For veteran fashion designer, Maureen Onigbanjo, the news was heart-wrenching. The stylish socialite and CEO, House of Maufechi, who recently clocked 60 years, was yet to shake off the loss of her beloved husband, Olawale Lukman Onigbanjo, the founder of Lakoom Enterprises in July 2015. Onigbanjo, who was fondly called Onyx by his close friends, died in London, few minutes after arriving from Nigeria. Maufechi was yet to recover from this loss when the unfortunate news of the death of her first son, Olawale Opeyemi Edward Onigbanjo Jnr., broke again. The young entreprenur died on Monday October 14 in London, just three months after celebrating his 31st birthday. Since the news of demise of Olawale, who was running his late dad’s business in London, broke, not only his mum but numerous family members and friends have become very inconsolable. The Lagos social circuit has since been thrown into a mourning mood, occasioned by his tragic death while the family home in Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, has been playing host to hundreds of grief-stricken sympathisers.
Olawale’s remains, however, were committed to mother earth on Tuesday November 5 in Lagos. The burial ceremony kicked off on Monday November 4, with a Candlelight Service at The Kudos Hall and Event Center on Adeniyi Jones Avenue. This was followed by a funeral service at the Ebony Vaults in Ikoyi, Lagos where his body was interred.
To those close to the family, the late Olawale, who was born in 1988, four years after his parents met and married in 1984, was every parent’s pride and hope for grey days. During his short lifetime, he was said to have effortlessly combined the wisdom of old age with the exuberance of youth, thus acting as an inspiring bridge between the young and the old. Although the cause of his death was kept away from the public, the deceased had a good head on his shoulders. He is survived by his mum, Maureen, his sister, 26-year-old Morenike Ololade Onigbanjo and brother, 22-year-old Babafemi Oluwafeyisola Onigbanjo.