Anytime news breaks that Seyi Tinubu’s mother is celebrating her birthday, minds invariably conjure up a picture of Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of the Lion of Bourdillon, surrounded by husband and children and associates in all their pomp and grandeur, taking over some exclusive highbrow spot and making merry into the wee hours of the night.
However, this time around, the mother in question is actually the lesser-spotted Bunmi Oshonike, one time darling of high society and current minister in the Lord’s Vineyard. It has been an open secret for some time now that Bunmi, rather than Senator Oluremi, is the biological mother of the APC chieftain’s first son and heir presumptive Seyi.
Friday November 15, happens to be the 60th birthday of Bunmi Oshonike. In contrast to the mother-of-all birthday celebrations already being planned for Senator Oluremi’s 60th next year, Bunmi’s ascension into the sexagenarian club happened without much fanfare. In fact, not many people knew she was celebrating. Such is the marked contrast in fortunes from her days as an air hostess when the Who’s Who feted and toasted her at the slightest opportunity.
Now, songs of praise have replaced fuji and pop music, the dance floor has made way for the pulpit, and prayers have gained the upper hand over raucous wining and dining. Bunmi Oshonike celebrated her birthday quietly with only a few family and church members in attendance.
One wonders what Seyi makes of all this. As his fortunes rise and rise with the stars in sight, his mother’s popularity recedes further and further into the margins.
Already being positioned to make a run at the Lagos governorship seat come 2023, Seyi cannot afford domestic distractions at this moment. Perhaps his biological mother, cognizant of this, elected to hold a lowkey birthday celebration in order not to bring too much attention to herself.
The renowned Prophetess is the main attraction at the Calvary Parish of the Celestial Church of Christ, Ọgbà, Lagos. The sweet, silky voice which she used to soothe anxious passengers into a state of relaxation is now used to minister the word of God to attentive audiences. Even though she enjoyed the good things of life in her former life, she has embraced her new life with no regrets.
Unlike some high profile cases with mothers publicly demanding compensation from the father and public recognition from their children, and sometimes demanding the children themselves, the palaver over Seyi’s birth seems to have been resolved amicably.
Bunmi seems content to let Senator Oluremi play the role of her child’s mother, especially since she’s taken care of him from childhood. Seyi, on his part, has been known to visit his biological mother in secret, but remain reluctant to publicly rock the boat.