Recently, the media has been awash with news, reactions, and counter-reactions following the explosive developments in the long-running feud between billionaire businessman Dr. Tunde Ayeni and his former mistress, Adaobi Alagwu. With fresh court cases, emotional interviews, and contradictory press releases flooding the public space, one question now begs to be asked: who is really right in this sordid affair?
Let’s start with Adaobi. At the very first denial (public or private) of any relationship or child by Dr. Ayeni, any woman with a shred of dignity would have quietly walked away to rebuild her life. Instead, Adaobi held onto what was clearly a sinking ship, grappling at straws and delusions. From flaunting old birthday pictures to releasing a disputed DNA report, to engaging commentators to insult Ayeni’s wife, friends and associates – her desperate attempt to latch onto the Ayeni name reeked of more than just heartbreak; it screamed entitlement but worse, it said so much about lack of self esteem.
This however isn’t a one-sided tale; for a man of Ayeni’s stature, influence, and public responsibility, one must ask: why would he allow himself to be caught in such a messy web in the first place? How does a man gift away luxury properties and millions of naira in upkeep to a woman barely in her twenties? Young enough to be his daughter; without expecting consequences? By his own admission, calling the affair “one of the darkest moments of my life,” only highlights the gravity of the misstep. Though his close friends and allies swear by him that regardless of how overwhelmed he’s been by this experience, that he has truly turned a new leaf but that remains to be seen.
Yet, beyond the personal failures, this saga opens a broader social conversation about entitlement and transactional relationships. The belief among many young women today that access to a wealthy man’s bank account is a shortcut to success is deeply troubling. Relationships morph into business deals, love becomes leverage, and blackmail becomes the currency and the fact that Adaobi’s mother according to Ayeni’s recent interview ‘aided and abetted the entire drama’ only adds to the decay, i mean how does a mother trade her daughter’s youth and dignity all for personal gains, to the extent that for money and a house to live in, she’ll abandon her husband, son just to squat in another man’s luxury property, all the while trading her nobility and decency all for money.
In truth, both parties in this drama share blame. Adaobi, for refusing to accept rejection and for allowing greed and delusion to guide her decisions. Rather than be concerned for her future she held onto the sinking ship of Ayeni’s lies and manipulation. She even took on the fight to his wife and associates, her supporters were even advising people against interfering in a husband and wife affair(to a legally married man) -as she positioned herself online. Ayeni, for letting momentary lust cloud his judgment, and for failing to see the long-term damage a short-term pleasure could bring to his family, business, and legacy.
Again there can’t be so much to be said for a randy man notorious for indiscretions with women and social decorum assaults any right sense. From alleged illicit affairs with his staff members to sleeping with married women whose husbands end up beating him, to his constant abuse of women’s vulnerability and emotions; just as we now see in the case of yet another one of his side piece – Gail Fajembola; one who has clearly demonstrated to him she will not let him tarnish her reputation. The intriguing gist around all this is the fact that Ayeni’s supposed affair with Gail also seemingly coincides with the timeline of all the times he was flaunting Adaobi and there are whispers that they’re others.
In a suit marked FHC/L/CS/2025, Gail Fajembola recently dragged Tunde Ayeni to court over what she described as harassment and threats over a luxury apartment at Ocean Parade Towers, Banana Island, Lagos.
According to the court documents, Gails claims that Ayeni allowed her to take possession of the apartment in 2016 and she reportedly spent $45,792 to furnish the property and lived there until relocating to the UK in 2019. However, following the breakdown of their ‘relationship’, Ayeni and the estate firm allegedly began pressuring her to hand over the apartment. “Rather than pursue lawful eviction through the courts, the 5th and 6th respondents turned to the police to exert unlawful pressure on me, my agent, and the tenant,” Fajembola stated in her affidavit.
As Ayeni continues to battle his many demons in ‘delilah’ form; the customary court in Dawaki, Abuja may have ruled that no marriage existed and that Ayeni is not the father of Adaobi’s child, but it didn’t have to get to that point for the Alagwus.
They would have gained far more if they had moved from him at his first denial. Believing his obvious lies that he was being influenced by his wife and associates to posture such public lies as he did whilst he snuck his way to Ada and her mothers house makes a mockery of any sense of discretion they have, if any.
Whether he succeeds or not in recovering his Abuja properties (that he so lustfully gave away) through the Federal High Court case marked FCT/HC/CV/1282/2025 will not erase the tarnishing of the Alagwus reputation from this saga and the biggest victim is little Omarosa. To dignify this innocent child, the onos rested more on Adaobi who would have simply moved on firmly from Ayeni and perhaps changed her daughter’s surname, but no didn’t. How do you explain her act of tagging along with Ayeni to display false acts of abusive exchanges, being beaten and just playing to the gallery in exchange for money. Her friends and family will tell you for free, how desperate she was but nothing should have been worth her future, afterall, Ayeni couldn’t have been a better option for any right thinking woman, how much more a young girl with prospects ahead of her.
As the saying goes, ‘our circumstances are as we define them’; What value will a name associated with public denials ever give anybody? Sadly, what cannot be recovered from by parties involved is the time lost, dignity stained, and peace lost by all involved in this avoidable show of shame.
Sadiq Ibrahim writes
