WHITHER THE LANIHUN BROTHERS?
“The wary bird lives longest,” so goes a popular Yoruba adage. This adage, probably informed the newfound modesty of the Lanihun brothers. The brothers were once notable for living out loud but no sooner than the EFCC started questioning and clamping down on moneybags in the country with suspicious sources of income, the Lanihun brothers quickly quietened down. The three brothers had painted the town red and rocked every city they visited to the hilt back when they traversed the fast lane in the 90s. The brothers partied hard and wild at home and abroad. Notable among cities they rocked back then were Amsterdam, Brussels and Berlin. Although the source of their wealth remained a contentious issue in the 90s, they remained prime favourites of high society as the society courted them and local Fuji artistes sang their praises to high heavens. Party planners and celebrants sought their presence at their parties as their presence always assured all and sundry that crisp notes in foreign and local currency would be sprayed extravagantly. Predictably, the brothers became the toast of women of every class and stature as both old and young ladies jostled to have their love and attention for as long as they could savour it. But those days are long gone now; the Lanihun brothers have retreated into their shell and they are not eager to reemerge any time soon.
Bliss soured under the roof of Aminu Atiku Abubakar and his wife, Fatima Bolori, daughter of Maiduguri businessman, Alhaji Bukar Bolori, in unexpected hours. Then rancour sowed wild oats and harvested discord like yam tubers. All is not well in the home of the scion of Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar. Since his marriage with Fatima hit the rocks, he has known no peace. The estranged couple who got married in 2007 at the Abuja Sheraton Hotel and Towers, last Thursday, engaged in a fight over the custody of their eight-year-old daughter, Amirah. As the story goes, after their breakup, Aminu went with their daughter. Consequently, Bolori filed a suit for the custody of her daughter as provided under Islamic law. Promptly, Aminu countered her by also filing a suit seeking the custody of the kid. But while the impasse aggravated between the duo, Bolori won and was granted custody on Wednesday, October 11th. She went to her daughter’s school to pick her up and on hearing that she was there, Aminu and his police escorts stormed the school and prevented her from taking the child. Miss Bolori spat into the air and received it in measured cadence, vowed to not leave the school premises until she was allowed to take her child with her.
It would be recalled that Aminu and Fatima got married in an epic wedding ceremony in the wake of an enviable and surreal courtship. So sizzling was their romance that Aminu was ready to do anything to impress her and make her his bride.
However, few years into their marriage, bliss developed wings and vanished into thin air. Love took a long vacation and discord erected a massive structure in their abode.
Eventually, the couple separated after a protracted marital crisis. Although the sordid details of their relationship was an open secret in high society circles, Aminu, his family and friends tried to keep the news as a closely guarded secret.