Connect with us

Lifestyle

Who Is the Richest Woman in Nigeria?

Published

on

In conversations about wealth and influence in Africa, Nigeria often takes center stage. While much of the spotlight falls on male billionaires dominating the oil, telecoms, and banking sectors.

A remarkable group of women are shattering glass ceilings and making their mark on the business world. They are the wealthiest women in Nigeria, not only accumulating great fortunes but also inspiring future generations with their drive and ingenuity.

Here are the stories of the top 5 richest women in Nigeria, their backgrounds, business ventures, and the influence they wield.

1. Folorunsho Alakija (Estimated net worth: $1 billion)

Folorunsho Alakija is a true self-made billionaire, defying stereotypes and paving the way for other women in Nigeria. In 2020, Forbes termed Folorunso Alakija the richest woman in Nigeria and “the most powerful woman in Africa.”

She started her career in fashion design, establishing a successful clothing line. However, her entrepreneurial spirit led her to explore new ventures. In the 1990s, Alakija’s company, Famfa Oil, was awarded an oil exploration license, propelling her to the forefront of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. She is also a philanthropist, supporting education initiatives and empowering women through her foundation.

2. Hajia Bola Shagaya (Estimated net worth: $950 million)

Hajia Bola Shagaya’s journey began in the civil service, working as an auditor for the Central Bank of Nigeria. However, her entrepreneurial spirit soon took hold. She started by importing photographic equipment, laying the foundation for her successful business group, Bolmus Group International.

This diversified conglomerate has interests in oil and gas, real estate, banking, and photography. Shagaya is a prominent figure in Nigerian business circles and a role model for aspiring women entrepreneurs.

3. Daisy Danjuma (Estimated net worth: $900 Million)

Daisy Danjuma is the wife of retired Nigerian General Theophilus Danjuma, a prominent businessman. While details of her early career are limited, she has become a powerful figure in her own right.

Danjuma is the co-founder of Afenmai Austeniti Limited, an oil and gas exploration company. She is also known for her philanthropic work, particularly in the areas of education and healthcare.

4. Fifi Ekanem Ejindu (Estimated net worth: $850 million)

Fifi Ekanem Ejindu is an architect, entrepreneur, and benefactor with familial ties to King James Ekpo Bassey of Cobham Town, Calabar. She ranks among the foremost female architects in Nigeria and established the Starcrest Group of Companies, encompassing real estate development, architectural design, and investment sectors.

Her fortune is estimated at approximately $850 million. In 2013, she was honoured with the African Achievers Award for Lifetime Achievement in Arts and Fashion.

Renowned for her innovative and neo-traditional approach to architecture, Fifi continues to make significant impacts in her field.

5. Stella Okoli (Estimated net worth: $800 million)

Stella Okoli, an industrious pharmacist, business leader, and philanthropist, is the driving force behind Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries LTD. From a humble pharmacy, she has grown her business into a pharmaceutical giant valued at $800 million.

She also holds leadership roles as the Vice President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.

In memory of her son Chike Okoli, who passed away in 2005, she founded the Chike Okoli Foundation in 2006. This charity aims to fight poverty and diseases, with a special focus on preventing cardiovascular diseases. Stella Okoli also manages the Chike Okoli Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Lifestyle

Bunmi Oshonaike: Meet Seyi Tinubu’s Biological Mother

Published

on

Google’s algorithm appears to misrepresent this fact by linking Seyi Tinubu to Senator Oluremi Tinubu, likely due to her high visibility as the First Lady and long-standing senator

Claim: Seyi Tinubu’s biological mother is Bunmi Oshonaike, not Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as incorrectly displayed in some Google search results.

Findings
Seyi Tinubu, the son of Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is often inaccurately portrayed in online search results as the biological son of Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

However, reliable sources and historical records clarify that Seyi Tinubu’s biological mother is Bunmi Oshonaike, a former air hostess.

Atiku Vindicated: Presidency Confirms Seyi Tinubu Joined CDK's Board in 2018

Bunmi Oshonaike was married to Bola Tinubu before his current wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. The marriage produced Seyi Tinubu before the union dissolved. Subsequently, Bola Tinubu married Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who became Seyi’s stepmother. While Oluremi Tinubu plays a prominent role in Seyi’s life, particularly given her public profile, she is not his biological mother.

Google’s algorithm appears to misrepresent this fact by linking Seyi Tinubu to Senator Oluremi Tinubu, likely due to her high visibility as the First Lady and long-standing senator. This highlights the need for better contextual accuracy in automated search results to prevent the spread of misinformation.

Final Verdict.
The claim is true: Seyi Tinubu’s biological mother is Bunmi Oshonaike, not Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

Who is Bunmi Oshonaike?
Bunmi Oshonaike, a former air hostess with the defunct Nigeria Airways, is the biological mother of Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This fact clarifies the common misconception that Senator Oluremi Tinubu is Seyi Tinubu’s mother. Nigerians are widely aware of this distinction.

Seyi Tinubu has celebrated his biological mother’s birthday publicly, including publishing tributes in national newspapers since 2022, further affirming her role as his mother.

Her ethnicity is Yoruba, originating from the southwestern region of Nigeria. Although unconfirmed sources suggest that she hails from Lagos State, there are no detailed accounts of her biography available online.

Bunmi is 65 years old as of 2024. This calculation is based on her 60th birthday, which was celebrated and published by THISDAY Newspaper on November 11, 2019. This publication confirms her birth year, making her age 65 in 2024

Continue Reading

Lifestyle

The Making Of A Terror: How Gentle De Yahoo Graduated From Land Mediation To Banditry

Published

on

•Tales of Imo communities devastated by his bloody reign
•Notorious bandit’s arrest enmeshed in controversy

The notorious self-acclaimed Commander of the Biafra Liberation Army (BLA), Ifeanyi Eze Okorienta widely known as Gentle de Yahoo, had wreaked havoc in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State for years before his recent arrest by security agents. His reign of terror has left a tale of destruction, death and displacement among residents who were caused to live in constant fear of the unknown.

Okorienta was accused of orchestrating numerous high-profile attacks, kidnappings, and killings in the region. His gang had taken control of several communities, imposing their rule through violence and intimidation.
An indigene of Aku autonomous community in Okigwe Local Government Area, he was reportedly chased out of Orsu in Orlu LGA about four years ago before he took his nefarious activities to his hometown, committing numerous atrocities including the murder of a soldier couple returning home for their traditional marriage.

In a particularly gruesome incident, the woman, an army officer, was beheaded, causing terror to loom endlessly over the communities under his sphere. Yet his reign had begun in an innocuous manner as he and members of his group were only involved in mediating in land disputes. Families who had land quarrels would report to them and they would intervene.

The trend continued until their mediation began to wear the toga of violence and caused people to lose their lives.
In the process, they graduated into kidnappers, targeting members of the political class in particular to the extent that many were forced to quit politics. As a result, Okigwe LGA saw significant decline in political participation, as people were afraid to identify themselves as politicians for fear of attack.

Okigwe residents were then forced to pay homage to Gentle Yahoo’s group and seek their approval for even the simplest of social activities like marriage, burials or festivals.

An Imo resident said: “We cannot step a foot into Okigwe Local Government Area even as Imo indigenes because of these bandits.

“They mount checkpoints in all the villages, break into houses and occupy properties without approval. Even houses built by people in the diaspora are not spared.”

The atmosphere became so tense that many residents fled their homes, seeking refuge in neighbouring communities. Businesses have collapsed in the area and social life has come to a standstill.

Once-thriving communities like Ihube, Aku, Umulolo, Agbobu, Amuro, Umuowa Ibu, Umualumoke, Ezinachi and others are now like ghost towns.

A culture of violence
Gentle de Yahoo’s group has been linked to numerous atrocities, including organ harvesting, kidnapping and armed robbery. They have also been accused of seizing people’s farmlands, harvesting the crops and claiming ownership. Traditional rulers have been forced to pay homage to the group, with some even cooking for them.

It was gathered that nearly all the traditional rulers in the affected areas pay homage to the group to avoid being harmed. No monarch in Okigwe dared organise a programme or celebrate the new yam festival without first obtaining their approval.

Traditional rulers were forced to sympathise with the group and maintain communication with them; the only exemptions being Eze Acho, who was kidnapped and rescued but has since avoided Okigwe LGA, and Eze Aku, who has since fled the area.

“The boys are well-armed with bombs everywhere, and that is why the military finds it difficult to get to them,” a resident said, preferring anonymity for safety reasons.

“They have laid mines in many places, and one of the things they did was to subject the people to oath-taking, never to speak out or betray them.”

Arrest enmeshed in controversy
Reports quoting sources at the headquarters of the Nigerian Army had claimed that troops of Operation UDOKA had arrested Okorienta during a raid in Okigwe Local Government Area.

The operation, carried out on a Sunday, was said to have followed credible intelligence on the hideouts of the criminal kingpin.

Troops were also said to have recovered an English pistol, 120 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 25 rounds of 7.62 NATO ammunition, a live cartridge, six mobile phones as well as police and military uniforms.

The Nigerian Army has since confirmed that Okorienta was the target of a major operation in his stronghold at Ihube. But while some reports suggest he was killed, others indicate that he might have escaped.

Consequently, many residents remain skeptical despite reports of Gentle Yahoo’s arrest by the Nigerian Army.
“As we speak, Gentle de Yahoo is alive, moving freely in Okigwe,” a resident who prefers anonymity said.

“If the police or security agencies say they have arrested him, we challenge them to make the picture public.”

A resident of Umuowa Ibu, who gave his name simply as Boss, claimed that the news that Okorienta was arrested or eliminated is fake.

He said: “As we speak, Gentle de Yahoo is alive, moving freely in Okigwe.
“If the police or security agencies say they have arrested him, we challenge them to make the picture public. There should be nothing secret about his arrest.

“Remember, when Nnamdi Kanu was arrested in Kenya, it was not a secret. They brought him in handcuffs.

“When Simon Ekpa was arrested, they made it open and showed us the picture.

“There were many people before now who have terrorised other states, and when they are arrested, they would parade them.”

He said Gentle de Yahoo has committed so many crimes that he should not be tried secretly if at all he is arrested.
“I dare the Imo State Government, the military, police command, the Tiger Base or anyone who says that Gentle has been arrested to show the pictorial evidence. They should show us his corpse if he has been eliminated.

“Among the five people they claimed that they have killed, two were ladies and the second in command escaped, so there is no evidence to show that one of other three persons is Gentle.

“Now we are suspecting a foul play. Why the fake news and who sponsored it?

“And the state government is yet to respond to the news of Gentle de Yahoo being killed. No official report from Imo State Government with regard to this issue.
“We are now saying that the state government knows what they are doing. So the government and the military have alot of explanations to make. ”

He said a top military officer contacted also said he was not aware of Okorienta’s arrest, adding: “Since an army officer is not aware, who arrested Gentle.? Even all the security agencies in Okigwe denied the arrest.

“So I am confirming to you 101 per cent that Gentle has not been arrested by anyone. I made all my investigations and found that this guy is still alive.

“They did not even get to where he is. They went to where they suspected he was, but he was not there. The 2ic and his second in command were not there.”

He queried: “How are they obtaining their weapons, considering they operate with machine guns?

“How did they get those equipment, sophisticated weapons that are under the control of government?”

He noted that the group engages in daily shootouts with security agents but never runs out of ammunition. “They have walkie-talkie gadgets with which they communicate with themselves,” the resident said.

The question many are asking is how they are able to sustain their operations, given the kidnappings and other activities they engage in.

Another resident said: “The government has not been able to identify who has been supplying them weapons for more than four years, and they have sustained their operation.”

The situation, he said, has led to a mass exodus of residents, with many fleeing to neighbouring communities.

“Social life is gone in Okigwe Local Government,” the resident lamented.

“They have informants, and almost all the Okada riders in Okigwe are their informants.”

A call to action
Residents are calling on the state government to take decisive action to address the crisis. “We want the state government to block the source of supply of arms to this deadly group, equip local vigilante groups with arms, vehicles, and other facilities that will aid them to comb bushes and fish these bad boys out,” a resident said.

As the situation in Okigwe continues to deteriorate, one thing is clear: the people of Okigwe deserve peace, security, and justice. The government must act swiftly to restore order and bring Gentle Yahoo’s reign of terror to an end.

Continue Reading

Lifestyle

‘Pray For Wike’: Prophet Okonkwo’s New Prophecy Reveals Concerns About FCT Minister’s Health

Published

on

Abuja Muslim Forum Appeals To Wike On Sallah Water

“We must pray for Wike now,” he said.

The conversation surrounding the health of Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory Minister, has taken a intriguing turn as a prominent prophet recently shared a prophecy regarding his condition.

The adage “health is wealth” rings especially true in the world of politics, highlighting the necessity for leaders to prioritize their well-being amidst the pressures of public life.

Recent reports from an online news platform suggested that Wike had traveled to the United Kingdom for medical treatment, with allegations indicating a diagnosis of congestive heart failure.

This revelation has stirred concern among his supporters and the general public alike.

In response to these unsettling rumors, Prophet Julius Okonkwo, a well-known cleric and the presiding pastor of Kingdom Seeker Ministries based in the United States, offered reassurance about Wike’s health.

During a recent address, Okonkwo asserted that there is no need for alarm. “Wike is in good health, and he has many more years to live—mark my words,” he declared.

He cautioned that the troubling news circulating about the minister was politically motivated, aimed at instilling fear among Nigerians.

READ ALSO

2027 Election: Prophet Sends Strong Warning To Jonathan Over Dark Decision ‘Listen To Your Wife Or…’

Further emphasizing Wike’s importance to the current administration, the prophet labeled him as “the best minister” in the government and warned that there are adversaries both within and outside his circle.

He urged the public to join in prayer for Wike, underscoring the need for vigilance in the face of potential threats. “We must pray for Wike now,” he said.

Continue Reading

Trending