The General is Ill… Baby of the House, Halima, is Worst Hit
Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous
HIGHLIFE with LANRE ALFRE 08076885752
Clouds splinter across the sky, mist cuts down the woods and the wiry frame eventually yields to the cold, vitiating strokes of time. As you read, former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd), is battling a severe but undisclosed ailment. The current state of the ex-military president is reportedly giving his children and close relatives sleepless nights. The illness is so far gone that his children are reportedly living under a haze of fear – they are allegedly worried because of the toll that the ailment takes on their beloved father every day. Gen. Babangida’s ailment is responsible for his inability to attend social functions in recent times. A very close source to the family confirmed the gravity of the ailment, claiming that it is one of the effects of ageing.
HIGHLIFE could not ascertain the real cause of his illness, but the source apart from saying that it was age-related, added that the former military president might be suffering from a relapse of the radiculopathy disease which has troubled him since he was Head of State. According to the source, Babangida most times, is unable to walk unaided without a walking stick or the assistance of his security personnel. The illness of the former military president became public last week when he attended the valedictory dinner for the former Niger State Chief Judge, Justice Fati Lami Abubakar and was aided out of the venue before the end of the event. It was said that Babangida now travels to Abuja frequently where he receives medical attention and has cut down on receiving visitors at his home. The source also said he has emaciated a lot. Worst hit by his ailment is his last daughter, Halima, who was born when he was in power. Halima is reportedly unhappy about her father’s failing health. Even Mohammed and others have been praying for their dad.
MKO ABIOLA’S EX-SON-IN-LAW’S MARRIAGE IN TROUBLE
Women falling in love with Atama Attah probably know by now that there is a risk. His two divorces reveal among other things, that every word he said to each wife, was merely a step closer towards the door and every passion he burnt reinforced his measured strides towards divorce. The touch of divorce is the weariness they felt whenever he kissed them. The taste of divorce is the lonely meals they endure months after separating from Attah. The look of divorce is the forced, tight-lipped smile they affect in the presence of empathetic friends and new couples. It doesn’t curve. It’s just straight. But nothing is straight in the lives of Attah’s estranged wives. Before Attah got married to Tundun Abiola, one of the daughters of late politician and business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, he was engaged to a nurse in London and Tundun didn’t know before they got married. He didn’t tell her about his past. A few months after his divorce from Tundun was finalised, Attah remarried. Yes, again. He married Josephine Washima, former President Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Job Creation.
Tundun, who is one of the most prominent Abiola daughters married Benue State-born Attah at an opulent ceremony that held in London in May 2009. They however, separated after only three years of marriage and two children. Few months later, he got involved in a wild romance with Josephine and in a fit of love, he took her as his wife. Their marriage seemed promising on paper but really, nothing seemed to work for the couple. Few months into their union, Attah’s marriage with Josephine is on the brink of collapse. Since it became public knowledge that his second widely publicised marriage is in trouble, Attah has ditched his lust for the limelight and retreated into a dark shell. Although he flaunts admirable talent for selecting women of enviable pedigree as his better half, he has not yet mastered the art of keeping them as life partners.
