By Emeka Obasi
Marital issues remain secrets known only to those involved. Understanding what transpires between lovers is asking for too much. Matters of the heart are quite unlike politics where publicity takes precedence over consequence.
Mrs Betty Akeredolu (nee Anyanwu) is in a world of her own at present following the demise of her husband, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu. Until his death on December 27, 2023, the legal luminary was the governor of Ondo State.
Known for his doggedness and bravery, Aketi was not one to call black white. That partly explained his choice of a woman from Emeabiam in the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State as wife. Aketi found love outside Owo, Ondo State and Yoruba land.
It is an interesting love story that began in Enugu, the political headquarters of the old Eastern Region. The young Yoruba lawyer was posted to Coal City for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ) in 1978. He could not resist this Igbo lady who worked at the Federal Department of fisheries.
Love, they say, conquers all. Betty, a Zoologist, knew so much about animals. She set standards for herself in choosing a future partner. Lucky lady, the moment Rotimi appeared from the blues, nothing else mattered.
Betty did not meet a millionaire. She found a charming young man. Her husband was deeply in love, the three years age difference meant little to the July Babies. The couple struggled together, built a home and helped in cementing the much touted Handshake across the Niger.
In death, one Jimi Adekanle, is determined to disturb the peace of the Akeredolu family. Only God knows what he did not get from Aketi that he is so bitter with Betty. We shall soon find out why he wants the former Ondo First Lady crucified for building a united family.
It is laughable to accuse Mrs Akeredolu of using state funds to buy property all over Nigeria, from Ibadan to Owerri. By the way, the Akeredolus were millionaires before they moved into Government House, Akure. As far back as 2008, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria ( SAN ), was president of the Nigerian Bar Association.
A good wife knows the way to the heart of her husband. If Adekanle has not assisted his in – laws in anyway, he is into a huge debt. At the appropriate time, they will ask him probing questions. I guess, he would then rush to Ibadan to plead with Mrs Akeredolu.
Late Zimbabwean leader, Robert Mugabe’s first wife, Grace, was a Ghanaian. Many Nigerians who needed to visit Harare in the 1990s, found that union useful. I traveled to Lusaka in 1991. My best bet was a Ghana Airways flight.
We took off from Lagos, landed in Accra after 45 minutes and had to connect another flight for the five hours trip to Harare, as there was no direct flight from Nigeria to Zambia. It was the power of Sally that connected Accra and Harare by air. The next wife, ‘ Gucci Grace’, a Zimbabwean, was busy rubbing pancake.
The first indigenous governor of the Eastern Region, Eze Akanu Ibiam spent 15 years, from 1924 to 1939, wooing Eudora Olayinka Shasegbon. The Unwana, Afikpo man first met the Lagos lady in Eko when they were students of Kings and Queens College, respectively.
Born in the same year, 1906, they got married at 33 years. One of their three children was named Tolulope. At no time did anyone see Ibiam as weak for giving his child a Yoruba name. Today, there is Lady Ibiam Memorial Secondary School in Enugu. She simply earned it for her philanthropy.
Marriages across nationalities should be encouraged. All through Akeredolu’s tenure in Ondo, there were no stories of non Yoruba voters being threatened during campaigns. The state welcomed everyone with open arms. The hand of friendship extended from Owo to Owerri.
Out of Nigeria, the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah got himself an Egyptian wife, Fathia. They named their first child Gamal, after Egyptian hero, Gamal Abdel Nasser. As a true believer in African unity, the Osagyefo’s second son was given the name Sekou, to honour Sekou Toure of Guinea.
Ghanaians were not concerned about what Fathia Nkrumah did or did not do even when she chose to live and die in Cairo after her man was overthrown. To prove her love for husband and Ghana, she asked to be buried in Accra. She lies at the Nkrumah Memorial Park, beside the Osagyefo.
People who pry into matters outside their marital sphere are like babies who wear diapers and need assistance to be cleaned up. I love to follow events in Ondo especially since the days of Pa Michael Ajasin. The man continued to send ‘Angel’ Michael to the state due to his 1983 experience.
After Gen. Muhammadu Buhari sacked Michael Ajasin, Commodore Michael Otiko, was appointed Military Governor. When Gen. Ibrahim Babangida came, he replaced Michael Otiko with Commander Michael Akhigbe. As naval officers, they wore Angelic White. l remember the Seguns, too. From Segun Agagu to Segun Mimiko.
Ondo State had a hero in Akeredolu, the Warrior who led the battle against insecurity. That Amotekun stands today is because Akeredolu stood to be counted when some big names were neither here nor there. I am glad President Bola Tinubu has now come out to be counted by giving credit to Aketi.
That Aketi stood firm was because he built a home with Betty. That love will never die. Someone wrote a book, ‘ This Animal Called Man’. And Dr. Olusegun Obasanjo had a sign in his crib which read, ‘ Beware of Man’. Mrs Akeredolu studied both Animal and Man. She sure knows when man turns to animal on Social Media.
This opinion piece was first published on Vanguard.
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