Sodiq Yusuf
CONTROVERSY has been trailing a social media post of Queen Silekunola Naomi, wife of the Ooni of Ile-Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II.
Naomi had said in the post that she should not be addressed as a wife to Ooni any longer.
The queen had taken to her verified Facebook page and Instagram handle to announce her exit from the three-year-old marriage, yesterday.
She adduced the monarch’s public identity being at variance with “his true self” as the major reason she left after trying to make the union work.
The ex-queen wrote, “I did my best to endure and make it work; many times, I smiled through the struggle, but I have finally realised I had just one assignment, my son, and when God is done, He is done. He chose Saul to be king, and when He was done, He told Prophet Samuel I have moved on.
“Religion was never an issue between us; please refer to my interview on News Central TV. Instead, His Majesty has a picture he would love the world to see and perceive him as and another one which is his true self.”
She declared: “Today, I announce the beginning of a new dawn and the close of a chapter. Today, I am a mother to God’s unique gift. I am no longer a slave to my thoughts of perfection. I, at this moment, announce that I shall no longer be referred to as wife to the Ooni of Ife or as Queen of Ile-Ife but as the Queen of the people and mother of my adorable Prince.”
Queen Silekunola said that her decision to move on did not come because his majesty is married to another queen.
She further explained: “As many would love to assume, throughout our life as a couple, I was the only married wife to him. There were side attractions, but it was never an issue.
“I never approached him with any revelation of any sort, as many believed he contacted me first and made his proposal known several months later.
“The marriage was not an arranged one, as many have misconstrued. I never knew the prophetess said to have introduced me to him. Instead, he introduced her to me after I agreed to marry him. I was only being polite out of respect for him.
“I have never been pregnant all my life before Tadenikawo; my son is my first ever pregnancy with medical reports to back it up. The girl who is said to be my daughter is my niece.”
However, while speaking with OSUN DEFENDER in a telephone interview yesterday, the Director of Press at the Ooni’s palace, Comrade Moses Olafare, said the news is not true.
Olafare said: “I cannot talk where I am now. But it is not true.”
Also in its official reaction, the palace said something that is announced by one party without any agreement can not be said to be separation.
The palace noted that the monarch was still in love with the Queen on the morning she announced the separation on social media.
“Separation is a two-way affair. It is not something that is announced by one party. The announcements of separation are subject to agreement by both parties, so, to that extent.
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“The palace is not aware of such separation because we all went to bed last night having the king and queen being together.
“So, if by this morning (Thursday), the queen went to her social media to write that she is no longer in marriage with Ooni, we will look into it to see whether or not the Instagram page truly belong to her, and to know the reason behind it.
“But as of today (Thursday) this moment, the palace is not aware of the separation. Marriage is a private affair, no matter how prominent the personalities involved, it is a private affair. We will dig deeper and know what happened but as I said, all of us just woke up to see read about the separation on social media.
“Even by this time yesterday, (Wednesday) kabiyesi was still packaging a special gift for her. If you want to separate with someone you cannot be packaging a gift for her.
“I was aware that Kabiyesi was putting special gift for her for Christmas. If he is not in love with her, he cannot be doing that, only to wake up the following morning to hear from the public that she is no longer in the relationship. The Christmas gift has been delivered to her already.
Ooni had previously suffered a marital breakdown in 2017 when he split from Edo-born Zaynab-Otiti Obanor, whom he married as a monarch on March 16, 2016. Obanor’s marriage to the king lasted for 17 months before the separation.
He later married Silekunola in 2018 and the marriage produced a son, Tadenikawo.
The 47-year-old monarch also had a daughter with Omolara Olatubosun as a teenager. Olatubosun gave birth to Princess Adeola Ogunwusi.
