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Who is Obi Cubana? Hospitality czar worth $500M slaughters 250 cows for mom's funeral

Obi Cubana's mother was buried in a gold-plated casket worth approximately $72,881, gifted by a friend

Obi Cubana, the CEO Of Cubana group, a Nigeria-based hospitable brand threw a funeral befitting a queen for his late mother which was so lavish and extravagant that it quickly became one of the top trends of Twitter. Obi showed off his reach and celebrity status when he buried his later mother, Ezinne Uche Iyiegbu, who died at the age of 78 in December last year.

In Nigeria, it is customary to observe a period of mourning for the deceased. While some bodies are buried right away, others are taken to the mortuary to await burial. Some tribes also wait from a month up to a year to save up for a lavish burial. The reason behind the delay in Obi's mother's funeral was not made clear. Some of the other socialities who have recently made headlines like Cubana are Caitlyn Jenner, Jasmine Hartin, Madison LeCroy and Libbie Mugrabi. 

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Who is Obi Cubana?

Obi Cubana, 46, hails from Oba in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State in Nigeria. After graduating from the University of Nigeria in 1998 with a degree in political science, he became the brain behind the Ibiza Club. Following the remarkable success of the Ibiza club, he established Cubana, a hospitality club that provides all-around entertainment and satisfaction in 2009, according to The National Line NG. Cubana club was initially established in Owerri, Imo State. However, it quickly has spread across various states in the country including Lagos, Abia, and Enugu. Obi is currently working on Cubana Dubai and Cubana Real Estate. He is married to Ebele Iyiegbu, aka Lush Eby, who is a lawyer and they have four sons. The socialite has worn several awards and recognition across the country including 'Democracy Heroes Award' in 2018 where he was declared the 'Democracy Entrepreneur' of the year. Apart from several mansions across the country, Obi Cubana also possesses an array of exotic cars from Mercedes Benz 4matic S40, 2 Lexus LX, Bentley and others. Obi Cubana’s net worth is estimated at $500 million.

Gold plated casket, 250 cows slaughtered

Obi pulled out all stops when it came to putting his late mother to rest, thanks to his very influential associates. A friend gifted him a gold-plated casket worth 30 million naira ($72,881) to be used in the burial of his mother. His friends and business associates also raised 267 million naira ($6,48,646) for the ceremonial burial.

He also had a diamond pendant and neckpiece made in honour of his late mother which was worth $100K. He said he had to replicate his late mother’s face with gemstones. “Had to cut mama’s face on ice! @obisgallery came through,” he said. Also gifted for the occasion from the funeral attendees were 246 cows, which were slaughtered and the barbequed meat of the animals was served at the event for guests, alongside expensive wine and spirit, in quite the spread. “246 cows & counting. Who wan chop meat o,” he said on a video posted on his social media page. 

Rappers perform at funeral

Nigerian rappers like Davido, Phyno and Kcee stormed Oba, Anambra state for the burial of Obi’s mother. Dbanj, Kanayo. O. Kanayo, Alex Ekubo, E-Money and many other influential Nigerians were also among the guests at the much talked about burial. Several celebrities, businesspeople, including Nigerian popular socialite and Forbes rated entrepreneur, Sir Uyi Ogbebor and many politicians turned out in large numbers for the funeral.

In one of the videos that went viral, guests were seen throwing wads of cash at each other, in the air. Kanayo O. Kanayo also took to his Instagram page displaying bundles of N500 notes planned to spend at the party.