Tolu Odukoya-Ijogun, the
daughter of late Bimbo Odukoya, In this chat with Ifeoma
Ononye, talks about her passion for
God, her music, relationships, marriages, and family.
Why the interest
in relationships?
I got a backlash on Facebook recently where people were
saying I’m not my mother, so why do I feel I can talk about relationships? And
it’s almost inevitable. I grew up in a family where my parents were very much
into relationships. My father would always counsel married couples. So would my
mum. And you saw her on TV with her show, Single and Married. So I have lived in
that environment where people are talking about broken marriages, what we should
not do or what we should do. How a wife should behave, how a husband should
behave and then, I didn’t get it.
Now that I’m married, it finally makes
sense.
Sometimes, when you hear something, you accept it
without any basis to really understand it better. Now, being married and
understanding everything my mom used to say then, and what my dad still says
now, I feel I have a mandate to help the single people before they enter; to let
them know that there are some particular questions they need to ask or talk
about, some foundational questions they need to ask or blocks they need to build
before they enter this thing. It is almost my own way of guiding. And also with
the married women, everything I have learnt in my four years of marriage, I also
share with them. Right now, a lot of young people are not staying in their
marriages anymore. If it’s not working, they jump out. And that’s how our own
generation has been sensitised. But one thing I’m learning, I’m very practical,
and what people will see on my relationship blog is that I am very
straightforward. I don’t really hide under the umbrella of spirituality but I
try to relate things practically to life. So I understand it better and then I
can actually do what it’s asking me to do. So what I try to do is bring it down
to our level, explain in our own language and get them to understand and just
try to make everybody happy.
Are you not bothered about people
thinking you’re just trying to copy your mom?
I can never be bothered. My
mom was Bimbo Odukoya. I’m Tolu Odukoya-Ijogun. We’re two very different people.
If I want to be like her, I’ve failed in my ministry because there can only be
one Bimbo Odukoya. There can never be another one. And there can only be one
Tolu Odukoya-Ijogun and that’s me. I believe that I’ve been called to it. And
I’m a very strong believer that time will tell. You know, there are things that
people start and after a while, yousay yes, this person was meant to do it. It’s
something that I naturally gravitate towards. And like I said, I can never be
her.
What is different about you?
The way and manner she went
about her things is definitely not the way and manner I will go about mine. The
experiences that she had are not the experiences that I have. I have been
blessed to have learnt under her. I saw her at home; I saw her in church. I saw
who she was 360, so I have a view that most people don’t have. Seeing that and
now being in the same situation is almost like I already know the right thing to
do. I have to do them but at the same time, I have to justify them in my own
way. In the way young people think today because like I said, people don’t have
time anymore. If it’s not working, it’s not working. But then again, from a
Christian perspective, I have to see why it’s not working. I then take
everything momsie has said and break it down. Now I’m understanding because I’m
breaking it down. Now I realise that love is not a feeling. It is a decision.
You choose to love. You choose to constantly love. You choose to forgive. You
choose to make it work. It’s not about how you feel. What I do is, I try to
point out to those who are coming in that yes, you could have feelings. That’s
good. But it has a lot more to do with your decision and your maturity in what
you’re trying to get into. So the way I would look at it and the way I would put
it down would be totally different from Pastor Bimbo.
What is that
thing that would make you advice somebody to leave his or her marriage?
I
think physical violence is that thing that would make me advice one to leave.
Because, if a person is dead, there’s nothing we are talking about. When there’s
physical violence in any marriage, one thing I advise is separation. Let both
parties calm down, let’s understand the root cause and know if we can compromise
and reach a decision to move forward. Now, if we see that it’s not going to
happen, we have to just pray because we cannot afford to lose a life. Physical
violence is a no no.
What is a typical mom chores for
you?
Becasue I’m a working mother, I always wake up first before
everybody in the morning obviously. I try and get eldest of my children ready
for school and go back to the room. By the time I am back in the room, Mimie is
awake jumping and trying to get out of her court, take her out of her court,
take her to her daddy. Taking care of them is very interesting. While taking
Bella to school, we pray in the car, make some ryhmes and recite our memory
verses and try to encourage her. By the time we get to school, I drop her off
and in the afternoon her nanny will go pick her up at school because I work and
I am always rushing to get back home and the most interesting part of my day is
when my baby runs towards me and give me a big hug and then five minutes after
getting home the headache starts, Mommy I want this, Mommy I want that and it’s
a pain you enjoy somehow because when they go to their grandma I miss the noise,
I miss the bugging, I miss the headache. It’s amazing you know, you just have to
ask God for patience, because God is actually showing you how He sees you, so
youjust have to be patient and it has actually made me patient, my kids have
made me more patient. I never really liked children when I was growing up, I
didn’t even carry babies, I always used to think kids were just a bunch of
wahala and stress till I had my step brothers, so I started carrying them, play
with them so they kind of got me ready for my own children; so they came I was
more embracing and that motherhood thing came, it was fun.
How do you
serve your girls and what makes them special?
My first daughter looks
more like my husband but acts like me. In my next video you are going to see her
performance…she knows my song from like A-Z and she was actually doing the whole
song more than me. She sings, I prayed that she sings, she’s bold and a very
lovely person. My second daughter is very tough, she does not cry a lot, but I
don’t understand how she will know that you’re giving her an empty bottle. Like
you’re a baby. She’s so intelligent, she likes to sing, I think they have my
eyes, the second actually looks like me but behaves like her dad. She’s very
quiet like her dad, doesn’t smile a lot like her dad, and she’s more like him.
My first child doesn’t look like me but she behaves just like me.
So
what virtues are you passing on to your daughters, especially your old
daughter?
I think the first thing is respect for everyone. I am trying to
make sure she understands that she has to respect people and be polite. Also
ensuring she says ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, she’s just three anyway. Also,
sharing and loving people, she loves people naturally anyway but my husband is a
bit afraid that she’s too nice. I don’t think so, I think being nice is good,
it’s better she’s nice than not nice at all and then the things of God. Like now
she calls herself pastor Bella. In fact if I am in church and I am on stage,
before you know it Bella, she will climb the stage once she is in church. She
just loves limelight. Oh mommy you can sing, thank you mommy for me and all
that. I also try to get her read her bible, praying. She prays at times and I
can barely hear what she’s saying but I know she’s praying and that’s some of
the things we actually picked up from our parents while I was growing up. They
got us reading memory verses, watch nice Christian cartoons. So, when I take my
kids to church, I take them to Sunday school where they can learn to understand
Jesus Christ. Even me now, she trains me, I’m someone that likes to hiss any
small thing I hiss, so anytime I do it I’m like… oh my daughter. So, me, myself
I have to control myself because if I hiss, she’ll do the same
too.
What do you do in your leisure time?
Most, times I love to
bond with family. Their grandparents are always happy to have them. Or I go to
church, when they’ve had their baths, on weekends we watch TV
together.
So what are those qualities your mom taught you in terms of
marriage that has been with you till now?
I think it’s about God. One
thing my mom used to say is that the Holy Spirit is your best friend. She prays
every morning for the Holy Spirit. If there’s one thing my mother taught me, the
Holy Spirit is your best friend, he’s your lover, if you are down he’s always
present. It has never failed. Also, back in the days when my mom would dress up
and look nice for my dad, I’ll be like ‘what’s wrong with this woman’. But now I
have realised that it’s an effort you have to make. it’s something that you have
to do. So now I find my way around it. It should be something you have to put in
your reminder. I have husband now and he is one of the most important people to
you. So for me and my children it’s very important.
You know, for most
women, once they get married and have a kid and feel there is no need to dress
nicely anymore?
First of all once people see me they see my husband. So I
must always look good. Secondly, for my husband, you don’t know what you have
until you lose it and at times, we need to look at our husband from the eye of
another woman. One time I was on Instagram and there was this lady with a thong
and dancing, the video went viral and I’m sure men will definitely see it so as
a wife, if that thong will make you get your man back. Better wear it for him
because the distraction out there and if you drop the ball then that’s all. Men
are judged by what they see. Some women will say my body can’t do that. Don’t
think like that, your husband loved that body before he married you. Fat, big,
skinny. You need to believe in what you are carrying. The man wants to feel like
you’re making an effort so you have to make an effort with your husband. When I
start doing s*x talk with some women, take for instance, you married a man whom
you know wants s*x every day, you have to give him s*x every day because that’s
his appetite. So for me my advice to women is do the best you can with your
husband. Once in a while leave the kids at home and go out. You need to remember
those good memories, make an effort and bring him back. Women, do the best you
know how to do.
