As Best Birthday Gift, John Obayuwana Bags Award

It is common knowledge that standing out among one’s peers requires one to do one of two things: achieve ordinary things using extraordinary means, or achieve extraordinary things using ordinary means. When one looks at the life of John Obayuwana, it seems as if the style icon and purveyor of luxury goods has managed to strike a balance between the ordinary and the extraordinary. As a result, grand accomplishments are as common as sand with him. Even so, the recent Swiss recognition he got was something out of the blue.

As the Chairman of Polo Luxury Group, Obayuwana is a symbol of the high life in more ways than one. Time and again, Obayuwana has shown that past achievements are meant to be improved upon. Thus, when he was recently honoured with a Swiss award, it appeared to observers that Obayuwana is true to his calling: using style to break style.

The said award was the Swiss Excellence Award, and Obayuwana just happens to be the first recipient of it. Delivering this award to Obayuwana, the Consul General of Switzerland to Nigeria, Thomas Schneider, noted that Obayuwana almost single-handedly popularized high-end Swiss watches, and so opened up the West African market so that this brand can dominate. The Swiss Excellence Award was only the Swiss’s little way of showing gratitude to Obayuwana for his work of 35 years.

Receiving the award at the event themed ‘A Taste of Swiss Luxury,’ Obayuwana noted that he was even more grateful. He also noted that he felt responsible for ensuring that Nigerians have access to the kind of luxury that is prominent in the rest of the world. The award was timely as Obayuwana marked his birthday a few days before the recognition.