WE DON’T ALLOW INTRUDERS IN OUR MARRIAGE -KAYODE AND SEUN OLAGUNJU

Kayode Olagunju is an Assistant Corps Marshal at the Federal Road Safety Commission while his wife, Seun -an award-winning broadcaster with African Independent Television and Nigerian Television Authority – is Head Corporate Affairs, Transmission Commission Nigeria. They share their love story with BAYO ADEOYE

How did you meet?

Kayode: I met her in the course of duty several years back. I was then the Sector Commander in Lagos. I attended a late night radio programme anchored by the late Livi Ajuonuma and she was the Continuity Announcer at the Daar Communication’s Raypower station, that day. She signed on the programme me, and disappeared. No ‘notice me’ stuff. Her beauty was compelling. At the end of the program, she came back to sign it off.

I endorsed copies of Highway Code for all the staff on duty and slipped my call card inside her copy requesting that she should call me. She did not. I met her again, one early morning while attending another programme and she was still very stubborn.

Somehow, I developed some new strategies that finally worked. Seun: It was a professional meeting. I was the announcer on duty and he came for a late night programme which the late Livi Ajuonuma anchored.

Was it love at first sight?

Kayode: She actually thought I was married and to compound the issue, I was there with a lady friend. It was also a loud arrangement with a convoy of cars and many aides. We came in from the National Stadium where the Eagles had played a match and I was a member of the Local Organising Committee.

She later told me she thought I was just irresponsible, leaving a wife at home, coming in with a girl and chasing another lady. When she finally agreed to meet me, I knew I was with my wife and I told her so. Seun: No such thing. I told you it was a professional meeting.

She played hard to get…

Kayode: Of course from my explanation above, it could be seen that it wasn’t easy to convince her that she was not meeting a Casanova. It took several months of persistence and perseverance before I succeeded.

Seun: Well, any respectable lady should not jump at a man at first interaction. I gave him a tough time of course. And there was no GSM then, so communica- t i o n more difficult. He was always sending his friend and PSO to me. I actually didn’t want to have anything to do with him because I thought he was married. It was after I found out he wasn’t that I gave him audience.

After you agreed to date him, did you nurse any fear?

Seun: Fear of what? It was a well-considered move.

How did you propose to her?

Kayode: We went to Whispering Palms in Iworo, Badagry and at the Lagoon side, I told her I would want to marry her. I also told her that she had no option and that we should agree on our wedding date right there. She thought I was crazy, but of course, the whole world now knows I was not.

How did he propose to you?

Seun: No such romance storybook proposal. He told me from the go that he was looking for a wife, not a fling and that he wanted to marry me. Although I didn’t agree to that immediately.

What was the duration of the courtship?

Kayode: Over a year. Describe her in few but romantic words. Kayode: My sweet angel, my life.

Is he romantic?

Seun: A bit. He’s a very practical person. I used to jokingly call him a ‘bush man’.

Given your ‘fine boy’ look, how do you cope with female admirers?

Kayode: By appreciating the fact that not every lady that likes you wants to get intimate with you and you don’t have to nurture the thought. I use my ‘church mind’ to perish the urge of getting too involved with ladies. You have to respect yourself, your position and your family.

Do you feel jealous when you see women around him?

Seun: Why should I? I have absolutely no feeling of insecurity. It’s women who can’t hold their own who put a leash on their men. I have no such time.

With your beauty and nature of your job, doesn’t he feel threatened at times?

Seun: A real man does not feel threatened. Although he might be in a better position to answer that question.

How do you manage pressure and advances from men?

Seun: Nobody has ever tried to force me to do what I don’t want. So if there’s no force, why should I be under pressure? If a man wants me and I say no, and we both go our separate ways, how does that create pressure for me? As adults, we should know how to say no and mean it.

What if the handshake goes beyond the elbow?

Seun: I don’t give room for that. How has the family fared, given your constant job transfer across the country? Kayode: They have adapted and are coping well. They are in Abuja where our national headquarters is situated. As a senior officer, I must have things to do at the HQ regularly. We also go on vacation as a family to bond together. I love my family greatly, so any little opportunity I have to be with them, I don’t allow it to slip away. Seun: My job takes me away a lot too but after all these years, we’re used to it. I married a paramilitary man so I knew what I was in for.

How does the home front fare when daddy and mummy are not around?

Seun: When the children were younger, my mother helped as best she could. When I lost her, things got a bit tough. But now they’re mostly in boarding house in secondary schools (although that’s deliberate). So it’s much better now.

What role has she played in your life?

Kayode: She is my life. The lady that dared to be my wife. Describe him in one sentence Seun: He is the best thing that ever happened to me.

You have been married for over 13 years, what has kept your marriage going?

Kayode: I think it is the ability to understand each other very well. Never expect a perfect partner and learn to forgive no matter how much you have been offended. S e u n : Do not allow a third party into your marriage.

Culled from New Telegraph