When guests gathered at a church in the south-west Nigerian city of Ibadan at the weekend, they knew they were witnessing something rare.
A pair of twin brothers – Taiwo and Kehinde Oguntoye – were marrying twin sisters Taiwo and Kehinde Adediran in a joyous joint ceremony.
The Yoruba people, who predominate in south-west Nigeria, are known for having an unusually high number of twin births, but it is not every day two sets of twins tie the knot.
“We know many twins, but this marriage feels like it was arranged by God. We have always dreamed of marrying twins,” Taiwo Oguntoye told BBC Yoruba on his wedding day.
“With God’s grace, we pray for twins in our first and second children. That is our heart’s desire.”
Twins are considered a blessing in Yoruba culture and their names are predestined. The older child is called Taiwo, meaning “the one that tests the world”, while the younger is called Kehinde, meaning “the one that came after”.
The Oguntoye-Adediran love story began a decade ago, when all four were studying at the University of Ibadan.
A lecturer told the Oguntoyes that she knew a set of twin sisters they should meet, which piqued the brothers’ interest.
“It’s not that we haven’t met other twin sisters before. We did date some, but sometimes things just didn’t work out,” Taiwo Oguntoye said.
The Adedirans initially resisted an introduction and did not answer the lecturer’s phone calls. Then, eventually, a meeting was set up.
Taiwo Oguntoye, now in his early 40s, remembers: “We eventually visited them, we had a talk but they were not interested in a relationship then.”
Instead, the foursome became friends. Life took them in different directions, however.
The sisters, who had been studying for master’s degrees in Ibadan, moved abroad for further studies, while the brothers travelled and worked in several countries, including the United States and South Africa.
Years passed before the brothers reached out again.
Over time, despite some initial scepticism, their connections became undeniable.
The couples’ families were thrilled by the relationships – Taiwo Oguntoye recalls bonding with his in-laws instantly.
“Everyone was so happy to see us, it felt like we had known them all our lives,” he said. “We were treated like sons in our own father’s house.”
Proud relatives showed up in style to the wedding, where the couples co-ordinated their outfits.
Several other pairs of twins were in attendance – perhaps unsurprising as the grooms are well known locally for promoting twin culture. Known as the Oguntoye Twins, the brothers are active in culture and tourism initiatives.
The Oguntoyes have some physical differences, being fraternal twins, but their wives are identical.
“Our wives look so alike that even their family members sometimes confuse them. We don’t mix them up, we know our own wives very well,” Kehinde Oguntoye said.
The brothers say they share similar personalities to their wives, describing themselves as ambiverts – sometimes quiet, sometimes outgoing, depending on the situation.
Although they are very close, the married couples will live apart, Taiwo Oguntoye said.
“We have our unique plan about that, over time people will get to know about that.”
For now, the newlyweds are enjoying a new chapter of their love story, which began with a near-perfect meeting, but was paused for years, before eventually blooming into two of the area’s most talked-about unions.
Source: BBC