Many Nigerians were once again treated to media reports of a public shouting match on social media between former Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo and his estranged wife, Sonia Adesuwa; which to say the least was most embarrassing to their personal image and reputation and to Nigeria as a country. The details of the latest matrimonial face-off – both Sonia’s acerbic version, and Ighalo’s rambling evasive response – are in the public domain and need no re-telling, not the least for the reason that this latest episode of washing their dirty linen in public is so belittling and unedifying for the erstwhile glamorous couple. It would be delusional to think that people at this end of the marriage continuum could make up their differences and become a happy, reunited couple once again. Going by the manically unrestrained, virulent, noxious, pernicious, malicious, malevolent, hostile, vicious, spiteful, bitter, venomous, malign, vindictive, vitriolic, rancorous, mean, nasty and bitchy utterances that over-stretch all reasonable boundaries of decorum, it appears the husband and wife are bent on self-destruction! In the eyes of their millions of concerned fans and followers, Ighalo and Sonia are needlessly fighting dirty!
With lurid revelations involving internet porn addiction and extramarital affairs with teenage girls, Ighalo and Sonia have proven yet again that nobody can do messy breakups like Nigerian celebrities. The latest salvo was fired by Sonia who subtly called out Ighalo on Instagram, for allegedly welcoming two new babies from two different women and purportedly refusing to pay child support. The sleazy allegations were dogged by a cynical congratulatory message to Ighalo on the purported recent birth of his baby from another woman; even as Sonia insisted that she remains Ighalo’s legal wife. Taking a swipe at her allegedly serially philandering husband, Sonia appeared to have rediscovered the simple contentment of life by posting on Instagram in Pidgin: “Congrats Ighalo on the arrival of your baby (Feb) I just dey receive court email now lmao. We don many. Ah Father Abraham. Still one legally married wife. 2 baby mamas 5kids and some slay queens still dey fight to enter. Y’all dey ment. Adesuwa baby, you are doing well.”
The former Manchester United striker, who currently plies his trade with Al-Shabab of Saudi Arabia, evasively responded to Sonia’s message without directly addressing the charges that prior to his recent baby; he allegedly fathered another child with another woman; and that he has refused to pay child support. Obviously, Sonia wanted to shame Ighalo via Instagram with that post. Nevertheless, the rift shows no signs of healing. If anything, it has been worsened by the seemingly indecent haste with which Ighalo has moved on in his love life. In a post on his Instagram handle, Ighalo, who is back in the country after the Saudi Pro League ended, replied: “You can never bring a good man down. Who God has blessed, no one can curse #itstoolatetofail.” In a swift reaction to Ighalo’s response, Sonia took again to her Instagram handle to remind her estranged husband that: “He who lives by the sword dies by the sword. You can’t bring a good woman down.”
Neutral observers would suggest that this tit-for-tat battle playing out in the press and social media platforms has done neither of them any favors. The acrimonious situation has been fueled by recent rumors that Ighalo has found bliss and contentment in a romantic relationship with Nollywood actress, Lilian Esoro (Ighalo’s friends say she’s much more easy-going than Sonia) though few predict it will end in marriage. Ighalo and Lilian Esoro ignited the grapevine and rumor mill following a post they shared online following a tryst and the caption that came with it. Lilian Esoro finalized her divorce in February 2021. She used to be married to Ubi Franklin, a former business executive and currently Special Adviser to Cross River State Governor, with whom she has a son. The recently divorced actress was spotted at an exquisite restaurant where she shared a photo of herself with the caption: “Candid moments are the best! The boo gets me always!”
Ighalo also shared a photo from the same restaurant on his Instagram page with the caption: “When God says it’s your time, no one can stop it #birthdayinabit.” Even though they shared the photos two days apart, it is believed that the actress and the footballer were at the restaurant together with the setting quite identical. Out of mischief, some vicious and pugnacious busybodies wasted no time to repost and tagged Sonia to make sure she sees the post. However, after seeing the photos, Sonia took to her Instagram handle to warn “mischief makers” to stop tagging her to certain photos.
Recall that in January 2020, the ex-Super Eagles forward and his childhood sweetheart turned wife, Sonia, deleted their photos from their respective Instagram pages, fueling speculations of their marriage crisis. Since then, both have not been seen together and have neither shared each other’s photos as they ceased celebrating their wedding anniversary. They even went as far as pulling off their wedding bands. Following which Sonia reverted to her maiden name, “Adesuwa” on social media. Sources close to Ighalo confirm to Huhuonline.com that the marriage is now a shipwreck and can no longer stay afloat. One source claims Sonia came into the relationship with a hidden agenda that was not apparent to Ighalo until they got married. “She is overly materialistic, and values financial security above all else, and wants just to have status as Madame Ighalo to give the perception that they appear secure; whereas she is doing everything to destroy Ighalo’s professional career by traumatizing and stressing a nice, quiet decent man who avoids conflict and pursues a stress-free life,” the source said. With friends like this offering advice to Ighalo, is it any wonder why the war of the Ighalos show no sign of ending?
The Ighalo affair is more than a domestic affair; it is now a Nigerian affair because the man is a representative of Nigeria in a foreign land. He had adorned and defended the Nigerian flag and national colors on and off the field of play. It is sad then that Ighalo and his wife are not in the news for some great achievement but for so demeaning an act as rancorous separation. But whichever way it turns out, this is indeed a sordid affair. And this is not the first of such incidents. So who is really to blame? And when will this unedifying business finally be settled? One way or another, the divorce has to be resolved
For the time being, however, both Ighalo and Sonia are in no forgiving mood. The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche once said: “When marrying, ask yourself this question: Do you believe that you will be able to converse well with this person into your old age? Everything else in marriage is transitory.” The controversial cultural critic is also famous for saying: “Woman was God’s second mistake.”
In the end, the only way this can truly be resolved is by Ighalo and Sonia sitting down with each other in the same room and thrashing out their differences. Mr. and Mrs. Ighalo have shown the Nigerian man and woman in very bad light. We assure our African brothers and sisters and the international community that Nigerians are not all like these two.
