By Ike Mgbatogu
Staff Writer
Onumba.com,USA ——— ‘Anything you can do, I can do it better’ is an unforgettable hook from the late reggae icon Peter Tosh’s classic track ‘I’m’ the Toughest.’
But it could also be a calculated dig ——- a neat little zinger ——- by former NBA star Scottie Pippen aimed at his ex-wife Larsa for her now defunct dalliances with a vastly younger man.
It’s tough to gauge Larsa’s reaction to all of this, but one thing is abundantly clear: revenge is a dish better served cold.
Pippen, 60, is dating a 23-year old woman who is younger than three of his children ages 25, 31 and 32. She is 37 years younger than the Arkansas native who is yet to publicly unveil her name.
Recall that Pippen’s ex-wife Larsa also dated a much younger man when she was 49 after establishing a startling fling with the son of the legendary NBA superstar Michael Jordan ——– Marcus Jordan ——- who was 33 at the time.
Their whirlwind romance generated a high-octane media blitz. It was all over the news. But the storied account of Pippen and Jordan as celebrated pollux of the Chicago Bull’s basketball dynasty further heightened the public intrigue.
But call it tit-for-tat, an eye for an eye or other kind of orchestrated reciprocity, public reaction to Pippen’s new flame has ignited a social media firestorm of opinions spanning the gamut from warm public support to a spate of harsh rebuke.
Let’s be fair to Pippen, though. He may just be adopting a cultural practice and a deeply rooted shibboleth shared among his wealthy divorced kinfolks back in Africa. Former Biafran warrior the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and more recently business mogul Cletus Ibeto —— both hailing from the billionaire flooded city of Nnewi —— are just two striking examples.
At 61, Ojukwu married Bianca Onoh who was only 26, pegging the age gap at 35.
Similarly, Ibeto was 60 at the time he married Augustina Ifeyinwa Okpala, age 32 ——- with an age spacing of just 28.
The reality of it all is ——– age gaps may turn heads, folks may turn up their nose, even profoundly repugnant to some, but at the end of a busy or chill day, consenting adults have the right to choose their own partners in a free society.
True, such cavernous age chasm would leave critics gasping in stupefaction. But as raffish as it may appear, people should chill out and perhaps channel their anger and raspberry on tackling bigger societal challenges such as the deepening mess of high divorce rate.
In a country where marriages often collapse quicker than you can say “Irreconcilable differences,” a dude choosing to date a much younger woman is the last thing folks should worry about.
Speaking to Onumba.com recently, Mayo Makinde, a Nigerian-American Columbus area businessman, politician, community activist and a member of the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC) wondered why everyone made a big hoopla about this.
“Age has nothing to do with love,” he said.
“I don’t think it matters. If they found true love, regardless of age, I am happy for them.”
“I will take love over age,” anytime, he added.
Asked what he thinks about Pippen’s critics, he replied:
“It’s really none of their business.”
One of those critics is Angela Underwood, founder and relationship consultant at First Line Authority in Relationships, also known as Flair 101.
She sees this situation purely in competitive terms.
“What compatibility do you have here ——– mindset, maturity, experience, music preference,” Underwood wondered, as she decried Pippen’s decision to establish a relationship with the woman.
She also expressed the view that “Such a big gap in generation,” leaves no doubt Pippen is driven entirely by a desire for payback against his ex-wife.
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