Entertainment
Ifeanyi: The Death of Nigeria’s Most Popular Baby
By Eric Elezuo
A dark day it was on November 1, 2022 when Nigerians woke to the shocking news of Davido and his fiancee, Chioma’s son, Ifeanyi’s death. The news, which filtered in at midnight throw celebrity posts, hovered like a grand rumour until it gained ground, and became confirmed. Ifeanyichukwu ‘Davido’ Adeleke has died. He drowned in a swimming pool in his father’s house in highbrow Banana Island.
The news threw the country into unbelievable grieve, causing politicians and entertainers to shift their priories and programmes amid tears. Ifeanyi was only three years old; an age he attained only a week before his death. An age that was celebrated with pomp, pageantry and total exuberance.
Much as the parents of the child have not uttered a word on the issue till date, the Lagos State Command through its publicity department led by SP Benjamin Hundeyin, has continually kept the public abreast of the situation, culminating in its Saturday announcement that autopsy authorised to determine the cause of the child’d death was out. The content according to him, revealed that the boy some people have come to rever as Nigeria’s most popular baby died as a result of drowning.
Hundeyin said, “Autopsy has been concluded. It confirms the boy (Ifeanyi) drowned.”
Earlier, the Police had picked up all eight domestic staff on duty when the child died for questioning. They later released six, and detained only the cook and the nanny, who were directly in charge of Ifeanyi. The Police hinted that they may be charged for negligence.
It was reported that the nanny was with the toddler when the cook came to join them. The nanny claimed to have moved away to receive a call leaving the child with the cook who also insisted that he left the boy in the care of the nanny. The child’s body was later found at the bottom of the pool by a security guard 20 minutes later.
Analysts have wondered why it took the Nanny a whole 20 minutes to discover that the child was not with them, and why security guards in the facility do not regularly patrol the surroundings if it took 20 minutes for the guard to spot him.
A lot of people have said that Ifeanyi was a victim of circumstance arriving with so much fanfare as his mother was so loved among the four baby mamas of the star artist, Davido.
The pair broke the internet when on Chioma’s 23rd birthday, in 2018, Davido caused a stir on social media when he released a song titled ‘Assurance’ in homage to her. While lavishing love on her, he also generated a torrent of reactions by presenting her with a N45 million Porshe as a birthday gift. The car came with a plate number which reads ‘Assurance’.
Davido had specifically gone to the studio to release a single dedicated to Chioma. The song broke music charts, and placed Chioma on a great pedestal in Davido’s love line. However, shortly after their talk of the town traditional marriage, and birth of Ifeanyi, the two parted ways as a result of Davido’s alleged involvement with another woman overseas and another alleged romantic affair between Chioma and Davido’s staff, Peruzzi.
The disagreement reached a head recently when Chioma, an Economics undergraduate at Lead City University, learned that the singer had impregnated yet another woman.
Much as Chioma Rowland is greatly hit by the unfortunate death of the child because it was her only child, Davido is equally devastated as the child was his only son. His other baby mamas had daughters, Imade and Hailey, for him.
Imade Adeleke is the product of his romance with Sophie Momodu while he had Hailey Veronica Adeleke with an Atlanta-based lady popularly known as Amanda ‘Mandy Play’ on Instagram.
Their separation, more than setting them apart further cemented their love, and hyped their personalities. It was not therefore, a surprise when in June 2022, the duo made a drama comeback, setting 2023 for the wedding ceremony.
The circumstances that brought his parents together, broke them apart and brought them back again, have made the young Ifeanyi to remain in the limelight as the unofficial most popular in Nigeria. His popularity was shored up when his third birthday party took over the entire internet.
Though the last of the unfortunate has not been heard, Nigerians continue to mourn a boy many have said was finer than most beautiful girls; a boy many said was Nigeria’s most popular baby.
May the innocent soul of Ifeanyi rest in peace!
Nollywood actor, Saidi Balogun has reunited with his estranged wife, Faithia Williams at the graduation ceremony of their son, Khalid Ayomide Balogun.
The couple, both Nollywood actors, who called it quits with their marriage a few years ago, had cause to come together, to celebrate their son’s achievement as he graduates from the University of Lagos with a first-class honours.
Trending videos and photos captured the couple in jolly mood posing for photographs and exchanging pleasantries with well wishers and friends.
Saidi and Faithia had a bitter separation, which prompted Saidi to caution his ex-wife to desist from using his name, Balogun.
African Voices Changemakers, the popular CNN International magazine programme will this weekend host one of Hollywood’s most celebrated African actors, Djimon Gaston Hounsou. The programme is sponsored by digital solutions provider, Globacom.
The star actor who was born in Benin Republic in April 1960, will be chatting with programme anchor, Larry Madowo on his inspiring journey and how he links the Black diaspora with its roots through the Djimon Hounsou Foundation which he launched in New York in 2019.
Hounsou became a thespian when he acted in the 1990 film titled Without You, I’m Nothing from which he has gained recognition for his outstanding roles in several other films including Amistad (1997); Gladiator (2000) and a French film titled Forces speciales (2011) among other great works. His talents have earned him the Golden Globe Award as Best Actor in Drama and the NAACP Image Award both in 1998 and for his role in Amistad. He also got the Academy Awards as Best Supporting Actor in 2004 as well as an Outstanding Performance Award for Blood Diamond in 2007.
His foundation has been at the forefront of empowering Africans through his philanthropic initiatives like Run Richmond 16.19. He has successfully bridged history, culture, and community in a mission to unite the African diaspora and honour African heritage.
African Voices Changemakers will be broadcast on Saturday at 8.30a.m. and will be repeated same day at noon. Further repeats will be broadcast on Sunday at 4.30a.m. and 7p.m.; Monday 4a.m. Repeat editions will come up in the same broadcast schedule next week from Saturday.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has postponed the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations due to the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area.
Originally scheduled for Friday, January 17, the nominations will now be revealed on January 19.
Voting for the nearly 10,000 Academy members, which began on January 8, has also been extended by two days, now closing on Tuesday, January 14.
Among the celebrities affected by the fires are former Oscars host Billy Crystal, Paris Hilton, James Woods, and Miles Teller, all of whom have lost their homes.
In a letter sent to members on Wednesday, Academy CEO Bill Kramer offered his condolences, saying, “We want to offer our deepest condolences to those who have been impacted by the devastating fires across Southern California.
“So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you.”
Wildfires sweeping through communities across Los Angeles County, which began around 5:45 pm on Wednesday, have damaged or destroyed over 2,000 homes, businesses, and other buildings, with at least five confirmed dead.
