Legendary Nigerian musician and actress, Onyeka Onwenu has spoken up about her struggles as a young married woman.
The 70 year old revealed this in an interview with media personality, Kikilomo Atanda-Owo on “Real Talk with Kike”. She stated that although she did not want her marriage to end, it would have killed her if she stayed.
Onwenu further revealed that her marriage was difficult and was not good for her and her children. She said,
“I went through my marriage, it was difficult because I really did not want my marriage to end but I could not take it anymore, it would have killed me. I always say this and that is the truth. It was not good for the children to live in that kind of environment where the mother is depressed, the mother is carrying the weight of the whole family.”
She continued,
“I raised my children from kindergarten to Masters Degree. My husband didn’t pay school fees for one day, didn’t buy clothes, didn’t pay for holidays, didn’t give me housekeeping money, hard to believe. But he was a nice, kind and generous man. He was also generous occasionally and he would do something for you that you would be wow. And basically there was control, where if you didn’t do
things the way he wanted, “Well I’m not going to help you, I’m not going to give you money.”
The veteran singer said men will have to answer to God if they neglect their families. Onwenu stated,
“That’s mean, irresponsible, wicked, even to your own children? Forget about the wife, the children. And I decided to write about it because women, we keep quiet for too long. We take so much and you’re dying. And once I opened up, I felt this relief that a lot of women who read it would say, thank you for talking about this. ‘We know now that we ought to free ourselves.”
Onwenu stated that although she doesn’t support divorce, if it must happen, it should be done peacefully.
Onyeka Onwenu reportedly married a Yoruba Muslim in 1984. The duo were blessed with two children.