The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, has denied being the father of a man who recently went viral for claiming to be his biological son.
In a trending video, the yet-to-be identified man who spoke in Yoruba, claimed the monarch is his father, but he hid him with his mother with an instruction that he should be kept a secret.
He said; “Oba Enitan Ogunwunsi is my father. He hid me with my mother with a clear instruction that I must not reveal myself.
“Anytime I desire to come to the palace, he (Ooni) would stop me saying it was not yet time. Now is the time. My mum might not talk, but I will say the truth. The king is my biological father.
“Though I’m not suffering; there is a house, cars are there, there is money, but I’m no longer interested in them. I want to be known as the son of the king, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II”.
But in a statement released on Friday, May 10 by the monarch’s media aide, Moses Olafare, Oba Ogunwusi denied knowing a man.
According to the Ooni, the unidentified man had engaged in an act of impersonation and is trying to exploit his revered status for fraudulent gains.
Furthermre, the palace disclosed that the matter has been reported to the appropriate security agencies for necessary action.
The statement said he “is not a descendant of Ooni Ogunwusi as falsely claimed, and has no connection to any lineage of the Ogunwusi royal family or the Giesi Royal Compound of Ile-Ife.
“Our attention has been drawn to an amateur video clip featuring a grown-up individual claiming to be a son of our father, Arole Oodua Olofin Adimula, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja ll, the Ooni of Ife, virally trending across various online platforms. We categorically condemn and denounce this shameless act of impersonation in the strongest possible terms.
“It is imperative to clarify that the Ooni of Ife, as a responsible father and custodian of tradition, knows and acknowledges all his children and stops at nothing to take full responsibility for them (both those who are in Nigeria and outside the country).
“As all of Ooni’s children are well known to the palace and the people of Ile-Ife, the eldest child of the Ooni is Princess Adeola Ogunwusi, a Master’s Degree holder working and residing in Canada, followed by Princess Adewamiwa Ogunwusi who recently relocated to further her education in Dublin, Ireland from where she had come 3 years ago for her secondary school education in her home country Nigeria.
“Princess Adesewa is doing very well, Prince Tadenikawo Ogunwusi is widely known to be with his mother hale and healthy while the newborn twins Prince Adebisi Kehinde and Princess Taiwo Adeayo are being planned to formally make their historic entry into the palace in a couple of days by the customs and traditions of the Ife Palace.
“His marauding impersonation tactics to exploit the revered status of the Ooni of Ife for fraudulent personal gains are not only sacrilegious but also criminal. Impersonating any member of the royal family is a sacrilege against the sanctity of the palace and the heritage it represents.
“In assisting the law enforcement agencies on this project, any individual with useful information about the whereabouts of this impersonating marauder is implored to cooperate fully with the security authorities or the Ooni’s Palace to ensure that justice prevails as such a patriotic whistleblower’s identity is well protected in utmost secrecy and handsomely rewarded by the Ooni’s palace. Enough is enough.”
