Otunba (Mrs.) Funmi Alebiosu, wife of Otunba Busura Alebiosu, popularly known as Bush, a prominent politician in Lagos State, has revealed that her husband was not wealthy when she married him 60 years ago.
According to her, “The ring we used at the registry was borrowed. His friend, Justice Oguntade, borrowed the ring from somewhere. Even the money that was put in the dish during our traditional wedding was also borrowed. The only thing he had then was his education.”
Mama made this disclosure in a documentary produced to commemorate her husband’s 90th birthday, which comes up on Friday, April 24, 2026.
The marriage registry ceremony she referred to was fraught with drama. It was conducted without her parents’ consent, as they were vehemently opposed to her relationship with Bush from the outset. Her parents were not just Christians, but also held positions as Deacon and Deaconess in the First Baptist Church.
They had threatened to disown her if she went ahead with the marriage. To their surprise and chagrin, they eventually saw photographs of their daughter’s wedding to Busura Alebiosu, a Muslim, published in the Daily Times.
Her father, furious, summoned the couple to express his anger. They both went on their knees to apologise, but he refused to accept their pleas.
The groom then mobilised members of his family from Lagos and Ijebu for another round of reconciliation visits. Eventually, her father softened and directed them to consult his uncle, Professor Oyenuga at the University of Ibadan, and Oba Oyenuga, the then Ajalorun of Ijebu-Ife. It was after these consultations that a date was fixed for the traditional wedding.
Mama, who will turn 80 next year, also recounted how her path first crossed with Baba Bush.
“One day, he came to me—we were neighbours on Odunlami Street, Anthony Village—and asked if I had paracetamol because a friend of his needed it. I gave him a sachet. He took it and later returned the remainder. The following day, on my way to work, he met me again to thank me. From then on, I began to notice that a particular car was always parked around the corner on my way home from work, and there was a young man offering to take me home.”
They gradually became friends, and the young man began picking her up from her workplace at the Lagos State Ministry of Finance on Lagos Island and driving her home.
One day, her father saw her alighting from his car, and all hell broke loose at home. It was then he realised the young man’s interest in his daughter and declared him persona non grata in his house.
Despite the opposition, their relationship endured. The couple eventually got married and are blessed with five children. Among them is Otunba Dayo Alebiosu, the incumbent Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure in Lagos State and a two-term member of the House of Representatives, Abuja.
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