Davido’s logistics manager and media aide, Israel DMW, has stirred conversation online after sharing his thoughts on Nigerians who travel abroad to marry foreign partners, and his position is more nuanced than the average take on the subject.
In a post shared on his Instagram page, accompanied by photos of himself at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja dressed in an all-white agbada, Israel made clear that he has no problem with interracial or international marriages in principle. His concern lies elsewhere. “Going to abroad, to marry an Oyinbo woman or man isn’t the issue at all. Bringing back the children home is the main problem. Blacks still remain best,” he wrote.
The post touched on something that resonates with a good number of Nigerians, particularly those who have watched family members or friends build lives abroad, marry foreign partners, and raise children who grow up with little to no connection to their Nigerian roots. For Israel, that disconnect appears to be the real cost worth talking about.
The comment comes from a man who has had his own complicated relationship with marriage. Israel was previously married to Edo-based influencer Sheila Courage, but the union collapsed in under a year amid allegations of domestic violence and what both parties described very differently. Israel denied any physical assault and claimed he had significantly invested in Sheila’s life during their time together, only for her to attempt to reshape him to meet her own expectations and look down on him financially. Sheila, for her part, dismissed his account entirely, saying he used his generosity as a cover for his shortcomings.
The fallout was very public. Israel issued warnings to men to stay clear of his estranged wife. He shared a video of her out with friends and told the public he had moved on. He later sat down with media personality Daddy Freeze and said divorce should hurt, and that his ex was using theirs as a platform for self-promotion. He also took a swipe at her for dispensing relationship advice after their failed marriage.
Away from the drama, Israel has dropped hints that he may be open to love again. At the 88th birthday dinner of billionaire TY Danjuma last year, he posted a photo alongside an unidentified woman in a green gown, deliberately keeping her face out of frame, giving his followers just enough to speculate about.
For now though, it is his views on transnational marriages and raising children far from home that have people talking.
