George Bernard Shaw, the late Irish playwright, probably got it wrong. For if “marriage”, as he said, is truly “popular because it combines the maximum of temptation with the maximum of opportunity,” then John Obayuwana and Ene Lawani, should be married by now. But they aren’t. However, the proverbial chime of the weddings bells, pomp and glitter of a blissful ceremony, among other things, probably constitute the worst of the lovers’ fears.
If there is one wedding the cream of the high society has been waiting impatiently for in the past few years, it is their wedding. Their romance assumed a whole new dimension in the wake of rumours about the likelihood of the couple getting married. But even as the media and general public waited with bated breath for news about the D-day, the couple never made any conscious attempt to actualize the gossip. Insider sources, however, said they are taking their time and pretty soon, they would make their move.
However, in terms of flamboyance and penchant for expensive clothing, even an accustomed American rock star has nothing on Lagos lifestyle king, John Obayuwana. Curiously, in the deepest recesses of former Miss Nigeria, Ene Maya Lawani’s mind lies a secret pain. It is not the enduring pain nay anger that she is infamously Nigeria’s longest reigning queen – Ene was crowned Miss Nigeria in 2004 and until 2010, there was no other queen due to intractable issues encountered by the organisers.
It is also not the pain that comes with the fact that newer and younger queens have emerged on the scene, inadvertently shoving her from the limelight and attention of those that matter. Ene’s secret pain lies in the fact John has not put the ring in her finger. It is no longer a front-burner gossip that Ene and multimillionaire chairman of Polo Limited, John Obayuwana, are familiar with each other’s sanctums. They have been bucking and clawing and reveling in each other’s warmth for a long time. Ene, lovelorn, in her 30s, wants to get married before time passes her by.
