Media personality and actress Toke Makinwa has ignited a fiery debate after declaring that relationships between men and women have always been transactional, tracing the dynamic all the way back to the biblical Garden of Eden.
Speaking during a conversation with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and Toolz, the outspoken host argued that the idea is not a modern social media creation but a timeless reality.
“I think from time immemorial, a relationship between a man and a woman has always been transactional. Right from the Garden of Eden, right from our parents’ days,” she stated.
Toke painted vivid pictures of how women have historically used subtle strategies to get what they want from their partners.
“A woman will feel like she wants to ask her husband for something, she knows how to throw on the nicest underwear, make his best meal… Before your mom will present your dad with the list of the house, she will find a way, ‘Your favorite food has been made. Should I rub your leg?’ and then she will now say, ‘You see that thing I asked you for? You’ve not done it.’”
While she admitted social media has amplified the trend, Toke placed significant blame on modern men for reducing relationships to purely financial exchanges.
“The degree at which it’s happening now, I would blame the men, sometimes that’s all men have to offer,” she said, with Toolz nodding in agreement.
She recounted stories of men leading with money rather than genuine connection:
“Most Nigerian girls meet a Yahoo boy who just blew, and as he sees her, first thing he’s offering her is what she has never seen before. They don’t even want to get to know you or ask you questions.”
Toke added that she has been offered very strange things when she simply wanted a meaningful conversation.
The comments have sparked massive divided reactions online, with some praising her for speaking raw truth while others accuse her of mental gymnastics and shifting blame entirely onto men.