Queen Silekunola Naomi, on Thursday, announced her divorce from the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II.
Naomi, who announced this shocking development in a statement on her verified Instagram handle and Facebook page, on Thursday morning, said an abrupt end had come to their three-year-old marriage.
Explaining the rationale behind her shocking divorce from the foremost Yoruba monarch, Naomi said although she tried to make their marriage work, the Ooni’s public identity remained at variance with “his true self.”
According to her, “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 the 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, therefore, 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.”
Apparently in response to some allegations concerning her eventual divorce from Oba Ogunwusi, the former Queen explained that her “decision to move on did not come because his majesty is married to another queen.
“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.”
Recall that in 2017, the Ooni separated from Edo-born Zaynab-Otiti Obanor, whom he married as a monarch on March 16, 2016, after only 17 months.
In 2018, Oba Ogunwusi married Silekunola and they had a son, Tadenikawo.
The Ile-Ife monarch monarch also had a daughter with Omolara Olatubosun as a teenager.
Recently, Oba Ogunwusi and Olatunbosun were at loggerheads over the raising of their daughter, Princess Adeola Ogunwusi, resulting in some claims and counter-claims between both parents.