Femi Adebayo: Oga Bello’s son, takes another shot at marriage

It was planned to be a quiet wedding ceremony; just a few guest, family members and well-wishers. But by the time curtain opened for the post-marital exchange reception, pictures of the wedding ceremony between popular actor and current Special Adviser to the Kwara State Governor on Culture and Tourism, Femi Adebayo, and his new beau, Omotayo Maimunat Sanusi, was all over social media.

Femi’s friends and colleagues, including Sola Kosoko, Desmond Elliot, Bimbo Oshin, Muyiwa Ademola, Iyabo Ojo, Dayo Amusa, Faithia Williams-Balogun, Adekola Tijani and Odunlade Adekoya, who were present, posted pictures of the glam wedding, which held in Lagos on their social media handles.

Star and producer of the hit film, Jelili, and first son of the legendary actor, Adebayo Salami, aka Oga Bello, Femi’s marriage to Maimunat on October 9 is his second shot.

The very busy actor and producer was previously married to Khadijat Adebayo and the marriage was blessed with three children, but they had been separated for eight years.

Although Femi has refused to explain why the former love birds chose to go their separate ways, the entertainment rumour mill had it that the celebrated marriage failed due to an alleged philandering habits.

Both Femi and Khadijat had at every opportunity denied the allegation, simply suggesting that they separated due to ‘irreconcilable differences.’

But a source close to the actor hinted at the time that Femi opted for separation “because his first wife did not support his acting career and was always nagging and complaining.”

However, Khadijat has since moved on and is now married to a United States-based Nigerian, and they have a child together already.With Khadijat now married, the coast became clear for Femi, who is described as likeable and amiable, to take another shot. He did and just this Sunday, Femi and Maimunat received parental blessings at a Nikkah ceremony held in Maryland, Lagos.

Femi was said to have sought the cooperation of his fans and the yellow press in ensuring that his second marriage “to a brand new wife” works.

He said: “My decision to remarry is personal and private and the decision is best for us (me and Maimunat), as I have been on the lane before and my wife has never been.

“I have to protect her privacy at all cost and so, please we pray for the understanding of our friends and my beloved loyal fans and the media.

“I appreciate you and please your prayers and support is all we need.”A talented actor and producer, Femi, a lawyer, has proven over time that he could be relied upon as an actor and also as a producer.

A native of Ilorin in Kwara State, he attended the University of Ilorin, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master of Arts degree in Theatre Arts.

He began acting in 1995, the same year he featured in a Tade Ogidan movie, titled, Owo Blow. The always smartly dressed actor has starred in several Nigerian films, but mostly Yoruba films, including Sonto Alapata, Wura Ati Fadaka, Ma Wobadan and the comic movie, Buga.

The huncho of J-15 media network Nigeria and star of Kunle Afolayan’s critically acclaimed film, October 1, where he again proved his versatility, Femi has won a number of industry awards, including receiving the City People Entertainment Award for Best Movie Producer of the Year (Yoruba) in 2015 and registering his name on the Afro-Hollywood list of outstanding actors.

Femi has an ambition of running what could be described as Africa’s biggest one-stop shop for motion picture production. He also said that he is “locked on to acting and movie productions” and has no intention to return to the Bar to practice law. “But I may go into politics at some time to help influence policies that will grow the entertainment industry,” he enthused.