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HIGHLIFE
HiTV Boss, Toyin Subair, Marries Indian Beauty, Anita Gupta At a time when many were beginning to forget he ever existed, dandy man about town and former chief executive officer of HITV, Toyin Subair, crept back to the news circuit with his marriage to Indian beauty, Anita Gupta. The drop-dead gorgeous bride owns a fashion accessories shop in the heart of London. Introduced by mutual friends, Toyin and Anita had been dating for a few months before deciding to legitimise their union.While the friends who introduced them did not reckon it would ever lead to marriage given Toyin’s recent marital experience and divorce, they are nonetheless happy for them. The low-key wedding held in London without the frills of a typical Nigerian wedding. The new couple was joined in holy matrimony in the presence of few friends notably, Seyi, scion of the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu sprawling political dynasty, and Hon Jimi Lai Mohammed, son of Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. Diminutive but good looking Toyin sauntered into public consciousness as a lawyer and later the chief executive officer of indigenous pay-per-view platform, HITV, launched on August 1, 2007. Prior to the coming of HiTV, Multichoice enjoyed maximum monopoly, having the exclusive right to show the English Premier League games in Nigeria. HiTv became an instant sensation with its cheap price, potpourri of feel-good programmes and importantly, surprisingly nicking the rights to the 2008/2009 Premier League season. Due to the huge followership of that popularleague in Nigeria, HITV became a hot cake in the market. And Toyin lived it up. Then in his late 30s, he was the big boy every other big boy aspired to be; the kind of guy that would snatch your girl and you would curtsy and gladly open the door for them to pass; wealthy, attractive, effervescent, suave, articulate and funloving. He had a taste for the high life
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Toyin Subair and new wife, Gupta
and fast cars and he had the cash to fund it. He ruled the roost in those days and was the life of the party. But the bubble soon burst. When the company won the premier league rights the following year, their banker, Guaranty Trust Bank could not meet up with payments. According to Toyin then, “The real issue is that we actually won the rights, made the initial deposit payment of $40 million and expected that our financial institution would provide the bank guarantee as is the practice. But unfortunately, the bank could not do so before the given deadline.� Not long after this disappointment, HITV closed shops putting a bitter end to an
ambitious Nigerian dream. If he thought that was his only headache, he didn’t envisage how lowly GTBank would go in a bid to recoup its investment. The bank dispatched heavily armed mobile policemen to all HITV offices in Lagos causing significant distress and embarrassment to staff and customers. His marriage also crashed culminating in a bitter divorce that was just finalised. He relocated abroad for a few years and totally shunned the limelight which was his oyster. Toyin has made few public appearances since then until his recent marriage which a source says might be a precursor to his new project.
Polo Bu, Dapo Ojora’s Daughter, Tara, Weds Ola Ayodeji’s Son, Folajimi
Dapo Ojora
Slow Your Roll‌Bosun Oredola is Not a Run of The Mill Billionaire
In few weeks, Otunba Adekunle Ojora and his adorable wife, The Erelu Oodua, Ojuolape Ojora, play hosts to a galaxy of personalities, who will gather to witness the traditional marriage ceremony of their granddaughter.The ceremony involves Tara Ojora and Folajimi Ayodeji. The Introduction ceremony, (Writing-In), was held on Sunday, 16 December, 2018, at the Ojora family house in Ikoyi, Lagos. The bride, Tara, is first daughter of Dapo Ojora, astute businessman and Polo enthusiast, and his beautiful wife, Patricia, a lawyer and the CEO of PromoPrint Ventures Limited. The outfit specialises in the manufacture and branding of gift items such as shirts, caps, bags, and other corporate give-aways. Tara, 23, is also the niece of Toyin Ojora-Saraki, wife of Dr Bukola Saraki, the president of Senate. She is the Founder of Natures Locks, an online platform promoting the beauty of natural hair for black women in particular.
The groom, Folajimi, is the son of Iranola Ayodeji, former banker, accomplished businessman, the Chief Transformation and Strategy Officer of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and a high-ranking member of the Nigerian social establishment. His mother, Ayotola Ayoyinka Ayodeji, an accomplished lawyer and a visiting lecturer at the University of Westminster, United Kingdom, is the granddaughter of the late Sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Her father, Professor Allen Bankole Oladunmoye Olukayode (ABOO) Oyediran, is a world-renowned medical scholar and former ViceChancellor of University of Ibadan, while her mother, Reverend Omotola Oyediran is the eldest daughter of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Yeye Oba HID Awolowo. She is the former Chairman, African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc, publisher of Tribune titles.
ke an ancient mariner whose heartbeat dwarfs echoes of his incredible exploits, Bosun Oredola, commands the respect of many of in Nigeria’s socio-political and business sector. Yes, as far as business ideas and innovations are concerned, billionaire businessman, Bosun Oredola, turns nothing down, except the collar of his shirt! Bosun is a man accustomed to honourable pursuits and because he is immensely endowed with towering intelligence, depth of character and a prepossessing personality, parlaying inuence into auence comes naturally to him. He is aable and accessible yet, modest and obliging. Contrary to insinuations from mischief makers that he is living la vida loca now because of a contract he just got from the Lagos State government, Bosun has been a successful and accomplished Business Mogul for the past few decades. He plays in the Defense sector representing Leonardo S.P.A the Italian conglomerate, Oil and Gas, and Construction representing a host of Multinationals in Nigeria. Bosun deliberately shies away from publicity and prefers to go about his business and life anonymously. Even at parties, he maintains a low proďŹ le. Yet, he lives and loves the good life. Those who have been to his Banana Island home describe it as opulently elegant. Nestling in his garage, we also heard, are dierent colours and models of his preferred automobile, the Rolls Royce. Don’t begrudge him; he is married to a pleasantly beautiful woman, Yinka, one of Nigeria’s successful pharmacists and founder of Megacare Group, an Healthcare group of companies. Yes, they are in love with each other. Bosun doesn’t take her love for for granted! Little wonder all the funny stories ying around about this dark-hued man not only beggars belief, but skirts moral boundaries. He takes his job seriously and doesn’t have time for frivolities.So mischief makers should be warne.
Diamond Bank...What Next for Uzoma Dozie? the bank. Then, the news of Access Bank’s takeover first made the rounds but it was quickly dispelled. On November 30, the bank announced that it would now trade as a national bank, having relinquished its international operating licence and that its shares, assets and liabilities will be absorbed by Access Bank. According to a newspaper report, the older Dozie used his shares in MTN as collateral to take a loan from Guaranty Trust Bank to buy shares of Actis, a private equity firm that invested in Diamond Bank
in 2007. Under the new arrangement, the Dozie family and every other Diamond Bank shareholder will get two Access Bank shares for every seven Diamond Bank shares owned. It is a tough period to be in Uzoma’s shoes and to be a Dozie. Blames have been heaped on his shoulders as many claim that had his father still been in charge, Diamond Bank would not have gone into acquisition. Just as many contend that had Alex Otti, Uzoma’s predecessor, still been in the saddle, the bank would have remained an industry force. A statement on the bank’s website lends
credence to this; “Under Dr. Alex Otti’s stewardship, Diamond Bank made a remarkable return to profitability and has continued to record impressive growth across all performance indicators year-onyear. It was also under his watch that the bank established an international subsidiary in the United Kingdom, in addition to expansion in Francophone West Africa (Senegal, Togo, and Ivory Coast).� What next for Uzoma now that the family-owned bank has been taken over right under his watch?
Oredola