OMG! Who am I seeing doing the catwalk? Who? I must be dreaming. It can’t be true. It can’t be the Ooni of Ife! Never! This cannot be Arole Oodua… On the runway?! Nooooo!
This is sacrilegious! I am certain—this is Ojaja! Why? What? How? Meeeen!
Let’s stone him! Yes—let the stones rain! Let the mob gather! Let those who fear illumination cast the first rock! Let those who worship ignorance throw their stones at the Ooni of Ife—that flamboyant, radiant monarch whose every step redefines royalty! For he has committed the most sacred sin.
He dared to demonstrate the richness, glamour, beauty, and relevance of royalty before the wide eyes of Generation Z—those who were told that crowns are chains, that kings are relics, and that tradition is a museum piece.
Stone him! For he has walked among the youths—not in arrogance, but in affirmation! For he has reminded them that to be royal is to be radiant in virtue, not detached in vanity. For he has shown that tradition can trend, that culture can catwalk, and that dignity can dazzle!
Yes, stone him. For being the best of the royals in a land starved of leadership! Stone him—for being that rare monarch who inspires, who motivates, who mobilises!
An Oba who gives wings to the youth, not chains to their ankles.
An Oba who empowers, not enslaves.
An Oba who speaks the digital language of progress while preserving the sacred code of heritage.
We are fortunate—indeed, blessed—to have Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, an Oba whose reign bridges the gap between heritage and modernity, between the palace and the people, between the shrine and the studio, and between the royal beads and the social-media feeds!
An Oba, traditional yet cosmopolitan, sophisticated yet simple, regal yet relatable, rooted in Ife yet relevant to the world. He is not a monarch who eats the empire—he nourishes it. He is not a king who sits in isolation—he walks among his people, literally and symbolically. He is the royal who understands that leadership is not about the height of the throne but the depth of the heart.
Ooni Ogunwusi, the Arole Oodua of the Source, the bridge between Orun and Aye, Jigbini bi Akun, and Olori Alade gbogbo, the Ooni is not of an empire but of a race, a nation, a people, and a destiny.
Mo juba o! Kabiyesi o! Arole Oodua, eni ti inu ise rere re ba nbi—kó ló pò soda je!
Yes, you read it as it is.
May your walk continue to awaken a generation that remembers that royalty, too, can glow, grow, and guide!
That royalty is for the living, not for the ancient.
Royalty is about blending the past with the present so that the future can shine brighter.
Ajinde Ara ni ti Ooni Ogunwusi!
Who dares to stone an Odidimode? Whoever dares does so at his own peril – suicide straight!
Emi ko si nibe ooo.
Kabiyesi Ooni Ojaja, e o kowa je o
*Barrister Ojo-Lanre sent this piece from Usi Ekiti
