OGD Holds Classy Wedding For Son, ADEBOLA

Last Saturday, 2nd July 2022, all roads led to the Marriot Hotel in Ikeja GRA, Lagos where Otunba Gbenga Daniel's son, Adebola got married to his beau, Morenike. It was a galaxy of stars and celebrities as everyone looked radiantly attired, and the national beauty of the venue added colour & glitz to the grand wedding which took several months to put together.  The wedding attracted quality guests and dignitaries from all walks of life. It was a wedding that attracted all the who-is-who in Nigeria, and de-creme-de-la-creme in society, from politicians to corporate guests and society people. It was also a mix of the old, middle age and young as invited guests trooped out in large numbers to honour OGD, his lovely wife, Yeye Olufunke Daniel and the bride’s parents who had sent out invitations.

That the wedding turned out hugely successful didn’t come to many as a big surprise. OGD is known to always hold classy events and parties. This was no different. It had all trappings of a well-organised and well-planned wedding ceremony. To ensure that all went well, OGD and his wife set up a planning committee months back to plan the wedding. And the couple carefully selected and picked the very best Vendors, to handle every aspect of the wedding, from the Alaga Iduro/Ijoko to Caterers, Music, and Drinks. Even the choice of venue was top-notch.

OGD chose Marriott Hotel in Ikeja GRA and for about 2 months the committee met on a daily basis via WhatsApp to plan and fine-tune arrangements. Heading the planning committee was OGD himself, ably assisted by his wife. OGD brought to bear on the group, his reputation for good planning. By nature, he is a very meticulous person, who believes in scripting his plans and following every word of it, line by line. He took effective charge of the group as he gave all the vendors specific tasks to do. An Engineer by training, he likes to be scientific about whatever he does. He is also prim & proper. His wife is also a very meticulous planner.

Both assembled the very best vendors and specifically told them the kind of top-notch service that is required of them. No wonder everything worked out as planned.

What gave many guests an inkling of what to expect was the colourful invitation card sent out splashed with beautiful photos of the couple. Each I.V came as a total package along with expensive fabrics. The Groom's parents are His Excellency, Otunba (Engr) Gbenga Daniel & Her Excellency,  Yeye Olufunke Daniel. The Bride's parents are the late Barrister John  Babayemi & Mrs Ademiju.

The Best man was Olutola Olujobi while the Bridesmaid was Similoluwa Odunsi. The Grooms men were Ife Tokan, Dignified Sorinolu-Bimpe, Taiwo Daniel, Mayowa Daniel, Dami Ayo-Ariyo, Ben Emeka, James Wakama, and Joshua Babatunde. The Bridesmaids include Yewande Delo-Dosunmu, Regina Giwa, Tolu Andero, Kehinde Williams, Tayo Williams, Reni Oluwadare, Omotola Kotun and Yvonne Victoria.

Who anchored the event? The Masters of Ceremonies were ace actor and MC, Yemi Sodimu and Enitan Olusegun Bamidele.

The event started at 9.00am at The Marriott with Guests Arriving, and at 10am, the parents arrived followed by the arrival of the Train, then Groom, then Bride’s arrival, after which the event started with Opening Prayers from Prof. Ismail S. Musa, the Chief Imam, Central Mosque, University of Lagos. Then came the joining of the couple. This was followed by the Choir's Special Rendition-New Wine Ensemble. Then came Homily & Prayers by Pastor (Dr.) Tunde Bakare and then photography.

The traditional wedding followed also at The Marriott at 12 noon with the arrival & Introduction of VIP Guests, Arrival of Parents/Family of the couple. Then the Alaga Ijoko did a presentation of the Proposal Letter. Then the arrival of the Groom and Groomsmen, the Arrival of the Bride and Bridesmaids. Then began the first assignment, followed by the cutting of the Cake, then a Vote of Thanks and Photography.

The reception followed immediately at The Marriott at exactly 2.00pm. It began with Light Music, followed by Opening Prayers & Blessing, then Special Recognition of Guests, followed by Entry of The Bride’s Family, then entry of The Groom’s Family, Entry of The Couple & Special Dance, this was followed by Pastor’s Special Prayers For the Couple.

This was followed by the Chairman’s Speech and Words of Encouragement, then a Special dance with the couple by their mothers, Words of Appreciation by the Groom's Father, Cutting of the Cake & Toast (speeches by Groomsmen & Bridesmaids), followed by Bouquet Toss, then special dance by the Couple, and there was dancing galore.

After Party followed at The Marriott Hotel and at the Maryland residence of Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

Let’s tell you more. Adebola proposed to his wife in April 2022. He asked her to be his wife.

Who is Adebola Daniel? We can tell you that he is a brilliant young man like his dad, who feels fulfilled and accomplished, despite his disability. He has been a pillar of support for several other young people who look up to him for inspiration.

In January 2017, Gbenga Adebambo wrote an impressive article about Debola Daniel in the Youth Magazine of The Guardian Newspaper titled Limit Your Limitations, he said Disability is not the end but just a different path.

He is the founder of the Debola Daniel Foundation (DDF) which is committed to ending the stigma attached to people living with disabilities, by working with the government to create inclusive policies that cover the main sectors of Education, Employment and Empowerment of the disabled Nigerians.

For years now, the Foundation has been working on a social media campaign under the hashtag #DisabledNotUnable.

Adebola has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University College, London. He is an inspirational speaker with TEDx Talk and Co-founder of the African Youth Initiative.

He is the Managing Director at Kresta Laurel UK Ltd, an Engineering Consultancy Company. He is also the co-owner of IDEY! Limited, an online presence dedicated to providing a hub for youths in the British Diaspora.

The 2017 article on him, revealed that confined to the wheelchair at an early age, the resilient and undaunted young man has grown beyond the confines of his wheelchair to becoming a voice for children and youths with disabilities.

The story revealed how Adebola was born into a very comfortable home, with amazing parents, and without a disability.

However, when he turned 5, he was diagnosed with paraplegia, a rare condition with no medical clarity. And he became confined to a wheelchair.

“Though crippled in the body, he self-talked and sweet-talked himself into believing that he was not crippled in the mind”, revealed the article. “Though he was excruciatingly exposed to the stigma and assumptions that come with being Disabled, he vehemently refused to be looked down upon with pity, judgement and sometimes resentment”.

Otunba Gbenga Daniel, who is Adebola’s father, is very proud of his son. He is forever happy to talk glowingly about Adebola who is brilliant like him. Otunba Daniel was so full of joy and gratitude to God when he posted on one of his social media platforms a few years back about the dauntless strides of his son in his academics. He wrote: “My physically challenged son, Adebola Daniel, just got a Distinction in his M.Sc (Mechanical Engineering) at UCL”.

Adebola bagged a B.Sc (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Surrey before going over to UCL for his Master's.

The writer concluded by praising Adebola Daniel because he surmounted great odds to make meaning out of a seemingly hopeless situation.

The writer revealed that Adebola Daniel once said, “I realised that the world was my playground and I promised myself that if my feet couldn’t take me to places, my arms would take me and if my hands won’t take me to places, my brain would take me. If my brain couldn’t take me to places, my words will go places”.