If You Are Going for Omugwo Anywhere, Go With Your Husband — Pastor Tells Women

Nigerian marriage counsellor, Pastor Bisi Adewale, has advised women to avoid travelling alone for extended “Omugwo” childcare responsibilities, warning that prolonged separation from spouses can weaken marriages and place unnecessary burden on elderly husbands.

Adewale, founder of Family Booster Ministry International and the College of Marital Success, made the statement in a video shared on his Facebook page on Monday.

He said couples should remain together even when family responsibilities take them abroad.

“Another thing I hate is for a woman to escape to Canada to go and do Omugwo for three years. Very bad. Very, very bad,” he said.

He added that long separations can leave elderly men without proper care or companionship at home.

“Now a 75-year-old man is now going all around buying boli, buying groundnut, at his age. It is not good,” he said.

Adewale also disclosed that he and his wife had made a personal agreement to avoid separation during such family arrangements.

“I told my wife, I said the children may move abroad. They can do everything. If you are going for Omugwo anywhere, we are going together,” he said.

He further explained that even when visiting children abroad, he would not allow distance between him and his wife.

“And I told my children — if your house is small, I have money. I will get a hotel. I will stay nearby,” he added.

The cleric used medical situations to support his argument, noting that caregivers are often identified immediately in hospitals regardless of age.

“When you see a four-year-old boy with his doctor, what do you think the doctor will ask? Where is your mother? When you see an 84-year-old man before his doctor, what do you think the doctor will ask? Where is your wife?” he said.

He also cautioned men on how they treat their wives, warning that behaviour in early marriage can affect life in old age.

“When a man is young, his wife is his mistress. When a man grows to 50 or 60, suddenly the wife becomes his mother,” he said.

According to him, roles shift significantly with age, making companionship and care more important later in life.

“When a man is 80 or 90, suddenly the wife is no more a mistress… She has now become your nurse. But that is the time we need each other most,” he added.