During the week, serial entrepreneur and socialite, Ndidi Obioha clocked 50. To celebrate her new age, she hosted family and friends to a lavish party. To say that the party was successful, despite the fact that it was held on a weekday, would be simply putting it mildly. It ticked all the right boxes of what a good party should be all about.
Below are some titbits about the party:
About the celebrant
Ndidi Obioha is not called serial entrepreneur for nothing. The well-grounded businesswoman has her hands spread across the beauty and fashion industry, events management, interior décoration, broadcasting and catering. She is also known as the ‘queen of blings’ on account of her love for glamour. She is so much in love with glittery things that she pimped up the exterior of her corporate headquarters with shimmering objects. She is the CEO of Enthyst Event Limited, Enthyst Fashion Klinik, Royal Foods etc.
The blinged out decor
Ndidi proved that she is an authority in the event and decor business, with the magnificent way she transformed the venue of her party. She set out to wow her guests and she succeeded in doing so to a large extent. The colour theme, purple featured prominently in the floral decor, drapes, table napkins, rare peacock feathers etc. And the entire venue was covered in blings. Giant glittering balls hung from the ceiling like chandeliers. She had mannequins draped in some of the floor length gowns she curates and strategically placed in the entry area where guests delighted themselves with the 360-degree camera.
The dress code
The entry code to the party was, not surprisingly, Purple, which is the celebrant’s favourite colour and blings. Most of the guests tried to adhere to it.
Chigul the hostess
Actress and comedienne, Chioma Omeruh, aka Chigul, kept guests entertained with how well she carried out her hosting duty. In between making small talk, she spiced up the evening with rib cracking jokes.
Unveiling of magazine
One of the highlights of the party was the unveiling of a digital magazine titled ‘Grey’ by Modupe Adeniran, publisher of the defunct ‘Wedding Planner’ magazine. Modupe revealed that Ndidi was carefully and specifically chosen to be on the cover of the debut edition because of her achievements in the fashion and events industry.
Glowing tributes
There was an outpouring of love from some members of Ndidi’s family, friends and associates, even beneficiaries of her philanthropic acts. Their tributes were broadcast to the guests via huge multimedia screens.
Going down memory lane
Speaking on far she had come businesswise, Ndidi said that she had been ‘hustling’ for a very long time. She recalled how she got inspired to get into the events business with her first show in 1994 and how she grew to handle one of her biggest events, the presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress party in 2015. The primary, which spanned two days, was well managed and everyone’s needs and challenges well attended to without any hitch, thus earning her glowing recommendations.
Vote of thanks
While thanking guests for making time out of their busy schedule to celebrate with her, Ndidi got teary when she specifically thanked her son for showing her what it means to be resilient, optimistic and to always trust in God. She said she is inspired by her son who was born with sickle cell anemia and who had four bouts of episodes that left him with a stroke each time before he was 10 years-old. But despite going through all of these challenges, her son remains one of the happiest beings she has ever encountered.
The after-party
The first part of the party was a three-course dinner party which ended a little after 10pm. Thereafter was an after-party. The venue was the same place as the hall where the dinner took place, but behind the stage of the dinner party. The arena was transformed into a night club with the female DJ unleashing oldies and new school music from her repertoire to the delight of guests. Ndidi made sure the ladies were comfortable enough to rock the dance floor by providing slippers designed with glitters to relieve aching feet that wore heels during the period of the party.
Kennedy Uzoka’s unexpected appearance
It was the first time the immediate past managing director of United bank for Africa (UBA), Kennedy Uzoka would be seen since his second tenure of four years ended mid last year and subsequently his retirement. He strolled into the venue of the party without the usual razzmatazz. He acknowledged greetings from a few people, mostly women, hugged a few and remained quiet at the after party just savouring the music and the general ambience of the place. Following his exit from UBA, he now devotes more time to his role as a member, MasterCard Advisory Board Middle East & Africa (MEA) since he joined the board over 10 years ago.
Linda Edozien without Tony Anenih jnr
Stunningly beautiful Linda Edozien waltzed into the venue of the party looking like a gazelle dressed in a strapless pants suit. Many couldn’t help but steal glances at her. And why not? Linda looks nothing like the 52 years that she is. The proprietress of Barazahi Spa however didn’t attend with her better half, Tony Anenih jnr. It must have been boring as she didn’t stay too long at the party.
Linda used to be married to Dean Priddy, but the marriage didn’t even make it past the one-year mark. Her current partner, Tony, has been married to banker and fashion entrepreneur, Esosa for almost 20 years and they have three children. Their marriage developed hiccups due to allegations that Esosa used to embarrass him in front of family and friends, never used to be at home, only loved to party and shop. He later found love with Linda and has not looked back.
Mike and Mary Inegbese honoured Ndidi
The patriarch and matriarch of the Lagos social circuit, Mike Inegbese, founder of Ineh Mic autos and his wife Mary honoured Ndidi with their presence. They both adhered to the purple colour dress code and Mike never to be caught without a cap or hat did not disappoint. They both left immediately after the dinner party ended. Mike, who has lived a good life, had help climbing the staircase to the arena where the party took place.
Emeka Onwuka and his white ensemble
A former chairman of former Diamond Bank, Emeka Onwuka arrived at the party dressed in his signature white Kaftan and pants. He made sure to have a good time at the party. After unsuccessfully trying to replicate his success at Diamond Bank by searching out investors to float a new bank, he finally settled with providing his financial expertise to Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc where he is the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director.
A family reunion with the Ebis
A former chairman of Fidelity bank, Ernest Ebi attended the party in company with his wife, Elizabeth, a renowned stockbroker and the CEO of Futureview Group. Their daughter, Kanayo Ebi, a popular fashion and style curator cum image and brand consultant was equally at the party with her husband, Folajimi Akinsola, a television host, event compere, actor and influencer. Kanayo and her husband arrived long before her parents but as soon as the older Ebis arrived, it became one big family reunion.
Ify Nwakwesi still stunning at almost 70
Dr Ify Maduka-Nwakwesi made it to the party and it was obvious she had fun, judging by the way she kept smiling and swaying her body to music. She waited for the after-party and really let her hair down. She looked nothing like her age. She will be clocking 70 later this year and this is all thanks to her love for healthy living and advocacy. A health coach, she is an integrative medicine improvement specialist. She encourages people become more proactive about their health via her company, Healthy Living Services.
Low turnout of Nollywood practitioners
Although Ndidi is quite friendly with some practitioners in Nollywood, only a few showed up at her party. Besides Chigul, Rukky Sanda, Chioma Chukwuka and Okey Onyegbule, aka Okey Bakassi who was the hype man at the after party, were the only ones present at the party.
The guest list
Quite a number of prominent people made it to the party, including Adaobi Nwakuche, Managing Director/CEO at Heirs Insurance Nigeria; Yibo Koko, comedian and entertainment entrepreneur; Nina Nwokedi, Co- Managing Director of Charisma Cosmetic Ltd; Stella Ibiene Fubara, Director International Operations, Dubai Tourism, etc.
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
