"He Got Me With His Eyes": The Complete, Untold Love Story of Oluremi and President Bola Tinubu A resurfaced throwback interview with First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu offers an intimate, complete look into her marriage with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Beyond the popular quote about his "kind eyes", her full account covers matchmaking, interfaith promises, DJing pasts, exile trauma, and late-night gestures. 1. The Matchmaking and First Impression Oluremi recalled that after graduating from university and starting her corporate career, she was naturally shy, kept to herself, and spent most of her free time in her room. Seeing her introverted lifestyle, her elder sister—who knew Bola Tinubu before he traveled abroad—decided to play matchmaker. Although Oluremi did not remember him at first, her sister reminded her. When they met, the physical connection was immediate: "I saw his eyes and thought he has very kind eyes. That was one of the things that attracted me to him. I believe that from the eyes, one can know the mind of a person. I think he got me with his eyes; they were very kind and penetrating eyes, and that was how we started." 2. A Straightforward Courtship & The "DJ" Past Unlike typical suitors, Tinubu skipped line-by-line flattery and was candid about his past and present circumstances. He casually admitted that he used to be quite outgoing and had even worked as a Disc Jockey (DJ) in his younger days, laughingly telling her he was "really bad in those days" before deciding to settle down. Rather than boasting about wealth, he offered a simple, honest baseline: "He didn’t say things you would hear from most guys when he met me. He just said: 'I don't have a lot of money, but I love to help people.' So I thought that we had to cut the chase and was ready to settle down for the real business." Oluremi noted that she never felt compelled to fight for his affection: "I didn't compete for his heart. I don't do competition. I am very confident of who I am. I think he had some people he was dating, but he felt he had met the right woman when he met me." 3. The Interfaith Promise to Her Father Coming from an Anglican Christian family, Oluremi shared that interfaith marriage was common in her era, so religion wasn't initially a concern. However, when Tinubu officially visited her father to seek her hand in marriage, her father asked directly if he was a Muslim. Her father voiced concern, asking if he would stop his daughter from going to church. Tinubu gave his word on the spot that he would never interfere with her faith—a promise he maintained throughout their marriage. Oluremi was permitted to raise their children in the Christian faith, and she later became an ordained Pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) while respecting his Islamic faith. 4. Transitioning to Public Life and Hosting Crowds In their early married years, Bola Tinubu was working in the corporate sector, and Oluremi enjoyed attending peaceful company dinners and banquets with him. However, even back then, their home was constantly filled with people seeking his assistance. When he transitioned to full-time politics, hosting visitors became a round-the-clock reality: "It was very difficult for me to adjust to the fact of people coming into our house when he became a politician, but it didn't make much difference because I met him with a lot of people at the beginning. So, it became my duty to welcome people and he would always remind me to make them comfortable." 5. Exile Abroad, Trauma, and Becoming Born Again During the military regime under General Sani Abacha, Tinubu's pro-democracy activism forced him into political exile. Oluremi was separated from him in the United States with two young children for nearly 18 months at a time. She revealed that the trauma and severe isolation of those five years in exile were so intense that she developed temporary amnesia (memory loss) upon returning to Nigeria, making it difficult to recognize old acquaintances. It was during this difficult period in the US that a friend introduced her deeper to Christianity, transforming her from a nominal Anglican into a born-again Pentecostal Christian. 6. Romance, Pet Names, and Midnight Birthday Surprises Though Oluremi acknowledged that President Tinubu is down-to-earth rather than overtly "lovey-dovey," she highlighted his quiet ways of showing affection. While he called her "Remi" in their early years, they transitioned over time to "Mummy" and "Daddy". She shared a personal birthday tradition he keeps despite his demanding political schedule: "He would come upstairs and pretend as if he wants to use the toilet or bathroom, just to make sure he doesn't miss saying happy birthday to me when it is exactly midnight. He knows how sensitive I am to such things. So, he tries to bend backwards in his own way." 7. Adaptation, Sacrifice, and Fulfillment Looking back across the decades, First Lady Oluremi reflected that their marriage required continuous adaptation, deep trust, and mutual respect. "He knew what he wanted from the beginning, but I had a different picture of things when we got married. But as time went by, I was compelled to adapt. With him, I have found the love of God and the concept of love in its totality, and I can say that I have found a place of rest and fulfillment."