Why My Parents Don't Pressurise Me About Marriage – Ruggedman Opens Up

Michael Stephens, the Nigerian rapper and activist, who is better known as Ruggedman, has said that he is not in a rush to get married, adding that his mother and other family members were not pressuring him about marriage.

He told Sunday Scoop, “I will get married when I am ready. (For me), marriage will only happen at the right time. I am not under any form of pressure to get married. I and my mum have spoken about it a few times and we are good. I don’t come from a family that does that (put pressure). I just want a woman that has a great sense of responsibility and knows how to live properly. I am not bothered about whether she is a good cook, as long as she can cook a little, that is fine with me. We could also order foods or eat out. I want a woman that I would be in love with. As for whatever quality she does not possess, we would work it out.  For instance, what if she can cook and her character is terrible, what would one do? Being a super chef is not a priority for me. A woman does not have to be Miss World before I can marry her.”

Ruggedman, who is known for speaking against police brutality and other societal ills noted that the worst experience he had had when he was attacked at a restaurant in London, United Kingdom.

He said, “The worst that has ever happened to me since I started activism was when I was attacked at a restaurant in London in 2019. Aside from that, I have not had any altercation with anyone, not even the police. I did not go after them because I could not see their faces. Their faces were covered with the hoods they wore and even the CCTV at the restaurant could not ‘pick’ their faces. I believe they were a bunch of misguided youths.”

Ruggedman also stated that the incident made him to be more security conscious. He added, “I don’t crawl at night, especially after 12am, because I would not like to be accosted by any policeman that I might have called out in the past for extorting Nigerians. As a form of revenge, he could try to parade me half naked as a form of revenge. I have really been trying to live a normal life, even though we all know that life in Nigeria is not normal. Nobody funds me for fighting for justice. I do everything from my pocket. If the Police do well, I will celebrate them and if it is the other way, I will speak out against them.”

On what he has been up to recently, the rapper further stated that he had been busy shooting episodes of his radio talk show, ‘Wetin Dey With Ruggedman’, “I recently started my own radio show. I am deeply involved with helping people. When issues come to my attention, I point them in the right direction to get justice. I am also recording my Extended Play album titled, Situation,” he said.