this society because we put so much pressure on the man to take care of us. We put so much pressure on them, and that tempts some men to start doing some shady businesses. Women put too much pressure on men in this part of the world. Also, a lot of women are greedy and lazy, so they just want to get married and stop working. It doesn’t mean women should go all out and work for the men, but somehow, you just have to make things easy for him. I see a lot of young ladies out there; it is not as if there are no jobs for them to do, the problem is that they don’t want to do certain type of jobs, they want everything to come easy. I started the very hard way, I didn’t start the easy way like people assume.

    “I had to work myself up there because I had a vision. A lot of young ladies in Nigeria see people driving fancy cars; carrying fancy bags and assume that a man is supposed to do all of that for them, so they sell themselves in order to get it. But you don’t have to do that. You can always find ways to make money legally.” Lola pointed out.

    Had she not been born into a well-to-do home, one wonders how Lola would have coped, considering the seething economic situation in the country? But Lola says it all has to do with upbringing and family values.

    “I come from a humble background; I didn’t come from a very rich background. My parents worked really hard and I saw the care that they took to ensure that they instill the best on their kids, so I drew my strength from there. You have to fight for whatever you want; if it is education that will take you there, then, you have to go to school and ensure that you get the needed degree. And if you are creative, you can do other things, may be design clothes and all that. It doesn’t have to be a big job. Dangote didn’t start with millions of dollars, so you have to be focused and work on it gradually to get to where you are going. In fact, coming from a privileged background is difficult because it won’t make you see how life really is.

    “My father really threw me to the dogs; he wanted me to see how life is. He could have enrolled me into some fancy schools when I was growing up, but he wanted me to see how life is. He made me rub shoulders with people who had nothing. I have friends who came from rich background and today, they have nothing. I also have friends who came from poor homes and today they are doing well. It is about family values and hard work.” She posited.

    Lola who recently gave birth to a baby girl named Aliona in America also opened up on her relationship with Peter and what actually attracted her to the energetic and talented performer.

    “I love Peter because he was never intimidated. When I met him, he was just trying to build himself and I was very proud of him. I have a lot of respect for him, his talent and I saw that he had a vision. Peter doesn’t get intimidated by anything; in fact, he supports and encourages me all the time. I think he’s happy that he doesn’t have to do everything; he can rely on me that I will take care of our kids.

    “Peter has drive. He has vision and pursues it. He doesn’t let anybody distract him from that vision and that I saw in him, which a lot of people didn’t see. Some people were like, ‘what are you doing with a musician? Are you crazy?’ but I saw something very different and unique about Peter. I saw the goals he set for himself and how he accomplished those goals step by step, and I was very impressed with that. I also saw that he wasn’t a selfish person. He was a generous person from the outset, even though he didn’t have much then, he was always generous. I like a man who is generous, not for the financial reason, but also to see how he can add value to other people’s lives- that is very important to me. He is also a good listener; he listens to people and also listens to me. Those are the things that attracted me to Peter. He’s an amazing guy.” Lola chuckles.

    Last year, Peter gave Lola the surprise of her life when what was supposed to be a quiet lunch date to celebrate her birthday turned out to be a surprise party at West Fosters, located at 70, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    She was surprised to see her father and other guests at the party which also had in attendance the Managing Director of DANA Air, Jacky Hathiramani with his wife and a few other guests.

    Such is the nature of Peter as an excited Lola reveals how romantic he can be compared to the average Nigerian guy.

    “Peter is very romantic as well. He does things that an average Nigerian guy will not do. There was a Valentine Day that he came to my house with a guitar and played some love ballads for me. That was really cool and I loved it. Those are the little things that he does that really touched me.” She informed.

    With all the attention and spotlight Peter receives with his twin brother every now and then, Lola reveals that it is quiet hard to be in a relationship with a celebrity especially with fact that he is always on the road all the time.