Dino Melaye is a pub delight, anyday. More often than not, he offers priceless materials for the ubiquitous bar gossip and jokes. On his best day, his words would make your flesh creep the few times he fails to tickle you by his sidesplitting diatribes.
Yes, there is something about Senator Melaye that rankles feminists and the womenfolk. Contemporary feminists would allege that he bares his mind and brandishes his manhood like the antlers of a wild buck. Less judgmental folks would simply dismiss him as a man emotionally stuck at age 14 or thereabouts. Whatever anyone thinks, his alleged attack against fellow senator and two-time first lady of Lagos State, Remi Tinubu, further diminishes Melaye in the estimation of his peer and even the younger generation. Melaye, in a fit of anger, allegedly threatened to beat Senator Tinubu up and impregnate her.
However, the two senators we gathered have ‘settled’ the fight. In a photograph captioned ‘With Senator Remi Tinubu’, which Dino posted on the social media, their brown eyes held on the spot where the chandeliers bathed the guests in brilliant spokes of light. Sparks of hatred got doused in the luminous blaze of their heartfelt smiles. No one ever thought that Remi could pull off a public show of burying the hatchet.
Picture of their ‘make up’ elicited widespread commentary and shrieks of awe among the nation’s ruling class and citizenry. But whatever anyone thinks, the recent episode involving Remi and Dino emphasises the fact that, in politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies.
TOP SOCIALITE, BIMBO ASHIRU, BURIES MOTHER IN GRAND STYLE
Penultimate Saturday, February 18, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, literally stood still as the crème of Nigeria’s high society thronged its rustic neighbourhoods to attend the grand ascension of Bimbo Ashiru’s mother to the afterlife. Expectedly, it was a star-studded event. All the rich men and women in Nigeria trooped out to pay their last respects to Madam Moradehun Ashiru. The people of Ijebu woke up to witness the grand procession of Madam Ashiru’s funeral.
There is no gainsaying she was the Queen of the Ashiru clan and a doting mother to her children, a title no monarch could claim. The natives had never been good at silence — they are never known to mourn wordlessly hence they are hardly the type that expressed intense emotions through a hand on the shoulder or a pat on the back— but that Saturday, they surpassed themselves. Ijebu silently mourned as the nation’s dignitaries thronged its beautiful innards to pay tribute to the beloved mother of one of their own.
The deceased would definitely turn in her grave for the honour and unrivalled show of love that her beloved children attracted for her sake. It was like a state event; there were in attendance, a presidential delegation, members of the National Assembly, numerous state governors and prominent moguls of the business community. Madam Ashiru was a living embodiment of the best humanity could ever offer. She was a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who lived a virtuous life.
BILLIONAIRES’ TEARS…THE SECRET AGONY OF THE FILTHY RICH
•NIGERIA’S AFFLUENT SCURRY TO TREAT DRIVERS, HOUSE HELPS AND THEIR OTHER WORKERS BETTER IN THE WAKE OF WHISTLE BLOWER CULTURE
Predictably, the whistle-blower deal is causing ripples within the circuits of the filthy rich. The possibility of losing their ill-gotten wealth lacerates the peace and charmed life of Nigeria’s super rich, as you read.
No thanks to the incumbent government, staff and associates of the affluent may walk into the offices of Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies to reveal locations of the illicit stash of local and foreign currencies stolen from public purse by the country’s former and incumbent public office holders. The whistle blower culture is undoubtedly getting results. Ever since some faceless dude blew the whistle and revealed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the warehouse where the former Director General (DG) of the Nigerian Customs Service parked 17 vehicles, all the corrupt rich men and women in the country have become apprehensive. They are jittery as you read.
Consequently, many of them are devising means to treat their poor servants with greater respect. They are thinking of increasing their salaries and allowances. They are worried that their poor servants, personal assistants, drivers, security men and office staff may become whistle blowers to get a reward of 2.5% to 5% of the value of whatever loot is recovered from them. This is why it’s always good to treat your workers right. Let’s hope too many of Nigeria’s affluent won’t learn the hard way.
PLIGHT OF THE VIRTUOUS…ON GOODIE IBRU’S PYRRHIC VICTORY
•HIS CURIOUS RESIGNATION AS CHAIRMAN OF IKEJA HOTELS
Virtue is the fount where honour springs and Goodie Ibru is a man of virtue; it is only understandable that he would command honour. Every where he traverses, Goodie commands the applause of upright men and this is because of his good breeding. But no matter how virtuous or honorable a man is, it hardly protects him from the ravages of unforgiving fate. You couldn’t have forgotten so soon that Goodie has gone through a lot in the last few months. Last year, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared him wanted over capital fraud. But contrary to widespread rumour, Ibru wasn’t on the run. Unfortunately, he was sick and had a surgery in the United Kingdom (UK). However, barely two months after securing victory in court as the authentic chairman of Ikeja Hotels plc, Goodie Ibru has resigned from that office.
Ibru said he took the move in the overall interest of the company and the larger Ibru family. In a statement, he anchored his decision on the need to get Ikeja Hotels to perform optimally, which have been hampered by multiple law suits filed by shareholders in the contest for the management and control of the company.
Ibru has called on the warring younger Ibrus to work with other shareholders to carry on the torch of excellence for which Ikeja Hotels has been known. He also stated that the Ibru family has gone through a tough phase in the recent past and as the only surviving son of the first generation of Ibrus, he is more committed to working with his sisters on keeping the family united.
