I still have female admirers — Lord of Ajasa

Lord of Ajasa and Wife,Funmi

Afro hip-hop star, Segun Osaniyi, also known as Lord of Ajasa, and Funmi, his wife, talk about their five-year-old marriage

How did you meet your wife?

Ajasa: I met her through a mutual friend of ours. when I was staying at Bariga, Lagos State. She was living with her parents then at Fola Agoro, Akoka, Lagos. They came to my house to get something when I saw her. We started communicating from that moment.

How did you eventually get married?

Ajasa: The day I saw her, I told our mutual friend that she had brought my wife and we all laughed over it. It was a joke. From there, we started dating.

What was your reaction when he asked you to marry him?

Funmi: I was in school then and was not yet prepared for that. We dated for about five years. He told me to give him a child if I truly loved him. I told him to let me focus on my exams. He was becoming a star and ladies were running after him. I told him to give me some time. After thinking and praying about it, I told my mother and the family agreed.

Were there oppositions from family members?

Ajasa: My family was not around; I was the only one in Nigeria and my mother was in the United States of America. No one wanted their daughter to marry an artiste, because they believed we are not responsible. I asked her if she was willing to marry me, she accepted and was able to convince her family.

Funmi: My parents said I could not marry a musician. I tried to convince them that he is a good person. My mother was about travelling abroad then and I told Ajasa. His mother called my mother and both of them talked about it. My father did not say anything about it. They are best of friends now.

How long did you court before you got married?

Ajasa: We dated for about five or six years before we got married and we have been married for five years. We have two children, both boys.

Did marriage take away your freedom?

Ajasa: It is normal. There was a change of lifestyle from being a bachelor to a married man. Everything had to change. I did not prepare for it but it came. Part of what you have to face is to take care of your kids and know when they are back from school. When I was a bachelor, I could stay out late, but I cannot do that now. I also have to focus on my career. That is why some men are scared of getting married.

How did you adjust to married life?

Funmi: Though I had male friends before I met him, my husband was the first man to deflower me. I had to change my phone number to let those male friends know that I was married. This is because a lot of things change about people when they get married.

How do you spend time with your family?

Ajasa: Being a musician is interesting and I do not have to work for anyone. I can decide to stay in my house and relax with my family.

How do you handle advances from ladies?

Ajasa: The attention was not like when I was not married. There is a limit to what you can do when you are married. I would not say I do not have female admirers, but I am close to my family now more than anybody.

Do you get jealous of his female fans?

Funmi: It is normal, even people who are not celebrities get jealous. I am used to that, but when we got married, some ladies used to call him on phone and some had the guts to call my line and request to talk to him. We went to a club sometime and he introduced me to his friends as his wife. I was pregnant then. One of the ladies was hitting at him behind me.

How has your marriage fared?

Funmi: It has been good, but I will not say it is due to what I have done. Initially, when we got married, we used to fight a lot, but now we understand each other.

Are there challenges you faced?

Ajasa: Challenges are part of life. You have to take care of your wife and children. Their welfare comes first before anything. Everything was about me as a bachelor, but not anymore.

How would you describe your husband?

Funmi: He is like any other man when he is in his studio at home, he does not like disturbances. He is caring and he helps me out in cooking.

What do you do to get each other angry?

Ajasa: When you are with someone, you would always quarrel. When we were newly married, we had a lot of misunderstandings but we still settled them. That brought us closer to each other. We had the motivation to make the marriage work. No one is perfect.

Funmi: Sometimes, when I cook for my son and the boy does not want to eat that particular food, Ajasa would tell me to give him whatever he wants. I always get angry because I feel we should train the boy to appreciate whatever he is being given.

Do you run a joint account?

Ajasa: She has her own account, I have mine but we have a family account. Whenever I get any money, I deposit it in the family account. We are both signatories to the family account, but I rarely access the account.

Who apologises when there is a quarrel?

Ajasa: When we have a misunderstanding, we keep it to ourselves. Though it would last for a little while, we make sure that everything reverses to the normal situation. We do not discuss our problems and issues with other people.

What advice would you give to celebrity spouses?

Funmi: They should understand their spouses. They should put God first in their marriages and exercise patience with their spouses. Misunderstanding would come in a marriage, but it takes wisdom to settle it.

What would you say are the causes of divorce?

Ajasa: Most of us are not tolerant and patient. Some people do not know what they are going into when they are getting married. I did not know what I was getting into until I finally got married. As a celebrity, you have to sacrifice one thing for the other.

What pet names do you call each other?

Ajasa: Sometimes, I call her Honey or Funmi.

Funmi: I call him Honey or by his name, Segun.