Mariam Anako, the new wife of Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, arrived at the monarch’s palace in Ile-Ife, Osun State, late on Tuesday.
The new wife was ushered into the palace after brief rites at the entrance to the premises.
She was thereafter led into the palace’s inner court to meet her husband and other guests waiting to receive her.
Oba Ogunwusi, in a video shared on the Facebook page of his spokesperson, Moses Olafare, was assisted by chiefs and close aides in welcoming the new wife into the palace around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The compere also mentioned Ooni’s elder brother, Sooko Adegboyega Ogunwusi, and the monarch’s other siblings as present at the ceremony.
During the ceremony, Anako’s relatives from Ebiraland in Kogi State and Ilorin in Kwara State were also present, and they took turns greeting Ooni.
The new wife entered the palace about 10 months after Naomi Silekunola, the monarch’s last wife, left him.
Specifically, Naomi announced separation from the monarch on Thursday, December 23, 2021, thus ending a marriage that produced a son, Tadenikawo, and lasted about 3 years.
Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, could not be reached for further comment on Wednesday as calls to his line rang out.
REPORTERS AT LARGE reports that Naomi announced her separation from the monarch through an Instagram post in December 2021.
She also renounced the title of ‘Queen’, saying she tried to make the three-year union work, but the Ooni’s public identity is at variance with “his true self.”
After the split between 47-year-old Ooni and Naomi, many Yoruba monarchs and elders, including the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, tried to reconcile the estranged couple, but the peace talks did not yield results.
Before being coronated king, the Ooni was married to Adebukola Bombata in 2008, but the marriage failed. As a monarch, the Ooni married Edo-born Zaynab-Otiti Obanor in 2016, but the union lasted for 17 months before their separation.
He later married Silekunola in 2018, and the marriage produced a son before the divorce announcement in December.
The monarch also had a daughter with Omolara Olatubosun as a teenager. Olatubosun gave birth to Princess Adeola Ogunwusi, but recently, there have been counter-claims between the Ooni and Olatubosun over who was responsible for the upbringing of their daughter.
Aside from the Ooni, other traditional rulers who had experienced divorce known to the public include the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, whose marriage to his Jamaican wife, Ms Chanel Chin, crashed in December 2019. Also, Anuoluwapo Adeyemi, one of the wives of the Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi III, parted ways with him in November 2020.
