“I’m generally very private with things like this,” M.I Abaga wrote when he announced his engagement in April 2022. Five months later, on 22 September 2022, the rapper married Eniola Mafe in a traditional wedding in Lagos.
An introduction by a friend
M.I Abaga, born Jude Abaga, is one of the most influential rappers in Nigerian hip-hop and a former head of Chocolate City. Eniola Mafe was building her career in Europe when a mutual friend, Audu Maikori, introduced them. She has said that M.I followed her on social media and supported her work online before the relationship began.
April to September 2022
M.I announced the engagement in April 2022, asking fans to “pray for us”, and Eniola shared the news with photos of her own. In an August radio interview he said he would marry before the year ended.
The traditional wedding took place in Lagos on Thursday, 22 September 2022, and the couple shared photos and videos on Instagram. A clip of the pair dancing with their guests spread quickly, and reports named Banky W, Basketmouth and IK Osakioduwa among those present. “That’s how love entered and will never leave o,” Eniola wrote.
One of 2022’s weddings
The wedding came in a year that also saw Rita Dominic, Mercy Chinwo and Kemi Adetiba marry, and it featured on most lists of the biggest Nigerian celebrity weddings of 2022.