Ayodele Omidina, the estranged wife of late Yoruba comic legend, Babatunde Omidina, popularly known as Baba Suwe, has opened up about the painful reason behind their separation, revealing that the actor “abandoned” her after marrying fellow comedienne, Omoladun.
In an interview with actor and filmmaker Kunle Afod, Ayodele recounted how the late comic icon left her without any explanation, despite several reconciliation efforts by well-meaning individuals.
She said, “It’s true, Baba Suwe abandoned me after he married Omoladun. He didn’t give any explanation despite several people going to meet him for reconciliation.
“So I accepted my fate. However, he still took care of his kids.”
Naijaonpoint reports that Ayodele revealed that the separation didn’t just affect her personally, but also dealt a heavy blow to her acting career. According to her, Baba Suwe influenced producers and colleagues not to cast her in films, branding her a full-time housewife.
She stated, “I stopped featuring in movies after we separated, but I wasn’t hurt that people stopped calling me for roles because that was something Baba Suwe had already put in place.
“He used to tell people that they couldn’t cast me all the time because I was a full housewife. That mindset stuck with many of them, which is why they still don’t reach out for movie roles. However, I’m still interested.”
Reflecting on how their journey began, Ayodele said she was with Baba Suwe long before he became a household name in the Yoruba movie industry.
“We have been together since 1979 before he started acting. I was still in school when he said he wanted to marry me,” she said.
She added that despite the eventual separation, she still acknowledges the qualities that made him unique.
“I married ‘Baba Suwe’ when he was nobody. There was nothing with him then. So, I knew him very well as a very determined person that wanted to be a great man despite all odds,” she stated in an earlier tribute.
Baba Suwe later married comedienne Omoladun, who passed away in September 2009. Baba Suwe himself died on November 22, 2021, at the age of 63.