Society & Lifestyle Archives - Page 27 of 41

Imposition Of Monarch Not Part Of Our Tradition, Says Oloto Royal Family

The Oloto Royal Family of Iddo and Lagos Mainland recently urged politicians to stay away from their king-making process, adding that the imposition of monarchs on kingdoms by politicians is allien to their culture and tradition.

The call was made by chiefs of the ruling houses at a recent meeting held in Lagos.

Present were Chief Mohammed Bashir Ayinla Akinola, the Odofin Oba and Secretary of Oloto Royal Family; Chief Lamina K. Akinlolu, the Ojomo Oba and Head Baalo Ruling House; Chief Jubril Adebayo Oloto, the Aro Oba and Head of Olupejobi Ruling House, and Chief Shamusideen Adisa Pedro, the Eletu Oba and Head of Eru-Ifa Ruling House, all representatives of the three ruling house of The Oloto Royal Family of Iddo and Lagos Mainland.

The chiefs revealed that their call for politicians to stay away from their affairs follows speculations of an attempt by some very powerful persons in Lagos State to impose a monarch on the kingdom following the death of the last King, Oba Ganiyu Okeyide Odesanya who reigned between 1990 and 2016.

A statement signed by the Secretary of the ruling houses said “We are dismayed that persons are trying to impose a candidate from Olupejobi ruling house, which produced the past Oba.”

The statement further said “the act is not only against the culture and traditions of the Oloto Royal Family practised over six centuries ago, but against the express provisions of the aforementioned declaration which is an official record of the government of Lagos State.”

Chief Jubril Adebayo Oloto, the Aro Oba and Head of Olupejobi Ruling House while speaking noted that prior to the installation of Oba Okeyide Odesanya, the chiefs, kingmakers, branch heads and entire Oloto Royal Family identified three ruling houses in Otto namely Olupejobi, Baalo, and Eru-Ifa Ruling houses, with succession to the throne to rotate from Olupejobi through Baalo to Eru-Ifa ruling houses.

He further noted that the attempt at imposing a candidate on the kingdom is against the express declaration of late Oba Okeyide Odesanya whose wish and declaration was that a person from Baalo ruling house should succeed him.

According to him, the move to impose a candidate from the ruling house which produced the last Oba is one which if allowed to succeed will breed problems in Otto and distort the peaceful co-existence of the people in the area.

He thus urged people who are not familiar with the culture and tradition of the kingdom to halt their attempt at causing unrest with their planned imposition of a candidate outside the ruling house who is supposed to produce the next monarch, adding that the ruling houses are capable of handling their affairs.

Oba Elegushi to celebrate birthday with football, golf tournaments

…As Ex-Eagles tackle Comedy stars in Peace Cup

One of the prominent monarchs in Lagos, Oba Saheed Elegushi of Ikate kingdom is celebrating his birthday and eleventh year anniversary of his coronation with two sporting events.

In a statement signed from the palace by the monarch’s special assistant on public affairs, Temitope Oyefeso, stated that a novelty football match, tagged ‘Elegushi Peace Cup’ will hold at the Campos mini stadium in Lagos and also the inaugural Oba Elegushi Golf Tournament will tee off at the Ikoyi Golf course. The two-in-one event is scheduled take place on Friday 9th of April 2021.

Speaking on the Peace Cup, the monarch spokesman stated that the initiative is to provide a platform to preach the message of peace to Nigerians, at a time when there is so much tension and socio-economic challenges confronting the nation.

“We embraced the peace cup as put forward by the organizers. His royal majesty is an advocate of peace, he preaches peace at every opportunity, so he endorsed the peace cup and has donated a trophy to be presented to the winner”, Oyefeso stated.

The Palace spokesman also disclosed that the Elegushi Peace Cup has attracted individual personalities in the entertainment industry to form a team and matches have been drawn between the Nigerian movie industry to tackle their counterparts from music, while ex-footballers will slug it out with comedy stars.

Some of the names already on the team list include Kanu Nwankwo, Tijani Babangida, Victor Ikpeba, Garba Lawal, for the ex-internationals. While the likes of Zlatan, Sexy Steel, Flavour, Patoranking will represent Team Music; Nollywood Team will have the likes of Fred Amata. IK Ogboona, Bolanle Ninalowo, Ijebu, Osita Iheme. The Comedy team will parade stars like Ayo Makun, Seyi Law, Bovi, Akpororo and others.

In similar fashion, over 100golfers from different golf clubs across the county have registered to participate at the maiden Golf tournament. The golf tournament is personal to the celebrant, Oba Elegushi, who is also a golfer and an active member of the Ikoyi Golf Club. He also plays at different courses within and outside Nigeria.

Oba Saheed Elegushi, who is the 21st monarch of Ikate-Elegushi kingdom was born on the 10th of April 1976 and ascended the throne of his ancestors on the 27th of April 2010.

Opinion: IBADAN, Honour to the undeserving By Wole Arisekola

According to an American lawyer and politician, who served as the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929; Calvin Coolidge, said ‘no person was ever honoured for what he received but honour has been reward for what he gave.’

All over the world, conferment of chieftaincy titles on deserving personalities is a way of expressing gratitude for impactful gestures of individuals that have through their magnanimity and benevolence benefited the awarding community whereby gratefulness of the people is bestowed on the beneficiaries of such titles in recognition of their irrefutable impacts with anticipation of continued purposeful living to further enhance the lots of the title awarding community.

Invariably, for conferment of chieftaincy to be worth the while, there must be convincing evidence of the presence and stupendous proofs of positive influence of title beneficiary widely felt and appreciated by the members of the title awarding community, otherwise, such titles become a scam.
The above depicts is the current trend in the award of Chieftaincy titles by the exalted throne in Ibadanland, Oyo State of Nigeria.

Chieftaincy titles come in different worths and diverse values. Some may be taken for granted while others must worth the status. The title “Agba Oye”, which refers to “High Chief”, is supposed to be preserved for an individual of perpetual influence who has grown through the ranks relentlessly providing shoulders for others to learn on and bringing widespread soccur to all and sundry remaining unwavering and unflinching in his positive impacts on the community over time without being found wanting over a reasonable length of time.

The Late Chief Harry Ayoade Akande, the immediate past Agba-Oye of Ibadanland, was known for enormous wealth. He lived in extreme affluence with a record of being rated one of the richest black men ever lived but never had any conspicuous impact on the community that awarded him with one of the most revered titles of the land.

As they say, once bitten, twice shy. If the most prestigious title of Ibadanland was given in error in the past, caution ought to be taken to avert the repeat of such a gaffe. A deserving personality for the esteemed title of Agba Oye of any community ought to be a man with a household name in the community with convincing impact and evidence of kind gesture is felt and acknowledged by all and sundry in the community.

Late Mufutau Ajadi Lanihun of blessed memory was never a big title holder but his name resonated with philanthropy, care for the downtrodden and peerless love for Ibadanland. Such is the worth of an individual deserving of a respected title in Ibadanland.

Curiously, the recent installation of Engr. Kola Karim as the new Agba Oye of Ibadanland leaves some questions unanswered – Who is Kola Karim in the social, religious, communal and philanthropic spheres of Ibadanland? What has been his credence in the Ibadan traditional council, his contributions to societal development of Ibadan city, his evidence of impactful living among the downtrodden not to talk of ingenious associations, the Olubadan palace itself and the central council of Ibadan Indigenes?

The Ibadanland ought to have outgrown ‘titles for sale syndrome’ whereby only the highest bidder takes the weighty honour of the land. This makes titles become cash and carry.

Conversly, the award of the revered title of Agba-Oye of Ibadanland puts the beneficiary of the title under spotlight to prove his worth as deserving of the title, otherwise the title is considered awarded in error.

Consequently, in order to redress the hideous trend, all concerned stakeholders and prominent sons and daughters of Ibadanland must be involved in the selection process of whoever is deserving of titles from the exalted throne of Olubadan since title holders are not only subjects to the Kabiyesi but also have the sanctity of Ibadanland to preserve and the interests of all and sundry in Ibadan to protect.

Aare Wole Arisekola writes from Ibadan.

China Rich List: 49 Years Old Ma Huateng owner of WeChat Push Jack Ma to 3rd

49-year-old Ma Huateng is currently the richest man in the most populous country in the world. Ma Huateng who is also called “Pony Ma” by fans, is the Chairman and Founder of Tencent Holdings, China’s biggest Internet enterprise.

Ma Huateng is currently worth $64.6bn surpassing Zhong Shanshan who is currently at $62.5bn according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s index

Ma Huateng is also the youngest amongst the first 15 multi-billionaires in the world.

At 49 years old, he is the Chairman of Tencent, a company listed amongst the biggest companies in the world by the sheer size of its market capitalization.

Ma Huateng founded Tencent 5 years after graduating from the University of Shenzhen where he studied Computer science. He teamed up with 4 of his colleagues in school to found the business. Tencent is the internet company behind the social media giant WeChat with over 1 billion users.

Tencent’s first product (QQ) was an instant messaging app that connected early adopters of desktop computers and mobile phones. It quickly became China’s largest instant-messaging platform according to the Wall Street Journal.

The company enjoyed early success with QQ. In the coming years, it raised over $32 million in investment and went public in 2004.

In 2011, it launched its most successful product to date – the giant social media platform, wechat.com with over a billion users. In the massive Chinese online market where Facebook and WhatsApp are banned, WeChat enjoys a large share of the market. It also offers its users additional features like shopping, gaming etc.

Tencent primarily makes money from advertisement and premium subscribers.

Ma Huateng of Tencent is obviously a fan of diversified investment. The company has spread its tentacles to various areas and markets, mostly in the United States.

According To CNBC, Tencent has invested in the following companies:

1. It has a 5% stake in Tesla
2. A 10% stock swap with Spotify
3. A 10% stake in Snap

Ma Huateng is referred to as Pony Ma by his large and youthful fan base. He is not related to Alibaba founder Jack Ma; both billionaires, however, share mutual respect.

Ma Huateng is currently worth $63.4bn and is the biggest success story from the streets of Shenzhen which is often referred to as China’s Silicon Valley.

He is the latest richest man in China.

Ma Huateng and his colleagues did one simple thing. They founded a social media platform for their home country.

Ma Huateng is a strong beneficiary of the long-standing ‘China First’ policy of the Chinese Communist Party.

In a world where other countries are relying on US tech companies like Facebook and Apple for their tech products, the Chinese have always insisted on building their own and Ma Huateng is a product of such ideology.

Meet the 35-year-old German billionaire whose company manufactures Covid-19 vaccine

The race for the manufacture and sales of the Covid-19 vaccines which is arguably the most sought after product in 2021 has been on for a while. Many countries have produced their versions of the vaccine and presented it for evaluation.

One of the leading Covid-19 vaccines in the race is the AstraZeneca vaccine which has been approved in over 50 countries and mostly used in Europe.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and a host of other European countries.

HALIX, a corporate venture and spin-off of HAL Allergy, is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), based in Leiden (The Netherlands). The company is licensed for the contract manufacturing of clinical and commercial medicines according to GMP standards.

Halix B.V is a subsidiary of Halix Allergy which is under the Droege Group, an independent advisory and Investment Company founded in 1988 and under full family ownership. According to Reuters, Halix B.V was contracted to manufacture AstraZeneca vaccines. The company is managed by 35-years Old Dr Ernest Droege. His father, Walter Droege started the family business in 1988 and is the 37th richest man in Germany according to Manager Magazine. Forbes lists Walter Droege as worth $4bn.

Dr Ernest Droege took over the reins of the business from his father, Walter P. Droege in 2018. According to Bloomberg, he first studied industrial engineering at the University of Karlsruhe before eventually earning a doctorate in economics at RWTH Aachen University. He worked at Goldman Sachs for a while before joining the family business. He started as co-head of operations on the management team and worked his way up the chain.

According to Forbes, the Droege Group is active in 30 countries and generates around $12 billion in annual revenue.

NIGERIA’S TOPMOST REALTOR, MOROLA BABALOLA LAUNCH AFFORDABLE HOUSING SCHEME, CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY WITH A BANG.

Undoubtedly, Morola Babalola is one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing Realtors and Properties Manages with the genuine good of the masses at heart, driven by the passion to see low-income earners become proud homeowners and hand them the opportunity to live among the high mighty of the society.

Little wonder why friends, families, and well-wishers on Monday, despite the day being the first day of the week, gathered to raise a glass in honour of this rare gem and philanthropist at heart, as she marked her 2021 birthday and the birth of her ‘newborn baby’: Affordable Housing Cooperative Society which is set to further put joy deep into the grassroots with affordable housing scheme.

Having worked so tirelessly to ensure the project see the light of the day, the CEO of Townsend Property Investment Company finally unveiled the scheme which is a major departure from the norm, targeted at slums to palaces and the homeless into landowners.

With this gesture, Morola has definitely shattered the Chinese wall between many Lagosians and owning properties in the State.

With this development, the mother of three made it clearly bent on seeing the somewhat neglected set of people in the society when it comes to homeownership: the okada riders, the petty traders, the slum residents, even students, boast of their own houses in Lagos.

In her presentation, Morola explained that this one of its kind society would partner with cooperatives from multinationals and small and medium enterprises.

After the official unveiling of AHCS, prayers, well wishes, and accolades were showered on the celebrant for her evident selfless gesture to the society. Friends and colleagues also told tales of Morola’s enchanting love and attitude.

Among the high profiled personalities who came to felicitate with Morola were, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Housing, Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Chairman, Star Petroleum, Otunba Babatunde Babalola, Honourable Gbenga Ashafa, Queen Ayo Balogun and many more.

Men are also being Harassed Sexually – US Envoy

Pics Source: Lakov Filimonov / shutterstock

The First Secretary of the United States of America Embassy in Nigeria, Madison Conoley, has said the male gender should also be considered as victims of sexual harassment while finding a solution to the scourge.

He stated this on Tuesday at Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, during an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the 16th annual conference and celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Fulbright programme.

The envoy said, “We very much support the association’s (Fulbright Alumni Association of Nigeria) efforts to address the issues in a transparent way.

“We know from empirical studies that men are not only aggressors, they are also victims of sexual harassment. If we want to solve this problem, we need the full conversation from all segments of society and all genders.”

The Vice Chancellor of Bowen University, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, said many rape cases were unconnected with substance abuse.

He said sexual harassment and substance abuse needed to be tackled squarely, adding that this would help the larger society.

The Deputy Commissioner (Legal), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Mr Adenekan Shogunle, identified concentration of power, especially in the hands of few individuals, as one of the factors responsible for cases of sexual harassment.

Shogunle said sexual harassment was not peculiar to educational institutions alone, adding that there were reports of such cases in the civil service, law enforcement agencies and judicial work force.

The immediately past Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Prof. Kayode Soremekun, said if the issue of mal-governance was not addressed, there was little that could be achieved in curbing sexual harassment.

COZA Pastor, Biodun Fatoyinbo Celebrates Mum @77

The founder of Common Wealth Of Zion Assembly COZA and Erukucity-born pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo has join family, friends and well-wishers across the globe to celebrate a woman of substance Mrs Comfort Fatoyinbo, whose simplicity and approach to life inspires innumerable people to greatness, as she turns 77 on Sunday 14th of March 2021.

In his congratulatory message to the quintessential, septuagenarian, philanthropist and woman of God’s heart Mrs Comfort Fatoyinbo as “a builder of dreams, a promoter of good course, and a compassionate aged-woman, always driven by what benefits humanity.”

He furthered that the auspicious birthday of our good Mummy worth celebrations for her humanitarian contributions to a better society.

He said “I’m proud to be one of your son also associate with you on this auspicious occasion of your birthday and acknowledge your excellent track records in motherhood and philanthropy.”

“On behalf of my family and my numerous followers, I congratulate a great woman that has touched a lot of lives positively and wishes you more years of prosperity and happiness.”

Jeff Bezos’ Ex-Wife MacKenzie Scott Remarries Teacher

MacKenzie Scott, one of the richest women in the world, is off the market. The very private billionaire, who divorced Amazon founder Jeff Bezos after 25 years of marriage, has quietly wed Seattle teacher Dan Jewett, according to a blog post from the groom.

It’s unclear when the newlyweds tied the knot; Scott could not be reached for comment. The news trickled out Saturday after Jewett posted on Scott’s Giving Pledge page, and was first reported in the Wall Street Journal.

“I have been a teacher for the majority of my life, as well as a grateful student of the generosity of those around me,” he wrote. “This has meant doing my best to follow their example by passing on resources of all kinds — from time, to energy, to material possessions — when I have had them to give. And now, in a stroke of happy coincidence, I am married to one of the most generous and kind people I know — and joining her in a commitment to pass on an enormous financial wealth to serve others.”

Scott, 50, received $36 billion when her divorce was finalized two years ago. The fortune has grown to an estimated $53 billion, most of which the novelist and philanthropist has pledged to give away. Scott’s personal wealth has grown significantly during the pandemic, along with Amazon’s share price. “This pandemic has been a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling,” she wrote in a Medium post in December. “Meanwhile, it has substantially increased the wealth of billionaires.”

She apparently met Jewett through Seattle’s Lakeside School, where her children attend classes and Jewett taught high school science. The elite private school for grades 5-12 boasts Bill Gates as an alumni.

Scott shared the happy news on her author bio on Amazon’s website: “She lives in Seattle with her four children and her husband, Dan.”

In a gracious note, Bezos (who also owns The Washington Post) seems genuinely thrilled for his ex-wife: “Dan is such a great guy, and I’m happy and excited for the both of them,” he said in a statement.

It also appears that Jewett’s days in the classroom are over. In his posting, Jewett said he and Scott “are united in that understanding and in our excitement for all we have to learn from so many people working in service of others. With that as a foundation, I join with the kindest and most thoughtful person I know in making this pledge, grateful for the exceptional privilege it will be to partner in giving away assets with the potential to do so much good when shared.”

Category: Society & Lifestyle