"How I Met And Married Reuben Abati" Says Newest Wife

Former Senior Special Assistant, Media to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Reuben Abati, has married again. This time, he exchanged marital vows with Lara, the mother of his last two children.

The traditional ceremony held in Orogun, Ibadan on Saturday, May 28, 2016. It was witnessed by friends of Abati and government functionaries in the last dispensation.

Before Lara came on board, Abati was married to Iyabo, his first wife and mother of his first four children. He separated from her and flaunted Lara as his ‘First lady’ throughout his work life in Abuja.

Last November, Abati’s newest bride, Lara, organised a surprise 50th birthday party for him in Lagos.

The bride, Lara whose father is late, hails from Ibadan while her mum hails from Osun State. Her grandfather, Rev. Pa Daniel Oluniyi stood in as her dad at the event and her mum, Alhaja Oluwatoyin Odegbile, was present.

In an interview with YES magazine, she narrated how she met the erudite scholar, Abati.

She said, “I met my darling husband, Dr. Reuben Adeleye Abati, about eight years ago in the course of work. I was into the recording of a television programme which is yet to see the light of day for obvious reasons. The circumstances that brought us together should actually have torn us apart. I’d gone to his office, after taking a decision to feature him on ‘Greener Pastures’, one of the episodes of my television programme, only to meet a hostile secretary. As fate would have it, Reuben intervened before his secretary could dismiss me and my crew, apologised and eventually consented to attending a recording at the LTV subsequently. On the day of the recording, he turned up several hours late, after the studio had been shut. I was climbing up the roof in anger and was ready to give him the full length of my tongue when he turned up. But I was restrained by the Production Manager, Gbenga Adesanya, who insisted that Reuben should be given the VIP treatment.
Still, l let him know how so strongly I felt about his lateness and again, he not only apologised but also offered to buy drinks for members of the crew dinner that night. I consented and one thing led to the other thereafter. Phone numbers were exchanged and predictably, a relationship developed. Today, we are happily married with two lovely boys, Michael and Richard. I really can’t ask for a better husband.

"Reuben is a typical Yoruba man who respects and values the Yoruba ideals of marriage and family. He practically lives for his children and would always go the extra length to provide for and satisfy his immediate family. What else?

He loves books. My husband is a voracious reader. He would rather you buy him a book than a designer shirt or shoes. He is passionate about books and never stops acquiring knowledge. He is a very inquisitive person. And if you get into an argument with him, please make sure you can think on your feet and you are intellectually sound.

"For, once he takes a decision on any issue, the only way you can get him to change his stance is for you to present a superior argument or logic. He is a very emotional person. Very reasonable too. A man who would give erring friends and associates a second, third and even fourth chance to make amends. His patience and capacity to analyse and understand the limitations of fellow humans is prodigious.

Not to talk about his loyalty to friends and associates and to causes that he believes in. As a husband, only a thief would ask for more. I love this man.”