We formally inaugurated our talking stage on the night of her graduation, and believe it or not, we did opening prayer. The next day, she sent me enough bread and ewa agoyin to feed three people because I had tweeted about being in need of the meal to reset my alignment in the universe. — Seun & Damola.
What is your favourite memory about each other?
Seun: I can’t pick a particular one, so I’ll give you my top 2. I’ll talk about the more recent one and the older one.
The more recent one is my girlfriend proposal day which was on the 22nd of February, 2022. It was a nice, soft, sweet day. We had not seen each other in like 2 years before that period so we were seeing each other for the first time in a long time. The restaurant was really cool and the entire proposal was very very nice.
The older memory is from Salt and Light camp in Ibadan where we met. I remember him doing practically everything in camp. I mean, this person was reading camp news, acting dramas…. what didn’t he do? He was always winning the Best Camper award. I mean, at some point, when they read out ‘And the award for Best Camper goes to…’, everybody just chorused his name.
Damola: I have so many awesome memories of myself and Seun, I don’t even know where to start. I think some of my favourite memories of us really just revolve around her reactions to things. The day she agreed to be my girlfriend was definitely one of such highlights. Then, there’s her reaction when I got her a small care package with Indomie Onion Chicken flavour, Minimie Chinchin which she is completely in love with, Star Radler, and some other stuff. I packed it up and sent it to her through a mutual friend of ours. She wasn’t expecting it and her reaction when she saw it is one of the sweetest things. It just felt nice to see her face light up on seeing so many of her favourite things in one place. Her joy from that was very visible on her face and to have borne the responsibility for that was very interesting and gratifying. I like holding on to it.
What place holds the most meaning to both of you?
Seun: I’ll say Ibadan. I mean, that’s where we first met- Salt and Light Camp, Ibadan. That is where we met again- the University of Ibadan- and became proper friends.
Damola: Yeah, the foundation for this that we have now was built all those years ago in Ibadan. So, definitely, Ibadan is our foundation geographically.
When would you say you clicked?
Seun: When we clicked generally, I’ll say Ibadan, But, when we clicked romantically, we were in separate places. I was in Aberdeen and he was in Lagos. I had just finished my Masters and he was working in Lagos. He called me randomly to congratulate me on my graduation. One thing led to another and he was like ‘you’re looking so beautiful, blah blah blah’.
Damola: The thing is, I saw her face that night, and I said ‘ahnahn, this girl is a sweet girl’. So, I told her to send me a couple of selfies to crosscheck. The selfies did a magical job because the next thing I said was ‘perhaps, you wanna give me your father’s number. I need to have a quick chat with him’. And she said ‘that’s a good idea. You people can talk thoroughly and determine what you need’. I mean, we had been doing this friendship of a thing for 10 years so if we do a mistake and date, it’s marriage straight. So, I made a few calls to some of my friends, and said a quick prayer: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, help my life’.
And then when I got off the call, she texted me that ‘this relationship idea would bang sha o’. Apparently, I’d been one on-and-off crush in her vicinity and the seed I’d sown from my comments had started to germinate. So, all I have to say is ‘big ups to horticulture for this win’.
We formally inaugurated our talking stage on the night of her graduation, and believe it or not, we did opening prayer. The next day, she sent me enough bread and ewa agoyin to feed three people because I had tweeted about being in need of the meal to reset my alignment in the universe.
Takes note *do Masters*. Got it. Where do you feel most comfortable?
Seun: Hm. That’s an interesting question.
Damola: Quite interesting. I think we are still figuring it out. For me, the readiest answer would have been Ibadan but we are so far past who we were, especially in relation to one another. Ibadan connected us as really good friends but our identities then are very different from who we are now. So, this person that I am now, this person that she is now, this relationship that we share, has roots in Ibadan, but that’s not who we are anymore.
Our relationship has been Work From Home this entire period.
Seun: Hybrid
How has that been?
Seun: Don’t do it. Its not necessary. Unless,unless…
Unless its urgent?
Seun: (laughs) Exactly. Don’t do it unless it’s urgent.
Damola: Or maybe they’re paying you enough to fly to each other. Then, you can be in Damaturu, he can be in Gombe. But you see, if not, just leave it there.
Seun: Don’t go there.
Damola: In fact, I’ll recommend somebody in Indy or Zik Hall, the girl should be in Idia Hall within campus. So that you’ll know that if you really put your mind to it, with a 3-minute run, you’re where you need to be.
Seun: Highest highest, let’s say you want to push it, Agbowo- just outside the school gate. As in, long-distance relationship- Agbowo.
Why did you choose the location where you proposed?
Damola: A number of reasons. One, she’s not a fan of public proposals so that was out of the question, automatically. This meant I’d either have had to rent a place out or find a family/friend to help my life. Thus the search began. My cousin lives in Leicester, somewhere in the Midlands. He has an amazing house had an open-door policy for us. So, I ordered all the props to his house and we started prepping, scheming, and planning. She was tired when she got here because she had been up since 4am coming in from Scotland. So we used the time she crashed to set up.
His house was very beautiful and private. It helped that it wasn’t a one-on-one thing because it would have been such a logistical nightmare trying to record and get nice pictures with just the two of us. To be surrounded by family in that way was quite a blessing.
Seun: Yeah, it was really sweet. I was very happy.
What is a destination you’re looking forward to visiting together?
Damola: Paris and Zanzibar. Zanzibar is somewhere that we both want to go. Paris is somewhere that Seun wants to go, so that includes me by extension. Both of these locations would be great honeymoon destinations.
Seun and Damola got engaged in February of this year. You can listen to Damola’s latest single, Day One, here.
About Routes
Routes by GatePass is mapping African stories one route at a time. This project sits at the intersection of life stories and mobility in African contexts. Through Routes, we explore how African lives are shaped by mobility, migration, journeys, and modes of transport; and how places take on the stories of the people who have visited or passed through them.
Do you or someone you know have an interesting mobility story? Do you have a hack for moving around your city, or know something about your city’s history that not too many people know? Tell your story. We’re open to submissions and looking forward to reading!
Email: routes[at]gatepass[dot]io
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Twitter: GatePass
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Editorial Team
Editor / Publisher — Wale Lawal
Sub-Editor — Muyideen Dosumu
Interviewer — Ore Oyinlola
Illustrator — David Akinyemi
