Okeke is Nnaemeka's father in Chinua Achebe's short story "Marriage is a Private Affair." Okeke lives in a village which is primarily of the Ibo ethnic group. His son has moved to the big city of Lagos and met an Ibibio woman whom he intends to marry. Nnaememka is hesitant to tell his father about the marriage because he's afraid his father will never accept that his son has married a woman from a different ethnicity. Nnaemeka is right. His father refuses to acknowledge the marriage. At the end, however, Okeke receives a letter from Nnaemeka's wife telling him that the couple have two sons who would very much like to meet their grandfather.
Achebe strongly suggests that Okeke will change and accept Nnaemeka's wife and sons. In the final sentence Achebe reveals that Okeke experiences remorse and hopes he will live long enough to make things up to his son and grandchildren. One of the themes of the story revolves around a changing attitude in Africa. The old ideas and customs are fading with the onslaught of the modern world. Like the women in Lagos who gradually accept Nnaemeka's wife, it seems certain that Okeke will also give up the old prejudices, especially when it concerns his own family.
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