The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi whose 17-month-old
marriage with Olori Zaynab Otiti Obanor crashed some weeks ago, has
reportedly accepted a bride price refund from his estranged wife’s
family in Benin, the Edo state capital.
It was widely reported some days ago that an Ifa priest in Ife
alleged that any man that sleeps with the former Olori would die
prematurely, and with the Ooni of Ife allegedly accepting bride price
refund from Benin, saying that Olori Wuraola ‘is free now’, it seems like the road is now clear for Obanor to re-marry any man she wants.
For Olori Wuraola who is the former wife of the Ooni Of Ife, Oba
Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the coast seems clear now for her to remarry if
she wishes.
Why? The customary bride price paid by the revered monarch has been
returned fully from the elders of Queen Zaynab’s Family in Benin City,
Nigeria.
According to a source in Benin, the Ooni was initially reluctant to
collect the bride price, but was persuaded by the Elders as a way of
closing the controversial marriage and separation.
“She’s free now, she’s free…,” the Ooni was quoted to have exclaimed afterwards.
The Elders had sued for amicable settlement instead of a rough
separation. Both families appeared relieved about this final foreclosure
of the marriage that lasted less than two years.
Earlier in August, an online magazine, The
Boss exclusively reported the break of the marriage between the revered
kingdoms of Ife and Benin, where the paramount ruler of Ife Kingdom,
and first among the list of Yoruba Obas, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi
took Queen Zynab to wife.
The marriage which was contracted in March 2016 in elaborate
ceremonies held in Benin and Ife hit the rocks over alleged infidelity.
According to a reliable source, it was imperative that the bride
price be returned even as it is just a token, adding that it holds
significant value and meaning according to tradition.
“When a bride price is returned, the man no longer have ties or
right over the woman in question, and they can only see themselves
afterwards as friends if they so desire,” the source said.
Recall that after the declaration of Olori Wuraola that she was
done with the king, a Yoruba popular Ifa traditionalist, playwright,
actor and author, Yemi Elebuibon opined on the consequence of a queen
separating from a king.
While noting that Ooni would not be the first Yoruba Oba to be
separated from his wife, Elebuibon stressed that marriage breakup is not
very common among Yoruba Obas.
He said, “The wife of the Oba will be asked to consult Ifa and
Ifa will give directions on how she will make the necessary atonement
for her cleansing. In Yoruba tradition, a woman who has been married to a
king cannot lay with any other man even if the marriage breaks up. But
when the right atonements have been made, there won’t be problem.”
On the kind of problems which an Oba’s ex-wife might encounter if
she refuses to undergo the traditional cleansing rites, Elebuibon said:
“For the woman, she might not really have a problem but for any man who
sleeps with a queen or marries an ex-queen without the appropriate
cleansing, the man may die prematurely, he may be struck with sickness
or there might be retrogression in his life.”
He explained that if an ex-queen wants to remarry, she will have to
do the cleansing with her new husband. Both of them have to take part
in the atonement procedures so that they won’t have any future problem