By Boye Oyeyemi –

Dr. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, wife of the late former Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has shared a personal account of how their enduring love story began.

In a Facebook post titled “How I Met My Husband: Our Love Story,” she described their meeting in Enugu during his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year as the moment that changed her life forever.

She said, “It all began in Enugu. He was a fresh-faced youth corps member, serving his one-year NYSC posting. I had just resumed as a young civil servant at the Federal Department of Fisheries, excited about the next chapter of my life. One afternoon, a friend came to visit me—she brought along her boyfriend, who in turn came with him. That was the moment our paths crossed.”

“It was love at first sight. People often dismiss such notions, but in our case, it was real, intense, and enduring. I remember being instantly drawn to his broad shoulders and striking presence. He looked like he had just stepped out of the pages of GQ Magazine. I can still see him clearly in my mind’s eye—wearing a red long-sleeve shirt and jeans. That memory has lived with me for 45 years.”

“There was a three-year age gap between us. I was 25; he was 22. I was older, but when you’re truly in love, age becomes just a number. Long before we met, I had often told my friends, ‘When I meet my husband, my legs will wobble.’ And that day, they did. My whole being knew. I told myself, if someone could make me feel this way, then I would spend the rest of my life with him. And I did.”

“Back home in Emeabiam, Owerri, once a girl graduated from university, suitors came swarming—most of them ‘ready-made’ men with everything already figured out. That was what society expected: find a man who has it all and settle down.”

“But I knew that wasn’t for me. Even then, I was precocious, restless, and deeply self-aware. I understood that I could never fit into a home where I had no voice. I wanted a life partner—not a finished product. I longed for someone with whom I could build a life, block by block, side by side. And in him, I found exactly that.”

“Rest on, my darling Aketi.

You remain evergreen in my broken heart.

AketiEternal”