Veteran Nigerian singer, Onyeka Onwenu has for the first time opened up about her marital life.
She revealed that the got married to a Yoruba Muslim in 1984, a union which produced two sons- Tijani and Ibrahim Ogunlende.
The 68-year-old made the revelation in her new memoir tilted My Father’s Daughter which will be launched on October 1.
“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.”
Onyeka Onwenu also shared in her memoir how the Biafran War of the 60s affected her life and family.
In a recent interview with BBC Igbo she stated that another turbulence like the Biaran war could wipe out Igbos if allowed to happen.
“I was only a young lady when the war started but I played my part. I worked in clinics to care for wounded soldiers,” the singer can be heard saying in Igbo.
“Myself and other young ladies were assembled and given two weeks of medical training. Whether soldiers were given anaesthetics or not, we care for the wounded as they were operated on.
“We heard the screams of grown men as their bodies were cut. We did all these while planting and processing cassava, helping refugees and children.
“If any war follows that which ended in 1970, I fear it might wipe out the Igbos for good.”
The Iyogogo crooner started as a singer and then ventured into acting and politics.