Family Ties - Yeni Kuti

Daughter of late Afro beat legend (Fela Anikulapo-Kuti), YENI KUTI shares her childhood dreams, successes, challenges and more with me for the 'Memoir' section of MANIA Magazine Januray edition.

Excerpt:

I’m excited to be fifty, when I was younger and I saw people who turned fifty, I used to think they were very old. But now, that I’m also there, I feel older but not very old. Dancing is my passion. I just love to dance. So whenever there’s music, I just translate the songs into dance and I enjoy it. 

Yeni Kuti in her teens

LIVING LEGACY - Folorunsho Alakija

As National President and lifelong Trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), Mrs. Folorunso Alakija – a philanthropist, fashion icon with an infallible sense of style has broken many uncharted territories, and continues to be a source of inspiration to many.

Photo via Societyreel

Seven years was my age at the time; God’s number for perfection. Not that I I was perfect, but it served as a new beginning for me, and new it was, as it changed the course of my entire life. In 1958, fifty –three years ago, my parents decided to send my sister, Doyin and I abroad for further studies. 

SPECIAL : Pyramid of Hope - Opral Mason Benson

Excerpt from my special profile on Opral Benson in October Issue of MANIA Magazine...

Often described as sensational for her enchanting elegance and superlative trendiness, cultural icon and philanthropist, Opral Mason Benson remains an epitome of African beauty and engaging intellect. Adeola Ojedokun takes a trip down memory lane of this woman of courage.

Born on February 7, 1935 at Mason Hill, Arthington - Northwest Monrovia, Liberia to Honourable Johnson Boto Mason and Lilly Melissa Mason they (her parents and grandparents elected to name her Opal (a bluish precious stone with iridescent reflections). They also called her Amanda, meaning “worthy of love”, but she did not like the name Opal for interesting reasons and though her parents thought the name was lovelyshe didn’t. she neither saw herself as precious nor as hard as a stone, so she began to write Opral on her school notebooks and while it took time she eventually succeeded in imposing the name change.

"Wedding Stories" - A Memoir on Yemi Oshunkoya of KOSIBAH COUTURE

The surprising thing about Yemi Oshunkoya - role model, fashion icon and award winning designer – is how very unlike an A-lister he seems in person. While working towards greater success, the reputable designer tells a tale of his journey from the early days, now and the ones to come.

The designer, Yemi Oshunkoya

I had a very happy and carefree childhood. Being the third of four boys born to professional parents - medical Doctor and Nurse respectively I was brought up within the University of Ibadan campus where we had the freedom to play outside and on the streets with relative safety. I’ve always had something real for fashion and design, from a very early age I was familiar with the arts; very good at drawing human figures and always dressed them quite fashionably. This was spotted by my parents and Art teachers in school and I was encouraged and nurtured to continue to improve. As I reached my teenage years, the age of fifteen specifically, I began to fully understand exactly what a fashion designer did and realized this was a natural progression for me. I became influenced and inspired by the 50’s New Look pioneered by Christian Dior.