Onyeka Onwenu, an ace singer and actress, has finally opened
up on her connubial relationship, revealing that she got married to a Yoruba
Muslim in 1984.
The mother of two children, who had always kept her intimate
life private, brought this revelation to light in ‘My Father’s Daughter’, her
memoir, which will be released on October 1.
In the autobiography, the 68-year-old movie star revealed
how they fell in love more than decades ago and how the union brought about the
birth of her two sons — Tijani and Ibrahim.
“In this book, I am, perhaps for the very first time,
setting the records straight with respect to my connubial relationship. Yes, I
was married. I married a man I fell in love with in 1984,” she said.
“We have two children: Tijani and Ibrahim. (Ibrahim later
changed the first letter of his name from I to A, and thus became Abraham.) My
husband is Yoruba, and was a Muslim when we met.”
The autobiography also documents her life as a musician,
activist, wife, mother, and politician as well as her formative contact with
feminism.
The author shared how the war — between 1967 to 1970 —
scalded her teenage life, the debilitating effects of successive realities, and
how her family remained bound amid the frightening experience.
She also documents her years in America, the conflicts that
were the products of being a migrant, her experience with workplace sexual
harassment, and her decision to quit her job at the UN.
Speaking about the forthcoming book, Expand Press Limited,
her publishers, described ‘My Father’s Daughter’ as a deeply personal account
of Onwenu’s life spanning previously unknown details.
“On the marriage front, she explores challenges women face
and how she refused to shrink herself to accommodate her husband’s insecurities
about her fame,” it said.
“It’s a memoir young persons must read. Women especially
will glean numerous lessons from her life experience since successful women in
Nigeria rarely share their story in a candid manner.”
Onwenu’s memoir is available here for pre-order.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
... Still wondering why I should even read the book.
ReplyDelete