In a recent interview with gooo/spice/celebrity-couple/stepping-out-with-my-wife-shields-me-sammie-okposo/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>PUNCH,
award winning Gospel singer, Sammie Okposo and his beautiful wife,
Ozioma, disclosed the secret of their four years marital journey and
love story.
“I met my wife at a concert in London when I went to for a music ministration at KICC.
After the event, people brought their CDs for me to sign. To make it
fast because it was a long queue, I only looked up briefly to say ‘thank
you’ after I signed each CD.
But there was this particular hand that brought a CD, the hand looked
too good to be true and before I signed, I looked up to see the owner
of the hand. She was with her elder sister who invited her for the
programme. My wife used to attend Winners Chapel and was just a guest
at the concert. I said, ‘hello’ but because there were people waiting
on the queue, I could not say more.
There and then, I knew this was the woman I wanted to marry. I
checked to make sure there was no ring on my hand. I did not even know
how I was going to see her again because I was booked to leave London
the following day.
I committed everything to God. Later that evening, a friend invited
me to an exhibition which, coincidentally, was hosted by Ozioma’s elder
sister. Then, I ran into her again. We just started chatting and we
connected.
It was then I got to that point where I wanted to be married. I got
her email and we exchanged several messages. By God’s orchestration, I
began to get a lot of invitations to London and it was always another
opportunity to see her. On the minimum, I was in London at least twice
in a month. We dated for a minimum of two and a half years and it was a
very quiet one. She was in London and I was in Nigeria and that helped. I
did not say anything to anybody because I wanted to nurture it and make
it work. Until we were ready to be married, I was determined not to go
public”
Do you have a joint account?
Sammie: We don’t have a joint account yet but we have started
working on what we would call a family account. She will be the sole
signatory because she runs the home. Also, what if I have to travel and
there is an emergency? That does not mean I can’t give her my bank card
if she requests for it.
How did you propose to her?
Sammie: I did not do all the razzmatazz. I neither went down
on my knees nor gave her a ring in one fancy restaurant. Our
relationship was a natural progression and before we knew what was
happening we began to meet each other’s families. I kept asking her to
marry me and when she saw that I was adamant with my request, she asked
me to demonstrate my seriousness by going to inform her family about my
intentions and that I did.
How do you handle his celebrity status?
Ozioma: When I said yes, I already knew I would be getting
married to two men, Mr Samuel Uyi Okposo, the gentleman and Sammie
Okposo, the celebrity. I live with the former at home and live with the
latter outside. I’ve learnt by the grace and strength of God to manage
this like a mother who has twins with two extreme individual
differences, you cannot assume they should like or dislike the same
things because they are twins. Being able to recognise which twin is
standing before you at any time is wisdom.
How were you able to convince her to relocate to Nigeria with you?
Sammie: Since she has good home training, it was not a
difficult thing to decide. We just gave it time for her to round off her
work, education and put everything in order in the United Kingdom,
after which she packed her bags and came down to Nigeria.
How do you resolve your differences?
Sammie: I am not going to tell you that we don’t quarrel. We
work it out and it never blows out of proportion. My wife never gets
upset with me to the point that when I get back, she won’t welcome me or
serve me my food. She will do all that and look for a very good time to
table the issue. Neither will I neglect my role as a man in the house
because I am upset with my wife. We have told ourselves that issues will
always come up but it is how we deal with it that is important.
Ozioma: I pray about it, though he is very quick to apologise. I also make him a recipe, ofe onugbu or okro with prawns.
Most people describe the first few years of marriage as tough. What was your own experience?
Sammie: It was a bit challenging. Bringing my wife into my
crazy world of entertainment was a process. Initially, she did not
understand why I could not work during the day and would not be coming
home because I had to do a night session. Also, the kind of hours we
spend on location seemed strange to her. As time went by, she began to
understand because I deliberately took her with me. I also made sure we
always went in one car. She will have no choice but to stick with me
till I am done.
How romantic are you towards each other?
Ozioma: He is trying
Sammie: My wife is very romantic but clingy. We engage in public display of affection and I don’t have a problem with that.
