My marriage… With Joseph Kolawole Okunato
August 8, 2026 12:01 am
Photo; Joseph Kolawole Okunato and wife
Could you give us a brief background of yourself?
My name is Joseph Kolawole Okunato from Igede-Ekiti in Ekiti State, Nigeria. I am in my 70s and have a Christian background. I started my career in 1975 by working in the banking industry, briefly in the capital market, and for two years in the media as Financial Manager at Daar Communications Plc.
Since retiring in 2011, I have been working privately as a consultant in various areas, including MSMEs and training. I am still active in the industry as a director of privately owned companies in the finance and capital market sectors.
How long have you been married?
Our marriage clocked 42 years on July 28, 2026.
How did you meet your wife?
I was new in Ibadan at the time, and I had friends with whom I usually went out to get to know the city. On one of those occasions, I visited one of my friends’ houses. I did not meet him, but I saw a beautiful girl in his house whom I had never seen before. She told me that my friend was not around, so I left.
Later that week, when I saw him, I asked about the girl I had seen in his house. He told me that she was his cousin, who was on a short-term holiday, and that she had returned to her school, the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti. I was excited that she was training to become a teacher, and I asked if she would be willing to be my girlfriend and future partner. He replied that he did not know of any boy in her life and advised me to try my luck.
Based on our discussion, we planned a weekend excursion to Ikere-Ekiti. Upon getting there, we took her and her friend to Ikogosi Warm Spring in Ikogosi-Ekiti, where I asked her to be my girlfriend. We exchanged information about ourselves, and she did not object to being my friend.
When you met, did you imagine that the relationship would translate into marriage?
Prior to meeting my wife, I had two failed relationships that were not due to any fault of mine. The first relationship failed because the girl’s mother did not want it due to tribal differences. The second relationship failed because of differences in our future career goals. I wanted a teacher as my future wife, while she wanted to be a banker, so we had different future goals.
Seeing a future teacher who was already in a College of Education was exciting for me because I already saw her as my future wife. All I focused on after our meeting was what I needed to do to keep her as mine. I already felt and knew that, everything being equal, the relationship would turn into marriage.
How did your wife react when you proposed to her, and where?
My proposal to her was at Ikogosi Warm Spring, as I mentioned earlier. At first, I believed she was suspicious. She remembered seeing me in Ibadan but did not know who I was until that meeting. We introduced ourselves and decided to continue getting to know each other. What she simply said was that we should go ahead and get to know each other better before she made her final decision.
What was her parents’ reaction to your proposal?
At first, they wanted to know my parents. My wife is a first cousin of my childhood friend through whom I met her. He personally took me to my wife’s parents twice. It was on the third visit that he introduced me as the boyfriend of their daughter-to-be. They wanted to know my parents’ quarters in our town since we came from the same town.
They also wanted to know what I was doing. Subsequent visits were used to enquire about the job I was doing and where I was working. Other enquiries were made about our future plans. They were excited after getting details about me, my parents, and my upbringing.
Subsequently, they gave me advice on some of the areas they had asked me questions about, trying to guide me based on some of the answers I had provided.
How many children do you have?
We have three boys and a girl.
In those years of marriage, what would you say were the best moments you shared with your wife?
The most memorable moments include welcoming our children, particularly our firstborn; travelling to Germany on holiday to visit my aunt; and moving into our own house, which ended our rent payments. Another memorable moment was when our son got married and when our daughter-in-law gave birth to our first grandchild.
Chijioke Iremeka is a Senior Correspondent at Punch Newspapers with 19 years of professional experience. He has reported across multiple media houses in Nigeria, covering beats such as health, features, real estate, and insurance, and has received numerous journalism awards for his work. Chijioke’s reporting demonstrates extensive newsroom expertise, editorial judgment, and a dedication to truth, integrity, and excellence in journalism.
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