REWIND: In 2019, Omojuwa denied rumour of getting engaged thrice

In the early hours of Monday,  Japheth Omojuwa, the Nigerian author and public speaker, announced his engagement to Demilade Odutola, his fiancée.

He also disclosed that the pair would tie the knot before this year’s World Cup scheduled to hold between November 21 and December 18, 2022.

Congratulatory messages started pouring in shortly after his post on Twitter, with many Nigerians celebrating the lovebirds.

The engagement, however, also raised a few questions, with some users seeking clarity about the entrepreneur’s past relationships.

OMOJUWA WAS ONCE ENGAGED 

In 2014, Omojuwa had proposed to Damilola Ogunleye, his then-girlfriend, during an intimate dinner with friends and family in Maitama, Abuja.

Three years later, the founder and chief strategist at Alpha Reach revealed why he and Ogunleye didn’t go past the engagement.

I have been engaged once. It failed. Marriages fail so I don't even get how my one engagement should be an issue. Okay, because it is me.

— JJ. Omojuwa (@Omojuwa) February 6, 2017

In a Twitter thread, he said they both parted ways amicably, but that the circumstances that ended the engagement “hurt both of us.”

“I have been engaged once. It failed. Marriages fail so I don’t even get how my one engagement should be an issue. Okay, because it is me,” he wrote.

“There was nothing in my engagement breaking up that embarrasses me. My decision to keep it private was informed by two things.

“I also felt I’d be very unkind to her and her mum by letting my ‘public figure’ persona come back to haunt them.

“The circumstances of my engagement breaking up hurt both of us. We were in love from the beginning to the end.

“We never fought, there was no argument. No one was caught cheating…”

BUT NOT ENGAGED THRICE AS CLAIMED

In 2019, Omojuwa also addressed claims that he had been engaged on three occasions.

Speaking when he featured on Rubbin Minds, a Channels Television programme, the social commentator debunked the rumours and tackled those pushing such narrative.

“No, that never happened. the thing is that, when you’re out there, people just want to create stories about you. I have been engaged once, that was in 2014 but it didn’t happen (work out),” he said.

“Let’s assumed I was even engaged three times as claimed, I am not going to start having conversations that has to do with what people are saying about me. I’m really a focused person.

“It’s always about what I need to get done, if it’s going to be valuable, if it’s going to touch lives. I’m not going to address what people are saying, I’m not here for such.”