By Friday, April 24, 2015, the publisher of City People Magazine, Seye Kehinde, will celebrate his 50th birthday.
To mark the milestone, a church service is scheduled to hold at Times Squares Event Centre, 27 Ajao Road, off Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, from 10am. A reception will follow at the same venue.
The celebration is expected to attract personalities from the media, entertainment, business and social circles, reflecting the wide network Kehinde has built over the years.
Beyond the birthday celebration, however, his 50th birthday provides an opportunity to look back at the career and personality of the journalist and publisher who has spent decades in the Nigerian media industry.
Seye Kehinde was born on April 24, 1965, to civil servant parents from Ishara-Remo, Ogun State. He studied History and Political Science at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and later obtained a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
After his National Youth Service at Kwara Polytechnic, Ilorin, in 1986, Kehinde began his journalism career with the Herald newspaper, where he worked between 1987 and 1988.
He subsequently moved to Lagos and worked with Insider Weekly, published by African Confidential. His journalism career also took him to This Week, African Concord and Concord newspapers.
He later worked with publications including Vintage People and National Enquirer, gaining experience across different areas of Nigerian journalism.
In the mid-1990s, Kehinde took a significant step in his career by leaving conventional newspaper journalism to pursue his ambition of establishing a soft-sell publication.
That decision eventually gave birth to City People Magazine, a publication that would go on to establish a strong presence within Nigeria’s entertainment and social reporting space.
Over the years, Kehinde built the City People brand into a recognised media organisation, expanding its interests beyond the original magazine.
The City People Group’s publications and media interests at the time included City People Magazine in Nigeria and Ghana, City People Fashion & Lifestyle, Today’s Fashion, City People Extra and City People Entertainment.
Kehinde has also received professional recognitions and belonged to various journalism-related organisations. His career has earned him awards and traditional titles over the years.
Away from the public image of a publisher, however, colleagues and associates have often described Kehinde as a hardworking and relatively private individual.
Despite becoming the head of a prominent media organisation, he has continued to identify strongly with journalism and reporting. He has been known to attend assignments personally and remain involved in the process of gathering and processing stories.
His simple approach to life is also often mentioned by those who know him. Rather than placing emphasis on material possessions, Kehinde has generally been associated with a work-focused lifestyle.
His passion for journalism and commitment to his business have also made him a source of inspiration to members of his staff and younger professionals seeking to build careers in the media industry.
At 50, Seye Kehinde had already spent several decades in journalism, moving from newspaper reporting to building one of Nigeria’s recognisable entertainment and lifestyle media brands.
As he marks the milestone, his journey remains a story of ambition, persistence and a willingness to take a different path when the opportunity presented itself.
Happy 50th birthday to S.K.
Dare Adeniran
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