Maje Ayida hires British lawyers to sue Toke Makinwa over ‘fabricated’ book.

Following the release of a tell-all memoir documenting her relationship with Maje Ayida, Nigerian media personality Toke Makinwa, has been asked to stop the sales of the book and all forms of promotional activities.

The request was made of Makinwa by Maje Ayida, who’s lawyers have also sent the on-air-personality, a “letter of demand.”

Makinwa’s book, On Becoming, had detailed her account of her relationship/marriage to Ayida, a fitness expert.

In the book, the television personality accused Ayida of giving her sexually transmitted diseases, being a serial cheat and committing adultery.

The legal documents describe the book as nothing but “exaggerated fabrication”.

The book which was published November 27, 2016, by Kachifo Limited, was said to contain “defamatory words”.

TheCable Lifestyle has learned that Maje Ayida has hired law firms in both the United Kingdom and Nigeria to handle the case.

They are Carter-Ruck, a leading defamation law firm in the UK to top figures like Simon Cowell, Elton John and Chelsea FC while Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) of Pineiro LP is heading the legal front in Nigeria.

THE BONE OF CONTENTION

According to the letter of demand sent to Makinwa, her estranged husband was said to have “requested legal separation” from her “within 6 months” of their marriage in January 2014 — “when it became clear that the marriage was breaking down”.

Makinwa was alleged to have signed a legal separation agreement in July 2014, TheCable Lifestyle was informed.

The letter said it was well documented that Makinwa and Ayida had agreed to separate by July 2014, which the book failed to record.

“The book misleadingly describes the circumstances at the time,” the letter read.

Pinheiro LP, the Nigerian law firm, said it was untrue that Maje had given her an “STI in the past or at any stage in their relationship.”

The law firm also noted that it was “highly misleading” for the book to allege that Maje “did not financially contribute adequately” to the marriage.

Ayida let1

“The publicity sought by you has been relentless, and limitless,” said Adebowale Kamoru in the letter of demand, on behalf of Pinheiro LP.

EFFECT OF BOOK ON MAJE’S CAREER

The law firm further noted that the publication has brought “public ridicule” on Maje, noting that his reputation has been “assaulted, injured and damaged.”

“His professional integrity as one of the leading health and wellness practitioners in Nigeria, and his professional credibility built over the years through dedicated hard work have been besmirched”, the letter said.

According to the law firm, Makinwa’s representation of Ayida in the book was “not a true reflection of who he is, his character and his background.”

DEMANDS OF AYIDA

Maje Ayida, through his lawyers, has, among other things, informed Makinwa to retrieve the already-sold books and stop all forms of distribution, TheCable Lifestyle understands.

Ayida let2

The letter mandated Makinwa to “withdraw from circulation all copies of the book and take immediate steps to call in all copies of the book already distributed and deliver up same at the place to be agreed upon by our client for destruction.”

It further said a failure by the popular celebrity to “retract” the “published words” and tender a full page unreserved apology to Maje Ayida in three national dailies “will result in the commencement of legal action.”

Makinwa was also advised to “take immediate steps” to stop the distribution of the books on Amazon, iTunes and all forms of promotion on her social media accounts.

She was given seven days upon receipt of the letter to comply with the demands or they’d be forced to seek legal redress.

The warning letter was said to have been delivered to Makinwa on Monday, December 23, 2016.

Makinwa is set to hold a book reading in Ghana on Friday, February 3.

It can’t be immediately confirmed whether she received the letter of demand.

 

Source: The Cable

OPINION: Toke Makinwa, The Married Side Chick – By Ololade Ajekigbe

I know the title of this essay is a paradox. I know… it’s born out of a discovery I made only last week. I wasn’t going to comment on Toke Makinwa and her marital woes; at least not in the way many news sites and blogs have jumped on the story, but I made a discovery which struck me profoundly, and it would be selfish of me not to share, especially with the female folk. Before now I didn’t know, nor would I have ever have imagined that a woman could be legally married to a man, yet wear the toga of the mistress or what we colloquially call the side chick. I was totally unaware of this until I read the much talked about memoir by the Media Personality, ‘On Becoming’. Yes, you can be the wife and the side chick all at once.

 

I am no relationship expert, but aside confirming some of the things I already knew, Toke’s memoir opened my eyes to certain realities too; chief of which is the one I just mentioned above. Without giving too much away, it was obvious right from the first chapter that addressed her relationship with her estranged husband that it was a marriage that should never have been contracted in the first place. It brought the desperation of many young women in these parts for the ring to the fore once again. Or how else does one explain being stood up “at the altar” on two or three different occasions? What grown man who knows what he wants subjects the woman he supposedly loves to that kind of treatment? And what sane woman doesn’t read the bold handwriting on the wall after one or two of such humiliating experiences?

 

The purpose of this piece is not to judge the author of the book, or the man at the centre of it all. However, it would be practically impossible not to come away with any emotion after reading its contents. You are either amused by the sheer anomaly of it all or angry or sorry for the young woman who wasted 12 years of her life trying to earn the love of a man. Or you feel a combination of these emotions; which aptly describes what I felt.

 

It’s the reason I don’t subscribe to long term courtships personally, and when I say long term I am referring to being in an exclusive relationship with one person for over 5 years. Now, I know that for young love birds who probably started dating in their first year in the University, it would take 5 years or more for them to get to the point where they are mature and financially stable enough to get married, but how many of these relationships really end in marriage? And oftentimes if and when they do, it’s usually because the girl fell pregnant along the line and the guy sees it as his duty to marry her. Not necessarily out of love. We have seen this happen too many times.

 

Let’s face it, it doesn’t take a serious man even 5 years to know if he can marry a lady or not. I understand that there may be other constraints, but dating one man off and on for 12 years before he marries you already smacks of something off. In this case, the man is almost 12 years older, he was no baby, and he wasn’t poor. As a matter fact, he is from a comfortable background. So pray tell why he would pussyfoot for so long before putting a ring on it if he really wanted her for a wife. How does it take 12 years to make up one’s mind about something, anything at all?

 

Toke was the side chick all along. She may have gotten that little cuff around her finger at the end of the day, but there is absolutely no doubt that she was the mistress. And before you try to argue with my submission, please read the book. Even she admitted as much. But she didn’t have to. Any objective and discerning mind who has no vested interest in the situation or is blindly loyal to any of the parties would deduce the same thing based on all that transpired between the three main characters in the book. It was as clear as day from night that Maje always preferred Anita to Toke. It’s not, however, clear who he started dating first, but from Ms. Makinwa’s revelations, her rival certainly got a better deal from Mr. Ayida.

 

Beyond the fact that he had allegedly cheated on Toke so many times, and with many different ladies. Anita, it was whom he spent a whole week with, in Calabar when she had a bike accident while he told Toke he was in Abuja. Anita, it was whom he attended her convocation ceremony at the University of Benin. He never extended the same gesture to Toke, who was supposed to be the main chick. Anita, it was whom he preferred to hang out with immediately he returned from a three months trip, while Toke waited to see him much later. Anita, it was for whom he flew to Abuja to be present at her Call to Bar ceremony when Toke was also in the capital city oblivious of her “man’s” whereabouts. And Anita it was whom he chose to have a baby with even though he was married to Toke. Who then was the side chick?

 

Toke has received a lot of flak for revealing so much about her personal life. There’s also the notion that she wrote the book to make a quick buck as some form of compensation for all she went through. While her real motives for opting to write a “tell-all” book may never be clear, I believe that penning her experiences for others to learn from is a brave move. It’s not easy to chronicle the unpleasant events of one’s life for strangers (who will no doubt play judge) to read. And maybe, just maybe the OAP’s story will slap some of us ladies back to the reality that getting married doesn’t necessarily translate to being the proverbial Apple of your husband’s eye.

 

Sometimes, a marriage is only a change in status. A ring remains an object; albeit a symbolic one. At the end of the day what really matters is how the person we have chosen to be with treats us. How they respect us. How they make us feel. Toke thought she had “won” when she got the ring and the married woman status. Unfortunately, it was all a mirage.

 

You can be the one with the ring, and be the side chick too. You may get the ring, but not the heart. If you didn’t know that before, now you know. Marriage isn’t always the answer. Let no one fool you.

 

P.S: In all of these, I am just thankful on the behalf of Yoruba boys who have been tagged “Yoruba Demons” due to the widespread belief that they have a penchant for dating more than one woman at a time. If Maje were from this tribe, it would have been the final nail in the coffin for the reputation of Yoruba boys.

See Photos From Toke Makinwa’s “On Becoming” Book Launch

The very much anticipated book written by Toke Makinwa has been launched and from the look of things, the book, “On Becoming”, is definitely getting a wide readership.

The media personality who coiled up her life experiences in the book revealed that those experiences have contributed to shaping the better part of her. Although some of her fans on Instagram say she went a little too far revealing most of the things that conspired, especially the part of her relationship with Maje.

Below are IG photo from the book launch:

The Author.... thankful for such a lovely event ?????? thank you to everyone that came thru and all the people that bought books too. Hope it inspires ??

Currently Becoming.....

On Becoming Book Launch ~ Toke Makinwa #OnbecomingbookLaunch #TM #movement #Author #Shecameshesawsheconquered #StyledbyharvellaStyles

On Becoming.... Styled by @harvellastyles Outfit @styletemple Makeup @anitabrows Hair @bernardsmiless Photographer @shotbyernest

Thank you Heavenly Father, this is your project, this is your plan. Use it lord, let me be only a vessel ???? Show time is now. Follow @onbecomingbytokemakinwa for live updates?? shout out to @sui_generisltd

 

Toke Makinwa Reveals Project Behind Her “On Becoming” Visual

Marking her birthday few weeks ago, Media personality, Toke Makinwa, released a snippet titled ‘On Becoming’. The visuals gave a little insight about her life and struggles, aside issues that made her a topic of discussion in the public eye.

Today, Toke unveils a book cover carrying the “On becoming” title, indicating that she’ll be releasing an entire book soon. She said God told her she was going to write a book and even thought she avoided it, she eventually did it.

See her caption on Ig below:

Today is the most exciting day of my life. Today I Become ??… I hereby introduce you to #OnBecoming. At the beginning of last year (2015) when the lord told me I was going to write a book I was confused. Is it God’s voice, is it mine???? How will this work? I never planned to write a book, what I’m I supposed to write. I did what I had become used to, I ran. Just Like Jonah; I ran. I pushed it deep down and completely let it go. And then it began, God started sending people to me. Every time someone told me they thought I should write a book, I remembered my conversation with God in January but I was still unsure. (Fear maybe), I felt the idea was great but deep down I was not fully convinced. Then came June and my world fell apart. My world was crushed completely and in all of the pain I heard it again. This time, I knew what happened to me happened for a reason. I am a city set on a hill. My life will reflect God’s glory. I have been giving a platform to share and God was going to use my pain. In the pain there was a message and On Becoming was conceived.
On Becoming is My journey through pain to victory. I have Become and it is my prayer that God does what he planned from the start with this project. I can’t wait to put “author” in my bio. I wrote a book ya’ll. I did it ?????

Today is the most exciting day of my life. Today I Become ??... I hereby introduce you to #OnBecoming. At the beginning of last year (2015) when the lord told me I was going to write a book I was confused. Is it God's voice, is it mine???? How will this work? I never planned to write a book, what I'm I supposed to write. I did what I had become used to, I ran. Just Like Jonah; I ran. I pushed it deep down and completely let it go. And then it began, God started sending people to me. Every time someone told me they thought I should write a book, I remembered my conversation with God in January but I was still unsure. (Fear maybe), I felt the idea was great but deep down I was not fully convinced. Then came June and  my world fell apart. My world was crushed completely and in all of the pain I heard it again. This time, I knew what happened to me happened for a reason. I am a city set on a hill. My life will reflect God's glory. I have been giving a platform to share and God was going to use my pain. In the pain there was a message  and On Becoming was conceived.
On Becoming is My journey through pain to victory. I have Become and it is my prayer that God does what he planned from the start with this project. I can't wait to put