- Former Military President Ibrahim Babangida revealed how he met and married his late wife, Maryam, in his autobiography, A Journey in Service
- Babangida shared details of their first encounter, the proposal, and Maryam’s conversion to Islam
- He emphasised their enduring love and family life, noting the significance of these moments in his personal history
IBB Opens Up on How He Married His Wife from Delta State, Converted Her to IslamSource: TwitterEarly yearsI first met Maria Okogwu (as she then was). As young officers, we shared digs in the unmarried officers quarters by Kanta Road in Kaduna, and I was now seeing more of Maria. She was stunning. Her ebony beauty set off enchanting eyes, and her dazzling smile showed off a lovely set of teeth; when she smiled and she often smiled her face lit up, and her eyes danced. Duba was as much a brother as a cousin to her, and, on the back of that, I often saw Maria at Dubas house and when she visited us at Kanta Road.I was very fond of Maria, and she, eventually, of me. There was more than an element of predestination in our relationship. It was at NMTC that I began to notice Maria more. Dubas father was fond of me, so I was mindful that my bonds with the family meant that I had to be more cautious than usual, a factor that synced with my natural shyness. She and I remained friends and maintained that friendship through my early years in the army, which included sojourns abroad for training in India and the United Kingdom.This was the first time I recall seriously thinking it was time to find a wife as a life partner. I was 28, and it seemed to me that it was time to settle down. While I was in the hospital, the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Yakubu Gowon, had gotten married to his lovely wife, Victoria, with much pomp and military pageantry.I cannot deny that their marriage and the accompanying ceremony further focused my mind on getting married myself. Lying in my hospital bed, I had lots of time to run through the various relationships I had had and try to decide which of them would best stand the test of time. Time and again, Maria. Okogwu kept popping into my mind with her ageless beauty and enchanting smile, Mr Babangida added.The proposalI shared with her the fact that my faith was an integral and essential part of my life and that I would require her to convert to Islam. Praise be to Allah; this was not a difficult decision for Maria. Being part-Christian and part-Muslim at birth and already living in a Muslim household, it was never going to be wholly uncharted territory for her.She adapted with relative ease to married life as a Muslim. In proposing to Maria, I assured her that, though a Muslim, I did not intend to take multiple wives and bring up children from different women. I knew full well that my chances of a stable family life would be significantly improved if I avoided polygamy. I had witnessed close up both among professional colleagues and in my extended family the headaches and heartaches this led to, and that was not the life I wanted to live or to share with her.Abiolas son reacts to Babangida’s admission about June 12
