UNVEILED: The Amuluduns of Lagos…The Functioning Social Lives of Top Society Ladies

Mo Abudu, Nkiru Anumudu, Helen Prest Ajayi, Toyin Saraki, Ekua Abudu, Nike Animashaun, Debbie Ogbene, Reni Folawiyo
Roli Olumide, Linda Edozien, Udo Amaka Onuigbo, Bolanle Austen-Peters, Vivienne Chiologi, Tokunbo George-Tailor, Others

At the intersection between mid and old age, many high society ladies have stumbled upon the fountain of youth with their constant merry-making lifestyle. Perhaps because of their traditional upbringing, they dashed into adulthood but continue to cling to childhood pleasures.

Call them gracefully greying, but instead of their brows being furrowed with worries or wrinkles, they are masked by expensive mascaras that knock many years off their real age. On the dance floor, especially ‘when the gbedu enter body,’ the sheen and smoothness of their shuffling and swaying are a blend of class and chic as they segue effortlessly into contemporary dance routines that belie their ages.

Somehow, the privileges and enormous resources at their beck and call help to sustain and ensure that these women are not confined by time, age, or prevailing circumstances. They rock hard; from sunrise to sunset; from the North to the South, and everywhere in between. It is either they go hard or go home; no in-between. The aphorism that “life must be lived to the fullest”, seems to be their watchword.

Whether observant or not, you can’t miss the exclusive cluster and elite presence of Mo Abudu, entertainment cum media mogulette. She sure deserves a plague as this Captain of this clique of women. And so does Toyin Saraki, a lawyer, a global ambassador for maternal and child health and the wife of former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki;

Other active members of this social circle are : Bolanle Austen-Peters, a lawyer and super duper entrepreneur; Nkiru Anumudu, widow of the former boss of Globe Motors; Dr. Kemi DaSilva Ibru and Debbie Oghene, the deep-pocket producer of TheDiscussiong. And there is no high society party they are not invited to because of their membership of the privilegentsia.

There are others like Reni Folawiyo, wife of billionaire, Tunde Folawiyo and the owner of Alara Group; her sister, Tola Adegbite, a fashion designer, Adeola Bali, a former corporate player, Karen Koshoni, interior designer and estranged wife of Patrick Koshoni Jnr.; Ekua Abudu, lawyer cum educationist, who has a penchant for breaking into a dance even at the ding of a church bell; Sola Coker, an entrepreneur, Lanre DaSilva Ajayi, fashion designer; Nike Animashaun, lawyer and former Lagos civil servant; and Pat Faniran, a renowned training consultant, Bunmi Tejuosho-Agbesanwo, a businesswoman, Lola Young, the owner of Nail Room, Nikky Ogbuefi, a socialite, Lara Taylaur, an entrepreneur and premium ice cream vendor, Biola Otufale, a style connoisseur, Vivienne Chiologi, a businesswoman, Yinka Oredola, a corporate player, Yemi Benson-Edeki, a corporate player, Bola Ayeni, Grace Osime, Helen Prest-Ajayi, Dolores Odogwu, Ndidi Anyaehie, Eno Olafisoye, Esosa Anenih, Sade Kassim, Linda Edozien, Udo Amaka Onuigbo, Ebun Adeniyi, Tokunbo Durosaro George-Tailor, the Majekodunmi twins – Taiwo Mayuku and Kehinde Alawode, among many others. They are near-perfect examples that ageing is inevitable but can be fun-filled.

Many decades after they first appeared on the high society scene as sexy, sassy and sociable young ladies, these ladies continue to hold it down. They are not in a hurry to quit this stage and leave a leg room for the up and comers, thus, creating an ageless culture on the high society circuit. While some of these women are silver-spoon kids with Ivy League education and a second name that resonates, some others got married into wealth and automatically became lifelong members of the rather impervious high society. It beggars no argument that not even their age or newly attained status as grandmothers had been able to reduce their vim or visibility on the social scene.

These women love to party and they do not spare expenses when planning a party. In Lagos, from Thursdays through the weekends, it is not unlikely for one to come across this interesting phenomenon popularly known as the Amuluduns of Lagos.

Although many guests derive great pleasure from traipsing the entire venue of a party, showing off their outfits and expensive jewellery, others simply stay glued to their seats to feast their eyes on the various amusements that are characteristic features of any shindig.