By Donu Kogbara
Last week, a British TV station, Channel 4, screened a documentary titled “Lagos To London: Britain’s New Super-Rich”. And I couldn’t believe my ears or eyes.

The stars of the show were the daughters of Femi Otedola, the oil tycoon, and the twin sons/grandsons of Greg Mbadiwe, a onetime Nigerian ambassador to the Congo, and Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe, the veteran politician and nationalist.

A Marie Antoinette-themed party in London by children of a Nigerian oil magnate featured in the documentary. (Screengrab from Channel 4 YouTube clip)

The documentary was about the youngsters’ pampered lifestyles. And I was totally shell-shocked and more disgusted than words can express by their crass conceits and eagerness to publicly boast about their riches – a particularly insensitive decision at a time when ordinary Nigerians are going through hell financially.

Exclusive  stores and clubs

They boasted about their expensive shopping and drinking habits, boasted about the exclusive stores and clubs they frequent abroad, boasted about their luxury cars, showed off their £7 million Lagos yacht and so on. The whole exercise boiled down to a sickeningly tasteless catalogue of conspicuous consumption.

The Mbadiwe boys (we were told that their family wealth “originally came from gold-mining”) were pretty annoying; but the Otedola girls – aspiring DJ Cuppy aged 23 and fashion blogger Temi, l9 – were especially pretensious and vacuous.

Interviewed in her parents’ £35 million London residence, one of them informed viewers, as she smirked and simpered next to a pile of glossy publications that featured her father on their covers and presumably contained several pictures of the entire clan celebrating various milestones: “Some people have graduation photos, we just have magazines.”

We were then treated to images of the little madame dressed like Marie-Antoinette, an 18th century French Queen with whom she claims to have an affinity.

Marie-Antoinette is famed for having uttered the immortal words: “Let them eat cake then!” (when she was told that French peasants were starving because they couldn’t find bread to eat). And I’m sure she meant well, but she was eventually sentenced to death by a revolutionary court and executed in 1793.

Ms Otedola did not display any knowledge of such tedious historical details, preferring to dwell on blander aspects of her heroine’s existence.

“I feel,” she said, batting her eyelashes, without any trace of irony whatsoever, “like I’m this young woman with so much responsibility. Marie-Antoinette was Queen of France at such a young age…Marie-Antoinette and I both love dogs…”

She said that her graduation party had taken place in a famous London hotel and that she was wondering how to top this prestigious venue when she gets married.

Versailles – Marie Antoinette’s lavish palace and marital home – was a possibility. But maybe not “because Kanye [West] and Kim [Kardashian] already did Versailles.”

I guess that her laughably delusional belief that she is on a par with global superstars and a king’s consort is harmless. But what I don’t get about this kid and her ilk is why they don’t realise how bad they look and sound to sensible people.

I grew up with rich folks of many nationalities and don’t have anything against those who inherit or earn legally-acquired wealth and enjoy perks like lovely houses.

But rich folks from good homes are not supposed to flaunt their advantages so brazenly! A highway in Lagos is named after the illustrious Mbadiwe patriarch and we were shown a photo of the old man with Queen Elizabeth II in 1956.

And I find it very strange that Otedolas and Mbadiwes – who are not uneducated newcomers to substantial affluence – should display such wanton ostentation…and even stranger that their doting Dads – who come across as serious-minded – allowed them to appear in such a silly, vulgar documentary in the first place.

One of the girls said: “I represent Nigeria [internationally] and I think I’m part of the people who are going to really change the reputation that Nigeria has.”

Nigerian  billionaires

Someone should tell this immensely irritating wannabee, to her face, that she is not the kind of ambassador we as a nation will ever need!…and that there are plenty of equally fortunate Nigerians of her generation who conduct themselves much more admirably and wouldn’t dream of carrying on the way she carries on.

By the way, an English woman who helps Nigerian billionaires spend their money was also interviewed. And she told us that she has a client “who literally has diamonds on the soles of his shoes…When he walks, you can see the soles glittering.”

Meanwhile, Alex Amosu, a humble and loveable purveyor of luxury goods (I’m glad he’s benefitting from the extravagance of others!), showed viewers a suit that had 22-carat gold pinstripes and cost £70,000 to buy and £2,000 to dry-clean.

No matter how rich I was, I’d NEVER cough up that kind of cash for mere wearables! And I’ll be very interested to know whether any Vanguard readers regard such expenditure as reasonable for folks who can afford to splash out.

Civilized elections

Last month, I voted in the London Mayoral election. Today, I voted in a Referendum that will determine whether Britain stays within the European Union or leaves it to plough a more independent furrow (I voted for Britain to stay, for reasons I will explain when the outcome of the referendum has been revealed).

Having also voted in Nigerian elections – last year and on quite a few previous occasions – I never cease to marvel at the stark difference between the manner in which Brits and Nigerians approach democratic challenges.

Here in the UK, everything is so civilized. The polling stations are quiet and orderly. Electoral officials are relaxed, not harassed.

There are no political thugs hovering around, trying to loudly intimidate voters or snatch ballot boxes. There are no ridiculous technical glitches. There are no overtly partisan police. There are no tragic deaths or major rigging scandals.   The contrast is utterly depressing.

I keep wondering whether we will become more like them in my lifetime.