In light of the recent squabbles going on between Tonto Dikeh and her estranged husband, Olakunle Churchill, we have put together 5 things to know about the popular businessman.
1. Biography & Education
On 27th December, Olakunle Churchill was born to Mr. and Mrs. Olakunle in Ondo State, South-Western Nigeria, where he hails from. He was raised by his grandmother and is the adopted son of former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasenjo.
He started his academic journey in Canon Adeyemi Nursery and Primary School, Ondo State, before moving to Apata Memorial High School, Isolo for his junior secondary education. For his senior secondary education, he proceeded to Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Abeokuta.
To further his education and upgrade his academic status, he attended and obtained a Bachelor of Sciences in Computer Application from Don Bosco India.
Currently, he also holds an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the ISCG University in the Republic of Benin.
2. Career
In 2005, at the age of 23, Churchill began his career by founding the Big Churchill company; a real estate and ICT company. The company was succeeded by the Churchill Group in 2010, launching in agriculture, mining, engineering and entertainment.
Later on, he started a charity organization – Churchill Foundation. The funding of this foundation comes from 10% of all his company revenues.
3. Marriage/Love Life
Churchill met popular Nigerian Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh at Escape Nightclub in Lagos, in 2014. This was during the birthday party of Churchill’s brother. 6 months after they started dating, Tonto conceived for him. They officially knotted the tie on 29th August 2015 in her hometown Rumukani, Rumukwuta, Rivers state. They welcomed their son in February 2016 – Andre Omodayo Churchill.
Sadly, due to internal issues and unconfirmed allegations of domestic abuse, they divorced in July 2017.
In 2019, Churchill continued his love tale with Rosaline Meurer, a Gambian-born Nigerian actress and producer. Rosaline also bore him a son. He was named King Churchill Junior.
Currently, they are still together and living happily with their only child.
4. Life of a Philanthropist
The Churchill Foundation has donated to the poor and orphanages, and has also given scholarships to many students in Nigeria. In 2017, the foundation provided funds and relief materials in Kagoro, Kaduna State, to the victims of Kada river massacre. Based on the true life story of the massacre, a film, Kada River was produced by the foundation. The film premiered in September 2017 at the Nollywood Travel Film Festival in Toronto, Canada. To the Nigeria Federal Fire Service, the foundation donated an ambulance, 1,000 fire extinguishers and 1,000 fire blankets. The foundation gifted three plots of land in Abuja, Nigeria to the three finalists from the Big Brother Naija reality TV show, Season 2. The foundation started the “Say No To Poverty” project in Ondo State, in March 2019, to empower over 1000 youths from all the 36 states of Nigeria.
5. Awards and Recognition
In order of the timeline, Churchill received a Nigeria Goodwill Ambassador Award in 2015. The following year, he featured on the cover for the 11th edition of La Mode Magazine success builder issue and in recognition of “his significant humanitarian contribution to humanity, received an award from the same magazine at the Green October Event 2016. In 2017, he received a chieftaincy title from the council of chiefs of Kamara community, and from the Kagoro community, Liberia. For his “immense contributions to entrepreneurship, agriculture and ICT,” he received the African Youth and Governance Champion Award and a Humanitarian Award at the AfroGlobal Television Excellence Awards. In the same year, he received the Special Recognition Award at the 2017 City People Movie Awards and was awarded Man of the Year at the 2017 Scream Awards. 2018, Nike Community, Enugu East, Enugu State awarded him a chieftaincy title as Ezinwa Chukwu Mere Eze. In 2019, he featured on the cover for the 12th edition of Attention Magazine impact impression.
