‘I Can’t Allow My Husband Wash Plates, It’s Not African’ – Funmi Aragbaiye

Veteran gospel artiste, Funmi and her husband, a journalist, Bola Aragbaiye, have been married for 40 years.

In an interview with PUNCH They share their love story;

You have been married for 40 years. What is the secret?

Funmi: I would say the grace of God. We got married in 1977. If God is the foundation of one’s marriage, that marriage is bound to succeed. Then one’s upbringing also matters. If one grew up with disciplinarians, that character would reflect in one’s marriage. One would be disciplined in one’s marriage. My mother is a disciplinarian. She doesn’t appreciate quarrels.

Whenever I have disagreements with my husband, my mother is always on my husband’s side. She does that even up till today.  And when I question her decision about supporting my husband during our disagreements, she says that is the way in-laws should be treated.

How did you meet?

Funmi: We met at the Nigerian Herald, Ilorin. I was in the commercial department working as a commercial representatives. I was in charge of advertising. Chief Segun Osoba was my boss at Herald. My husband was the features editor at Daily Sketch but he later became Chief Press Secretary to the late Chief Adekunle Ajasin, a former Governor of Ondo State.

He used to visit the late Chief Peter Ajayi who was the editor daily at Herald. One day, he was in his office when I walked in holding a file. He then told Chief Ajayi that he likes me. Later that day, he came to my office to chat with me. Before he approached me, some young men at Herald had one time or the other approached me and asked for my hand in marriage. After that day, he kept travelling from Ibadan to Ilorin to see me. Whenever he came, I would leave the office because I wasn’t interested in him.

How did the relationship progress?

Funmi: After some time, I let down my guards and accepted him. It took me sometime though because I was deeply rooted in religious activities.

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