Wherever she might be at the moment, Olori Bukola Ogunwusi, the legal
wife of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, must be smirking and
sniggering at the turn of events in the hallowed Ooni’s palace.
Though
not in the eye-for-an-eye business, the mother of the Ooni’s only child,
Princess Adeola, is no cheek-turner when circumstances tilt her way.
Olori Bukola and the Ooni got married in 2007. In the halcyon days of
youth, they were a happy, comfortable family. Indeed, before monarchy,
there was money; as the Ooni was heavily into real estate which had
placed him on an enviable pedestal of prosperity.
Then came the
divination that gangling ‘Yeye’, as his friends call him, would be
enthroned as the next occupier of the exalted seat of Ooni. That was the
beginning of the end of their union.
In their early years together, the couple had their madcap moments.
One day, at a truce meeting, Bukola allegedly slapped her husband in the
presence of his father and a sprinkling of family members. Even though
‘Yeye’ was not yet a king, many of his acquaintances and childhood
friends address him as ‘Obalola’ (the presumptive king), no less his
father who, more than anyone else, knew the kind of son he birthed. From
that point on, Bukola’s days were numbered.
A couple of years down the
line, ‘Yeye’ became Ooni. And Bukola was served her comeuppance a la
carte.
According to sources, the Ooni’s three sisters; Princess Folashade, Princess Adesola and Princess Adebimpe who celebrated her 40th
birthday recently, particularly swore that nothing would make Bukola
enjoy the monarchical privileges and powers accruable to a relative much
more a wife. Thecapitalng sources maintain that the princesses threw
many ladies in the way of their brother in hope that he would find one
desirable and deserving of the title of an Ooni’s wife.
None met his
exotic taste; until he met the smouldering beauty, Sonia Otiti, who he
rechristened Olori Wuraola weeks after they met and decided to get
married. But she was not without her own baggage.
A popular socialite, the new Olori, at the time she consecrated her
union with the Ooni, was married to a wealthy Lebanese businessman.
Prior to meeting the Ooni also, she had been the darling of many big
uncles who pampered her like a quintessential paramour. Despite
entreaties from several quarters to the Ooni to reconsider his decision
to settle down with Olori Wuraola, he stood his ground and had his way.
They were supposed to live happily ever after but it is not all the time
that life imitates art.
Olori Wuraola is an Edo State indigene and might be forgiven for not
understanding that the whip used on the senior wife remains in the ledge
for the new bride. In the last two weeks, blogosphere has been abuzz
and awash with reports that the Ooni and his new bride had become
estranged. In fact, sources claim that the Olori had moved out of the
palace and was hibernating in a top Lagos hotel, reason she had not been
seen at public events with the revered king. There have been rebuttals
in the media with threats to sue certain media houses and bloggers for
what they claim is a fake report, but the status quo remains. Olori
Wuraola has not returned to her matrimonial home.
For Bukola who had quietly returned to London having seen firsthand
that there was no place for her in the expansive palace, the reports
must be heart-warming. What might even make it more profound is that the
Ooni’s sisters who championed her husband getting another wife are not
having it smooth-sailing in their own unions. Princesses Adesola and
Adebimpe are divorced.
Their husbands were aides to the Ooni. As you
read, Adebimpe’s estranged husband still works in the Ile-Ife palace.
Only Folashade, the first daughter is currently married. Incidentally,
her husband, Jide Fadairo, manages Inagbe Grand Resorts, the luxury
relaxation and holiday destination, owned by the Ooni. Before he started
working for his much younger brother-in-law, Fadairo was a popular
businessman who introduced the luxury car rental business, Executive
Coach and Town Cars. Life happens.
Source: The Capital NG