Successful businesswoman and socialite Hajia Bola Shagaya is glamorous. She oozes a peculiar aura of self-assurance, an attribute associated only with a few women in our society.
She is also revered for excelling in business and has rubbed shoulders with other top-flight and high-net-worth women worldwide. But there is more to Hajia Shagaya than her catholic taste.
The woman of substance has her fingers in many pies, all of which have given her fame and wealth. It is no news that she traverses the world, making contacts and breaking new grounds.
Interestingly, her fans are always quick to condemn those who wonder what the Kwara State-born billionaire’s staying power is. To them, those who mouth this are ignorant of her high-wire connections. She has been friends of many former first ladies, including the late Maryam Babangida, Hajia Maryam Abacha, the late Stella Obasanjo, and Dame Patience Jonathan.
Only last week, she again became the subject of interesting discussions in some quarters after she was sighted at the public presentation of Aisha Buhari: Being Different, a biography of Hajia Aisha Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Banquet Hall of the presidential villa, Abuja. Therefore, her presence at the event has laid to rest the insinuation that Hajia Shagaya may have lost relevance, especially among the current power brokers.
In a chat with Society Watch, a source revealed: “Many are not aware that her closeness to past and present first ladies goes beyond what she benefits from them. She also adds value to them; hence, her staying power. Her kindness, brilliance, and perceptiveness are the reasons they cannot do without her.”
