“The award for the most commercially successful private equity deal of the year goes to Mr Tsola Prewere, CEO of Zuma Capital!” The audience burst into applause.
Zuri couldn’t stop smiling as Tsola kissed her on her cheek then strode on stage with his signature confident swagger to receive his award from the publisher of Business Day newspaper, Frank Aigbogun.
They were at the paper’s annual CEO Forum gala, the most prestigious business event of the year. Every professional in town wanted to snag an invitation, every CEO wanted a table, and better still, everyone who was anyone wanted to bag an award. Just being on the nominees’ list alone gave them bragging rights for years to come.
Tsola being nominated was no surprise; he was Nigeria’s private equity golden boy and the youngest nominee on the list. He’d had some of the most lucrative deals under his belt all before he turned forty, and this year he had worked on a highly publicized telecoms deal that had broken records in terms of its size and its impact on the business environment for SMEs.

Her phone beeped. It was a text from Olumide Sanni, an ex-boyfriend who had popped up recently and wouldn’t stop sending unwelcome, overly familiar messages asking her to dinner.
You always looked so sexy in a backless dress. Can’t stop thinking about you, the text read.