There are some teachers, like fame, whose lessons only really sink in when they are gone. When it is around, fame is an enthralling seductress that ensnares the hearts of men in its charms, turning them into thralls to the allure of temporary glory. But when it is gone, it becomes the dream of a better past and cold comfort for the present devoid of the merriment and jollity of yesteryears.
Obaro Ibru, the fun-loving son of former managing director of defunct Oceanic Bank, Cecilia Ibru, is no doubt learning this lesson in the privacy of his anonymous cocoon. Time was when the son of the scion of the Ibru empire, Chief Michael Ibru, rocked A-list events with so much class and panache. He became the ‘party king’ with a reputation for hosting weird parties that would make a nun recoil in horror.
From the South African beachside to the Nigerian night life scene, he ruled the party scene everywhere he went until fame packed her bags and left. Abruptly, the parties stopped. The visits to night clubs reduced and the party king morphed from fact to legend as Obaro was hardly seen again.
All this began after his mother was jailed in 2010 for corruption charges. He tried to make a brief comeback a couple years ago but his allure had worn off and he was left to unceremoniously recoil into his shell.
