An ex-wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Taiwo, in an interview with TUNDE AJAJA of Punch speaks on her son, the alleged troubles in his marriage ,and why she still considers him missing.
It was shocking to hear that your son allegedly left his matrimonial home. Is it true that he’s missing or you know his whereabouts?
I don’t know where he is. Of the two children that I have, Olujonwo is my first child and only son. Nobody knows where he is. People are telling me not to make noise about it, but he’s been missing since last year and the whole thing is taking its toll on me as a mother. He wasn’t answering my call, but now the phone is switched off.
When last did you see him before he allegedly went missing?
I saw him last in September last year and that was in Abeokuta during the book launch by my cousin. I also saw him when the father called me for us all to make peace. But, up till today, nobody knows where he is.
But your son issued a statement on Thursday, saying he wasn’t missing. That is in sharp contrast with what you are saying. Why do you insist that he’s missing?
Up till now, he’s still in hiding. The statement that was released was not by my son. The father could have written it in his name. He’s still running away from the wife and his father. They should let him come out to say what he’s going through but Chief Olusegun Obasanjo doesn’t want the whole world to know the marriage is not working because of his big name and status. As I speak to you, he’s still in hiding. The marriage is no more there. There is no truth in that statement, and my son can never tell me I’m an attention-seeking woman. He couldn’t have said that. Ask those who wrote the story whether they saw him in person or whether he handed the statement to them directly. If the marriage is intact, why has my son not been seen since November 1, 2017, and no one cares about his safety or his life. If he comes out, people will hear the absolute truth from him.
Are you close to him, because one would expect you would be one of the first persons to know?
I can’t say we are very close. You know men like to be on their own. I would say he’s closer to the father than me because he lived there. The father brought him back from England and he started living with him. He read International Relations in England and he said he preferred to stay there but his father wanted him to come back. So, on return, he has been with the father.
When did you hear about his sudden disappearance?
It was from the wife I got the news and that was December 2017. People started calling me to say my son was missing, because I don’t live with them. I live in Lagos while they live in Abeokuta, and I said to myself that they had started again. In fact, it was one of his dad’s wives that alerted me to the ill-treatment my son was going through and she was surprised that my son didn’t mention what had been happening to me. His wife doesn’t call me, but I had to call her to ask and she told me it was true.
Was that not the first time he would leave his matrimonial home?
I can count like three times, before this last one. I don’t live with them so I don’t know his movement, but from what I gathered, they were always quarrelling and fighting. I mean very big fight. My son is a quiet, peaceful person who is not confrontational. He’s not violent, but when the heat became too much, he would leave the house for her. Then, they would start looking for him; the father would fish him out and commandeer him back to the house, because he works with the father and he lives there too. Anytime it happens like that, his wife and others, who don’t call me ordinarily, would start calling me, and usually that was how I got to know he had left the house again. But in this particular case, he left since November 1, 2017. This is February and my son is yet to be found, yet, people are saying I should not be worried.
When you spoke with his wife, did she say there was a quarrel before he left the house?
She would not talk, maybe she sees me as nobody. She would not want to tell me anything and she doesn’t see me as a friend. Since they got married, even before then, she and her husband weren’t calling me, but from what I gathered, not even from my son because he’s not very close to me, but when I started asking around, that was when I knew that there was a huge problem on ground, which I wasn’t aware of. You know I made a lot of noise before the wedding. What was the noise about? Implement the instruction given by the Almighty God.
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
They should call family meeting and discuss the issue between the couple and Mrs Taiwo