Peter and Omotayo: A marriage that may redefine compatibility

 by JAYNE AUGOYE

   

Omotayo

JAYNE AUGOYE visits the world of Lola Omotayo, who star musician, Peter Okoye of P-Square, officially proposed to on Tuesday after a long time of waiting

Eight years after she started dating half of the twin singing sensation, P-Square, Peter Okoye, and with two kids from the affair, Lola Omotayo finally had the last laugh on Tuesday.

    Before the very eyes of those who had been wondering what would become of the relationship, she got engaged to the singer. In the typical P-Square fashion, it was not a quiet one.

    Armed with a brand new Range Rover SUV, a bunch of flowers, an engagement ring and a note which simply read, ‘Please, say yes’, Peter popped the question to his mixed-race lover, thereby shutting up the naysayers who felt the relationship was not marriage-bound.

   He then took to his Instagram account to share the news with his numerous followers. Like Siamese twins, the lovers had stuck to each other since 2005 when their paths first crossed, just as P-Square were kicking off their career.

  From the word go, it seemed they were incompatible, what with differences in factors like age, pedigree, exposure and educational background working against them?  But all through the years, any hint of pain or heartache went virtually undetectable, as publicity-shy Omotayo,who rarely steps out with Peter, always puts up a brave front. She is 40, while Peter is 34.

        Not discountenancing the fact that she might have nursed some secret pains, she once spoke about how challenging it was dating a celebrity. “There are things you have to deal with; a lot of women, intruders, fans. You have to appreciate and respect the fans, but you also have some of them who are thinking of other things,” Omotayo once said.

     A Theatre Arts graduate from San Francisco University, United States of America, Omotayo initially had her eyes on Nollywood. But fate had a different plan.  Prior to that time, she had enrolled to study Psychology at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, but later abandoned the idea, opting to study abroad instead.

     Upon her return to Nigeria, she ended up in the corporate sector, where she worked with ECONET (now Airtel) as an events manager. She later moved to Daily Times, advertising company, FK:G2 and her father’s company, Nosco Oil & Gas. It was during her time at FK:G2 that her paths crossed with a young Peter.

     Recounting their love story, Omotayo said she was a hard nut to crack. “Though I had met Peter a couple of times before then, at the show, one of our clients, British American Tobacco (BAT) and P-Square were doing something on Benson & Hedges then. We were on a road show together.

 “My agency handled some of the British American Tobacco brands and P-Square was doing a show for us at one of our events in Enugu. There was some chemistry. He asked for my number and I refused giving it to him. I told him if you really wanted to know me, you have to find my number. So, he took it as a task and found my number and the rest is history.”

   The relationship had its fair share of scandals that threatened to shake its very foundation. The most popular being Peter’s rumoured romance with former beauty queen, Munachi Abii, in 2008.  According to reports at the time, Abii was said to have kicked off a romance with the singer after she was featured in their hit video, Ifunnaya.

    So strong were the rumours that both women, Omotayo and Abii, were alleged to have exchanged blows when they stumbled into each other at the P-Square villa. Both parties later debunked the tales as empty gossip.

   Then, the fact that there were two children already in the picture ensured that their relationship was always subject to public scrutiny. In June, five months after the birth of the second child, Omotayo was, once again, the butt of online wags who felt her relationship with the famous singer was a sheer waste of time.

 
Worse, the lovers constantly maintained that marriage was not in the picture. In a 2008 interview, Omotayo went philosophical when asked a question concerning marriage. She said, “There is so much that completes a woman and marriage is not it. I’ve never focused on that. I’m not afraid to be alone. However, I pray, I am not going to end up alone for the rest of my life; I want a life partner.”

But just when some folks felt Omotayo’s parents were not in support of the affair, her father’s presence during her surprise birthday party, organised by Peter last year, shut many lips.

If everything goes on as planned, the lovers will be joining a 2face Idibia, who rose through many doubts and scandals to eventually tie the knot with Anie Macauley.  For now, many are watching and waiting with bated breath.