Popular Lagos celebrity woman, Ranti Johnson who is also the younger sister of foremost society matriarch, Hajia Abba Folawiyo celebrated her 60th birthday in style on Tuesday, 15th, June 2019 at the Church of Nativity(Anglican Communion) inside Park View Ikoyi.
It was a colourful birthday where only her close friends and family gathered together to celebrate with her. The colour dictates of the day was purple and it looked royal on all guests as they turned out in their different styles. What else do you expect from such a party owing to the fact that the celebrant is also a very stylish woman.
The celebrant opted for a crispy shinning white lace sewn into a boubou and matched it with white headgear and purple diamond jewelry. She looked so beautiful and younger than 60. The church hall was beautifully decorated with purple colours and the purple carpet area was littered with all her picture frames which shows how gracefully she has evolved over the years.
The party started with a thanksgiving service where hymns were rendered unto God and special prayers were also raised for the celebrant at about 12 noon. Afterwards, the celebrant was ushered into the hall dancing in with all her family and friends. The event had in attendance most of her secondary school classmates from St Gregory college. Her siblings and family at large were also not left out as they made sure she had a great day. The event was a small knit party but classy in all ramifications. In attendance was her sister, Hajia Abba Folawiyo who revealed how close they both are, she prayed for her sister and took us down memory lane about how they grew up loving each other and most especially doing things together. She described her younger sister as a good confidant who is always ready to listen to her any day anytime.
Hajia’s close friend turned sister, Senator Florence Ita Giwa was also at the party. She rocked a beautiful purple French lace sewn into a dress and matched it up with silver high heeled shoes and diamond jewelry. Trust Mama Bakassi herself, style is her second name. She also reeled out some good qualities of Ranti Johnson, she described her as a strong woman, who is breaking the ceilings in all aspects of life, a go-getter and wonderful humour being. At the party was also the Managing Director of Taste Fried Chicken Confectionaries, Pamela Olayinka Adedayo. She was one of the important guests at the party. It was a major outing for her because she revealed that the birthday party will be the first time since she lost her only child to have come out in public to speak about anyone, Ranti is so blessed to have good families and friends around her. Mrs Adedayo saluted Ranti’s kind and large heart and also made it known that Ranti was part of the people who stood by her in her trying times, she revealed that her son’s foundation is one thing Ranti does not joke with and that she made sure they got the foundation going up till now. Some of the many special dignitaries at the party and her friends who spoke glowingly about her were Mrs Adebowale, Priscilla Soyemi, Duro Osinusi, Folake Marquis and many others. Some of the major roles of coordinating the party which made the party a success was done by no other than Lagos celeb woman, Enitan Allen, she was joined by her close friend, Funmi Ajila Ladipo and they were seen making sure everyone had a great time. The pretty wife of Segun Awolowo, Bola Awolowo was also at the party. Celebrity designer, Maureen Onigbanjo, wife of Eleganza boss, Alhaja Kubrat Okoya, Lagos celeb women, Ireti Asemota, Joko Oni and many others were also present.
The beautiful celebrant was all smiles all through and went on from table to table to thank all her friends. She took the turn to take pictures with all of them and danced like it was going out of fashion. She runs one of the much-talked-about fabric stores in Ikoyi, Lagos and has been at it for over 30 years. She has been around for quite some time and there is no gainsaying she dominated the social scene like a colossus with her ravishing beauty. She is lovable too, no wonder many of her close friends trooped out to celebrate with her. Ranti’s business has been fluorishing and she has been pampering herself with the best luxury that life has to offer. She owns a beautiful apartment in Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos and remains one of the most successful women in Nigeria. At her birthday, she had many things to say, she revealed how she has lived her good life and how God has brought her to a place of grace at 60.
”Praise God. I thought to myself, how will I like to spend this day and it came to me that there was an idea. I thought maybe I should just fly away quietly to somewhere my first port of spending my birthday is having a quiet time to myself but that thought changed on Monday 10th of June. A sister friend of mine, Mrs Adebowale celebrated her 60th and she said she does not want any huge or loud ceremony and it was on a Monday, and I thought why Monday? Anyway the day came, we went there and I saw that she had a small nice crowd, she had friends from way back and we all enjoyed the party so that idea came to me that why don’t I have something small like she had with friends, family and loved ones and that was how we planned this my birthday for just about a week.it was a vigorous planning but the long and short of it is that I am so glad you all can make this day, I feel so honoured to have you all here, only for me. May God Almighty keep guard and protect all of you.i thank you so much because when I look back, 10 years ago, there was a big surprise and I wept throughout the ceremony because it was so shocking. My siblings organised a surprise birthday for me at the Oriental Hotel on my 50th birthday and trust my big sister, Hajia Abba Folawiyo. She was the one that tricked me to the party which was organised for me unknowingly. When I got there, I was so shocked and surprised. In my life, I have never seen such a pleasant surprise. I was overwhelmed, I started crying and cried all through so this time around, I said to myself, before they catch me, let me disappear. So it was my friend Mrs Adebowale that made me celebrate this day this way. If not for you and for God, today might have been a very lonely day. I thank you all. The journey of my life at 60 has been that of grace. I thank the almighty God”.
After the cutting of the lovely cake, there were a sumptuous meal and exotic drinks served to guests and the dance floor was declared open. She was joined by friends and many of her family members who dance to lovely songs from the gospel band and an award-winning saxophonist.
–TAYO FAJORIN OYEDIJI
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