Once upon a time, Prince Bola and Toyin Atobatele were the dictionary definition of the word, ‘socialite’. They both ruled the Lagos Mainland social establishment. No party was considered complete without them. As a result, party hosts and hostesses fell over themselves just to have the couple register their presence, at the very least, at their functions. But their social presence began to suffer a decline after Toyin gave her life to Jesus Christ and cut down significantly on her social outings. Her husband however remained unrepentant. Although he still made appearances in public, it was no longer as frequently as he used to do them with his estranged wife. Then in 2016, fate dealt the couple a deadly blow.
They lost their third child, Michael Babatunde Atobatele to the cold hands of death. He was a graduate of Business and Human Resource Management, University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Alongside his friends with common vision, he founded and floated a company named, Severe Nature, which engaged in the business of printing on quality materials, embroidery of logos and sales of luxury street wear to high profile clients.
Michael had fallen ill, got admitted at the Reddington Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos and later at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital where he gave up the ghost at the age of 22. Toyin and Bola were inconsolable, Toyin particularly. She became a shadow of her former self.
Somehow, the couple could not heal from their son’s death and months later, Toyin moved out of her Omole, Ikeja, matrimonial home. They both could not move on together from their son’s death and decided to part ways. The wedge that came between them proved irremovable and it slowly expanded until it became a yawning chasm that the two couldn’t bridge. Prince Bola reportedly sold most of his properties scattered around Lagos metropolis. No reason was given for his unusual action.
Short of saying they have gone into ‘extinction’ like dinosaurs, the once hugely famous couple have gone into total oblivion.
About the Author
