For the towering magnate, the path to honour doesn’t lay out in flat miles, it’s riddled with trials of fortune and intrigues of commerce. Eventually, it’s the imagination with which he perceives industry and the gestures by which he honours it that stands him out from his peer. Armed with this ageless wisdom, notable sons of Ijebu land sought their niche in the world of commerce.
And having attained acclaim and global deference in the cutthroat world of industry, they silently seek good graces of their kingdom’s paramount ruler, Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebu. As you read, illustrious sons of Ijebu are being considered for the kingdom’s highest honour for merchants and a son of the soil. The title: Ogbeni Oja of Ijebu land (Leader of Commerce and Industry in Ijebu) is currently in contention and Oba Adetona is no doubt having a hard time deciding who, among his subjects, is worthy of the much coveted honour.
The title, which is one of the biggest titles in Ijebu is bestowed on recipients according to the prerogative of the Awujale. It is usually given to a very successful businessman who is accomplished in his chosen career. In recent history, the two men who have held the title were accomplished men of immense means. The first Ogbeni Oja was late Chief Adeola Odutola, an Ijebu icon who in his lifetime was easily one of the most successful industrialists in Yorubaland. When he died, the Awujale made Otunba Bayo Kukuju, the next Ogbeni Oja. And he again was a very rich and successful businessman. He died two years ago. Since then, that seat has been vacant. At the moment, we have in contention for the title the Fototek boss, Chief Adegunwa. Adegunwa is very rich and close to the Awujale.
He is from Ososa. Could it also be Oba Otudeko? The latter, a successful industrialist, is close to the Awujale as well. He is a highly respected operator in the private sector with business and social connections. He is seen as a strong contender. Another likely contender for the title is Chief Sonny Kuku. Kuku is currently the Olorogun of Ijebuland. He is an accomplished Medical Doctor and businessman. This illustrious son of Ijebu is also seen as a strong contender. But while Ijebu’s royal circuit mull the likely recipient of the esteemed title, not a few people are wondering if the Awujale would risk making the title one family’s birthright by replacing a Kuku with Kuku as the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebu land. Only time will tell.
A QUIET, YET GLAMOROUS 60TH BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR LADUNNI AKIN-OLUGBADE
Like the early dew which moistens blooming bougainvillea, Ladun Akin Olugbade ornamented Nigeria’s high society with uncharacteristic verve and aplomb. So dazzling was her presence and her gait that she effortlessly became the centre of attraction at every social event she graced.
Being married to one of Nigeria’s wealthiest men is by no means a criterion to throw gaudy parties at will, especially if you have a hubby that panders to such whims. Chief Ladunni Akin-Olugbade, the wife of billionaire Aare Bolu Akin-Olugbade, is a different kind of billionaire’s wife after all. When she turned 60 recently, the self-effacing lawyer opted for a low key but quality gathering.
As age is strictly a case of mind over matter, she didn’t mind what many might say about her decision not to roll out the drums in typical wealthy family fashion, what matters to her is the attainment of 60 in good health. But her family still caused her to be celebrated because attaining age 60 is by no means a little achievement.
To set the ball rolling, a dinner party was held for the ‘birthday girl’ who has a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy by her husband and three sons at the luxurious George Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, which prides itself as a signature hotel in the tradition of the finest hotels in the world. This was followed by a thanksgiving service at First Baptist Church, Lagos, where the family are ardent worshipers. Another classy breakfast party followed, attended by only close family friends, a clear departure from when her husband clocked 60 in April, 2016.
Dr Akin-Olugbade, a successful lawyer with a doctorate degree in Company Law from Cambridge University, and an unabashed lover of high-end Rolls Royces, ferried relatives, friends and associates to exclusive Brazilian Restaurant, FOGO DE CHAO, in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles for his own birthday. It was a typical billionaire ball with exotic entertainment on display for the privileged guests. However, don’t commit the faux pas of addressing Dr Akin-Olugbade a billionaire as he once stated in a dated interview that he does not like the appellation because he is worth only $250 million in cash and a few more millions in other currencies!!!
DEWUNMI OGUNSANYA’S FIXATION WITH LUXURY PROPERTIES…BUYS SUJIMOTO’S LUXURY PROPERTY IN IKOYI
When successful businessman and founding chairman of Multichoice, Adewunmi Ogunsanya, completed his fetching fortress on Queen’s Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos, he envisaged that he and his beautiful wife, Moji, had a sumptuous, befitting place they would grow grey together in. Death had other more sinister plans as it snatched Moji through a debilitating cancer in March 2014. The Ogunsanya home, with its expansive outlay and expensive finishings, is regarded as one of the most beautiful houses in the elite neighbourhood and it underscores the foremost lawyer’s taste in luxury properties. The last three years have indeed been a mixture of sorts for the 1984 law graduate of the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. He was bestowed with the prestigious Senior Advocate of Nigeria title in 2016 and was later appointed chairman of Heritage Bank.
In the years under review, Ogunsanya has revved up his love for acquiring luxury properties. Recently, he added to his property portfolio, a high-rise apartment building in Bourdillon, Ikoyi, where real estate firm, Sujimoto Construction LTD, had planned to build Lorenzo, a 25-storey building which stands as the tallest residential building model in Lagos. A man that bats no eyelid when it comes to splashing the cash, as Ogunsanya continues to pile up successes, speculations continue to mount about the billionaire as regards whether he would remarry or not. He has indeed become a highly sought widower in Nigeria’s high society as hordes of women are engaged in a frantic jostle to win his love and attention. Most of them are professing their noble intent to offer him ‘emotional support’ and take his mind off the loss of his late wife. So desperate are these women that they now engage in a battle of wits to outsmart one another and find marital refuge in his palatial home.
IS PASTOR ANSLEM MADUBUKO’S NEW WIFE’S PREGNANT?
Until the rumour is verified, nosey-parkers will do well to abide by famous English playwright Francis Beaumont’s memorable quote – “Plot me no plotsâ€- particularly when the issue pertains to Pastor Emmy Kosgei, the new wife of Pastor Anslem Madubuko, Senior Pastor of the Revival Assembly Church.
As you read this, the rumours are rife that the wife he got married to sometime back, is pregnant. Tempting as it is to pay heed to the rumour, a sizeable number of the pastor’s congregation is quick to denounce the speculation. Left to them, Pastor Emmy’s increasingly rotund shape has nothing to do with a bun in the oven. Many have blamed her roundness on her sedentary lifestyle. According to them, she is adding weight because she often sit for too much.
Rather than get up to see to her affairs, she loves to remain on her seat while dishing out orders and instructions about everything she wants done. To meet her needs, she is reportedly surrounded by sycophantic adherents who are in the habit of milling around her.
Despite these presumptions, news about her pregnancy has been making the rounds. Speculators have it that she would soon be travelling out of the country for proper medical attention. However, if the tales are anything to go by, then these should be joyous moments in the life of the pastor.
