‘A man in debt is a so far a slave’; these words of American Poet Ralph Emerson, may have plunged Lagos big boy and #hotelier, #Ayo Ayeni into slavery.There are very clear indications that the socialite has gone broke and financially insolvent. According to information reaching Urban Life, Ayo Ayeni’s situation has gone so awry that he has put up for sale his massive hotel, Westown located on Ayeni 10-10 Close, off Opebi Link in the Ikeja axis of Lagos.
This sad and very unpalatable development is coming on the heels months after it was reported that his once blissful marriage had crashed irretrievably. In the same unsavoury development for Ayo Ayeni, Urban Life gathered that many potential buyers are now frantically jostling for the purchase of the exquisite 84–room hotel, which was built and opened amidst pomp and ceremony several years ago.
If you do not know, Ayo Ayeni comes from the popular auto–dealer family in Ilesha, Osun State. As a matter of fact, he is the scion of the late Baba Ayeni, fondly known as 10-10, and the elder brother of auto magnate Tayo Ayeni, who owns the expansive and flourishing Sky Mit Motors, also located adjacent to Ayo’s #Westown Hotel. Two or three brothers of Ayo Ayeni are also big time players in the auto dealership #business, one of whom is based in Belgium. Interestingly, Ayo Ayeni is perhaps one of the Ayeni siblings who is not into auto dealership, opting for architecture and later the hospitality industry, hence the floating of his three–star hotel.We hear, since his financial mess started, his siblings have been taking care of his immediate needs, including that of his children and sundry domestic needs. Meanwhile, all efforts by this magazine to confirm the story from some staffers of the hotel, were flagrantly rebuffed, as nobody was willing to talk about it.