Why I fathered triplets at 59 – Comedian Ali Baba

Veteran comedian, Atunyota ‘Ali Baba’ Akpobome, has finally revealed why he fathered triplets at the age of 59.

Ali Baba married Mary, 55, the Chief Operating Officer of Imperium Capital Partners, in 2006.

The alumnus of Ambrose Alli University (AAU) and his wife have five children, three girls and two boys, before the arrival of the triplets.

On 1 April, Ali Baba announced the birth of their triplets (sons) on his Instagram page, stirring doubts and assumptions that it was an ‘April fool’ prank.

PREMIUM TIMES, however, reported that this was true, as Ali Baba dedicated his triplets, Alexandra, Andrew, and Aaron, at the RCCG Christ The Lord Central Parish in Lagos in May. 

In a recent podcast with Stephen Akintayo, Ali Baba revealed that his wife always wanted a son, and she initially considered adoption.

Ali Baba announced the birth of their triplets (sons) on his Instagram page

However, the situation took a new twist when the initial agreement to undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF) for two children as a ‘backup’ in case one attempt failed led to the birth of triplets.

The 59-year-old said, “Madam always wanted to have a son. She had two daughters and always wanted a son, and we discussed it. It was IVF. I told her I didn’t want to have school runs, join Wizkid, attend PTA meetings, and set up a WhatsApp group. One truth is that the nest becomes empty when all the children have gone. Two are in the UK, and two are in Canada, and all are doing very well”.

Despite his reservations, he said his wife highlighted the sacrifices they were already making to support others, reinforcing her desire to try for biological children.

“By the way, she wanted to adopt two or three children to care for them. One day, she said, instead of adopting, let’s have our own. I was like, Okay, but the way the economy is, and she was like, ‘You said the economy is bad,’ I said yes, and she said, have you stopped paying house rent for people? I said no. She said, “Have you stopped paying school fees?” and I said no.

“We have a foundation, the Purple Girl Foundation, taking care of over 120 people in primary, secondary, and university schools. Beyond that foundation, we have people we pay school fees for and send to law school. So, she said all those people you are helping, do you remember the economy? I was like, ‘true’.

“She said if you think about it, the reason why God put you in this position might be more than taking care of yourself. So she said let’s do one, I said okay, let’s do one, and she now said if we do one, you know that IVF fails, so let’s do two.”

From twins to triplets

He further recounted how his wife and the doctor devised a way to tell him that the expected two children had become triplets.

He said, “So, I said, let’s do two. And then, one of the eggs split into two, and that was how it became three. When she and the doctor knew it had become three, they didn’t want to tell me. So they were like, God decides everything; sometimes when we ask God for one million, he gives you two million. When God wants to bless you, you don’t know how he wants to bless you; he will overdo it.

“So, I was like, where is all this going? She said the eggs split into two, and I said it was two we were looking for, and she said it is now three – three boys.”

Addressing the prospect of caring for the triplets over the next 25 years, Ali Baba mentioned that their older brothers will take on the responsibility.

“We have agreed that their brothers will share and take them all as their own. We have bequeathed them to them in the will,” he added.

The comedian, however, did not clarify who he referred to as their ‘brothers’ during the interview.