A 68-years-old woman battling with stroke, Olufunmilayo Abiodun, who claimed to have had twin children for former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has opened up on her decades-long relationship with the elder statesman, alleging abandonment and lack of support despite their shared past.
Speaking candidly about her life on a YouTube, Olufunmilayo revealed she dated Chief Obasanjo as a side chick for 20 years after meeting him in 1976 through her late brother, Eddy Fadairo, a former broadcaster with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), during preparations for the historic FESTAC ’77.
According to her, though, the duo never had agree for a serious relationship or to have children for one another, their relationship produced a set of twins.
She stated, “We did not agree to have children while dating. But when I found out that I was pregnant, I ran away from Baba Obasanjo. It was after four years that I returned and saw him after I have delivered a set of twins for him. I ran away because I knew that if he knew that I was pregnant, he would have told me to terminate the pregnancy. I wasn’t ready to terminate the pregnancy because I conceived after 23 years that I had my first child, who died five months after given birth to the only child she has left for me. If I had terminated the pregnancy, that means that I would have been childless by now.”
“I felt I would be foolish to abort the pregnancy then. Thank God I didn’t. If I had aborted them, I would be childless today, especially after losing my first daughter, Mojirade Aduke Ebunoluwa Obebe, who died five months after childbirth’, she emphasised.
She alleged that Obasanjo never contributed financially to raising the twins from nursery to post-secondary education because the pregnancy was unplanned. “I loved Obasanjo with every fiber of my heart, but I didn’t know I would end up as just a local sperm collection bowl.”
Now battling a stroke and facing severe financial challenges, Olufunmilayo said she relied heavily on the support of churches and her siblings.
She revealed that for many years, she was accommodated by her church, Celestial Church of Christ, pointing out that a church in Abuja known as Grace House Family Church in Abuja sponsored his son’s polytechnic education. It was this church that gave my son scholarship which he used to do his Ordinary National Diploma (OND) programme.
She revealed that his son want to return to school for his Higher National Diploma (HND) and afterwards go for his degree programme in any of the Nigerian universities.
“I am appealing to Chief Obasanjo to assist with my son’s education. I can’t fund it alone. I will be 70 in two years. I want him to help me build a three-bedroom apartment. Baba Obasanjo should forgive me in whatever I might have done wrong to him.”
Recounting her health struggles, she said the stroke began in Abuja before her cousin flew her to Lagos for better treatment. Her daughter, one of the twins, has since paused her education to serve as her caregiver after allegedly discovering that a previous caregiver was mistreating her.
Olufunmilayo also recalled moments when she interacted with Obasanjo’s family, including being taken by Obasanjo’s late younger sister, Oluwola Eweje, to Stella Obasanjo’s burial adding, “Obasanjo greeted me nonchalantly.”.
Despite the pain and perceived neglect, Olufunmilayo maintains a tone of forgiveness and humility, pleading with Obasanjo not to focus on past mistakes but to lend a helping hand as she battles poor health and mounting responsibilities.
“I know we didn’t sit to agree on having children, but it happened. I am appealing to him to remember our past and the children,” she said.
The revelation sheds new light on the private life of Nigeria’s former president, rekindling conversations about the human stories often hidden behind the public figures who have shaped the nation’s history.
