On a day where many people celebrated fatherhood, Instagram found Nigerian actress Mercy Aigbe and her ex-husband Lanre Gentry at loggerheads.
The rift started with Nollywood star Aigbe taking to Instagram to celebrate herself for playing the dual role of father and mother to her children. In her Father’s Day post, which was published on Sunday, June 20, she shared reasons why she deserved to be celebrated.
She wrote:
“Happy Father’s Day to me and all the responsible fathers out there! 2 Kids (1 international student) …. changing naira to dollars with this dollar rate! Abeg it’s not easy!😢😂😁 but God has been Gracious! 🙏🙏🙏🙏
“Please no one should come and tell me how I shouldn’t take the shine off fathers oh! (Fatherhood is beyond just impregnating a woman. If you are a man and do not perform your responsibilities towards your kids, biko you ain’t fit to be called a father and that’s on Period!!!!🙄)… So, since I am playing the dual role in my children’s lives, allow me to celebrate myself every day! Cos it’s not easy!
“May the lord grant us long lives, in good health to enjoy the fruit of our labour 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏,” she concluded.
Shortly after her post went up, her estranged husband Gentry took to Instagram to slam the mother of two.
In his post, in which he shared a video celebrating fathers, he responded:
“Happy Father’s Day to me and all the father in the world. May God be with you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
“Some women over there will say Happy Father’s Day to themselves when they are not good to be a mother or housewife to their children. But fathers always make them happy when they are in the house, with their husband but you can’t blame them; they have no good background. They don’t have their parents together; that is why they don’t know what Father’s Day is. I thank God for my parents. Thank you, my father and my mother for staying together to make me what I am today. Happy Father’s Day to me once again. I’m a father to all my children. I pray for all fathers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
In her response to his post, Mercy Aigbe described Lanre Gentry, the father of her son, as shameless, irresponsible and a liar.
She wrote: “Mr Lanre Gentry, you better stop with the stupid lies! You better don’t just infuriate me! Lara Gentry, call your useless father to order oh!!!! Cos really I have had enough of his nonsense!!!!!”
“And the most irresponsible father award goes to my Ex! This shameless man who instead of him to cover his face in shame, will rather come online to post rubbish! I normally ignore you when you respond to my Father’s Day post! But you see this one! Bring it on!!!! I am ready! Alailojuti.”
Eelive reports that Mercy Aigbe and Lanre Gentry went through a messy separation in 2017. Their union was punctuated with allegations of domestic violence and infidelity. They have since been at loggerheads.
To end the spat, Aigbe shared one last post on Instagram. In it, she wrote: “Someone called me Mama ‘D’ Papa yesterday, and I like it. 😁😍
“[By the way], I am not calling myself a man oh! I am a Beautiful, Bold, Strong Queen. 😍. And celebrating myself on Father’s Day shouldn’t be anybody’s headache really (only if you fall into the category of deadbeat dads) ….. I celebrate myself coz I play the role of ‘father’. Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘Na man you be’??… it doesn’t literally mean that the person it’s being said to, must be a man! So pleaseeee allow me! No be Beans Abeg😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
“On this note, I close the chapter on this year’s Father’s Day brouhaha ……till I come your way next year! Remember to always stay FOCUSED! 😁👌💪”