Events

Scintillating! That is how the traditional and white weddings that united two powerful Yoruba families-the Sijuwade and Folawiyo families, would have been described, but it was more than that. It was something in the neighbourhood of utopia and of course, Eldorado.

 

The ceremonies which took place over two weekends, required painstaking preparations and were in every sense a celebration of love at its best between Prince Aderemilekun Sijuwade, the bearded handsome son of the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade and Princess Olabisi Abike Folawiyo, the delectable daughter of late successful businessman and former Baba Adinni of Nigeria, Chief Iyanda Folawiyo.

 

Consequently, sequel to the biblical injunction that he that finds a wife has found a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord, the couple, with magnificent support from their families, friends and well-wishers, set out to formalize and solemnize their relationship at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, where the first of the events-the traditional ceremony -took place.

 

At various centres, events kicked off on the beautiful day in preparation for the high society union. At the prestigious Eko Hotel and Suites where the groom and his men were lodged, an exclusive OVATION photoshoot held to capture the finer moments of the groom’s last hours as a bachelor. There was a beehive of activities at the home of the bride as well, who with a retinue of friends, effortlessly slid into her royal traditional apparel.

 

A highlight of that morning was Prince Aderemi demonstrating what a helpless romantic he is by surprising his beautiful bride in the early hours of that morning with a brand new white Mercedes Benz car gift which he had delivered to her hotel. Labisi, who owns the popular makeup studio, Facesbylabisi, was as ecstatic as she was astonished by this breath-taking romantic gesture from her Prince Charming-her mouth agape as she saw the wonder-on-wheels for the first time and sat in the driver’s seat for selfies.

 

This is not forgetting the gathering of the groom’s family at the lobby of the Federal Palace Hotel, where special guests made a royal stopover with pleasantries, clicking of cameras for selfies and the expression of goodwill before proceeding to the banquet hall.

 

The event itself was everything but low key right from the lobby of the hotel where the Arike Ade Cultural Group from Ile Ife, which came to honour a Prince of their town, kept the atmosphere lively with rhythmic beats of their drums renting the air, complemented by scintillating dance rhythms by a group of three professional female dancers; Temitope Onitiju, Aminat Eluguaju and Yetunde Olaleye.

 

The drumming and the dancing heralded the arrival of the esteemed guests, ferried into the hotel premises and available parking spaces in their state-of-the-art automobiles. Among such dignitaries were the founder of First City Monument Bank, Otunba Subomi Balogun, former Editor of the defunct Concord Newspaper, Chief Doyin Abiola, amongst others.

 

It was not long before the call for the business of the day was made, and like a royal carnival, the special guests marched majestically to the magnificently decorated Balmoral Convention Centre, accompanied by deafening sounds of traditional music popping off the well-crafted drums and gongs among many other instruments of various traditional groups that filled the arena. It was a combination of colours ranging from blue to white

 

The presence of Kunle Komolafe’s Ksquared Security Services ensured that only invited guests gained entrance into the venue.

 

The arrival of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, caused a positive stir, completely revving up the pace of the atmosphere. His presence intensified the drumming and singing as the reverred monarch waited for the right time to alight from his sparkling-white Rolls Royce Phantom which had come to a halt at the entrance. Once out, he made his way through a path lined up by dancers, drummers and palace guards.

 

Inside the Balmoral was a distinct fountain which reflected purified colours and more exquisite sight of green and white with each table decorated like the traditional cap of the Ooni resting on a stool. The bride and groom’s corner was another splash of green and white with a sporadic show of lights.

 

With the Ooni and his entourage seated, the event proper commenced as the compere, Abimbola Akinwunmi, started with ushering in the parents of the couple, who danced in in glory with music befitting of the Yoruba tradition.

 

This was followed by the entrance of the groom’s family who entered in a blaze of glory, momentarily turning the environment to blue, and then the traditional rites began with communication carried on in both Yoruba and English languages.

 

The compere welcomed guests and thanked everyone for coming before proceeding to order a minute silence in honour of the couple’s deceased fathers – Alhaji Iyanda Folawiyo and Oba Okunade Sijuwade. The honours were performed according to both Islamic and Christian injunctions. With attendant eulogies rendered to the memories of the great men, the mothers of the couple were obliged five minutes to exhibit their dance steps, and boy did they impress! At that point, it was proved that the ‘old woman is never too old for the dance she knows very well’.

The ceremony moved ahead to the presentation of the proposal letter by the groom’s family, which the Ooni blessed before it was handed over to the parents of the bride. The letter was then read by the bride’s younger sister, Aisha Folawiyo, who afterwards was treated to a dance.

 

The bride’s family followed up with their own acceptance letter, which paved the way for the triumphant entry of the man of the moment, the hunk-like handsome son of the 50th Ooni of Ife, in the person of Prince Aderemi Sijuwade. His entrance came with pomp and circumstance accompanied by his friends.

 

At the stage, the compere mandated the removal of caps by the groom and his companions, and at the count of two, all of them were face down on the floor, prostrating in total obeisance to the parents of the bride and respect for the undying Yoruba culture.

With classic music interlude provided by two live bands-Excellent Band and Queen Ayo Balogun and the Heritage Voices Band, as well as cultural groups, the stage was set for the beautiful prize that Prince Aderemi had been longing for Olabisi Abike Folawiyo.

 

Then, she enetered, clad in shiny baby pink coloured lace attire with a velvety veil over her face, which traditionally symbolises her purity and innocence before her husband to be. She was surrounded by a bevy of gorgeous ladies, dressed in matching colours and attires. At the centre, with emotion running high, she wrapped herself round her mother, and both shed tears of joy and love, as an eventual departure from home for a new life of marriage beckoned.

Apart from their famed humility, one thing that members of the Babangida family knows how to do better than most is hosting colourful and classy parties-and at the wedding of Halima, the second daughter of Nigeria’s Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (Rtd) and Auwal Abdullahi, they went a notch higher.

From the Wedding Dinner which was held at the El-Amin International School, (established by the late matriarch of the family, Mrs Maryam Babangida) to the wedding fatiha and reception, held at the Babangida’s Hilltop Residence,both located in Minna, Niger State, the décor was simply amazing.

As with all Muslim weddings, the high point of the celebration of love is usually the wedding fatiha which unfolded at the Babangida Family Mosque located at the General’s Hilltop residence in Minna Niger State. The short ceremony which ended with prayers was conducted by the Chief Imam of Niger State in the presence of the elders of both families.

 

Hours before this ceremony, the venue was a beehive of activities as Nigeria’s who is who arrived for the occasion. Though the venue is just a few hours from Nigeria’s capital Abuja, many of the guests came in private jets!

 

Halima, the second daughter of General Babangida and Auwal, a businessman who holds the traditional title of Sarkin Sudan Gombe were introduced to the whole world at the reception which was exquisitely decorated by the team from Elizabeth R with the keen supervision of the bride’s elder sister, Aisha Babangida.

That reception had in attendance former President Goodluck Jonathan and wife, Patience, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and wife, Justice Fati, former First Lady, Mrs Turai Yar Adua, Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogora and so many other important personalities.

 

What can be termed the highest point of the occasion was when the couple was invited to cut their cake, they fed each other and then took pictures with the invited guests and family members.

 

There was so much merrymaking at this event. Guests were served special local cocktails like Kunu, Tangerine Juice, Zobo etc by well-clad waiters while food was at every one’s beck and call. The Babangida family members were at their hospitable best, little wonder that many guests went home with huge smiles on their faces.

It was classy and cultural, it was religious and wondrous, indeed, it was four-days of romance, elegance and glamour fitting for a member of the royal household when Princess Hafsat Siddika Sanusi, daughter of the Emir of Kano, HRM Muhammed Sanusi II wedded Mallam Abubakar Umar Kurfi

The Emir of Kano’s Palace in Kofar Kudu area of the ancient city hosted many of the activities starting from the Kunshi ceremony.
The adorable bride was quartered in the home of her mum, the Emir’s first wife, HajiaSadiyya, who was obviously filled with joy. The ceremony itself was held at her fore court at the Giwa Wing.
Traditionally, the Kunshi is like the bridal shower, where the bride is specially prepared indoors for matrimony. It also an occasion where she dances and generally has fun with friends and members of the family. We were told that though other wives of the Emir could attend, the mother of the bride could not savour this occasion.
Thus, Siddika was heralded with royal trumpets and drummers as she arrived the venue, every step she took was met with cheers. When she settled into her specially-crafted seat, the short ceremony began. There were a few speeches before the ceremony dovetailed into a session of eating and dancing.
The following day, it was another important ceremony known as the Kamun Amariya, this literarily means catching the bride. It was at this ceremony that many of the guests caught a first glimpse of the handsome groom, his friends and family members.
According to Hajiya Zainab Sanusi, the bride’s aunt, Kamu Amariya is one of the important events of the wedding ceremony. “Kamu Amariya” literarily means “catch the bride”. The groom’s family comes and negotiates with the bride’s friends for her release to them. It is usually a fun-filled night. This was no different.
At night, Hajiya Sadiyya Sanusi treated guests to a royal feast at the Mother’s Night inside the upscale Meena Hall, which was attended by mostly women of both families. The couple made an appearance, and because they were not officially married, one could see that they tried hard not to be too intimate in the open.
The Walima or Wedding Fatiha was the official nuptials of Siddika and Abubakar. This was the ceremony where in the presence of Islamic clerics, the two families will agree on a bride price, exchange pleasantries and become one.
This all important ceremony was held at a special area within the Emir’s Palace. The Emir himself was not there. In fact, the invitation to this event read “Alhaji Nasir Ado Bayero, Chiroman Kano invites….”
Elders of both families were there and the ceremony took less that ten minutes before the Clerics declared the marriage sealed and cheers emanated from all corners of the venue. This was a male-only ceremony.

The pomp and pageantry of the royal household soon unfolded within the Palace immediately after the fatiha.
This was when His Majesty stepped out from his inner chambers into public glare in a sumptuously decorated horse. It was such a spectacular sight to behold as indigenes and guests stood in awe while he gingerly galloped along.

The Emir, soon dismounted and spent time receiving guests who had come from far and near to felicitate with his family. The show of obeisance and his open door policy of receiving. All poor was quite instructive.
Emir Sanusi later hosted some of his select guests to a private lunch in an inner part of the palace. The guest list was so scrutinized that all those who partook of this royal gourmet feast, including this reporter, were less than 15!

Those at the table with the Emir included Mr. Wale Edun, Chief SOB Babalola, NBA President, A.B. Mahmoud, SAN and businesswoman, Hajia Bola Shagaya.
Later that evening, the couple and their families treated guests to a first-rate Wedding Dinner at the popular Afficent Centre.
This was when the Siddika and Abubakar were at their sparkling best. The bride was resplendent in her lovely gown, and her make-up was flawless, it had to be because it was handled by no one but BMpro boss, Banke Meshida-Lawal. They therefore arrived the venue in smiles heralded by their friends who had danced into the arena earlier.
The décor was top notch. Everywhere glittered as exotic chandeliers and candles glowed. Fresh flowers and lovely centre pieces combined to ensure that the venue was welcoming and cosy.

The Special Guest at the occasion was First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari who was represented by  First Lady of Sokoto State, Hajiya Miriam Aminu Tambuwal.

In her welcome address, Hajia Bilikisu Bello, an aunt of the bride described the event as the wedding of the year. She noted that it was great that the families were ending the year with such a joyous occasion. She thanked God for bringing the families together and prayed that the couple will enjoy marital bliss.

Hajia Bola Shagaya in her own speech, also prayed for the success of the marriage. According to her “May Almighty Allah bless their marriage with wonderful children, and my only word of advice is patience, patience and patience all the time, you understand where she is coming from and she will live up to expectation”
For Hajiya Hadisa Galadanshi Adehi, she stated  “I wish the couple very happy married life, My advice to them is to understand that marriage is a journey; to handle all their differences without any third party, be patient, be peaceful, become great friends  and always wear a smiling face. Most especially, put God first in everything, always be prayerful. When there is a problem, pray first, don’t discuss it with anybody, even your mother, talk to God, pray to him and Insha Allah, it would be solved”
Friends of the couple also took their turn to speak: The Maid of Honour, Aisha Madugu was full of praise for the beautiful bride “You are everything I ever asked for in a best friend.  There are really not enough words to describe the kind of best friend you have been to me, and there are really not enough words to describe how happy I am for you tonight. We have laughed, we have also cried together. All I can wish you is to be a wonderful wife and in the future a great mother. I know that you have found a good man. I love you so much and May Allah bless your marriage abundantly.
Groom’s friend, Abba Garko was next to take centre stage. “Congratulations my friend; let me say that Siddika is lucky to marry a man who is the epitome of devotion and decency. You are great guy and I know from all you have said, you truly love this lady and so we are all so happy for you both. Congratulations my friend”
The session of speeches were rounded off by the Special Guest of honour, HajiaTambuwwal who was very brief “I wish this newly wedded couple, happy married life and more blessings from above”
Thereafter, the hilarious Master of ceremonies invited the couple for their very first dance. Later, they cut their cake and guests were entertainment by a rising musician.
The groom later thanked all guests on behalf of the two familes. He was so full of thanks for the Sanusi Family for allowing him all the way from Katsina take their daughter’s hand in marriage. “I will love and cherish her forever”, he rounded off -everyone cheered.

He thanked his parents and members of their family for the immense support and then rounded off that he will love and cherish Saddika forever-and everyone cheered!
From then on, the event took a life of its own, guests had a full course meal, assorted drinks and then danced till well into the night.