Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has opened up on his life as a widower, 10 years after losing wife, Mariam to Ovarian cancer. In an interview with The Sun, the 78-year-old widower announced that he is searching for a new wife. He disclosed that his ideal wife would be close to him in age because according to him, he wants to be practical in his quest for love because anything short of that would likely put a strain on their marriage.
He also wondered if his new wife will be able to live the way he lived with Mariam who died at the University of California’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles on Sunday, December 27, 2009.
“Yes, I am quite sure. I’m searching and I’m hoping. But the longer I wait, maybe, the more problematic it becomes.
If it drags, I would be too old and the whole idea of having a partner would seem to diminish. But I will make sure [I have a partner] before reaching that stage.
If somebody is in the corner, you could organize that in three or six months.
And because it must be somebody you have known for a long time, or somebody you have been in contact with for a long time, you don’t just tell them look this is for marriage.
But as time passes, and relationship building continues, it could end up in marriage.
However, I have to be fair in my search. I really want to be fair. For instance, you don’t expect me to take a wife much younger than I am because that will be a problem for her and for me.
I have to be fair. Secondly, I do wonder if she (the chosen one) would be able to live the way Maryam and I did, which is not easy these days. So, I keep on praying; and I think it will happen.”
