He lived for 89 years! While he lived, he prayed for wealth, fame and success. He also prayed for children, who would all be a pride to him in particular and the family in general. His prayers were answered, as he was blessed with all of these to the admiration of many and envy of some others.
In appreciation of the immense blessings that Providence lavished on him, he, in turn, lifted many whose paths crossed his around the globe.
Certainly, the story of the late billionaire oil magnate, High Chief O. B. Lulu Briggs, if knitted by a prodigiously talented writer, would make a compelling read or a must-see biopic.
In life, everything about the founder of Moni Pulo Limited, a frontline exploration company in Nigeria, was news, either reported or under-reported.
Quite surprisingly, absolute confusion has continued to trail the death and burial plans of the billionaire oil magnate since December 2018 when he passed on in Ghana, while everything that has either been written or said about him has continued to generate mixed reactions from members of the public.
While you expect that the family would have accepted the grim reality of the passing of the late businessman and philanthropist and accorded him the respect deserving of a man of his stature by giving him a benefitting burial, the world was literally jolted by a sponsored advertorial published on May 23, 2019, where the Oruwari Briggs House Of Abonnema, among other disquieting claims, said: ” We do not know if High Chief O.B Lulu Briggs is dead or alive”.
In the said advertorial, it was said that since his wife, Chief (Mrs.) Seinye Lulu Briggs, travelled with him to Ghana five months ago, they had neither set their eyes on him. So, they pooh-poohed the reports of his death. To them, there is no concrete proof that the patriarch of the Lulu family is truly dead!
The sponsors of the advertorial, unapologetically, also premised their claim on the fact that the rumours of his death amount to a violation of the Kalabari culture and tradition.
But a source described the sponsors of the advertorial as bunch of confused clowns and unserious fellows.
‘’ They are nothing but bunch of confused clowns, are they not the same Oruwari Briggs House that announced the transition to glory of the High Chief in a press release in The Punch Newspapers dated January 1, 2019? ‘’ Why the lies? The source lamented.
No doubt, this is the kind of stuff that could been seen in a movie or read in a book. Or how else does one explain this claim, given recent reports that some family members, including High Chief Senibo and Dumo Lulu Briggs, had visited Ghana to see the corpse of the patriarch of the family privately?
“It is embarrassing! It even smacks of disrespect to the death. The family is not united after the death of its patriarch. If this continues, the burial of the departed high chief will take a long time in coming,” a family source said.
A source revealed to CITYSPY that it is becoming an embarrassment that the name of such a powerful man is being dragged in the mud and he is not allowed to take a peaceful rest after his death .
The source further heaped the cause of the unresolved crisis, which has delayed the burial for about six months, on the doorsteps of Dumo, a politician and successful billionaire businessman.
Dumo, it was alleged, has presented himself to all, since his father died, that he has an axe to grind with his stepmom and widow of the deceased, Seinye Lulu Briggs, who presently controls the reins of Moni Pulo Limited and the estate of the late High Chief.
Meanwhile, another reliable source told CITYSPY that the war tearing apart the family apart is not unconnected to the assets left behind by the deceased, which are allegedly in the hand of his widow.
‘’Dumo has always been at war for the possession of Moni Pulo, in 2003, he led two of his siblings to court challenging their father chairmanship of the firm. He claimed that the man was too old to be the chairman of the company’’ the source said.
Shedding more light to the court matter in 2003 before Justice Mohammed Shuaibu of Federal High Court, Lagos, it was disclosed that Dumo, Seinbo and Sofiri questioned their father the right to continue as the chairman of the oil company. However, the matter was thrown out of the court in 2004 for failure to establish their legal rights which they sought to protest.
CITYSPY also learnt that contrary to reports in a section of the media, the widow, Seinye Lulu Briggs, had, on different occasions, made moves to reconcile with the family towards planning a benefitting burial for the late businessman and resolved all lingering issues, but she had been met with stiff opposition and attacks, especially from his most popular and influential Dumo Lulu Briggs
The businessman cum politician has taken it upon himself to stalled the burial of the patriarch, while the date of the burial has been shifted three times. Even after the death certificate he demanded for was handed over to him in the presence of top church clerics.
“She has informed the family of his death. She is only following the instructions handed to her by her late husband on how he is to be honoured after his demise,” the source added.
