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Alhaja Wosilat Okoya-Seriki is a woman of poise and warmth .Over several decades, her charm and charisma remains unfading. As she marks her 65th birthday, tributes are pouring in from every corner of the social landscape and from the friendships she has kept with love and loyalty.
Mrs Okoya-Seriki has built a formidable reputation as a woman of substance in her own right.
It is not surprising that she remains a fixture at the most consequential gatherings of Nigeria’s social elite, a respected personality whose friendship is treasured by those lucky enough to know her.
Those who know her say it is her character, not her family name, that defines her. They speak of her warmth, and of a generosity that is becoming rare in the society we live in today.
The age of 65 is often described as a milestone of wisdom. For Wosilat Okoya-Seriki it has arrived as an affirmation of a life fully and purposefully lived, and it is a moment to celebrate not only the years behind her but the grace with which she has carried them.
She is a fashionable woman who, according to her admirers, has refused to age. She has glowing skin, she is elegant, and she always dazzles in matching attires, keeping heads turning in any social circle.
Yet the younger sister of Aare Rasak Okoya is not loud. She is not a woman about town. She keeps a low profile and shows up only when the occasion demands. Hers has always been a life anchored at home, in the quiet work of family, and she has never sought a stage beyond it.
Born on August 17th, 1961 into the celebrated Okoya lineage, a younger sibling to the legendary industrialist and philanthropist Alhaji Rasak Akanni Okoya, CON, Wosilat, as she is fondly called, has never simply coasted on her famous surname. Nor has she coasted on the equally notable family she married into as the wife of the late Chief Ademola Rasaq Seriki, CON, Otun Aare of Lagos, who served as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain and Permanent Representative to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation until his death in December 2022.
When the late diplomat honoured the clarion call to serve the nation, she was there for him, making a home in Madrid for the duration of his posting. She was at his side when he breathed his last, and each year since, she has organised prayers for the repose of his soul.
A mother of three accomplished daughters and a grandmother to beautiful grandchildren, Mrs Okoya-Seriki is well grounded. She raised her children on the value of hard work, and they are doing wonderfully well.
As family, friends and admirers gather to honour this milestone, the tributes are piling up from all over Nigeria to celebrate one woman. Read together, they say much the same thing. Hers has been a life of dignity and quiet strength, lived in steady commitment to the people around her.
