Before Teni became a household name, her elder sister was already making noise. Niniola Apata, the singer many fans call the Queen of Afro-house, has a story that runs from a reality TV stage in 2013 to songwriting credits on a Beyoncé project, according to a biography published by Creebhills on November 10, 2026.
The profile also covers the painful chapter that brought her guarded private life into the open this year: the death of her husband, Michael Ndika, which she announced in May 2026.
A big family in Lagos
According to Creebhills, Niniola was born on December 15, 1986, which makes her 39, and she traces her roots to Ekiti State even though Lagos is where she was born and grew up. She was the sixth child in a family of ten born to Brigadier General Simeon Olaosebikan Apata and Margaret Apata.
The publication says her father was killed in 1995 and that she was raised in a large home with three mothers. Her younger sister is the singer Teni. For both primary and secondary school she attended Apata Memorial High School, and she later obtained a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Lagos.
Project Fame, Ibadi and Maradona
Nigerians first got to know her on Season 6 of Project Fame West Africa in 2013, where she ended up as third runner-up. A year later she dropped her first single, "Ibadi", a Sarz production that the biography says climbed to the top of charts around the country.
Her biggest breakthrough came in 2017 with "Maradona". Creebhills reports that the song hit number one on South Africa's Metro FM chart and was eventually certified platinum in that country. In 2018 French DJ Snake reworked it as "Maradona Riddim", a version the publication says earned praise from Drake and Timbaland.
The Beyoncé connection
The song travelled even further in 2019, when parts of "Maradona" were used on Beyoncé's "Find Your Way Back" from The Lion King: The Gift. That placement gave Niniola songwriting credits and, according to the biography, two Grammy nomination certificates, in 2020 and 2021. She was also admitted into the Recording Academy's Class of 2021.
Her catalogue, as listed by Creebhills, includes This Is Me (2017), Colours and Sounds (2020), the 2021 EPs 6th Heaven and Lagos to Jozi, and Press Play, released in 2024. At home, she took the Best Vocal Performance (Female) award at the 2021 Headies.
Love, loss and a private life
For much of her career, Niniola kept her personal life out of the spotlight. That changed on May 20, 2026, when she made public that her husband, Michael Ndika, had passed away, and revealed that the two had been together for 13 years, the biography says.
