Aisha Achimugu And Folly Of The Nigerian Elite

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

Lately, Mrs. Aisha Achimugu has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Of course, she disagrees, having already put a damper on that by telling those who think so to take a swim in a crocodile-infested pond for all she cares.

*Aisha Achimugu

But let us interrogate the issues to determine who is right.

Mrs. Achimugu, an Abuja-based Nigerian businesswoman, clocked 50 years on January 22, no doubt a milestone age worth celebrating for those so inclined. But in doing that, she went overboard, orchestrating an obscene spectacle.

In celebrating her golden jubilee, the Abuja socialite shut down, literally, the Caribbean Island of Grenada for seven days. First, there was a dedicated website for the extravaganza which had information on visa arrangements, available chauffeurs, travel schedules and the nearest airport to the event venue.

The festivities which began on January 16 with the arrival of guests progressed to a welcome breakfast on January 17, excursion on January 22 and an exotic breakfast where all guests were mandated to dress in white before the ‘glitz and glam’ dinner on January 23. It was an unbelievable pomp and ceremony, a study in sheer hedonism.

The grand finale took place at the Calivigny Island, an 80-acre private and exquisite resort reputed to be one of the most expensive in the world, where Mrs. Achimugu herself stayed for ten days while guests were lodged at Silversand Grenada, an equally exotic five-year-old seven-star luxury resort located in Grand Anse beach.

In a video that was apparently targeted at those not “privileged” to be invited to the banquet, one Jumai Emeka Ossai, who was running a live commentary from the exotic Island crowed: “I want to let you guys know that this is the same Island where, when Melinda Gates was going through a divorce, this was where she came to hide because she didn’t want any paparazzi.

“Also, this is the same Island where Beyoncé came to have her vacation. And guess what guys? It costs $150,000 a night to stay here and it will please you to know that Aisha Achimugu is the first Nigerian woman to stay in this same Island and she has been here in the past ten days.”

Of course, we are all pleased to hear the good news that at long last, a Nigerian woman slept in a resort that cost well over N230 million a night. Aren’t we?

So, the Calivigny Island alone cost Aisha a whopping $1,500,000. Since it is very unlikely that she left on the day of the grand finale, she must have paid more, so much so that the exotic Island has been rechristened “AISHA’S ISLAND” with a billboard proclaiming that.

At an exchange rate of N1,550 to $1, Calivigny Island cost Aisha a whopping N2,325,000,000. But that is only a fraction of the overall cost of this birthday bash. Most of Aisha’s guests, including Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, flew into Grenada, a distance of 7,585 kilometres, on chartered jets.

A report in Premium Times said during the week-long party, Aisha “changed clothes at least 30 times, with each dress said to cost thousands of dollars. Those are in addition to the high-end clothes she used for a photo-shoot with a celebrity photographer beforehand. For most of the time, she was decked in very expensive diamond jewelry, wore designer shoes and carried Hermes crocodile-leather handbags, each said to cost between $50,000 and $80,000.”

Ms. Ossai reported that one of the numerous parties, aptly dubbed a casino party, took place aboard the Silver Angel, a Yacht sailing on the Caribbean Sea under the flag of the United Kingdom. Premium Times further reported that a number of local and international A-list musicians and entertainers, including Kenny G (American saxophonist and composer), Waje, Flavour, Adekunle Gold, Asake and Mr. Killa (a Grenada musician), were flown in to perform at the various events.

“Hypemen, disc jockeys, make-up artists, hair stylists and masters of ceremonies were also flown to the Island and were all paid in thousands of dollars for their services, those close to the organisers said. David Reeves, who was the official disc jockey for the event, was seen at the end of the party displaying bundles of crisp U.S. Dollars (estimated to be up to $50,000) and saying excitedly, “who wan help you no go stress you”. Some of the musicians were sprayed with dollars as they performed.”

As one of the guests told the online newspaper: “We basically shut down Grenada and the citizens of that country knew that Nigerians were in town, they knew the eagles had landed.”

Aisha’s birthday bash in Grenada has elicited criticisms from many Nigerians who consider such obscenity at a time like this rather insensitive.

But her friends have rallied behind her. She spent her personal money, they chorus.

Aisha herself is not bothered by such idle effusions. “I really don’t give a hoot. I’m doing me; I’ve always done me, a happy soul, doing what makes me happy,” she said on social media.

Instead, she is lapping up the attention from her friends. “Good evening, everyone, lovers of mine. This is not an official thank you for being there for me and coming to Grenada… And I want to congratulate myself for being the most popular person in the entire world, apart from the Gaza and Israeli fight, I guess something that’s most popular on the news globally. I give God the glory, and I thank God for my life. And for those who have genuinely shown concern over the media, I want to assure you that I’m well, I’m in a high spirit….”

But Nigerians are bothered for good reasons. The birthday celebration couldn’t have cost Aisha Achimugu anything less than $4 million. That is scarce foreign exchange poured into a thriving Grenadian economy. Nigeria, at a time like this, needs that massive injection of funds more than any other country on planet earth.

Besides, how much tax does she pay? Anyone who spends about N6 billion on a birthday shindig must be worth a lot more. It is good that the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service has called on her to fulfill her tax obligations to the country by filing her annual returns. We are waiting to see how that pans out.

But most importantly, those who question the propriety of others questioning how someone else should spend his or her money miss the point.

It smacks of lack of emotional intelligence when public officials and government contactors display obscene wealth in the face of debilitating poverty in the land. On December 9, Senate President Godswill Akpabio spared no expense in celebrating his 61st birthday.

The lavish event, held across two cities, was an abject exhibition of wastefulness and insensitivity to the harrowing plight of Nigerians who have been shoved into the hellish pit of economic misery due to the profligacy of their leaders. Guests at the Akpabio birthday extravaganza included the wife of the president, Remi Tinubu, state governors, ministers, senators and members of the House of Representatives. Again, billions of Naira were spent to fund the spectacle.

Those who say Mrs. Achimugu is not a public official refuse, willfully, to acknowledge that she is a glorified government contractor who found favour in the corridors of power. Simple! She is not an industrialist. A 1998 University of Jos graduate, she is the Chief Executive Officer of FELAK CONCEPT GROUP, a consultancy firm said to have interest in many fields, including oil and gas.

When the fact that the late Sulaiman Akao Achimugu, a former Managing Director of the Pipeline and Product Marketing Company, was her husband, is thrown into the mix, the picture becomes clearer.

But even if these were to be monies genuinely earned through exceptional entrepreneurship, it is still offensive to spend it the way government officials and their “consultants” are doing in a country where over 70 per cent of the population are held down in multi-dimensional poverty.

Such wanton exhibitionism elicits anger amongst the populace and oils the wheels of sundry criminality, including kidnapping for ransom. Nigerian leaders should be sensitive to the mood of the people reeling in abject poverty even when the money they spend is truly theirs.

*Amaechi is the publisher of TheNiche newspaper