As the one and only 38th Guv’nor in Nigeria who was neither elected nor appointed by the people, Mr Olumese has carved a niche which remains peculiarly his own with his own people. There is no other like him in the entertainment world. He is nullus secondus.
In the twilight of his earthly sojourn, here is wishing this unusual man of grace, style, effervescence, class and panache, God’s grace and even more blessings. You are a rare gem, sir. They do not make them like you anymore.
Introduction If there is one person who has defined avant-garde nightclubbing in Nigeria, it is the one and only Ken Caleb Olumese , known to his legion of fans and admirers as ‘The Guv’nor’ , Nigeria’s unofficial 38th Governor. Not of a state, no; nor of our apex bank, the CBN. It is his own nom de guerre conferred on him by popular public acclamation and consensus, albeit informally.
How did this come about? How did one man transcend the statutory (and indeed, constitutional) strictures to appropriate to himself so effortlessly what so many have deployed life and limb (not to mention financial fortunes) to acquire: the ‘right’ or – more correctly, privilege – of being addressed as a ‘Governor’ (even if, in his case, it is stylised as ‘Guv’nor’)? It is a long and interesting story, but the occasion of his eightieth birthday is as good an opportunity as any for a historical excursion, a trip down memory lane, into the remarkable life and times of Chief Olumese. Our celeb.