Boss Picks
Abule Ado/Soba Explosion: Tales of a Land Soaked in Tears, Agony, Blood
By Eric Elezuo
The fifteenth of March 2020 may have come and gone, but for owners of over 50 houses and unnumbered businesses that were destroyed, and families, friends and colleagues of over 20 persons who lost their lives, it were better the day had not come at all because life will never be the same for them again.
On that day, what so many people are yet to adequately describe unfolded.
The time was 9:02am. It was a Sunday. Many people were preparing to go to church. Many people, especially Catholics, had gone and returned, preparing to engage the remainder of the day’s activities. Everyone was in high hopes, expecting nothing but the best from the quietest day of the week.
But the odds were against the residents of Soba community of Abule Ado in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State. Fate had a different agenda for them. It was not good. It was not palatable. And when it was unleashed, all hell broke loose.
As the seconds tickled, turning into minutes, life continued. The girls at Bethlehem Girls College, a Catholic owned institution, were enjoying their mass dressed in their light red flowery outing dress with while stockings neatly tucked into their various foot wears. A family has just completed their preparation for the dedication of their child. The father was calling out on the rest of the family to hurry up and join him. Another family, comprising the man, woman and their children were already in the car to drive church and join their mother who left much earlier.
At a hotel nearby, a Dubai hopeful footballer was busy packing his things for the journey while in their home, a newly married couple with the woman carrying a three months pregnancy were also just about driving for church.
At Bethlehem school, a pupil has just come out to recreate herself. Around the Soba surroundings, business was the proverbial as usual. And then it happened!
No one could tell where the noise came from. But the sound was not just deafening; it was extraordinary. The school girl who came to ease herself said everything at an instant. She went automatically deaf and blood began to ease out of her ears. Of course, she was no longer where she was as the sound lifted her and dumped many metres away.
Oba Mobadenle Oyekan, Onilado of Ilado at the scene of the blast
Then again and again, the sound came in louder than the former throwing unprovoked tantrums across the length and breath of the community and clearing in its wake whatever is its way. Buildings were leveled, crushing unsuspecting occupants and pedestrians. In their car, the newly wedded couple were crushed when a pillar of their house fell on their car. The family preparation for dedication were roasted right where they were while the Bethlehem school carved in like a pack of cards. Yes, all the students survived, but the principal, Rev Henrietta Alokha, who reportedly saved the students, couldn’t make it as the roof of the building carved in on her. Other staff of the school were not also accounted for. They were picked one after another from the rubbles of the devastation
But while the world continue to wonder what happened, the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) called on the federal government to carry out a forensic investigation on the explosion, saying the event went beyond the regular explosion as it’s known. The dismissed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) narrative that the explosion happened when gas cylinders were hit by a truck in the area where NNPC has its pipelines.
“There is something suspiciously different about this explosion. The scale of destruction is nothing like any of the pipeline explosions we have monitored and documented for several decades,” the statement read.
“The Sunday incident’s scale of destruction could only be likened to military grade explosions or aerial bombardment. We can’t treat this casually as an accident caused by a truck.
“With the current security without conducting forensic investigation on this particular blast. Not even the accidental detonation of bombs at the Ikeja cantonment caused this scale of destruction and ruins. Government must conduct comprehensive investigation to establish if this was a crime or an accident.
“And there are questions begging for answers: Who drove the truck? What is the truck doing on a pipeline on Sunday morning? Was the gas plant opened on a Sunday? Was the content of the truck weaponized? And for the NNPC that has admitted some level of culpability by confirming that the primary explosion came from its gas truck, it should immediately initiate the process of providing remediation for the affected families and businesses while its officials found to have through negligence orchestrated this massive destruction should be made to face the law,” the group refused to accept the incident as accident.
Ada Nnaji, a parent of one of the students, Ogochukwu, said the position she saw her daughter on arrival to the hospital made her heart to jump into her mouth. She thought she was dead as she was covered in a pool of her own blood.
“When I got to the hospital and saw my daughter soaked in blood, I thought she was dead. She was in a critical condition when she was brought here; she had cuts on her head, neck and legs; and her thighs were stitched up.
“When I asked her what happened, she said she and the other pupils were in the chapel for Mass when the explosion occurred and that she did not know how she came out of the place. She said when she fell down, something fell on her. I’m happy that my daughter did not die and is responding to treatment.”
Former Chairman, Amuwo Odofin, Comrade Ayodele Adewale at explosion scene
Against all odds, the Dubai hopeful footballer, 23 years old Favour Okafor, survived, but only just, and narrated his experience thus: “I was supposed to travel to Dubia on Monday and I was in my hotel room arranging my clothes when I heard a loud sound and before I could come out, the walls had started collapsing on me and as I was trying to run, debris from the walls were hitting me.
“I did not know how I managed to escape from the rubble. I only had big cuts on one of my legs and hands. I thank God that I am recuperating very well.”
For another family of six, the breadwinner was taken leaving behind his wife and four children. The woman, Uju Ose laments:“ I had finished bathing my children and we were eating and getting ready for church when someone said there was smoke outside. I quickly told the person to take my children out of the house and I ran upstairs to carry my baby. My husband was in the house when the explosion occurred and the house collapsed. It was at that moment that my husband was killed.”
Again, 48-year-old Adanma Mucheogbonaya, said the blast threw her and her son out of their house, adding that she did not know how she got to the hospital.
“It was a terrible experience for me, because of the way the explosion lifted my son and I from the room. The explosion blasted the wall and lifted us and threw us outside.
“I was in a pool of my own blood shouting for help, but nobody answered me until a good Samaritan came to my rescue. If someone had told me that I would be alive, I would have said that it was a lie, because glass pierced all my body.
“The explosion destroyed my vehicle and my house, and I learnt that vandals had stolen everything I have. This is a tragedy for me and I don’t know where to start from.”
Today, Soba community is a massive heap of ruins as the residents continue to count their losses, still unable to pin point the actual cause of the blast, which analysts say there has never been anything like it before. The event superseded the Ikeja bomb blast of January 27, 2001 in magnitude and devastation.
In a bid to come to the assistance of the victims, the Lagos State government set up a N2 billion relief fund.
The state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the sum of N250million will be released immediately and urged well-meaning Nigerians and organisations to contribute to the fund. Zenith bank has toed the line with N100 million contribution
The governor also announced that an investigative committee, headed by the deputy governor, Obafemi Hamzat. has been set up to look into the incident behind the explosion and report in two weeks. who knows, one week from now, Nigerians may be availed the opportunity of knowing the real cause of the blast.
We can only wish the dead a rest in peace, the injured a quick recovery and as many that lost businesses and property the help from government and mankind.
By Eric Elezuo
Communications giant, GLOBACOM, has celebrated its Group Executive Director, Madam Sade Michael-Adenuga, as she clocks 31.
In a message via the Group’s X account, Globacom celebrated the go-getting abilities Ms Michael-Adenuga, recognising her dedication, professionalism and unwavering commitment, which have continued speak loud in the growth and development of the Gbobacom Group.
The message reads:
“Today, we celebrate Madam Sade Michael-Adenuga, whose dedication, professionalism, and unwavering commitment continue to make a meaningful difference.
“As you mark another year, we wish you good health, happiness, and many more years of fulfilment and remarkable accomplishments. May the year ahead bring every opportunity to continue making an enduring impact.
“Happy Birthday, Madam Sade Michael-Adenuga.”
Sade Michael-Adenuga is the last daughter of the billionaire businessman, philanthropist and founder of the Glo brand, among many other business concerns.
Beautiful and highly ceregral, Sade is a certified Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. She currently serves as a Group Executive Director of Globacom Group, and is the founder of QuickLaw.
By Eric Elezuo
The story of the Chairman, Ovation Media Group, Chief Dele Momodu, and the Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, is one told from a multiple dimension. It encompasses passion, love, friendship, camaraderie, collaboration, and more importantly, brotherhood.
Here’s a classic tale of two individuals, who started as acquaintances, transmuted into being friends, and today has become inseparable, not just as brothers, but as ‘twin’ brothers. No wonder the Bible says, there’s a friend that sticks closer than a brother; that’s the story of ‘Demola and Dele. A typical example of Double D. A classic tale of friendship made in heaven.
Both have seen measured successes in their various fields of endeavours. Adeleke, besides being an accomplished entrepreneur, has in his own way, conquered the field of politics, having served as a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and presently serving as the Executive Governor of Osun State.
Momodu, on his part, has not in any way lacked behind. Beyond establishing and sustaining Africa’s number one celebrity magazine, Momodu is an iconic journalist, publisher, businessman and a motivational speaker, who has both working and personal relationships with many influential world leaders. He has been one shot away from the highest office in the land, having contested for the Nigerian presidency, first as a candidate in 2011, and as an aspirant in 2023.
Born same year, 1960, same month, May, the brothers have from time in memorial, shared a common bond that has given onlookers the apertite to ask more questions about their originality. But while one is from Edo State, the other is from Osun. However, the state barriers notwithstanding, Adeleke and Momodu has proved to the world what true friendship means.
Over the weekend when Momodu celebrated his 66th birthday, just three days after Adeleke celebrated his at the Government House, in Oshogbo, the Governor gladly referred to Momodu as his ‘twin’ brother, a motion that everyone readily agreed with. It is worthy of note that while Adeleke was born on May 13, 1960, Momodu was born on May 16, 1960. Friends and associates always insist that Adeleke is three days older than Momodu, and that one fact Momodu has come to live with, and joyously celebrates.
In his message at the birthday celebration, held with incisive discussion on the theme, Ignorance and The Danger of Xenophobia, at the Dele Momodu Leadership Centre, Alalubosa, Ibadan, the Governor extolled the qualities of Momodu, fondly referring to him as ‘my twin brother’. He hailed Momodu for always using his birthday to speak to the conscience of Africa, especially in the last three years.
At the event, organized by The Dele Momodu Foundation, with the theme, “Ignorance and the Danger of Xenophobia.” Speakers at the occasion condemned the rising tide of xenophobic attacks, particularly those targeting Nigerian citizens in South Africa, warning that such hostility undermines regional progress, peace, and continental unity.
DELE MOMODU – MAY 16, 1960
Dele Momodu, without an iota of doubt stands tall among those who have been diligent in businesses, and it is therefore, no surprise that he has stood, and is still standing not just before kings but with kings.
Born Ayòbámidélé Àbáyòmí Ojútelégàn Àjàní Momodu on May 16, 1960, some 63 years ago, Chief Dele Momodu as he is known in the business circle, and Bob Dee, in the social stage, is by every standard a man who is diligent in his business. And it is no wonder that he has not only stood before kings, he had and continues to dine with kings. There is practically no influential person that Dele Momodu does not know across the length and breadth of Nigeria, Africa and on the inter-continental stage. He is that large!
By every standard a rare breed, Momodu is many things in one; journalist/publisher, businessman, philanthropist, actor, politician and motivational speaker. Among all these he considers himself simply as a reporter, and even with a retinue of seasoned staff still ventures into the field to scoop exclusives. Those who have referred to him as a workaholic are not far from the truth. Even he, himself has an oft quoted line thus “those who come from poor background cannot afford to sleep too much”.
A beacon of the Momodu family, Dele, the last of three siblings, was ‘privileged’ to lose his father at the age of 13, and was therefore sentenced to the complete tutelage of his mother, and sometimes relatives. His mother became practically his mentor, teacher and soulmate until she passed away on May 18, 2007, two days after Dele’s 47th birthday. According to him, one of the many morals his mother, who he revered next to God, taught him, is never to despair even when times are tough. Even in her near poverty state, Dele maintained that ‘she didn’t give up on me.’
The accomplished journalist, whose first name was derived from Ayobamidele, meaning “my joy has followed me home”, is a proud 1982 graduate of the University of Ife, (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) where he obtained a degree in Yoruba Language, and followed it up in 1988 with a master’s degree in English Literature.
He kicked off his professional career as a lecturer at the Oyo State College of Arts and Science in Ile-Ife, between 1982 and 1983 while serving as a corps member. He went on to become the private secretary to the former Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Chief Akin Omoboriowo, a position he held from 1983 till 1985. In 1986, he was elevated to serve the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II, managing his Motel Royal Limited.
Momodu is the proprietor of the no 1 celebrity journal, Ovation International Magazine, The Boss Newspaper and Ovation Television.
The Akinrogun of Gbonganland, who is also the Aare of Iwoland, has also been honoured with the Prestigious Value Leadership award by an organisation, Nigeria, which is a subsidiary of Moonlite Integrated Concept, among an avalanche of awards, honours and tags. Momodu us consistently praised for his admirable efforts, which have not gone unnoticed.
ADEMOLA JACKSON ADELEKE – MAY 13, 1960
Born of the Adeleke family of Ede in Osun State on May 13, 1960, Adeleke commenced his primary education at Methodist Primary School, Surulere Lagos State before he was privileged to relocate to Old Oyo State to continue his education at Nawarudeen Primary School, Ikire.
Adeleke was born Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke to a Muslim father and Nnena Esther Adeleke, an Igbo Christian mother. Like him, Adeleke’s father, Raji Ayoola Adeleke was a Senator and the Balogun of Ede land in Osun State. His father, Raji Ayoola Adeleke was also the leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).
On completion of his primary education, he moved on to The Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School, Ede to begin his post primary schooling. In the later years however, he attended Ede Muslim Grammar School Ede, where he completed his secondary school education and subsequently relocated to the United States of America, joining his two older brothers, who were also studying there.
In the United States, he joined Jacksonville State University, Alabama, and studied Criminal Justice, with minor in Political Science.
To prove doubting Thomases, who wiped up controversies around his educational qualification, wrong, he went back to school and got enrolled at Atlanta Metropolitan State College in the United States, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 2021.
A businessman and administrator of no mean repute, Adeleke was the humble Group Executive Director at his brother’s company, Pacific Holdings Limited from 2001 to 2016, where his credible performances shot the company to enviable heights; a height it is still enjoying till date.
It is imperative to note that before he joined Pacific Holdings Limited, Senator Adeleke worked with Quicksilver Courier Company in Atlanta, Georgia, US, as a service contractor from 1985 to 1989. His dexterity to work earned him a progression in career, and he berthed as Vice President at Origin International LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, US, a flavours and fragrance manufacturing company. His meritorious stewardship lasted a period of five years, from 1990 to 1994.
Not a few has described Adeleke as the philanthropic capital of Ede, as his influence in aiding the less privileged and downtrodden remains top notch. He is a voracious believer in community development, and has not spared any expense to see that his community receives global influence.
Politically, Adeleke is a beacon of light and hard nut to crack, having remained an albatross to opposing powers and a reference point to ideal administration.
Shortly after he lost his brother, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, who died in April 2017, he contested the Osun West 2017 Senatorial by-election, emerging as the winner under the Peoples Democratic Party, where he decamped to from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Having emerged senator, Adeleke’s political influence waxed stronger, an on July 23, 2018, he emerged as the governorship candidate of PDP in Osun State.
Adeleke ran for Osun state governorship election under the PDP against top contenders Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola of APC and Iyiola Omisore of SDP on 22 September 2018. The election was declared inconclusive by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) while Adeleke was leading, and a rerun slated on September 27, 2018. The candidate of the APC Oyetola was declared winner after the run-off. Adeleke protested the result describing the election as a “coup”.
Much as on March 22, 2019, the tribunal sitting in Abuja declared Adeleke the winner of the election, the Supreme Court later affirmed Gboyega Oyetola as the authentic winner of the 2018 Osun State governorship election on Friday, July 5, 2019
Popularly known as the Dancing Senator because of his penchant to joyfully react to the sounds of music, Adeleke is uncle to one of Nigeria’s popular musicians, Davido.
Governor Adeleke is married to two beautiful women. They are blessed with three children who are all entertainers. They are B-Red and Shina Rambo and a daughter, Nike Adeleke. He is the uncle of one Nigeria’s primus inter pares in entertainment, Davido.
As expected, Adeleke is moving Osun State to the greatest of heights as he promised, and many who know him agree that there are still very many more in the offing even as he navigates his political prowess to win again on August 15.
These ‘twin’ brothers have become a toast of reference. They are hardworking, philanthropic in nature, and always happy.
Yes, always happy as the smiles and dance in their gaits at all times are unmistakable.
Cheers to brotherhood!
Cheers to Ademola Adeleke and Dele Momodu!
By Eric Elezuo
The Koumagnon Family and Allied Families of Seme-Kpodji, of the Republic of Benin, led by Monsieur Alberto Koumagnon, has declared their unflinching support for the candidacy of Romuald Wadagni as he steps out on Sunday to vie for the presidential seat of the Republic of Benin.
In statement of declaration, the families observed that Wadagni is propelled by a ‘vision embodied in this ambitious, realistic project, resolutely focused on the future of our country’.
The declaration is presented in full:
DECLARATION OF SUPPORT BY THE GREAT KOUMAGNON FAMILY AND ALLIED FAMILIES OF SÈMÈ-KPODJI FOR CANDIDATE ROMUALD WADAGNI
The great KOUMAGNON family and allied3 families of Sèmè-Kpodji, deeply committed to the values of peace, progress, and development, followed with particular interest the presentation, on Saturday, March 21, 2026, of the “Further Together” (Plus loin ensemble) social project by our dear candidate, President Romuald WADAGNI.
Following this important political event, and gathering on this day, 04/04/2026, we wish to express our full support for the vision embodied in this ambitious, realistic project, resolutely focused on the future of our country.
From the outset, we, descendants of the KOUMAGNON family and allied families, commend the enlightened leadership of President Patrice TALON who, faithful to his commitment to building a modern and prosperous Benin, has been able to propose to the presidential majority a competent, credible candidate who brings hope for consolidating achievements.
In this dynamic of continuity and progress, the candidacy of President Romuald WADAGNI is fully in line with the continuation of the structural reforms undertaken over several years in all sectors, particularly in infrastructure.
In this regard, we recognize and commend the many achievements of the government, especially road infrastructure, which has significantly improved mobility and living conditions for the populations of the communes of Sèmè-Kpodji and surrounding areas.
Moreover, these remarkable efforts reflect a constant determination to connect localities, stimulate economic exchanges, and sustainably strengthen the attractiveness of our territories.
Building on these achievements and firmly oriented toward the future, we are convinced of the relevance of the “Further Together” project.
Therefore, the great KOUMAGNON family and allied families of Sèmè-Kpodji give their firm, committed, and unconditional support to candidate Romuald WADAGNI, as well as to his running mate, Mrs. Mariam Chabi Talata Zimé Yérima.
In the same spirit, we call on all daughters and sons of Sèmè-Kpodji, as well as all citizens committed to peace and development in our country, Benin, to mobilize massively in support of this hopeful momentum by turning out in large numbers on April 12.
We also wish to assure our dear candidate of our commitment to mobilize widely to ensure a high voter turnout in the commune of Sèmè-Kpodji.
Together, let us continue the efforts undertaken.
Together, let us consolidate our achievements.
Together, let us go further.
Long live Benin on its path toward progress!
Long live the WADAGNI–TALATA ticket!
Thank you.
Done at Sèmè-Kpodji, on 04/04/2026
The great KOUMAGNON family and allied families
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