Bliss is in the detail as high society makes ceaseless pilgrimage to the billionaire’s manor
By Debo Popoola
Dr. Julius Rone’s manor is a dream of bliss; a real life pictogram of the fabled Neverland. Amid its captivating plot, you could be forgiven for getting lost, metaphorically, if you are a first time visitor. Recurrent callers at the mansion have been known to keel over, in enthrallment with the lavish treat.
Dr. Rone’s mansion is a testament of class. Outside, it is garlanded with carven imageries of archs and flowers, and bunches of knot-grass. Inside, it is ornamented with panes of quaint decor, embroidered fabric and devices. It’s ambience of splendid dyes and luxury titivate like the damasked wings of the tiger-moth.
Such taste for luxury as displayed by Dr. Rone, it is often said, has ruined more poets and caused them to lose their wit, than ever did a taste for the gutters. Yet no poet or grand proponent of the high art could visit Rone’s mansion and totally lose it. Rather he or she would simply descend into the hallowed chambers of eternal muse. Dr. Rone’s manor no doubt, inspires the best of lyricism in the established poet and apathetic to art.
Too many people in the modern world-view luxury to be vainglorious, but to Dr. Rone, the ebullient founder of UTM Group, it is the essence of charmed life. The billionaire businessman whose company, UTM, has many subsidiaries including UTM Dredging Limited, an established provider of premium marine logistic support in engineering, construction, equipment rental, leasing, procurement, supply and general labour services, projects an enviable taste for charming perquisites. It is the quality of his choices however, that distinguishes him from both the dreamy minion and hackneyed aristocrat.
An abiding taste for the chic and prestigious informs the dark and handsome man’s fascination for choice property in Maitama, Abuja, one of the Abuja’s most expensive residential areas. The new mansion reportedly cost him several billions. And in bid to make the edifice worthy of his stature, Rone painstakingly modeled it into an Eldorado of sort; replete with trappings essential to a life of glamour and allure.
A visit to the mansion is quite an experience. In Maitama, the more opulent part of Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, where the flora is green and well manicured; where the cars in the driveway are posh and incredibly expensive; Dr. Rone’s palatial mansion sticks out like a gold crest, amid the sprawling castles in the area.
The exterior utters elegance without obscenity. Inside, expensive incandescent bulbs brightly illuminate the architectural delight. Everywhere is spick-and-span and has the halo of an improvised Eden on earth. Pristine and exquisitely burnished with class, Rone’s mansion emphasizes without much effort, the sheer tastefulness of the owner.
The attention to detail that characterize the house is excellent; both the interior and exterior decor were carefully chosen and planned with flawless finesse .
Little wonder the dwelling remains one of the finest and most beautiful houses in Abuja right now. As a result, many people have turned Rone’s home into a Mecca of sort. They have been going there to take pictures and source ideas for their own abodes.
Dr. Rone, knows how to live the good life. The Capital findings at his garage revealed his ownership and taste for expensive automobiles; among his fleet of cars, a brand new customized Rolls Royce however, looms large, giving a rare shine to the credit of its filthy rich owner. Over four decades since he made a grand entry into Nigeria’s high society, Dr. Rone demonstrates that affluence, like strength is built through struggle and hardship. Add this to his tremendous capacity for compassion and generosity and you have a perfect portrait of the quintessential deep-pocket. Dr. Rone is married to leggy beauty, Utibe Umoh-Rone, a Microbiology graduate of the University of Port Harcourt.
