“I wasn’t the one who left our marriage”,, Salawa Abeni responds to Kollington Ayinla

Waka music icon Salawa Abeni has directly addressed Fuji music legend Kollington Ayinla's assertion that she remains his legal wife, stating clearly that she was not the one who initiated the end of their marriage.

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How the pain of ants is felt can only be told by those they bite. Who I am, only those who love me can explain. If they don’t like someone somewhere, they don’t take the needle. I won’t say more than that regarding my marriage to Kollington Ayinla.

Abeni, often called the "Queen of Waka Music," spoke for the first time about Ayinla's claim, which he made over a year ago on the Teju Babyface Podcast. Ayinla had insisted that Abeni was his lawful wife, not a concubine or girlfriend. The couple, who married in 1986 after Abeni's divorce from Lateef Adepoju, had three children together before their union dissolved in 1994. Abeni also had two children from her previous marriage.

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I read an interview online where he said, “I’m still his wife.” I indeed had children for him, but I wasn’t the one who left. It wasn’t a matter of showing off, or stubbornness, or something I did.

During the interview on Oyinmomo TV, the 65-year-old singer reflected on her marriage, stating, "I indeed had children for him, but I wasn’t the one who left." She explained that the pain of their separation was profound, drawing a parallel to her mother having a rival rather than multiple husbands. Abeni mentioned that her 1991 album, 'Experience,' was inspired by the difficult experiences surrounding the breakdown of their relationship.

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My mother didn’t have two husbands; she had a rival. She had all her children for my father only. Destiny won’t go unfulfilled. May my God continue to protect me. That’s one of the songs in my discography, Iriri.

While not elaborating on the current status of her relationship with Ayinla, Abeni confirmed they maintain a connection due to their shared children. She recounted how the emotional weight of her life experiences at the time influenced her music, leading her to express her feelings through songs rather than seeking solace in casual company or intimacy.

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When that thing happened, I recorded an album titled Experience. In the album, I sang about how I got home and met my friends eating; they asked me to join them, but that wasn’t what my situation needed at the time.