Wild rose
A trained Lawyer and graduate of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo state, Omawumi, an Itsekiri native from Delta state was raised in Warri as the 12th in a large middle class family with 14 offspring. While growing up, Omawumi used to help out at the make shift beer parlour where her mother sold drinks. An excellent cook, she used to prepare the Nkwobi that was sold to customers. This experience, combined with her Warri origins gave her a tough exterior that did not always come across properly to media persons used to the idea of the female star as role model.
With her short gowns, predilection to speak pidgin and constant refusal to answer questions she considers personal, Omawumi was certainly no role model. She carried on a not so secret affair with the well-known producer Dokta Frabz (architect behind some of her biggest hits) but refused to talk about it until it media outlets began reporting news of its demise. By the time she began to appear at public events visibly pregnant, Omawumi’s stormy relationship with the press reached a nadir when some sections of the press began to speculate wildly on who was responsible for the pregnancy. Everyone was named; from Dokta Frabz to former Delta state governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan but no one could get the expectant mother to confirm or deny any suspicions.
Even though the pregnancy happened while Omawumi’s career was hitting all the right notes and she was yet to tie the knot with her partner, she insisted on carrying the pregnancy to term and in 2011, she was delivered of a baby girl in the United States of America.
This toxic relationship with journalists took an ugly turn after a freelance photojournalist, Adekola Bamigbala accused the singer of physically assaulting him and leaving him with bruises while he was trying to take her picture at the City People Entertainment Awards in July 2013. She denied the claims.
At the heart of this mutual distrust lies a simple fact that no one wants to admit. Entertainment journalists have not exactly been at the top of their game when it comes to matters of proper celebrity coverage. The rise of blogging and news aggregating sites has coincided with a disinterest in the investigative culture amongst bloggers and journalists alike. Paparazzi culture is equally non-existent, hence a seemingly obvious enough matter like pencilling down the baby daddy of a tight lipped pop star stretched out for four years.
Omawumi on her part has not exactly hidden the identity of her first daughter’s father, she simply refused to talk about it. in a 2013 interview with YNaija.com, she explained thus, “I don’t hide it, I have never hidden it but I don’t feel it is something I owe to the general public to stand in the microphone and announce because e no concern anybody This person is an individual. He respects his daughter, loves her and is a part of his daughter’s day to day life.” Before adding “But if you must pry, at least have the simple decency to get the correct information.”
It is information any determined and resourceful fellow could easily have gotten.
