Mayor Patrick Brown, Obi Cubana, Toyin Abraham, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, Aare Adetola Emmanuelking, Prince Dele Akinola win big at the ACIS Award
At the just concluded Africa Canada investment Summit ACIS in Toronto Canada, several winners have emerged from different categories for their contribution to the African community in Canada and also for their outstanding performances in their various fields of endeavours. The convened of the summit and award Naomi Olapeju Sigismund disclosed that, the award was carved out to honour deserving personalities in Nigeria, Africa and also Canada the host community of the annual award ceremony. Peju averred that; “The Award ceremony is the climax of the summit as we have businessmen from across Nigeria, Ghana the African continent grace the summit where various opportunities for investment were discussed. The Investment summit is a way to harness the African environment of a symbiotic relationship that can strengthen trade and commerce also a cultural exchange with Canada. The award ceremony is also an Avenue to Honour those who have played a pivotal role in their various field to ensure Africa is placed on a world map. “ The Award ceremony held on the 30th of October at the Grand Victorian convention centre in Toronto Canada started with a red carpet while Nollywood actress and producer Toyin Abraham was the host of the night who made guest laugh their ribs out as she displayed her dexterity as an event host. The Convener of the award was also surprised by friends who took out time to throw a surprise birthday for on the day of the award. Below is the list of winners of the award and their categories;
Most Supportive Personality
Honourable Jim Karygiannis
Outstanding Business Personality Michael Ologun
Business Personality of the year Enny Afro SupermarketEniola BayewunmiNotre dame industrial company
Outstanding Businessman of the year Aare Adetola Emmanuelking
Humanitarian company of the year Tamec care staffing service
Africa humanitarian personality Prophetess Bola ObanlaReverend Dr Irine Ashu Humanitarian personality of the year
Gloria onyekachiLawbell home care
Most inspiring business personality Regalz kitchen and BarStevag RestaurantSuya spotSmokey island grilleOtunba Kemi OlanrewajuFola OmitiranBaba LashishLola RestaurantHunter TV AfricaJovaundi McCalum
Most inspiring personality Dj BejizzleDj Philbaddest
Most inspiring businessman of the years African freshness superstoreDr Sunday olorunsheyiAsun DepotAdeola OyebadeFemme_Fashune
Most inspiring realtor of the year Ola FunmilolaNelson AkinkugbeYemi FolorunshoGreg Ebube
Most creative personality
Mrs Maureen EmordiEvelyn AkinsolaMiss Teen Beauty Pageant
Outstanding entertainment personality
Michael Bello
African Business personality of the year Simi African foodOdoi Yemoh
The financial personality of the year Adeola AbiodunBukola Obafemi Entertainment personality of the year Chelsea CokerIrene onwuachiKenny Bazuaye Entrepreneurial Icon of the year Prince Dele Akinola
Excellence in innovation Debo Ogungbeje
Outstanding innovative personality Daniel Krenek
Most industrious businessman of the year Dr Taiwo Afolabi
Community support person of the year
Barrister Richard Odeleye
Excellency in performance
Adenike fowoshere for Hope4sure foundationMrs Kehinde Okoroafor for Hope4sure foundation
Inspiring artistic personality of the year Toyin AdekeyeBigger than Africa
African Ambassador of the year Mayor Patrick Brown
Pride of African Award Hon Shola Agboola Most Entertaining Female Actress Toyin Abraham Ajeyemi
Former Ogun State governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel has sent his condolences to the family of late Otunba Subomi Balogun over the death of their Patriarch who died yesterday in London.
According to a statement sent to the media, the Senator-Elect described late Balogun as someone who lived a graceful life with colour and candour.
The statement reads ” I received with shock the passing unto eternal glory of the Olori Omoba, Otunba Tunwase of Ijebuland. As the Asiwaju of Ijebu Christians, Otunba Subomi Balogun brought the fear of God into everything that he did and believed in, and united the Body of Christ while promoting interfaith relationships in the entire Ijebuland to the best of his ability. A frontline businessman and astute banker, Otunba Balogun lived a life worthy of emulation by carrying the weight of royalty into his enterprise. He lived a graceful life with colour and candour. I share a lot in common with Otunba Subomi Balogun who served as a father figure to me and supported our administration without let when I had the privilege to serve as the Governor of Ogun State. He was a man whom I have the greatest respect for both in royalty and in the business world. Yeye and I will miss this great icon of Ijebu culture and business enterprise, and we are consoled that God granted him a bountiful life to a ripe old age. My sincere condolences go to the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, MFR; The Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, His Royal Majesty, Oba Sikiru Adetona, CFR Ogbagba; the entire Balogun Dynasty and Jadiara/Funsegbuwa Royal ruling House, Olorituns and the entire Ijebu people home and abroad for this great loss. We pray that the good Lord would grant his repose eternal rest and for the family that he left behind to be able to mourn his passage with great strength” He stated.
‘Celebrate true friends. They are a part of you that always sparkle’ – Amy Leigh Mercree. The English-born actress may have had the boss of Oando Group, Jubril Adewale Tinubu in mind when she made this quote. Truly, the trained lawyer never forgets to celebrate and appreciate his good friends whenever it is necessary. In fact, he is one gentleman who values and understands the definition of true friendship. This played out on Monday, April 10, 2023, when he showered praises on his friend of many years, Africa’s richest man and Chairman of Aliko Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, when he clocked 66. In celebration of Dangote, the oil and gas top player wrote: “Happy Birthday to an extraordinary business leader of global recognition. Your phenomenal impact on the African economy and society is truly remarkable. “Your drive, dedication, and leadership have paved the way for an army of aspiring African entrepreneurs. We are proud to have you as one our own, and I wish you many more happy, healthy and prosperous years ahead!” Dangote, a name that means so many things to many people. But what no one can deny is the fact that the name is essentially synonymous with success. The Kano State-born mogul has successfully engraved his name in the hearts of the generality of his compatriots with his business acumen. Like every creature, this amiable billionaire has his own humble beginning. But his is one that will inspire any ambitious soul, any day and any time. As a young man, he had a clear vision of what he wanted to do in life and he pursued it with unwavering doggedness. While growing up, the only thing that caught his fancy was business and he refused to be swayed by any other interest.
It is a general saying that “Until you realize how easy it is for your mind to be manipulated, you remain the puppet of someone else’s game”, and nothing can be truer than that quote in the light of Nigeria’s situation at the moment. The 2023 general election was meant to usher in a new era of renewed hope in a nation that is reputed to be the giant of Africa, but has successfully awaken an evil gnome of manipulation and bigotry in our youths like never before despite our alleged collective exposure. On March 11, Lagosians will be polling to either re-elect the sitting governor or replace him with another aspirant from one of the other political parties gunning for the Alausa seat at the centre of excellence. Lagos is a state with the highest number of voters in the South Western Nigeria. It boasts of vibrant and comparatively more educated electorates, representing a wide array of the nation’s ethnic groups. Statistics from the recently concluded presidential election shows that approximately 1/4 of the total number of registered voters were accredited to vote on February 25, 2023. There was an upset in the usual results trend, where the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress, APC, was overtaken with a slight majority votes by the Labour Party that polled a total of 582,454 votes against APC’s 572,606. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the historic second -fiddle horse in Lagos elections was edged to a record low of 75,750 votes. I may not be interested in the analysis of what went down in the election as there is an urgent task at hand; the requisite re-election of the incumbent governor of Lagos State, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu. For those whose sense of judgement have not been coloured by mischief makers, it is an easy affirmation that Lagos State is working by every standard. Looking around you, there is always a testament to that fact. A litmus test of the fact that Lagos State is working is the reality of a working integrated public services system: Lagos remains the ONLY state in Nigeria (roll in the FG) with a working toll-free emergency line, with chronicles of how it has saved the day in incidences of fire, security, disaster and many more across the state. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is a new convex curve in Lagos’ trajectory to regional dominance and global relevance. From the very first day, BOS has shown what he is made of as a member of a set of first-class governors that Lagos has been blessed with since 1999. He swiftly moved in to salvage the lot of Lagosians with respect to the perilous time his administration advent into. From leading the entire nation to successfully manage the COVID-19 pandemic, to rolling out his brilliant T.H.E.E.M.E.S. agenda, Sanwoolu came ready for the job from day one! Aside from working out the long-standing vision of previous administrations, anchored on the objective of making Lagos a mega city of the 21st century-kind, five months ago, Sanwo-olu’s government launched a 30 year development plan for Nigeria’s commercial capital, which is to be implemented between 2022 and 2052. It is imperative to note that the plan is necessary to achieve the goals of becoming Africa’s model mega city, while also positioning Lagos as a global, economic and financial hub that is safe, secure, functional and productive. Sanwo-Olu’s personality is cut from character traits uncommon with most Nigerian politicians, and ever since his assumption of office as the governor, he has rolled up his sleeves and got down into the trenches by ensuring that the state continues to move forward positively. I’m a serial entrepreneur, and having traveled across the nation and outside its shores, I can declare without equivocation that Lagos State, under the APC, provides the best business environment for my business concerns to flourish. You can then understand my situation when I, Adesola Fajobi, say that I refuse to be used to derail such brighter prospects for my business and that of many other hardworking Lagosians like me. Returning Sanwo-Olu as governor should be the most important task of every single Lagosian in this coking election. I refuse to be brainwashed to go against all the years of great works put into developing Lagos to make it the 5th largest economy in Africa. The Ehingbeti Lagos Economic Summit has provided a platform for the articulation of Lagos economic and developmental agenda and progress, which Sanwo-Olu continually showcases with incontrovertible developmental strides. He has commenced the construction of a new airport on the Lekki axis of the state after his government obtained approval from the federal government for the construction of the new airport in Lagos, and also completed the Lagos Blue Line rail project designed to move millions of Lagosians across the state. Other laudable projects include the completion of the Pen Cinema flyover in Agege, the Opebi-Ojota link bridge, which is nearing completion, the largest rice mill in Africa, the Lekki Deep Sea port, upgrading of four higher institutions to universities and so many more. Why change a winning and working formula? Why allow a newbie to turn a functioning society into a leadership testing ground? Sanwo-Olu is sellable, tested and trusted. Why would I allow myself to be used as an agent of destruction to give greedy politicians tickets to return Lagos to ground zero? Mr. Governor always provides robust responses, demonstrating a deep understanding of the economy, governance, the people’s expectations and desires. This is something I wouldn’t want to stop benefiting from. If his administration would be evaluated only by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no gainsaying that Sanwo-Olu performed excellently. Instead of throwing up his hands in defeat, Mr. Governor became the incident commander, and immediately went to work as he locked down the state, activated all the state apparatus – media, security, public health, emergency management, etc., thereby saving millions of Nigerians lives. He duly earned the country the fourth position in the list of the countries in the world that handled the pandemic well. This is a verifiable fact. With his years of experience in the private sector, he quickly worked with major players to set up isolation centres, infectious diseases centres, amongst other steps. It goes without saying that if Sanwo-Olu had failed as a leader during this dark period in our life, we may not be here now talking about 2023 election at all. Today under Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos Health Insurance Scheme costs only N40,000 a year for a family to enjoy from primary to tertiary health care. I refuse to be cowered by a mob that sees nothing good in Lagos, and are hell bent on fostering other candidates with no track records of performance. Governance is not a matter for experimentation I’m a father, a businessman, an entrepreneur, a brother and so much more like you; living in Lagos and flourishing under the present APC-led government. Come March 11, 2023, I have chosen to cast my vote for Babajide Sanwo-Olu to continue leading and serving Lagos with great achievements. You should do the same too. Follow person wey know road