The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Erelu Abiola Dosunmu

  • Subomi Balogun, Abiola Dosunmu: Ageless duo in bond with WHITE

    SOME say it stands for peace, others say it is a habinger of good luck. Whatever is the case, two ageless celebrities, Otunba Subomi Balogun and Erelu Abiola Dosunmu, appear to have a timeless bond with colour white, particularly with regard to dressing.

    For as long as anyone can remember, Otunba Balogun’s peculiar elegant style has been a trendsetter. The 84-year-old founder of one of the nation’s successful banks, is in love with colour white, so much so that he has created with it a unique style that is at once simple and powerful.

    A holder of one of the highest traditional titles in Ijebu Kingdom, Otunba Subomi loves to appear at social and corporate functions  in immaculate outfits matched with a long gold necklace and original coral beads. Otunba loves gold jewelries.

    It goes without saying that the accompanying accessories accentuate his looks in no small measure. It thus becomes difficult to list fashion trailblazers in Nigeria without a mentioning his name.

    After a career that spanned several decades in the banking industry, he has remained a constant feature on the style and social scene, his strength being not necessarily in wearing the coolest trends or something that everyone likes, but appearing in outfits that stand him out. Even in his 80s, he remains a man of impeccable taste and style.

    It needs be said that his penchant for good things also rubs off on his choice of vehicles. He will settle for nothing less than the most exclusive of luxury cars: Rolls Royce. At the last count, he has bought 11 custom-built ones from the British auto-maker and delivered directly to his palace in Nigeria by British transport bearers!

    Just when you think he has slowed down on fashion, he confounds his numerous admirers by upping the ante such that it would not be out of place to write a book on his staying power.

    But he is not alone in terms of style icons that would not go off the radar no matter how many new ones emerge. The Erelu Kuti IV of Lagos, Abiola Dosunmu, is caught in similar fashion. The shrewd businesswoman and socialite is also a lover of white attires.

    A classic colossus who has bestridden the Lagos social scene for decades, her white outfits and accessories come in different designs.  In the last three decades, Dosunmu has been one of the stylish Nigerians who have popularised the all-white ensemble and made it a recurring trend.

    In addition to sporting an all-white attire on all social and corporate occasions, the tireless fashionista also has a thing for customised white coral beads. The beads and her traditional wear ensemble has a lot to do with her appointment as the 4th Erelu of the Centre of Excellence.

    So, when it comes to style inspiration for all-white elegance, no one does it better than Erelu Abiola Dosunmi and Otunba Subomi Balogun. They are unique because there are very few men and women who keep rocking this pattern and yet remain stylish even after they have transcended the league of 60-year-olds.

  • Pillars of high society honour Erelu Abiola Dosunmu at 70

    Pillars of high society honour Erelu Abiola Dosunmu at 70

    Erelu Abiola Dosunmu is an ageless colossus that has bestridden the Lagos social scene for decades. Like a self-regenerating cell, she bounces back after any setback and has remained unshakeable on her traditional and social thrones.

    A few days ago, the ever-youthful matriarch of high society hosted the movers and shakers of the political, social and business circles to her 70th birthday. The celebration began with a mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Victoria Island, swiftly followed by a night of songs of praise and thanksgiving at Terra Kulture Arena, also on the Island.

    The grand celebration witnessed a potpourri of joy, gaiety and camaraderie as the woman who loves wearing white was enveloped in the atmosphere generated by family, friends and associates who twisted and swayed to the beats from the loud speakers while toasting the Erelu Kuti of Lagos on her arrival into the septuagenarian club.

  • Parenting internet savvy kids

    Parenting internet savvy kids

    Parents in Nigeria have been advised on ways of parenting technology savvy children for good of the society.

    This advice was given on Monday during the celebration of the Global Day of Parents at the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Lagos.

    At the Panel Discussion programme organised to mark the day in Lagos, parents were urged to keep abreast of their children and be social media smart themselves.

    Speaking on ‘Contemporary Parenting and the Social Media’, Dr Ifeoma Amobi of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, warned that interaction of young people on social media platforms should no longer be dismissed as a ‘waste of time’, but must be acknowledged by parents as a part of contemporary communication.

    “The new way of life, brought on by the spread and development of communication technology, demands different ways of parenting due to the altered fabrics of parent-child relationships,” Dr. Amobi contended.

    According to her: “Parents should be their children’s best friends and should do so by becoming ‘social media smart’.”

    She further noted that in order to fulfil parents’ duty of protecting their children, online activity should be treated with the same diligence as offline activities.

    Welcoming the participants, Mr Ronald Kayanja, Director of UNIC Lagos, highlighted the importance of parents to the development of the child, the community and the nation.

    He observed that the success of the United Nations’ mission to promote international peace and security, ensuring a world free from war and conflict, was dependent on the direction parents provided for their children and the society.

    Quoting from the preamble of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Kayanja observed that “Since wars begin in the minds of men and women, it is in the minds of men and women that the defences of peace must be constructed”. He added that parents played an integral role in peace building through teaching values of tolerance, respect for one another, hard work and integrity among others.

    Similarly, Dr. Ebun Sonaiya, Chief Medical Director and Director of Total Health Trust, observed that peer pressure from an early age, the excessive use of technology and gadgets, being subjected to bullying, a sense of entitlement, drugs and substance abuse, sexual experimentation as well as sibling rivalry were the challenges children and parents face at this time in the global development.

    Dr. Ebun who spoke on topic: ‘Critical Issues and Challenges with Parenting in Nigeria’, maintained that “The parenting skills needed to tackle these sort challenges are not taught in schools or homes rather parents need to devise a more practical approach to navigate the challenges.

    In her remarks, the Executive Director of TWYEF, Mrs Stephany Nwanma, re-emphasised the importance of education and restoration of values through parenting and urged parents to rise up to the challenges of contemporary parenting.

    Her Royal Highness addressed the issue of gender equality and women’s empowerment stating that fathers and mothers should be equally responsible for parenting, as “women have always been working side by side to create a happy home for children”.

    In her ‘Testimony of a Parent’, Mrs Chinyere Anokwuru, the former Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Lagos state on women ethnic groups, recounted how her parents upheld integrity and values in the face of hardship and poverty to raise her. She added that the values handed down to her by her parents had brought her to where she was at the moment.

    The Panel Discussion programme chaired by the Erelu of Lagos, Her Royal Highness, Abiola Dosunmu, attracted men and women with varying education background, from all walks of life who gathered just to commemorate the Day3 in Nigeria.

  • Still the graceful Erelu Abiola Dosunmu

    Still the graceful Erelu Abiola Dosunmu

    On the social scene, some socialites make a fleeting passage like the beep of a mobile phone, while others bestride it with eternal grace. One woman who epitomises the latter category is Erelu Abiola Dosunmu. When she was sighted with the Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos at the Polo Tournament in Lagos a few days ago, one thing that was easily noticeable was the grace with which she is aging. Like a newly crowned beauty queen, Erelu caught the attention of many at the event as she strutted in her trademark all-white regalia.

    The ever-smiling estranged wife of Chief Deinde Fernandez added glitz to the event as the paparazzi had a field day clicking their cameras on the woman, who was earlier mistaken for another Erelu Ajoke Dosunmu who passed away early last month. In her 60s, Erelu Abiola Dosunmu is never short of admirers, thanks to her beauty which has not waned for decades.

    She is savouring the goodwill she has built over the years with her exemplary lifestyle. She has just returned from a holiday in Paris, France, from where she denounced the rumour of her death.

  • What’s happening to Beach Centre?

    What’s happening to Beach Centre?

    When in 2009, Erelu Abiola Dosunmu opened the Beach Centre, an exclusive elite club, at her Victoria Island home in Lagos, it was widely acknowledged and celebrated. Its inauguration was graced by the eminent persons in society, an indication of her social prowess.

    Membership did not come cheap either. It cost millions to enjoy the facilities at the elite centre. But barely four years after, there are reports that the multi-million naira facility is now a shadow of its old self, lying fallow.