I feel it is a disservice to the throne of Ife everytime i use these superlatives for Oba Enitan because any mortal who wears the crown of Odua ought to reverence the crown he wears and put the crown first ahead of any personal interest or passion. The throne and crown first...your libido last.
This brings me to the not so royal wedding over the weekend between Oba Enitan and Wuraola Obanor or is it Itohan or Zainab, cos its easier to keep up with the Kardashian than to keep up with the new Olori Wura Zainab Itohan. I say not so royal because despite the fact this wedding was held at Benin in Edo State, the Oba of Benin did not attend and no representative was sent either, which to me speaks volume about the approval rate of this suposed royal wedding.
But why is this an issue? that two grown consenting adults want to marry each other, regardless of the rumours of an adventurous past of the olori...why should that bother anyone? we all have our adventurous past and people change, so kini big deal people ask albeit naively except you have no clue what the protocol, the tradition and sacredness of the throne of Ife signify.
From a Yoruba religion/cultural stand point, the Ooni is a spiritual leader, the custodian of the Yoruba norms and practices as it were, but once again it appears Oba Enitan didnt get the memo. We have barely recovered from the kneeling down to white Jesus drama and Oba Enitan raises the bar by marrying a lady who is allegedly still married to her Lebanese husband called Elie Khouri, but not only that, being married to Saminu Turaki a former Governor of Jigawa state before finally settling down on the throne of Odua on the right hand side of Oonirisa...leaving behind unpaid debts and a trail of negative press is rather unfortunate for the house of Odua.
The bloodline of a prince of Ife...a potential future Ooni must not be tainted with controversy.
The lineage must be pure, unadulterated, devoid of dirt or negativity but sadly this union has not had a good approval rating and i ask myself, why would Oba Enitan put himself in a situation where he becomes the laughing stock on social media, the butt of peopls's jokes and sexual innuendos.
Its sheer ignorance to say "what is the big deal" about bloodline or somebody's past. When you are royalty, there are certain things you are not supposed to be invloved with...case in point Princess Diana. The thought of the future King of England having a half brother and his bloodline diluted is perhaps the reason she is no longer with us. Bottom line, this is a serious matter.
As a Yoruba man, to see people call the Ooni of Ife "oko asewo" on the internet is unbearable for me. This is the disrepute that has befallen the throne of Ife and i am livid and saddened by it. I am fed up with people supposed to be preserving this dying heritage dragging it in the mud and making mockery of it.
As an advocate of human right, I would like to state that Oba Enitan has the right to love and marry Wura (or Zainab) and Wura (or Itohan) deserve a clean break from her past and has the right to marry whoever she wants, but unfortunately, you can't have your cake and eat it and you can't insult the intelligence of everyone, but above all you can't bring the throne of Ife into disrepute just because of your personal life.
When you are king, you are public property and continously under scrutiny (somebody remind Oba Enitan this) you are no longer a private citizen but an institution, therefore, Oba Enitan should have done this union quietly and privately in the inner sanctuary of his enormous palace, especially because of the controversy that this marriage was bound to cause.
And what about Elie? has anyone stopped to ask what his plans are or how he feels. Some people say an Oba can marry any woman he wants and doesn't need permission...in 2016? are you serious.
What happens if Elie releases intimate photos of the olori on the internet, then what?
I fear that the Ife throne is under siege and I reckon Oba Ognwusi may have bitten more than he can chew in the process of wanting to be Ooni at all cost. When you look at the photos beneath, you'll see Daizy Danjuma at the right hand side of the Ooni sitting as Yeye Olori...and that ladies and gentlemen speaks volume about how Oba Enitan became king and how Itohan ended up in his palace.
You do the maths at your own time.
If you are one of those gullibles who bought into the hype of the Rolls Royce and fleet of jeeps, the supposed thriving real estate money etcetera, then i pity you. The Danjumas are the billionaires pulling the strings. Yes I said it.
I write this piece not just as a concerned and aggrieved Yoruba man, but also as an investigative journalist. Take a good look at the wedding photos and look at the body language of both the Ooni and his new wife. You can see strain and worry in the background behind the fake smiles.
Its either they are both suddenly aware of the weight of their venture or some higher powers arrangee this wedding. If you look closely to the man Enitan Ogunwusi, you will see an ordinary man who perhaps can't deal with all these drama, but when you go above and beyond yourself to be king at all cost, then you must do as your sponsors say.
I smell a rat. I think this wedding may be some elaborate arrangee of some sort, but hey what do i know.
Let us spare a thought for Olori Adebukunola the enstranged ex wife of the Ooni who put up a brave face at the coronation to support her ex on his big day. I wish her well.
To the sons and daughters of Ife, its all in your hands, and to the afobajes...e ma se ibaje...do not mock the Orisas and do not ridicule the Irunmales. To the Ooni...its time to reign it in a little bit and get the necessary tuition. I feel that the shady manner in which the selection was made and the speed at which the installation was done, did not leave enough room for the kabiyesi to get proper knowlege of the roles and responsibilities of an Arole Odua.
Excellent write up though very raw and direct out of annoyance for your revered honour for the scared tool of the Arole Odua just like Donald Trump analysing Africa, the leaders and our mentality. Incedentally, I did not want to dwell into this for not trying into going into some critical issues that has to do with Yoruba culture. Some of us were very lucky but not all. When I read of the proposed wedding and the "bride" I prayed firstly that Ooni will not downgrade our custom to go to Benin for the wedding. Our culture requires that the representatives will go and pay the dowry for the "Alase Ekeji Orisa" as a mark of respect for his inlaw. (Eni to fun ni lomo, ko ni robi kan ni). Then, with the staff of office of that town where the bride resides or originates, the family will bring down the wife to her husband house for the wedding proper,The most interesting is the after the first night and the message required - a full keg of palmwine and a white cloth or a half keg of palmwine and an empty box of matches with charcoal inside. I know that will be secretive and exclusive in this circumstance but will the Oonirisa be able to forward the materials that speaks the truth or that area will be covered up? Remember that Oba Enitan too has been active the children production since the age of 18. I keep thinking and pray God forbid, if I have an estranged situation at this point of my life, "I will not refill my pen but keep to reading the textbooks in the libraries as they are available without any examination to write" Keep on solving the poser with your research. Thumb up brother!
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