Most men move fast but guess who moves faster? The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II. Barely nine months after his wife of 3 years, Queen Naomi Silekunola dumped him on Instagram and denounced her title as Queen of Ile-Ife, the most powerful king in Yorubaland went shopping for yet another Olori. Finally, Queen Mariam Anako Ogunwusi, the woman he found worthy of replacing his runaway queen, was unveiled to the public on September 6 2022, on the occasion of their low-key royal wedding at the Ife Palace.
This news definitely comes as a shock to many who had mistaken the Ooni of Ife’s silence on his failed marriage with Queen Naomi for sulking and being heartbroken. Unknown to many, the Monarch got over his divorce rather quickly and had immediately gone in search of his ex-wife’s replacement weeks after she announced her exit in December of 2021. By January of 2022, the 47-year-old Yoruba king reportedly sent a high-powered delegation to request the hand of Mariam Anako in marriage. In February of the same month, the latest royal couple had a private introduction with family members and traditional chiefs in attendance. While there are speculations that the new Olori is in her early 40s, she has never been married before. The same can’t be said about Oba Ogunwusi, who can best be described as a serial divorcee. The Monarch has been officially married three times in the past and fathers three children from three different women.
This begs the question, is Queen Mariam Anako here to stay, or will she also leave like the past queens? Does the Ooni of Ife now have what it takes to keep a woman? Lastly, how are social media users reacting to the Ooni of Ife’s latest marriage?
#OoniOfIfe #OoniOfIfeNewWife #MariamAnakoOgunwusi
