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Tag: Toke Makinwa

  • “On Becoming”: Makinwa on book tour to UK in spite legal threat

    “On Becoming”: Makinwa on book tour to UK in spite legal threat

    Embattled Nigerian on-air-personality Toke Makinwa has proceeded to the United kingdom to promote her controversial book “On Becoming”, despite the threat to sue by her estranged husband, Maje Ayida, for continuous circulation.

    Makinwa, a TV presenter on Wednesday shared the photo of her UK trip, displaying a copy of the book on her Instagram handle.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Ayida was reported to have hired British lawyers to sue Makinwa over the controversial non-fiction “On Becoming”, which he said was an “exaggerated fabrication.”

    He sent a “Letter of Demand” asking Makinwa to stop the sales of the book and all forms of promotional activities.

    In the book, the television personality gave detailed account of her relationship/marriage to Ayida, a fitness expert.

    maje-ayida-fitness-guru

    She accused Ayida of infecting her with sexually transmitted diseases, being a serial cheat and an adulterer.

    However, Ayida recently lamented that the book has hurt his brand as a wellness and fitness coach.

    “Having those kinds of things written about me and circulating in the public domain has definitely hurt my brand, though it’s hard to quantify the kind of impact it has had.

    “People tend to form a perception of you from what they read or hear about you.

    “However, I concentrate my energy on doing good work and letting it speak for me,” he said (NAN)

  • TOKE MAKINWA savours new love life

    While many celebrities wallow in the mud of lingering emotions long after a failed relationship, popular on-air personality (OAP), Toke Makinwa, is not one to be drawn back by such occurrences. A year after her marriage to fitness guru, Maje Ayida, collapsed like a castle built with sand, she has driven herself away from the loneliness speed lane of love.

    Toke and her new heartthrob, Seyi Kuye, are the toast of social media. Kuye is a Nigerian-American businessman. Tall and masculine, he shares more than a passing resemblance with Toke’s ex, making people to wonder whether it is pure coincidence or she just has a thing for tall, black hunks.

    Tope Makinwa made her name as an OAP, television host and blogger before breaking the internet late last year with her autobiography, On Becoming, in which she, among other revelations, made accusations against her ex which she said led to their crashed marriage.

    Hopefully, her fresh dalliance with Seyi, who runs Initor Corporate Services, a civil engineering company, as COO, does not become the basis for another book on a broken union.

  • UNBECOMING OF TOKE MAKINWA

    UNBECOMING OF TOKE MAKINWA

    RADIO girl Toke Makinwa will have to deal with this pain for ever. ‘To everyone who is as lost and in pain as I was, choose to believe that the sun will rise again,’ she writes in her new book, detailing her childhood griefs, but mainly about her woes before and during her 18-month marriage to fitness coach Maje Ayida.

    Even if she tries to forget this bitter part of her life story, the book, ‘On Becoming’, will be there to remind her. Who knows, in these times when new entrants into the movie industry, such as Mo Abudu, seek some super stories, hers, may just come handy as another commercial-inclined story of another Nigerian woman in the mix. Her children and grandchildren will ask questions even when she is very old and gone. She will remain in the records as perhaps the most daring Nigerian OAP.

    I have read some of the punch lines in the new book, and as revealing and sympathetic as they seem, my instinct does not agree with the writer’s approach and purpose which appears to be a story of triumph. I really can’t see clearly how Toke has won the game. Rather, I see her drawing the line for the next battle of her life.

    The book brings another woman, Anita Solomon, who is alleged to be responsible for the crash of the union into the picture. And while Maje never wanted Toke to get pregnant for him, Anita is said to have been delivered of a son who turned a year old a few months ago. It is clear the guy does not want a permanent tie with her.

    Good enough, this new author reveals all the signs of failure in her relationship with Maje, even prior to their marriage. How the eventuality became surprising to her is what I do not understand. Long before I became a man, I’d always armed myself with the saying, “your wife/husband is not the one you love, but the one who loves you.”

    There are stories of men who undeniably love their wives yet cheat, going by what is generally termed man’s innate promiscuous nature; for Maje, it is clear whatever he felt or still feels for Toke, does not fit the definition of love.

    Toke probably had 99.9% influence on Maje, given reason the relationship endured, but there is a one percent that defines fulfilment in a person, and as minute as it seems, it rocked the boat of this celebrity marriage, with Maje heaving a sigh of relief. Forget his diplomatic mien or show of remorse.

    There is a man for every woman; only if we refuse to be moved by sight. May Ellen Ezekiel of blessed memory once said: “If you love a thing, let it go. If it comes back, it’s yours. If it doesn’t, it was never meant to be.” Toke was too magnetic for Maje, and the latter had been slave to her influences while their romance lasted.

    When you lure a man into ‘sympathy relationship’, it’s only a matter of time before the time bomb explodes. To me, theirs is a case of a careless woman and a dishonorable man. Toke and Maje are the proverbial two wrongs that don’t make a right.

    To purge herself of the hurts, there is no need to whip up further sympathy. Unless you are talking to the younger girls on the signs to note when a man is cheating, who needs details of how you were infected with STD? I bet that today’s secondary school girls are wiser. Therefore, if the revelations are for girls of your age, then it comes to me as trying to ridicule Maje and pretending you have overcome. Girl, if anyone has moved on, it is the guy.

    Although the world now consumes your story, one cannot say it is the best thing for you. Like they say, ‘sometimes, the activities of a madman in the market place thrill; no one would wish to have him as a relation.’ You will get thumbs up that may give you a false sense of fulfilment. This could come majorly from even older women; some with delayed marriages or in a bad relationship, even single mothers. It is entirely up to you to choose a new society of women, but the consequences of an uncommon association is felt alone, and at one’s private moment.

    When you go pass your prime and the effect of your bleached skin sets in proper, you will remember Maje again. But the lesson is not for you, but for your unborn children. Let them know that you were as guilty as Maje in this faulty relationship.

  • Can Toke Makinwa fly where others failed?

    Can Toke Makinwa fly where others failed?

    FOLLOWING her bitter divorce from her former husband, popular on-air-personality and blogger, Toke Makinwa, seems to have gotten her groove back, going by the pictures of her and her new US-based lover, Oluseyi Kuye, which have gone viral on the social media.

    Toke, who sources say has in recent times been reflecting on her heart-breaking experience with her ex-hubby, Maje Ayida, over alleged act of infidelity while the two remained married, was said to have been spotted during a lunch date with her new beau.

    Toke officially filed for divorce from her estranged husband after the two went through a rough patch the latter’s ex-girlfriend.

    According to court documents, she listed a couple of reasons why the court should grant her a divorce from Maje, based on infidelity and irreconcilable differences, among other allegations.

    But all that seems to be history now with reports that Toke has fully got over her rift with Maje, finding love in the arms of her new heartthrob, who lives in Wichita, Kansas in the United States of America.

    Her new lover is said to be of Egba extraction in Ogun State.

    Toke’s lovers and fans are, however, worried that her new crush is based abroad, given the fate that has befallen many female celebrities before her whose marriages with foreign-based husbands ended in heartbreaks.

    Below is a list of female celebrities who have suffered this ugly fate.

    Taiwo Aromokun

    Popular Yoruba actress, Taiwo Aromokun’s marriage to Holland-based Olayemi Abimbola, popularly known as Ogun of Holland, was celebrated with pomp and ceremony after the two lovebirds signed the dotted lines on December 26, 2012, at the Ikoyi Marriage Registry in Lagos.

    Taiwo, a solid role interpreter, promptly relocated to be with her husband. Soon after, she was rewarded with a set of twin boys, Jade and Jamine.

    But after what seemed a roller coaster ride with her marriage, the actress came out a few weeks ago to announce that her marriage has indeed packed up.

    Speaking during a television interview, she also stated that the most important thing to her is to take care of her two kids and concentrate more on her job.

    ‘I am no longer in marriage. I made a big mistake going into that marriage and I have realised my mistakes,” she said.

    She also foreclosed any plan for another relationship for the meantime.

    “I am not ready for any relationship for now. You know what, I still believe in love and I am advising ladies who have found true love to hold on to it, because it exists. For me, I need to concentrate on my work and my talk show which will be coming up possibly in May, 2016.”

    Bisi Ibidapo-Obe

    Prior to her affair with Senator Dino Melaye, which resulted in the birth of a baby girl, popular Yoruba actress, Bisi Ibidapo-Obe, was linked with different lovers, each ending in heartbreak.

    Speaking soon after swallowing the bitter pill of her rejection by Dino, Bisi said: “I must confess that I never knew my love affair with the father of my baby would turn awry, but it did. Fortunately for me, the guy I was dating before stood by me when my daughter’s father rejected me.

    “He saw all that happened as a script written by God, which had to play out. He stood by me throughout the pregnancy and he is still there for me. I have found love again.”

    Unfortunately for Bisi, as was the case with her with past lovers, the guy in question, UK-based Kunle Ashimi, came out to deny that he was back with her or that he had any plan to marry her.

    He was also quoted as saying: “There is nothing of such happening. We are just best of friends. So let’s keep the facts as it is.”

    Uche Ogbodo

    Fair-complexioned Nollywood actress, Uche Ogbodo, is no stranger to controversies. So it was for her failed marriage to ex-Nigerian footballer, Ato Ubby.

    Speaking recently on why the marriage failed, Uche, who is known to say things the way they are, said:

    “The marriage didn’t work out. Yes, it was a marriage, but we didn’t do any wedding. We didn’t do any court marriage or church wedding. We did nothing. We didn’t even do traditional marriage. But in my culture, there are many processes to getting married and I did a few of those. So, you can say I was married.

    “In Igbo land, there are rites you adhere to before you can say this is my wife, and I did a couple of them. You cannot do rites openly; it’s just a family thing, family members only. It’s not a traditional wedding.

    “If I had done traditional wedding, I would definitely invite people. If I had done a white wedding, I would have invited people. If I had done a court marriage, I would still have invited people. But it was just rites. I didn’t do anything the public needed to know. So you can’t say I did any marriage in secret.

    “My marriage was full of lies. I cannot tell you in detail what those lies were, but it was based on lies. It’s a pity it didn’t work out. I didn’t go into the marriage to crash it. I wanted a family; I wanted a loving home and a loving husband. That was why I went into it in the first place. But as nature would have it, I didn’t get any of those.”

     

    Laide Bakare

    Popular Yoruba actress, Laide Bakare’s marriage to her ex-husband, US-based Olumide Okufulire, with whom she had a daughter, ended on a very acrimonious note.

    The marriage, which was contracted some years ago, was well-celebrated at the beginning, with the actress always speaking in glowing terms about her husband.

    But Laide has since put the story of the failed marriage behind her and indeed has unveiled the new man in her life. The man who has stolen Laide’s heart is said to be a wealthy but married man.

    But her ex is not giving up without a fight. In a serious battle to get the custody of their daughter, Olumide said: “She cannot be a good mother to our daughter. How come she has not gone to court but the media for separation? Separation can only come through the court.

    “American government gave Laide a Green Card because she is legally married to me. We had a court marriage in Nigeria also. When she was supposed to be a faithful wife, she would leave her matrimonial home to stay with married men in Lagos, all in the name of being an actress.

    “I couldn’t monitor her because I am not always in Nigeria. In fact, there was a time she left our baby, Similoluwa, with me for eight months in America in the name of career.”

    Moji Olaiya

    The story was the same for Yoruba actress Moji Olaiya. Her marriage to her ex-hubby, Bayo Okesola, ended in a fashion that was very similar to others aforementioned.

    Though she would later come out to explain that the marriage failed as a result of alleged abuse and the fact that her husband failed to bind with her daughter from a previous marriage, those close to the couple said they were not surprised that the marriage failed to work.

    Lola Alao

    Actress Lola Alao is not new to controversy, especially those that have to do with her love life. The mother of one recently denied that her marriage to America-based Nigerian, Olawale Ajibola, may have crashed.

    But sources have claimed that her husband may actually have left her for her best friend.

    However, this would not be the first time that Lola would go through such experience. The beauty, however, is that she has come out stronger each time.

  • Toke Makinwa seeks end to marriage

    The marital union of popular on air personality, Toke Makiwa and her husband, Maje Ayida, which began on a romantic note, is turning out like a scene out of a movie. The two love birds appear determined now to go their separate ways. Toke, in particular, seems to have come to the conclusion that there is no sense remaining in a marriage she considers unhappy.

    Consequently, Toke has filed a divorce petition before Justice Pedro of the Lagos State High Court.

    Toke was said to be angling for an endorsement deal worth N20 million with a telecommunication company, but she lost the deal as a result of the scandal that trailed the pregnancy of an alleged baby mama. According to the petition, Toke had endured the situation, hoping that things will get better in her marriage. But Maje was said to be allegedly unappreciative of Toke’s perseverance and threatened to physically assault her.

    Toke, from all indications, is ready for a fresh start as far as marriage is concerned.

  • TOKE MAKINWA I’d thought I will be a dancer

    TOKE MAKINWA I’d thought I will be a dancer

    You are a woman of many parts. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

    God. Prayer has been what has been able to give me balance in this industry.

    When you go on red carpet and all eyes are on you, how do you feel?

    I don’t see every eyes, I just see where I am going. I feel it is humbling that people see a skirt or top on you that they love and want to wear same. I love fashion, I breathe fashion and I eat fashion. If the public see that I am fashionable I would say thank you for that. I’m not the type that shies away from the camera or back down on a challenge and that’s why the Nigerian viewers love me.

    Do you have a stylist who picks out your clothes and accessories for social events?

    I have a couple of stylists actually and I have become friends with a number of Nigerian designers as well. It’s okay to have a stylist but I would advice everyone to have a personal relationship with designers too. I’d have to give it to them, Nigerian designers work really hard but sometimes the stylist who puts clothes together gets more recognition than the designer. I use Tianah’s Place, Lucy Love, Bolaji Animashaun and the designers that over the years I’ve become good friends with- April by Kunbi, I really love her; Phunk Afrique, Moofa.

    It seems you love to always attend events. Why?

    Attending events is part of work as well. I do get paid to attend some events. When you grow a brand and it becomes a solid brand, people will want to associate with that and if they have some products or services that they have that would align with your brand; they invite you to be part of it. Just like people feel like your been at certain events might also add some glamour to it. I see it as work as well. I really don’t go out like that, in terms of having fun or chilling at home. I think I enjoy the fact that it’s a job and I am getting paid for it. I am the life of a party and that hasn’t changed. I love talking, I love to go out to listen to music and have a good time.

    How do you define style?

    Comfort and chic. What is chic to you may be different from mine. But comfort I will say. I like what I feel comfortable in, what makes me feel young, what interprets who I am.

    Share your beauty secrets with us?

    I don’t sleep with my make-up. I exfoliate my skin once in three weeks. No matter how busy you are, try and take a lot of water. I stopped taking frizzy drinks. I have been taking water.

    How and when did you get on to radio?

    In 1999. Cool Fm had just opened and there was this teenage program that showcased the life of teenagers and topics that interest them like sex education, being good at home, being good in school and it was broadcast every saturday morning. It was short lived because my parents didn’t think it was a career then, they didn’t even think it was cool being on radio. I got the job and I didn’t tell anyone at home. My mum was driving in the car one day, and she heard my voice on radio, and that was it. She didn’t even let me resign formally, because she didn’t allow me go back there. I just stopped. Sometimes ,I wonder how I was on the radio for four months without my mum hearing of it. But, one fateful day, she heard and that was the last time, I ever went into the studio of Cool FM. So, how has the journey been?

    It has been a great journey, and many doors have opened. I pray it does not end here.

    Would you say you are fulfilled in your career?

    Absolutely, to think about the gains or what it has to offer. The first thing is you must love what you do. You must see it as something you cannot live without. The fulfillment has to come from you chasing that dream.

    If not a broadcaster, what would you have been?

    I would have been a dancer. I thought I was going to dance for Shina Peters. It was one of my childhood dreams, while growing up. So, when we were in primary school and they asked what you want to be, I would then say a dancer.

    Who influenced you while growing up and what lessons life taught you?

    Growing up was fun-tastic as I like to say .I can remember all that I have been through in life. Moments that changed one’s life and wonderful moments with my family. And the main lesson is that there is no impossibility with God.

    How do you feel being the ambassador of Payporte.com?

    It feels really good. I shot the TVC commercial last year before the brand ambassador thing came up. I usually like to work with new brands. If it is a big brand that is already known, one may not know what one is cut out to do. After I shot the TVC, I went online to shop on Payporte.com because that was the first time I will be hearing about it.  I bought a skirt and a perfume which was delivered. Many people have reached out to me after the TVC on Twitter. So for me the relationship started when I shot the commercial. A lot of brands shot TVC with someone and they get another person for brand ambassador.  I like the fact that people saw me as the link between the customers and the brand, that does not necessarily needs to be in the face of the public.

    What are your roles as the brand ambassador?

    We have to drive awareness for the brand. Like an ear on the ground if anybody has any problem. Toke is not just paid to represent the brand. Toke is interested in the brand. We are to show how people can have a lasting shopping experience in the comfort of their home.

    Share with us the other side of your life?

    I love my own company most times. People think I’m very loud and always out there. But on some days I can be very into myself. I am very open to adoption. I find it very weird when people talk about having kids and they say, your kids must be your kids and I think it’s such a selfish way to live because there are a thousand children out there who could do with some shelter. Even when I have my own kids, I’ll still adopt.

  • How to live your dreams

    How to live your dreams

    Already in its fourth year running after three consecutive editions; The Live Your Dreams Africa 4.0 held at Eventistry, Freedom Way, Lekki phase one, May 14th.
    This year’s edition tagged: “My Dream: To leave or to cleave” hosted by the Convener, Bankole Williams, featured high profiled speakers, who were determined to push the audience forward in living their dreams intentionally, through tales of their life-changing experiences and huge success stories.
    A short highlight of the Live Your Dream Africa 3.0 panelist session of both Jude MI Abaga of the Chocolate Boys Music group and Bright Okpocha aka Basket mouth was initially filmed on projector screens to thrill the massive audience, before a saxophone rendition of the national anthem was performed by Detuke Morgan.
    Williams, while giving the keynote address, spoke about the reason behind Live your dreams Africa which was majorly to let people live intentionally and spend life in a pursuit of daily happiness. Only which can be accomplished by conscious efforts on parts of individuals to live their dreams.
    He gave a little biography of his life as a banker where his colleagues constantly agonised over their banking jobs but did nothing rather than still come back to the same job the following day, just because it could pay the bills. Failing to live their dreams. He spoke on the need to break the employment mentality that troubled young Nigerians always seeking jobs from the private or public sector as a livelihood when they could start their own venture.
    He spoke on the importance of having a reference point to validate one’s dreams.
    “Reference points are important; that is why I get successful people from all works of life to share their success stories with you. The number of Reference points to validate these experiences are more than enough to motivate you to live your own dreams.”
    The lineup of eight speakers with four panelist sessions anchored by Aderonke Adebanjo for the most part of three sessions was a very inspiring period for the audience who paid very rapt attention.
    The speakers profile included: Nigeria’s King of Comedy, Alibaba; award winning songstress, Waje; renowed photographer and painter, Kelechi Amadi-Obi; Radio and Television personality Vlogger; Toke Makinwa, an outstanding fashion designer, Ejiro Amos Tafiri; CEO of Cosharis Group; Dr Cosmas Maduka,  Award winning actress; Adesuwa Etomi,  and Special Adviser to the Lagos state Governor on Education; Obafela Bank Olemoh.
    The newest award winning on screen goddess, Etomi, assured her listeners to have confidence in themselves as a ticket in living their dreams.
    “It is okay to have confidence as confidence is very different from pride,” she said, advising her listeners to know what is for them.
    When she came up, Tafiri took the audience down the memory lane on how she started her business with just #40 000 to clinch a couple of awards in grand style as a widely acclaimed fashionista.
    Similarly, Amadi-Obi and Alibaba explained how they were able to thrive in the Nigerian environment by carving a niche as both comedian masterminds cum photographer and artist; Waje and Toke preached the message of self-love, determination to succeed against all odds, donning a tough skin against social media jabs while putting God first in everything one does.
    The height of the event was the final panel session between Dr Maduka and Mr Olemoh.
    For the CEO of the Cosharis Group who narrated his marriage at the age of 19 to his delectable wife, Charity and his rise to success at the ripe age of 22; spoke of his tragic-comic loss of N22billion and the seven year crisis cycle he has always battled with in overcoming difficulties.
    Olemoh wasn’t left out of the matter as he alluded his success story to sheer dedication and hard-work as an employee to finally pay off in his business and gubernatorial appointment in the world of politics.
    The event, sponsored by series of companies featured comedy sessions, spoken word, free Origin zero drinks by Guinness, Book giveaways and Products put on display.
  • TOKE MAKINWA – VISITS DERMATOLOGIST ON FANS’ ADVICE

    TOKE MAKINWA – VISITS DERMATOLOGIST ON FANS’ ADVICE

    Radio personality, television host, and vlogger; Toke Makinwa is not too big to take advise from well meaning fans it seems. Only last Tuesday, the lovely lady was criticised by fans for having contrasting dark toes in a picture she posted on Instagram. Fans were quick to ask her to visit a dermatologist to do something about it.

    Quite a number of fans gave their opinion while some proffered tips to get her feet to match her knuckles. Others were of the notion that her feet got burnt while yet others advised that she stick to covered shoes until her skin cleared up.

    Toke took the proffered advice, and visited a dermatologist. Explaining that her uneven skin tone was caused by a recent skin peeling procedure, she said, “I did a melanopeel of late, and the shed after was nice and tidy.”

    The talented lady is no stranger to controversy, and is as popular for her work, as she is for her lifestyle, and fashion sense. She was recently enmeshed in a stormy marriage to Maye Ayida.

  • Toke Makinwa, Maje Ayida back together?

    Toke Makinwa, Maje Ayida back together?

    It is generally believed that there is no perfect union. And the imperfection in a union can be compounded when it is subjected to public scrutiny. Popular on-air personality (OAP) Toke Makinwa would sometimes wish she was an ordinary woman in an ordinary relationship. After the last misunderstanding that rocked her marriage to its foundation and it seemed certain that Toke and her husband, Maje Ayida, had separated for good, two instances have hinted that they may yet have set their feet on the path of reconciliation, if they have not already reconciled.

    The first was a message Maje Ayida posted on Instagram on Toke Makinwa’s  30th birthday on November 1. The message read thus: “Happy birthday to my stunning wife. You are such an incredible woman.” The second was the head turning appearance they made at the Future Awards, which took place over a week ago at the Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos. The couple stepped out together, all loved up.

    The two instances have led many to conclude that the storm is over and the paradise is free of trouble for the once estranged couple.

  • Toke Makinwa, Maje Ayida unite?

    Toke Makinwa, Maje Ayida unite?

    Estranded celebrity couple, Toke Makinwa, and husband Maje Ayida, made a surprise appearance at the Future Awards last week Sunday.

    The fashionista, Vlogger and OAP pulled the carpet off some people’s feet when she stepped on the brown carpet with her supposedly estranged hubby, Maje Ayida.

    The couple was all over each other during Jagged Edge’s moving performance and this has left many wondering if the couple is back in each other’s arms.

    Other people who attended the award included the Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, Mo Abudu, Omawumi, Kelechi AmadiObi, OC Ukeje, Niyola, Toni Tones, Ini Dima-Okojie, Vimbai Mutinhiri, Kemi Lala Akindoju and others.b