LOL! ‘Why I Proposed To My White Girlfriend On Olumo Rock’ – Nigerian Student Opens Up

Last month, photos of a Nigerian man who proposed to his girlfriend on Olumo Rock in Abeokuta, Ogun State went viral. The couple, Shila Tietjen and Ola Egunjobi are currently students of Brigham Young University, Idaho, U.S.A, and in an interview with BYU-Idaho Scroll, they give us an insight into their love story, the challenges they are facing as an interracial couple. When Shila Tietjen, a sophomore studying Spanish education decided to visit Nigeria, a proposal was the last thing she expected. Shila said she and her boyfriend, Olu Egunjobi, also a sophomore studying accounting, began dating in February after they drove to a party together. Egunjobi said the way they met was a long story and that it was not planned at all. After dating for a period of time, Egunjobi said he wanted to take her to his hometown in Nigeria. While in Nigeria, on Sept. 13, 2016, on Tietjen’s birthday, Egunjobi said he surprised her by asking her on Olumo Rock to marry him after they had toured the Kings Palace and the first church in Nigeria. “I was totally surprised,” Tietjen said. “I had no idea it would happen that day. Before we left, I thought he would propose to me on my birthday because he likes to do exciting and big things, but then while we were there, I totally forgot. I even forgot it was my birthday when I woke up.” Tietjen said she was really excited to go to Nigeria to meet his family and that they showed so much love for her. “They treated me like a princess,” she said. Tietjen said they did not expect the media attention that they received from the African news and that it caught them both by surprise. “I bet there was someone there who took pictures of us thinking it was cool and put it out there, and a lot of newspapers and websites took it,” Egunjobi said. “They didn’t even know our names. We weren’t expecting it, I was just there in the living room and I started receiving calls. We went viral in two days.” Egunjobi said their relationship had not always been easy. “We both had opposition from family and friends about marrying into a different race and culture,” Tietjen said, “Luckily, though, our immediate families are both really cool with it.” Egunjobi said his family has not always been members of the Church and he converted when he was 11 years old. Tietjen said she comes from a long history of members of the Church. “The gospel is really cool,” Egunjobi said. “Without the gospel, I do not see how this would be happening. I am from a different culture, she is from a different culture, and the gospel is uniting us together.”