Socialite Obi Iyiegbu, better known as Obi Cubana, has said he doesn’t have any “soap” to cut for anyone.

In an interview with BBC News Pidgin on Tuesday, Cubana urged young people to work hard to earn a better life.

Since the Chairman of Cubana Nightclub had a lavish burial for his mother in Oba, Anambra, he has become a social media sensation.

Cubana has however condemned money rituals and emphasized the importance of prayer, God, hard effort, and investing in a good group of friends.

“We didn’t plan for one-fifth of the crowd at the funeral,” he said.

“But see what happened at the burial. People have been saying that Obi Cubana has money, which money? They need to know people who have money in Anambra and in Nigeria. It is not about money but goodwill. What happened that day, money can’t buy it. See the mammoth crowd, yet nobody was raped, no car was stolen and no one was attacked. It can only be God.”

Cubana said he believes in fasting and prayer for spiritual fortification and not rituals. “I do pray before I leave the house. I pray because if you don’t pray your body will be naked and prone to different attacks,” he said.

Advising youths, he said, “If you are in your 20s, work now. I am 46 years (old), I have done my first half. I don’t know why someone who is just 20 years (old) will say he has not made it when he still has 50 years 60 years ahead.

“There is no soap to cut for anybody, there is no soap anywhere, work, pray, be good, make your own soap.”

Cubana Nightclub’s founder, Obinna Iyiegbu, aka Obi Cubana,  Nollywood actor, Kanayo O Kanayo, and others who attended a recent burial ceremony in Oba, Anambra, risk six months in prison after breaching the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rule.

Obi Cubana staged a lavish burial ceremony for his late mother, Ezinne Iyiegbu, who died in December 2020.

The funeral was graced by Kanayo O. Kanayo, actor Alex Ekubo and many other celebrities.

In one of the videos uploaded by Obi Cubana on his Instagram during the celebration of life for his mother, he was seen spraying naira notes to persons around him.

In another video, he is seen dancing on naira notes sprayed on him by guests at his party, while Kanayo O Kanayo and other guests were also captured on video spraying Cubana naira notes.

The act of spraying naira and dancing on the note is an abuse of Nigeria’s currency, and it contravenes Section 21 of the CBN Act 2007, which stipulates six months jail term.

What the CBN act says about spraying and dancing on naira

According to the act:

(1) A person who tampers with a coin or note issued by the Bank is guilty of an offence and shall on notes and coins imprisonment for a term not less than six months or to a fine not less than N50,000 or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(2) A coin or note shall be deemed to have been tampered with if the coin or note has been impaired, diminished or lightened otherwise than by fair wear and tear or has been defaced by stumping, engraving, mutilating, piercing, stapling, writing, tearing, soiling, squeezing or any other form of deliberate and willful abuse whether the coin or note has or has not been thereby diminished or lightened.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, spraying of, dancing or matching on the Naira or any note issued by the Bank during social occasions or otherwise howsoever shall constitute an abuse and defacing of the Naira or such note and shall be punishable under Sub-section (1) of this section.

Source: Vanguard

Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) has appointed Mrs Miriam Olusanya as its first female Managing Director, replacing Segun Agbaje.

A statement from the bank on Wednesday confirmed this.

It said under the terms of the re-organisation, a new operating company has been established and amendments made to the articles of incorporation for a corporate name change.

“The corporate name of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc and GTCO Plc will be used by the newly established operating company.

“The newly established Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc is also pleased to announce its new Board of Directors as well as changes to the Board of its banking subsidiary, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited. All the appointments have been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria and disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian Exchange Group.

“Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (“GTCO Plc”) will be governed by a Board of Directors comprising, Mr. Sola Oyinlola as Chairman of the Board and Mr Segun Agbaje as the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Adebanji Adeniyi as Executive Director, Mrs Cathy Echeozo as Non-Executive Director, Mr. Suleiman Barau and Mrs. Helen Bouygues as Independent Non-Executive Directors.

“We are very excited to get started on the next phase of our incredible journey to driving Africa’s growth by making end-to-end financial services easily accessible to every African and African Businesses by leveraging Technology and Strategic Partnerships.

“As a bank, we were always looking to meet every customer need; with our corporate reorganization, we will be able to do more to help our customers thrive in this new world of digital technologies and unprecedented possibilities,” the statement noted.

It further stated that, “Whilst we are evolving as an organization, we remain committed to our founding values which have endeared our brand to millions of people across Africa and beyond, and which continues to drive our financial success.

“As a Proudly African and Truly International band, we will continue to live by these values—of excellence, hard work and integrity, even as we create faster, cheaper, safer and more diverse products for people and businesses of varied types and sizes.”

Prior to its corporate reorganization to Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has been at the forefront of delivering innovative banking products and services to customers and best-in-class Return-on-Equity to shareholders.

Mr Segun Agbaje, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, said: “We believe that a Holding Company Structure will allow us take advantage of new business opportunities in the emerging competitive landscape and strengthen our earnings base.”