He has a chubby face with sparkling fatherly eyes and heart-shaped lips which split into a toothy genial smile. He looks slightly comical, an impression not dispelled by his peculiar name, Obi Cubana.
Actually, that’s not his real name. He was born and named Obinna Iyiegbu. However, his name and nickname shot into the limelight 46 years after his birth when in July 2021 he buried his mother, Mrs Uche Iyiegbu, in a golden casket in Oba, a relatively quiet town in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra state, 10.2km from Onitsha.
The occasion was graced by the who-and-who in business, politics, and entertainment, with its attendant social media buzz. It was indeed a colourful event that had all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small. The obscene and indecent were not left out.
Let’s introduce you to the man behind one of the most talked-about burials in Nigeria’s recent history – Obi Cubana.
Obi Cubana Biography
On April 12, 1975, Obi Cubana had his first breath. Little is known about the location of his birth, but undoubtedly, he hails from Oba.
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Educational background
The socialite received his First School Leaving Certificate from Central Primary School, Oba. He then got his West Africa Senior School Certificate (WAEC) from Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha.
Obi Cubana earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1998.
His Career
His career kicked off at his place of primary assignment – the National Assembly – during his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Abuja.
A friend introduced him to the real estate business with the initial assignment being to furnish a house. After completing the job, the client was so impressed with his output that he gave Obi Cubana a cash gift of ₦500,000, which excludes the ₦600,000 he made as a profit.
Thereafter, he got a contract with the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company and later ventured into the hospitality business where he hit the goldmine.
Six years after his ALUTA days, Obi Cubana started his first Ibiza Club in Abuja in 2006. The goal was to provide fun and entertainment for night crawlers and fun seekers. Its success gave birth to the Cubana Group in 2009. It was first established in Owerri, Imo state, but now dots various locations across Nigeria.
Cubana Chief Priest
Paschal Chibuike Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, ran Obi Cubana’s entertainment conglomerates around the country. He left the Cubana Groups in 2020 and set up Club Xhrine in Owerri later the same year.
Obi Cubana’s awards
The business mogul has won several other awards and accolades. They include:
Young entrepreneur of the year 2016
Inspiring Personality Award, 2017
Special Leadership Award, May 2017
Northern Nigeria Peace Builder of the year 2017
Icon Award – Nigeria Film Corporation Entertainment 2017
Democracy Heroes Award 2018 as Democracy Entrepreneur of the year
His Personal life
Obi Cubana tied the knot with Ebele Iyiegbu, a professional lawyer, in 2008. The union is blessed with four sons – Alex, Ifeanyi, Ebube, and Kosisochukwu.
His wife runs a non-governmental organisation, the KIEK foundation. The mission of the NGO is to better the disadvantaged children in society who lack basic education, healthcare, nutrition, etc.
It wasn’t all rosy at first, as the entrepreneur revealed he met his wife while staying in a one-room apartment in Abuja.
“I started dating my wife when I was living in a room apartment. It wasn’t even a room apartment in the proper sense because we were four guys living there,” he said.
“There was no bed, the foam was on the floor. I’ll keep saying it. I met my wife when I was living in one room at a boy’s quarters in Zone 4, Wuse, Abuja. So, it wasn’t about the money, but we’re happy.
I married her when I was living in a three-bedroom flat in Garki. We had our two children there and lived happily. We dated for about three years before we got married.
“That happens when you have a woman that is after keeping a home as peaceful as possible because peace brings about prosperity.”
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Obi Cubana’s Net worth
Calculating the net worth of arguably Nigeria’s most influential show promoters, entertainers, and entrepreneurs is quite tricky. However, his estimated net worth is $700 million, which is based on his income, properties, and assets minus his liabilities.
Controversy
After giving his mother a lavish burial, Obi Cubana came on the government’s radar. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) smelled rats. They felt his nightclub business was just a smoke screen for illegal narcotics enterprise.
But Obi Cubana took to Instagram to inform his over 2.6 million followers that he was not a drug dealer.
“I’ve never felt so low. To me, it is repulsive,” he said.
“I was never linked to anything, but they said somebody paid money into my account and I believe that the agency in question is a very responsible one. I know that at the end of the day, they would make their findings public.”
The investigations have gone cold, but the question on the lips of many Nigerians remains, ‘Is the man from Oba the king of clubs or the king of drugs?”
The jury, though, is still out.
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List of Obi Cubana’s businesses and establishments
Rolex Hotels – Lagos
Cubana Leisure Outfits
Pablo Cubana – Lagos
Crave Cubana – Abuja
Grand Cubana Hotels – Abuja
Gustavo Cubana – Enugu
Cubana Night Club – Lagos
Opium Cubana – Owerri
His cars
His array of cars is worth billions of naira. He has a 2022 Mercedes Benz Maybach S580 guard 4matic bulletproof worth over ₦250 million, a Lexus LX, a Mercedes Benz 4matic S450, a Range Rover, and a Rolls Royce Phantom, to name but a few.
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His house
Obi Cubana’s mansion in Abuja, with state-of-the-art designs and interior, is worth billions of naira. The gigantic building has a private cinema, an underground wine cellar, a private pool, and several other amenities expected at the home of a bourgeoisie.
Social media
Obi Cubana’s social media following quadrupled after THAT burial. However, he swiftly disassociated himself from Twitter.
A Twitter user appeared to have been impersonating him on the microblogging application. The impersonator was feeding his over 33,000 followers with content presuming it was Obi Cubana that was handling the page.
But in a Facebook post in May 2022, the business tycoon reiterated he wasn’t on Twitter.
“Someone has been operating with my name on Twitter. It is not me! I am not on Twitter! I am not on Twitter! I don’t use Twitter!” he declared.
Not to worry, though, you can connect with Obi Cubana on the following social media platforms:
Instagram: @obi_cubana
Website: www.obinnaiyiegbu.com
And, yes, he finally joined Twitter in June 2022! His verified account is @realobi_cubana.
Top Google searches
In 2021, Obi Cubana was among Nigeria’s top searches on Google. The search giant announced a list of people, topics, moments, events, and places that had more engagements from Nigerians.
Obi Cubana was ninth in the Top 10 trending searches behind Paralympics, Euro 2020, Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, TB Joshua, La Liga, EPL, Champions League, and Tiwa Savage. He was ahead of Sound Sultan.
In the Top trending people, Obi Cubana was second behind Tiwa Savage, but ahead of Nnamdi Kanu, Romelu Lukaka, Sunday Igboho, Omah Lay, Elon Musk, Baba Ijesha, Raphael Varane, and Fabrizio Romano.
His Philanthropy achievements
In April 2022, Obi Cubana donated ₦2,000,000 each to 20 of his “struggling” secondary school classmates to start a business.
The announcement was made when he hosted his 1992 classmates from Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha in Abuja.
“There are some of us here that are struggling,” he said.
“Life is not just about taking pictures and posting on Instagram. I mean, many people think that we have made it in life. People are going through hell and to the glory of God. For some of us, God has actually blessed us.
“So, I want to propose something tonight. I want us C92 to do something significant tonight. I want us to set up a fund that will cater, that will take care of some of our classmates who are not well-to-do.”
Another act of philanthropy worthy of note from the many he has done was when he promised Ekuma Jeremiah, a hawker based in Lagos who went viral after his generous act of providing food and money to prison inmates, caught the attention of many Nigerians.
“I am offering him a lifetime opportunity”, he said on an Instagram live session with Daddy Freeze.
“He has to go to school I think that is his ambition… I will see him through the university and if he wants to do Masters abroad, I will make sure he is comfortable while going to school because like I said earlier, that is the best we can do for him.”
Conclusion
To some, the 47-year-old is a business tycoon. To others, a philanthropist. But Obi Cubana sees himself as “God’s favourite son”. Sceptics, the NDLEA, and the EFCC might disagree. Time will tell, though.
