•Reveals How He Took After His Dad Baba Ariya
+How He Copes With Female Admirers
He’s got style. He’s got panache. And not only is he a very popular personality, he’s also hugely loved by many. This is because Oba Olalekan Dosunmu, the Akinsiku of Lagos, is a happy –go-lucky-fellow. He’s ever warm and respectful to people he meets, despite the fact that he comes from one of Lagos most prominent families. The Akinsikus are the custodians of Lagos State’s biggest cultural heritage and tourist attraction masterpiece, the Eyo Adamu Orisa play. From generation to generation, the Akinsiku family has sustained the Adamu Orisa play and transformed it into a global showpiece that has attracted tourists and eminent personalities from far and wide. And Oba Dosunmu, the current Akinsiku of Lagos, has played a pivotal role in that direction. He is young, vibrant, social media savvy and an incurable socialite. Indeed, Akinsiku is regarded as the life of any party he attends. The moment he steps into any party, everyone and everything within the party begin to gravitate towards him, that’s the sort of effect he has on people. The dashing Akinsiku of Lagos who very rarely grants interviews, was recently recognized at City People’s Fashion & Beauty Online Awards for his remarkable style and fashion statements he makes so effortlessly. His outfits are always a sight to behold. He spoke to an excited City People team who literally ambushed him and got him to open up on a few things about him that people do not know about.
What inspires your style of fashion?
I have been a stylish person since way back, from when I was young. I don’t know really, but I guess I picked it up from my late father, he was a fashionista in his time. As a young child, I used to give my mum problems. She would select clothes for me to wear and I would always grumble, insisting that I preferred a particular type. So, I thank God that, for forty-seven years and still counting, my fashion style has continued to evolve.
You are clearly the life and soul of any party. Once you step into a party, you light up the whole place. How did you come about having such an effect on gatherings anywhere you go?
Ask those who knew my father, he was called ‘Ariya Father, Baba Agbalagba.’ Back then, my father was the life of any party he stepped into. Really, everything about my style I got from my dad. I’m just doing my thing. Anywhere I step into, people hail and start calling out my name, ‘Oba Dosunmu Akinsiku.’ I thank God.
Tell us a bit about your background as a young socialite. Share with us your growing up years and tell us about some of the guys you grew up with who have also become big boys in the society today.
I was born and bred in Lagos Island and everybody knows the history of Lagos Island.
So, while growing up, how did you get into the social scene and become such a prominent socialite?
Remember I said my father was the ‘Ariya Father’ and we all know the meaning of Ariya. So, I’m a son of Ariya. What more do you expect from the son of Ariya? I have to represent. I have to do faaji. And I thank God for that. Growing up was fantastic. I grew up in Lagos. I went to St. Johns School, Aroleya, in Lagos Island, that’s Asiwaju’s school too. After that, I went to Methodist Boys High School on 11, Broad Street, Lagos. And from there I proceeded abroad. I have lived all my life in Lagos, despite having spent several years in America. I couldn’t just let the Lagos in me fizzle out like that.
Who are some of the guys that you grew up with who have also become accomplished big boys like you today?
Well, yes, there’s quite a few of them. One of them is my friend, he’s also my father, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi, we went to the same school. There’s also my friend, Olushola Dada, popularly called Omo Oshodi, and Olayinka Atiku, they’re both late now. Anytime I am interviewed and I am asked to talk about those I grew up with I always mention these guys, may their souls rest in perfect peace. There are a whole lot of them that I grew up with that I can’t remember now.
What inspires your outfit, I know you have different styles you wear for different occasions?
You won’t believe it, sometimes, the idea of what to wear to just comes on the spur of the moment and it clicks. And once I step out in it, people begin to hail me and commend my style. Truth is, I had something different that I’d planned to wear to this Award event, but my guy who was with me, his name is Senator, said to me, ‘Egbon, you can go to the event like this.’ And I took another look at the outfit, this is a Lagos traditional Lagos, and I said, okay, let me try this on and that was it, it just clicked.
There must be a serious side to you that people don’t know about beyond the Ariya side of you that everybody sees, tell us about it?
You only get to see the serious side of me when people lie to me. I hate liars! I hate it when people lie to me. When people lie to me and I find out I go really crazy about it. I’m a straight forward person, so I get upset when people lie to me. And my anger is the bad side of me. I am a very straight forward person.
On a lighter note, sir, how do you cope with female admirers who want to get close to you?
Let me tell you something if you check my Instagram page, I have over 50,000 followers, perhaps about 48,000 of them are females. But the truth is that I am a man of the people. It is normal for the females to gravitate towards me. They are just friends, they mean no harm. I have admirers, yes, but that’s where it ends. We remain good friends.
What’s your ageing secret? Whenever you’re in sporty outfits you look like a much younger man, how do you maintain your youthful look?
If you check my Instagram page, you will see a lot of work outs that I do. I work out a lot. I do a lot of work outs and I watch what I eat and what I drink. That’s why you see me looking this way. I’m forty-seven years old by the way.
Going back to the subject of female admirers, what kind of woman immediately attracts you?
My wife.
Tell us about her…
She’s a fantastic woman. She accepted everything about me and said, ‘this is my husband, no problem.’ She minds her business and takes good care of the family. And believe me, I take good care of my family, I don’t mix family with my business outside. Once it comes to my family, you see a different me. The faaji level is a different level, outside the family.
How long have you been married to her?
We’ve been married for seventeen good years. Yes, it’s been long we got married.
What has been the secret of your marriage?
It is understanding. She understands me. You know, every relationship must have its ups and downs, we’ve been through all that and now things are stabilized. I love her, she’s a good wife.
What about politics, how come you didn’t go into politics?
I can. I’m a politician, no doubt about that. In 1992, I was a member of the NRC, from Ward B2, Lagos Island. When Senator Musiliu Obanikoro ran for the office of Lagos Island local government chairman, I was the secretary of Ward B2 then. Politics was my thing but now, I’m a chief of Lagos, I can’t go into politics. But we always offer advice to the young ones aspiring for political office.
Sir, the Eyo heritage has grown from generation to generation, how have you been able to achieve this?
That’s the number one festival in Nigeria. Anything from Lagos is federal. Eyo has been in existence for almost 300 years, so what are we talking about? Adamu Orisa play has been in existence since 1630. And like I said, anything from Lagos is federal so, Eyo is number one.
But how have you been able to sustain the Eyo tempo and ensure it stays number one after all these years?
I was born into this tradition. My grandfather was late Akinsiku of Lagos. Now, I’m the current Akinsiku of Lagos and I’m going to live long by the grace of God. So, its what I know and its what I was born into, definitely I should know how to carry on with it.
