"It is a sealed matter. As long as I am alive, she is my wife, and I won't have anything to do with another woman."
In a recent interview on the popular YouTube podcast The Honest Bunch, Labour Party Presidential Candidate and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, expressed his unwavering commitment to his wife of 32 years, Margaret Usen.
During the interview, Obi stated confidently that regardless of the circumstances surrounding their marriage, even if his wife were unfaithful, divorce would not be an option for him.
"No matter what my wife does today, I will never stop being married to her, and I will never separate from her; even if she were to take a gun to shoot me, I will never leave her. As long as I am alive, I won't marry another woman. She is my wife."
The 63-year-old politician emphasised his unwavering dedication to his marriage, expressing that he would never marry another woman even if he separated from his wife.
"It is a sealed matter. As long as I am alive, she is my wife, and I won't have anything to do with another woman.
Whatever she likes, let her do. It won't offend me. What will she do that will offend me? If she has an affair, that's her business. Who said two of us had an affair? They'll say Peter Obi is a very good man who married a woman who is ... That's it. You can't quantify me with the lifestyle of my children and my wife; we have different lifestyles." Mr Obi, who married Margaret in 1992, discussed how their different lifestyles do not impact his commitment to her. He cited an example of their travel preferences: "When we travel, she might be in business class or first class while I'm in the economy and we are on the same plane. It doesn't bother me because it suits her."
The couple have two children, Gabrielle Nwamaka and Oseloka Obi.
Controversy
Mr Obi's interview on the podcast also ignited a robust public debate as he addressed various topics, including politics, education, marriage, and the church's role.
One of his most controversial statements was his call to dismantle the influence of politics and the church. He argued that Nigeria's poverty and lack of productivity issues stem from prioritising political and religious activities over nation-building and economic growth.
He suggested that night vigils should be replaced with night shifts to boost productivity.
"I'm not happy in Nigeria; we can't continue to breed poverty; that's not leadership,
"We live in a largely unproductive society, which is why politics and religion seem to be the only things that seem attractive here.
"We have to dismantle it. I'd instead turn night vigils into night shifts so people can be productive. I go to church; I believe in God.
"However, we cannot have people attending church from Monday to Friday, morning and night. If I travel from here to my house, the only signboards I see are those of churches. If you go to the east, it's burials, and that's not a country. In other countries, you'll see products," he said
Reacting to the backlash
Obi's comments received mixed reactions from Nigerians, with some criticising him for undermining religious traditions. In response, his media aide, Ibrahim Umar, issued a statement on Sunday clarifying his remarks.
The statement reads, "Our attention has been drawn to a massive twist in his recent media interview, saying erroneously that he called for the dismantling of churches in Nigeria.
"By the headline given to the interview, the import of Obi's message has been dramatically overturned and grossly distorted to serve a mischievous end.
"The Labour Party leader is well known as a man of strong faith who has enormous respect and love for every religion. In the interview referenced, he tried to show Nigerians how religion can be more effective in their lives.
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"Obi, in the interview, merely underscored what Apostle James said in 'Faith without Works is unhelpful.' When Obi said he would turn night vigil into production night, he only stressed the importance of worshipping God through work.
"Even Jesus Christ never picked any of his 12 disciples where they were praying but where they were working as fishermen and tax collectors, among others.
"What we are doing in Nigeria, which Obi's interview highlights as wrong and should be discontinued, is exchanging work for prayer when the two should go together.
"There is no evidence in the scripture that Jesus blessed an idle person. The problem in some of Nigeria's worship communities is that they are not following St James's advice that we should be doers of the words."
