Reality TV star Uriel Oputa has knocked social commentator Solomon Buchi over his comments on media personality Toke Makinwa’s pregnancy.
Buchi had said in a video that while he was happy for Toke, he did not agree with the way she tied her pregnancy to God.
He said:
“I am happy that Toke is having a child at almost 40. It seems like it is something she has really desired as a woman but I have a problem with mixing Jesus and God with it. I was watching a clip from her podcast and she was talking about an agreement with God or that she prayed to God that she really wants to be a mother.
“As a Jesus girl or Christian, we need to be very careful how we mix God with our personal decisions, decisions we have decided to pursue, whether they are Godly or not.
“Now I am not saying there is anything ungodly or not about having a child but you are having a child outside of wedlock, you are not married and so there is just no need bringing God into that. There is no need spiritualizing it. Honestly you can give your testimony without implicating God’s word and his standard.
“Just say that you wanted to be a mother and now you are about to be a mother or you are a mother already. There is no need to infuse God into it because according to God’s standard, the only right way to be a parent is in the premise of marriage.
“Of course, some people have made mistakes and that is absolutely fine and that does not define their life but sounding as though you intentionally planned to have a child outside of wedlock and then trying to spiritualize it and bring God into it, I am actually happy for it but let’s not bring God into it.”
Uriel, however, tackled him in a lengthy Instagram post, saying he should not be so loud about issues that concern women.
She wrote: “With all due respect, Buchi, not everything requires you to set up a ring light and start talking. What doesn’t concern you, leave it.
“First of all, you said the only rightful way to have a child is through marriage. She is not married, yet she conceived — and however she conceived is her business. Do you realize there are countless things that could have gone wrong in order for her to carry a pregnancy naturally?
“Women fail IVF after 10, 15, even 20 attempts. Surrogacy sometimes doesn’t work. Miscarriages happen. Many women inside marriage are still unable to conceive. Yet this woman did. If she chooses to glorify God and say, thank you, Jesus, that’s her right — because only she knows the battles she has fought privately.
“So before you open your mouth to tell her to ‘leave God out of it,’ understand that you are speaking from the outside. You don’t know her journey, and you don’t know her pain.
“And lastly, why is a man so loud about issues that directly concern women’s bodies and struggles? Do you even understand the trials and tribulations women go through? If not, respectfully, sit this one out.”
The former Big Brother Naija housemate captioned her post:
“I am very triggered by this, and I’ll tell you why. Coming from a nursing background, I have seen so many women struggle to have children. Women who have gone through IVF multiple times without success. Women who have tried surrogacy and faced disappointment.”
Toke, 39, recently announced that she is expecting her first child, a revelation that has been met with both excitement and debate online.
While many praised her openness about her fertility journey, some, like Buchi, questioned her decision to tie her testimony to faith. Uriel, however, insisted that Toke has every right to thank God for her blessing and that men should sit out conversations about women’s reproductive struggles.
