Okhuemoi: D’Grandmaster of engineering, hospitality at 50

Oshiomah

Not so many people know him by his birth name: Oshiomah Brian Peter Okhuemoi. But mention D’Grandmaster, and heads will turn in the Lagos social circle. This is as a result of his ever expanding fan base following the unique way in which he has brought alive evergreen music of yesteryears, both locally and internationally.

Indeed, not many will believe if you tell them that the man they know as the Old School Grandmaster is a graduate of engineering, who is into hospitality.

Born on June 1, 1975 to the family of late Chief Peter Daniel and Madam Rita Okhuemoi, who are both from Ogbona in Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State and the first child among four, D’Grandmaster, who has since adopted his father’s name, Peter, as his surname, has etched himself in the hearts of many across the country, especially those who attend his weekly gigs in Lagos. From Sinatra in the Ikeja area of Lagos State, to Yaba and three others spots in Ikeja GRA, his mixes hold them spellbound for hours. The desire for his kind of offering has expanded his weekly shows from one to five. Meaning, he is on the turntable at least five times in a week, that is excluding parties where his services are needed. Yet, his first profession, engineering, has not suffered any setback.

Who is Peter? The Old School Grandmaster had his early days in Ibadan, Oyo State; Kano, the Kano State capital; and Port Harcourt in Rivers State. He had his secondary school education at Federal Government College, Azare, where he bagged his First School Leaving Certificate. He went further in his quest for more knowledge to obtain a degree in Engineering from the prestigious University of Benin. Osi, as he is also fondly called by friends, has multiple international certifications, amongst which is that from the Rome Business School, which is in view.

He has his footprint in the sand of time and has shared his wealth of experience working in some international organisations as top management level officer, amongst which are the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Dangote Group.

His quest for fulfilment took him to the hospitality business, where he has put in a solid three decades. He has been at the forefront of bringing entertainment closer to Nigerians, which saw him running a lounge in his early 20s, a feat that was a tall order at that point in time.