The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Eniitan Ogunwusi (Ojaja II), has continued to make headlines since 6 September, when he married his first Olori, Mariam Anako, nine months after Silekunola Naomi, his ex-wife, confirmed her three-year marriage to the monarch.
His union to Olori Mariam is the monarch’s third publicly known marriage since he ascended the throne in October 2015.
Before he was crowned Ooni, he married Adebukola Bombata in 2008.
In 1994, he welcomed a daughter, Adeola Ogunwusi, with his ex-lover, Omolara Olatunbosun, during a short-lived romance. Before that, he last made the news in December 2021 when his now-divorced wife, Naomi Silekunola, an evangelist, announced their divorce.
His other ex-wife, Olori Wuroala Zaynab Otiti-Obanor, broke the news of their divorce in a similar manner in March 2016.
Nevertheless, the dapper monarch, who celebrated his 48th birthday last Saturday, seems to have regained his rhythm. He has married five Oloris in one month, an unrivalled feat in Nigeria.
The Ooni of Ife on Thursday, October 20, 2022, added Princess Ronke Ademiluyi to his family train. This came right after the wedding thanksgiving celebration of the king’s first marriage to Mariam Anako, which was held just a day before the Ooni’s 48th birthday celebration.
The Ooni celebrated his 48th birthday in grand style on October 17, 2022. The palace was filled with excitement as the people of Ife converged to celebrate the king in grand style and with good music.
Anako and the celebration attendees flanked the Ooni as they sang songs of praise and thanksgiving to God in unison. Special prayers were held for the Ooni while he cut his cake with his family. The queen also bestowed some words of prayer on her husband. Oba Ogunwusi married her after his marriage to Naomi Silekunola, a prophetess who failed in December 2021. However, since his marriage to Anako, the king has married several other queens. Society Plus takes a look at the profiles of the king’s wives.
Below, in no particular order, is a breakdown of all you should know about the new Oloris:
Mariam Anako
Oba Ogunwusi married Mariam Anako on September 6, 2022. She is currently the first wife of the king. Anako hails from Ebira, Kogi State. She was born in 1982 and was raised under the care of a former Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Dikko, after losing her father at a young age. Her mother is a retired police officer, while one of her sisters, Medina Anako, is a lawyer and Special Adviser on Intergovernmental Affairs and Kogi State Diaspora Focal Point Officer to Governor Yahaya Bello. Her other sister, Mrs Raliat Abdulrahman (nee Anako), is a Special Adviser to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Femi Gbajabiamila. Before marrying the king, she was an administrative manager at Nestoil Limited.
Elizabeth Akinmudai
Oba Ogunwusi married Elizabeth Akinmudai in Magodo, Lagos State, shortly after his marriage to Mariam Anako. She hails from Ondo State.
Not much is known about Olori Elizabeth except that she hails from Ondo State and is said to be a Scotland-based Electronic Data Processor.
Tobi Philips
On October 9, 2022, the king officially married his third wife, Tobiloba Philips. She is an ex-beauty queen who hails from Okitipupa in Ondo State. She was born on June 4, 1992. Philips has also won many pageants in the past, including World Miss University – Africa, World Miss University -Nigeria, Miss Personality – Sisi Oge and many more. She is a Marine Sciences graduate from the University of Lagos. She is a fashion designer at QT Luxury and has been a 3D artist since 2018.
Ashley Adegoke
Ashley Adegoke is a princess from Ile-Ife who hails from the royal lineage of Lafogido ruling house, Adagba compound. This is one of the four ruling houses in Ile–Ife, Osun State. She holds a master’s degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom. She is a member of the Association for Accounting Technicians and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the UK.
She is also the founder of the Ashley Adegoke Foundation, a charity organisation established to improve the lives of the underprivileged. On October 14, 2022, she married Oba Ogunwusi as his fourth wife.
Ronke Ademiluyi
Ronke Ademiluyi is the king’s latest wife. She was married on Thursday, October 20, 2022. Born in England, Ademiluyi is the great-granddaughter of the 48th Ooni of Ife, Ajagun Ademiluyi.
She studied Law at the University of West London, UK. She is a fashion expert, entrepreneur, and the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Fashion Week, held in London and Nigeria. She is also an author and cultural ambassador to the Ooni of Ife, who is now her husband.
Ojájá II
Born on the 17th of October 1974, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi is the third of seven children of Prince John Oluropo Ogunwusi and Princess Margaret Wuraola Sidikatu Abegbe Ogunwusi.
He attended Subuola Memorial Nursery and Primary School in Ibadan before proceeding to Loyola College in Ibadan between 1985 and 1991. He later moved to St Peter’s Secondary School, Ile Ife, Osun State and The Polytechnic of Ibadan, where he studied accountancy.
Oba Ogunwusi is a chartered accountant and associate accounting technician. He is a member of the Institute of Directors (IoD) and the Global Real Estate Institute. Aside from being a Chartered Accountant, the Ooni is a real estate magnate and a businessman.
He’s into Engineering Procurement and Construction both in Nigeria and across borders.
Before becoming the new Ooni, he served as the Managing Director of Howard Roark Gardens Limited, undertaking a multimillion naira Jacob Mews Estate project in Yaba and the Lakeview real estate development in Lekki.
On October 26, 2015, he emerged victorious out of 21 contenders for the stool. He was crowned as the 51st Ooni on December 7, 2015, at Enuwa Square, Ile-Ife. Adeyeye is from the royal House of Giesi of the Oranmiyan Dynasty.
