Christmas season is like ‘no other season,’ said famous American country music singer Dolly Parton, during her hit show some few years ago in London. Christmas season is a time for festivities for everyone, including the big time celebs around us, who cruise around in big, shiny, fabulous multi million naira cars, and live the high society lifestyle, only seen in movies.
And we have them in sizzling numbers among us here in Nigeria. And guess what, our celebs indeed had a fabulous Christmas!
For Fifi Ejindu, a highflying architect, consultant and businesswomen, Christmas was spent all wrapped up in love with the two wonderful, handsome men in her life. Fifi, who is on the A-list in society circles in Nigeria, spent Christmas with her family in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where she is involved in some sort of industrial re-engineering of the South Eastern state. She spent most of the day at home with her son and husband and indeed was seen to be enjoying the joy of the season. A Princess by birth, Fifi Ejindu loves the peace that characterises her Christmas day celebration.
Top Society lady and businesswoman Alhaja Tai Elemosho-Okesanjo, spent her Christmas in far away United Arabs Emirate popularly known as Dubai. For her, it was double celebration. According to her, “I celebrated my Christmas in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate, because I came here to celebrate my birthday, which was on the 23rd December. So for me, it was a double celebration. Though I am not a Christian, but we all look forward to Christmas because it is a festive season. I was out most of the day; I went to Emirate Mall and Ibn Batuta Mall to shop on Christmas day. Later that same day, I went to have a quiet dinner in a good, fabulous restaurant here in Dubai.”
Like Fifi Ejindu, top fashion designer, Lanre Da Silva, would have just been contented having a fabulous time with family at home, but guess what, Nollywood Star Actress Rita Dominic had a party that had to be attended on Christmas Day. Said Lanre Da Silva: “I spent Christmas day at home with the family; there were a lot of festivities here at home with my entire family, eating, drinking and we had great fun. Later on in the evening, my husband and I along with my sisters went to Rita Dominic’s house where she was having a Christmas party.
“We had a nice time there and it was quite a Christmas day with great fun for me. Also our exclusive family party continued on Boxing Day at home, where I had time to relax and enjoy the day with the children. I pray that the New Year turns out to be a great year for us all.”
While it was not unusual to find live bands at various parties in different cities around the country during Christmas season, one could not help wondering if the musicians actually spend Christmas season with their families. For an answer, five musicians gave us a picture of what Christmas season looks like in the home of celebrated musicians.
According to Juju music maestro Admiral Dele Abiodun, “we don’t really have time to celebrate Christmas, we go out for performances. Christmas season is a period when we render our services to our clients wherever we are billed to play, and that comes first. Perhaps after all our shows, we then decide to take a break in the first week of the year 2016. But I am using this festive period to thank our numerous fans all over the country, and I say to them, that they have been part of our success story this past year 2015. We appreciate you all.”
Female Juju musician, Ayo Balogun, reiterated Admiral Dele Abiodun’s words: “I spent Christmas day working. It is our peak period. There were many celebrations all over the place this season. I even had to choose from a variety of requests. Nevertheless, I still created some form of time for my family. What I did was to take my family with me out of Lagos to be able to spend time with them. This made it a more pleasant Christmas celebration for me. You can call it mixing work with pleasure (smiles), yes that is what I did.
When Tolu Obey, the musical scion of the Fabiyi family, was asked how he celebrated his Christmas season, he laughed and laughed and replied: “With a musician like me, there’s hardly time to spend a quiet Christmas. The truth is that I have not had time to sleep; this morning I’m on the way to Abeokuta for another engagement. On Christmas Eve, I was at the Yoruba Tennis Club in Lagos where my dad, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, was having an all-night musical performance. At some point in the night, I took over at that event. I performed till morning. The next day, which was Christmas day proper, all my father’s children gathered at his house. We do this every year. And you can imagine, there was no time to sleep as I kept receiving dignitaries on social calls.
“On Boxing Day, I joined my dad for a musical performance at Billings Way Road, Oregun in Lagos, where we performed at Mr Kayode Lawal’s daughter’s wedding event. And on the 27th, we were at GRA, Ikeja, where Mr Bayo Fatusi had a get together party. Now this morning again, I’m on the road to another event outside Lagos, no sleep! I thank God for this season though, and I hope everyone out there enjoy and have a memorable holiday. Christmas comes once in a year, but remember, don’t drink too much, and please do not drink and drive. I don’t want to lose my friends”.
It was celebration time at the upscale home of today’s boardroom guru, Funmi Goka, in Ikoyi, Lagos. Funmi, who is the Deputy Managing Director of Agip Oil Company Limited in Abuja, threw her doors open to family and friends. “We spent Christmas season peacefully at home. We had a sumptuous lunch on Christmas day in a very relaxed environment with family members and a few of the children’s friends that are spending their Christmas holidays with us.”
On the Ikoyi axis lives lawyer and former beauty queen, Helen Prest-Ajayi. She was home on Christmas day with her family. The former beauty queen believes that Christmas is a season to spend quality time with the family. “So I spent the day with my family. The children are grown up now; such a pleasure and fun to be together. We had Christmas lunch at Southern Sun Hotel on Kingsway Road in Ikoyi and from there moved to The George Hotel for coffee and cakes. When we left there, we went to visit a few friends who have been close to us during the year.”
And just on the other side of the Lagos Lagoon in the richly abode of Lekki Phase one where TV personality and businesswoman, Barrister Grace Egbagbe, resides; Christmas fever was high in the air. The ex-Nigerian Television Authority top management staff, said: “I started my Christmas day with worshipping God who sent His son to die for us without which as a Christian, we would not have been saved.
Then we sat at the dining table to have a delicious lunch, I however, went straight to bed to meditate and count my many blessings, after which I slept till the next morning.”
Clement Mudiaga Enajemo, popularly known as MUDI, who normally cruises around town in his exclusive sport cars, had for once enough time on Christmas day to hop around the city. “Christmas day was a day for visitation to the home of most of my Christian friends. It is traditionally called kiriyo, which means eating all over the place. So grilled turkey was readily available wherever I stopped and you know Lagos is my base. So Lagos was where I was.”
Christmas day was a day off work. Nothing could take Comedian Koffi out of the house, or off the view of his family. So it turned out to be a family affair. However, things took a different turn after Christmas lunch, as he had to take the children out to fun spots.
Top Nollywood actress ambassador, Grace Ama, whose role it is to present the cultural and tourism image of Ebonyi State to the world through activities such as talent hunts, conference and entertainment to attract investors for the state, said Christmas is about love.
“We have come to know and accept Christmas as an annual ‘ritual’ used to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. The most significant thing about Christmas is the transition from covenant of sacrifice of goat and chicken in the Jewish region to the covenant of love through the birth of Jesus Christ with Jesus as the bridge between God and humanity. That is why the central theme or message about Christmas is love. It is for the love of mankind that God came in human flesh, dwelt among men and sacrificed His life on the cross to give man salvation.
“So, Christmas is a celebration of love and there could be no better way to share the love brought to us by God through Jesus than to show love to people in a special way. As usual, I took time out with young people and the less-privileged in our society. The message here is that, we should share what we have with those who cannot afford to say thank you.
“Yes, many argue that love is not only shown during Christmas. I agree with such school of thought, but God who decided to come in human flesh and chose to be born of a woman on a particular day could equally have saved mankind without taking the step of conception and birth. God loves us and shows us every day, yet the Church still set aside Christmas as a special period to mark the coming of our Lord. We must therefore use the occasion of Christmas to reach out to those we may not have had the time to reach in the previous period of the year. Christmas is about love and we must make meaning in people’s lives mostly those looking upon us to change their story for good.”
Christmas celebration also came alive at the Ikoyi home of the Queen of Herbal Slimming therapy, Quincy Ayodele, “On Christmas day, I went to church with my family; that is, my husband, my children and their spouses together with my grandchildren. We all came back to open our Christmas presents from under the Christmas tree! From then to festivities, we had a nice and healthy Christmas lunch and dinner, both local and continental dishes. Later, we had a mini-parlour party with family members and friends to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We had so much fun all till late in the night.
For ARA the enigmatic drummer, year 2015 was a steady year of success. A culture ambassador on many fronts, ARA, who recently returned from a musical tour of China, and other places, came back musically engaged all through the Christmas period. Her shows in Badagry and at Epe, Lagos, were big. Afterwards, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode announced her as a Cultural Ambassador of Lagos State. Ara spent the day with her son creating and having fun.
Fuji maestro, Adewale Ayuba, was busy all through the Christmas season. Despite being faced with the planning of his daughter’s wedding which eventually took place on December 28 in Lekki, Lagos, the musician was on stage everyday of the Christmas celebration.
“On Xmas day, I was in church in the morning with my family members. We had lunch together, made merry before I left for an event to perform in Ekiti. I returned to Lagos on the Boxing Day and performed at a wedding somewhere in Victoria Island. On the 27th, I had to perform at another event. My daughter’s wedding took place the next day. And the following day, I performed at a burial ceremony in Surulere. I have been performing every day and after the New Year day, I will go off to Accra, Ghana for a show.
Popular face in Nollywood movies, Chinyere Nwabueze, declared happily: “I spent the Christmas in my village in Abia State; my village is called ‘small London.’ It is a beautiful place and people came home from different parts of the world with lots of stories and lots of people to see. I was with my family on Christmas day and there were lots of wedding to attend between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. There were also families that I had to see; so, I was moving from place to place in the village and wherever I stopped, there was rice and chicken waiting for me (laughs).
“Right now, as the National President of Women In Nollywood Development Initiative, I’m working along with others to be in Asaba and Port Harcourt, where we would be visiting orphanages with support items and to show them love at this time and season.“
Celebrated fashion designer, Nikki Khiran-Odu, who also lives on the Ikoyi-Victoria Island axis, spent the Christmas season in Lagos. “Christmas time for me is a time to refresh, relax, and set goals for the New Year, ” said the designer with a perfect festive smile. “I rarely travel at Xmas because that’s a pretty busy time of the year for me, plus the fact that I like to think about what I’ve achieved for the year and how I can make improvements for the coming year. I do very little partying and generally goals-set, and ask God for direction and protection as I enter a new year. Then in January, I travel and stock up my store and get some much needed rest. When I travel, I refresh and I’m able to be more creative after a nice change of scene.”
Veteran actress, Funmi Tijani, enjoyed the role of an agile, youthful grandmother during the Christmas season. And she excitedly told us about it. “I spent Christmas with my family here in Lagos. We had a good time at home. We also had a prayer session and later went to the beach. But we also continued the fun at the amusement park because of my little grandchildren so that they wouldn’t be left out. My prayer is that the New Year will be better than 2015.”
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