Rotimi William Adeoye, the former husband of the late gospel singer Bunmi Akinaanu, has broken his silence following a dramatic scene at her burial where his children publicly disowned him.
The Public Rejection
During the interment of the singer, affectionately known as Omije Ojumi, her daughter Jomiloju announced to mourners that her father was irresponsible. The situation escalated when Rotimi attempted to console his children, only for his son to reportedly refuse to acknowledge him.
Setting the Record Straight
In an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, Rotimi expressed deep hurt over the incident and sought to clarify the narrative. He confirmed that he and Bunmi were legally married in 2006 at the Surulere Registry, followed by a church wedding in Mushin. The union, which produced two children, ended in divorce around 2017/2018.
The Root of the Conflict
Rotimi cited irreconcilable differences regarding Bunmi’s lifestyle in Nigeria as the primary cause for the divorce. However, the major friction point involved their daughter, Jomiloju.
Rotimi claimed he single-handedly raised Jomiloju in the UK from the age of three months until she was seven, while Bunmi was in Nigeria dealing with visa issues. He alleged that just three months before Jomiloju was due to receive her UK residency papers, Bunmi deceived him.
He recounted:
“She snatched our daughter under false pretence from the UK to Nigeria without consulting me.”
According to him, Bunmi took the child under the guise of attending a vigil, only to call days later from Nigeria. He believes she did this because she suspected he wanted to use their daughter’s status to regularize his own stay in the UK, divorce her, and remarry, a claim he denies, noting that her actions forced them to restart the immigration process from scratch.
Financial Support and Alienation
Addressing allegations of abandonment regarding his son, William, born in the US in 2013, Rotimi stated he sent £7,000 to cover the $8,000 hospital bill despite warning her about the costs. He claimed tension arose when she demanded additional feeding allowances, which he could not afford.
He further alleged that Bunmi systematically cut him off from the children. He claimed to have sent money on three separate occasions for her to bring the children to the UK, but she allegedly kept the funds and never brought them, citing December performance bookings as excuses.
He lamented that despite his efforts and his history of caring for his daughter in London, the narrative has been twisted.
“My family members in Nigeria only saw my children for the first time during Bunmi Akinaanu’s service of songs,” he added.