Whither These Socialites? PT. 1
They were once considered the life and so1l of most parties as a result of their charm, style, wealth and general disposition. They indeed rocked the party scene. But without much ado, their stories changed; while some put on hold their partying lifestyle, others bade a final goodbye, still others disappeared completely from the social circuit they once ruled, leaving many to wonder at what has become of them.
Bimbo Alashe-Arawole: She is the very enterprising lady who runs Leather World, both in Ikoyi and in GRA axis of Lagos with so much adroitness and impressive charisma. A widow, she used to be very prominent on the social scene but suddenly and without warning, went low profile, preferring instead to allow her work at Leather world, speak for her. Many attribute it to her new found zeal for Christ.
TokunboDurosaro: She is the director of Oando Foundation. Prior to this, she was the Chief Corporate Services Officer of Oando Plc. The leggy beauty is just as popular in the corporate circles as she is in the social community. She was however forced to ease herself out of the social scene when she got pregnant for her then lover, now husband, Akin Taylor-George, a former top executive at Guaranty Trust. Many had Bank. Many had envisaged her return to the social scene but it seemed motherhood and marriage got the better of her as she soon bade a final farewell to the social circuit.
FunmiOmitowoju: When a list of brilliant women who bestrode the Nigerian corporate sector is compiled someday, she would occupy a pride of place. A former head of operations, UBA Prestige Bank and a former general manager, South West, MTN Nigeria, Funmi is a successful career woman in all ramifications, having virtually seen it all in the corporate sector. A mother of one, Funmi who is in her late 40s was once a recurring decimal on the social scene. She not only took pride in gracing most red carpet events, she repeatedly made the cover of many tabloids. It is surprising that not much is being heard about her save for the fact that she now expends her energy running her business, Sygnet Company LTD. The last that was heard of her was when she was declared wanted by the police. The order for her arrest issued by the Office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police Zone 2 headquarters, located at No 2, Island Club Road, Onikan, Lagos. Already, a warrant of arrest has been duly obtained from a Magistrate Court, Lagos State for that purpose.
Solveigh Ojora: A classy lady in all ramifications, Solveigh was one socialite who made it a point of duty to only register her presence at very select and high profile events. Of both Norwegian and Nigerian origin, social outings for her became reduced to the barest minimum when her father, Ahmed Onipede, a former special adviser to former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was brutally murdered at his Badagry residence. A year later, the soft spoken mother of one finally gave socials a wide berth when she lost her husband, GbegiOjora, son of corporate titan, OtunbaAdekunle and EreluOjuolapeOjora, two years ago.
Paddy Adenuga: He is one of the sons of billionaire corporate guru, Otunba Mike Adenuga and was once a director at his father’s telecommunications outfit, Globacom. A die hard party freak who clubed and partied like his life depends on it, Paddy drank only the best of wines, spirits and cognac each time he stepped into a club, even restricting entry of other high net worth patrons to the VIP sections where he prefers to be cocooned. He always moved around without a retinue of fierce looking body guards and siren blaring convoy. Unfortunately all that came to an end when he had to relocate to America after an altercation with his father who placed him on indefinite suspension over a misconduct during office hours. Sources say he dropped his larger than life attitude in Nigeria when he relocated. It isn’t out of place to say that the social scene won’t miss him due to his brash attitude.
Jojo Dawodu: An avowed playboy, the Managing Director of Petroleum Energy and Allied Services Limited took many by surprise when he decided to take cerebral Nana Dawodu, a former Managing Director of First Trustees Nig. LTD and now Managing Director of ALM consulting, to the altar. Friends and family predicted that it was the beginning of good things to come and hoped that he would finally bade farewell to the reckless lifestyle that had come to define him. How wrong they were. The union, not only didn’t last, the bespectacled Jojo has since beaten a retreat from the social scene following his messy divorce from his wife.
CeleLavone Tawo: She dominated the Lagos social circuit with charm and charisma. Years after she left Lagos, the former milliner, single mother, former flame of celebrity lawyer, Festus Keyamo and publisher of Best moment magazine, bade a final farewell to the Lagos social scene, preferring to concentrate on raising her daughter and growing her business quietly in the capital city, Abuja.
