By Debo Popoola
Not many women still assume the basic African wife responsibilities of taking care of their crowns like preparing his food, washing his clothes and laying his beds; not even in this era where gender equality has been misconstrued to mean shying away from wifely responsibilities. The modern wife is not a slave to any man, so the husband should take care of himself – this is their motto. But Folorunsho Alakija belongs to the conservative set of Africa women who still hold with great esteem the African wife culture of total submission to the husband and giving him the respect and support he deserves.
Despite having the best life can offer in terms of wealth and prosperity, Madam Folorunsho Alakija never gives room to pride that she will see it as a huge task to wash her husband’s clothes; she sees it as part of her “marital responsibilities”
Folorunsho Alakija is the Executive Vice Chairman of Famfa Oil and the Group Managing Director of The Rose of Sharon Group. According to reports, she is Africa’s richest self-made woman, with a net worth estimated at $1 billion.
The billionaire woman, who recently was appointed the Chancellor of Osun University, said in an interview that she still dotes on her husband like a teenager who just found love.
She said: “My husband is my best friend, biggest adviser and supporter. We’ve known each other for 40 years and have been married for 37 years now and with four boys. Even though we work in the same office, I always ensure that we kiss twice in a day, morning and night. I still wash his undies until six years ago that he insisted I should stop. I also prepare his special vegetable dish and do his manicure and pedicure regularly.
“I go to the airport to pick him whenever he’s returning from foreign trips. It gives me joy whenever his friends praise my vegetable dish based on what my husband tells them.”
