Odukoya: Ladies seeking to marry my dad bombarded our home after mum’s death

The death of Pastor Bimbo Odukoya left more than a gap in Nigeria’s faith community. It left a deeply broken man, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, the Founder of Fountain of Life Church, behind. 

According to Tolu Odukoya, in an interview on “Dear Ife”, what happened after her mum’s passing was something few people ever saw.

Her father suddenly became what many considered an “eligible bachelor.” But what followed was not quiet admiration, it was pursuit. Women began to show up, not occasionally and not subtly.

They came in the morning, as early as 5am, and stayed as late as midnight, positioning themselves as potential “pastor’s wives.” 

Others found reasons to request private counselling late into the night. It was clear that many were hoping to step into the space her mother had left behind.

But Pastor Taiwo never entertained it. Instead, he grieved and he grieved deeply.

According to Tolu, for five years, he refused to sleep on the bed he once shared with his wife. He chose the floor. The loss was not something he moved on from, it was something he carried.

He kept wearing his wedding ring and stayed emotionally unavailable to every advance.

And perhaps most telling of all, he never allowed himself to be in compromising situations. Tolu and other family members were always present, creating a quiet but firm boundary between him and the women who came around.

Eventually, the conversation about remarriage didn’t come from him. It came from his daughter. As Tolu prepared to travel abroad for her master’s degree, she worried about leaving him alone. She encouraged him to consider moving forward, not because he had healed completely, but because life had to continue.

It’s a rare story, one that challenges modern ideas about love, loss, and loyalty. In a world that often rushes people to “move on,” this was a man who chose to remember, to honour, and to grieve fully.