“…..He
told me to wait for him. When he emerged, he was in shorts and a short
sleeve shirt. He slapped me twice and ran after me as I fled down the
stairs…Throughout his tenure as Head of State, Obasanjo also ensured
that I was not given any allowance as his wife. What he gave with one
hand, he retrieved with the other.
“It rained cats and dogs the day Obasanjo handed over to Shagari at
the Race Course, Onikan, Lagos, October 1, 1979. He asked me to move to
Abeokuta with him but I declined because of his extra-marital
indiscipline.“When he was being drawn out of the Army, I was in the same car with him. When we went for thanksgiving at Owu Baptist Church, Abeokuta, I was also in the same car. At the church, I sat with him on the front pew. During the reception I was in control of events and sat his mistresses with other guests as their importance demanded.
“I made Stella take one of the middle seats with her friend, Julie Coker. After the ceremony, I told my husband that I had risen to the top with him by the grace of God. Now, I was giving him a free rein to misbehave with his mistresses as I would not stay with him at Abeokuta. He begged me earnestly not to leave him alone. He said he had not finished his house at Victoria Island, Lagos, wondering where I would stay. I still kept my flat on La wrence Road, Ikoyi.
“Obasanjo did not forgive me that I did not live with him in Abeokuta. He stopped taking care of the children, probably thinking I had a lot of money. He only sent N400 a month. Iyabo and Busola were at Queen’s College, Lagos; Segun was at King’s College. I was now torn between raising my children and running the farm. Sometime in 1981, Gbenga and Enitan were due to return to school at Corona after the long break.
“When the school fees were not forthcoming from their father, I went to the late Simbiat Abiola for assistance. She prayed that God would help. I later sold off my gold bangles to Alhaja Abdulraq, a jeweller, to raise the fees.
“My topsy-turvy relationship with Obasanjo continued. He would drive past Oduduwa Crescent without checking on his children, who were progressing in education. Iyabo, Busola and Segun were making excellent grades at school. I was struggling to make ends meet.”
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