Obi Cubana: Testimony of a ‘Garden Boy’, by Ken Ugbechie

Obinna Iyiegbu, aka Obi Cubana, the Anambra-born luxury and entertainment entrepreneur shook the country again recently. The event was his 50th birthday. Tagged #50for50# birthday, it was an occasion that showcased the best of Nigeria in terms of culinary diversity, cultural heritage, entertainment excellence, class, couture and glamour. Vintage Cubana.
As it was in 2021 when he buried his mother in his Oba, Anambra home, so it was on his 50th birthday. What changed was the venue. May be this time, higher class and more exotic style. Abuja Hilton proved a good nest for the rendezvous. Grandeur, opulence and wealth were in full display. Fifty years ago, a phenomenon was born. There was no herald to his birth. No stars announced the arrival of a special baby. And the boy grew into a man journeying through a path paved with thorns and thistle. This is the part of his life lost to many. The youths see only the wealth. They don’t know the sweat of many years that produced the stupendous wealth and huge goodwill capital. Cubana sweated his way to wealth. No short cut.
Tongues are still wagging. Some ascribe ‘noise’ and ostentation to him. Some say he’s wasteful and full of oriental conceit. But they are reading Cubana wrongly. As a showbiz impresario with a network of friends across various tribes and tongues, a borderless entertainment business guru who has had handshake with people of all races, globally, the more he does show, the more money he makes. The more bridges of friendship he builds, the more he grows his chain of businesses. Cubana is not into ICT or manufacturing business. He cannot afford to be a recluse. He needs shows to grow his wealth, expand his influence base, remain atmospherically visible and be in everyone’s subconscious.
But Cubana did not just happen. He’s not an accident of history. He started from a mere garden in Abuja where he offered a relaxation spot complete with music, grilled fish, drinks etcetera.
At the time he was doing the Garden business, his brothers, some friends and himself were living in a 12 by 12 one-room apartment in Zone 4 Abuja. They were six in one room. They were managing life, but they did not consider themselves poor at that time. They were even considered the biggest boys in town because at that time, Abuja was not as urbanised as it is today. They could have rented a bigger and more expensive apartment but they huddled themselves in one room just so they can grow the business. The Garden experience paved the path to the popular Ibiza night club in Area Eleven, Garki, Abuja.
In a 2021 interview with BBC Pidgin English service, Obi Cubana recalled his hustling days, reminding humanity of how six of them, his siblings and friends, used to bunk in one room in Abuja. He dismissed the theory of ritual money. He said neither pastor nor native doctor will make anybody rich but hard work.
The interview: “Miracle does not give money. The pastor needs the money more than you. Even the native doctor needs money but he’s poor and his children are fetchers of water. If you want money work hard, work hard, work hard.
“My mother’s burial turned out a carnival because we had planned a carnival-like 80th birthday for our mother but she died just before she turned 80, so all the plans, resources and energy we planned to deploy for the birthday was put into the burial hence it turned out the way it went. We have no regrets. The woman was our mother and we spent our money the way we liked. The people that attended the burial who sprayed money are all rich people some of whom were our classmates, some we hustled together, some we met in the course of our businesses and they sprayed their money by themselves. I feel they came to show love to our family, our mother and to Cubana Group. Everything makes me happy. The good news is that I was not caught stealing and nobody can say I stole his property.
“It’s been 15 years since our father died, so all the love we had for our father was transferred to our mother. When she died, it looked like part of my energy is gone because of her prayers.
“We were not born rich. We have history. I studied Political Science at UNN and did my NYSC in Abuja in 1999. I looked for job but no job came. From there we started restaurant business (Mama Put), from there to beer parlour (Garden relaxation business). Then Nasir el-Rufai as Minister demolished everything and we thought that was the end of the road but that was how God blessed us as we opened Ibiza which grew to birth Cubana Group. At the time we were doing our Garden business, me and my brothers including some friends were living in a 12 by 12 apartment in Zone 4 Abuja. We were six in number in one room. We were managing. We were not poor that time. As a matter of fact, we were the biggest boys in town. At that time Abuja was not as urbanised as it is now.
“We were pushing our lives doing every legitimate business we could find. We were able to send one of us to Port Harcourt, one to Czechoslovakia, one to Lagos. I and others remained in Abuja determined to make it big.
“It was not all rosy. We failed in some businesses, even lost money. But it did not stop us from trying. I made my first one million naira in Abuja after my NYSC. We were hustling as property agents. Selling land was a fast-moving business then in Abuja. We got a contract to furnish one man’s house and we did it very well. The man liked it and dashed me N500,000. I did small contract with PPMC and made small money with which I bought a Mercedes V-Boot. From there, I opened Cubana which bloomed and gave birth to other businesses.
“I don’t have time to respond to critics. I don’t want to descend to their level. Fasting and prayer alone don’t produce money, hard work does.
“Our goodwill brought the crowd at Oba that day. We did not plan for one-fifth of that crowd but our friends were planning things quietly behind us because of love. Anambra has many wealthy people. I don’t come close to their wealth by comparison but other people used their own wealth to show us love.”
Lesson: Cubana’s story teaches humanity a lesson, especially Nigerian youths who desperately want to get rich quick through gambling, rituals and any other route outside diligence and hard work. True riches come from having a product, providing a service and being a problem solver. Cubana started small but he had hope. He was tenacious, consistent and full of expectation that God will give increase to his efforts. He is the emblem of ‘faith without works is dead standing alone.’ He prayed. Her mother prayed. He planted and watered and God gave him increase. What are you planting?