Queen Naomi announced her separation from Ooni of Ife on Thursday, but an Ifa priest says she must be cleansed before going into another relationship.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Iconic writer and popular Ifa priest, Chief Yemi Elebuibon has disclosed that Queen Naomi must undergo some spiritual cleansing before she can either remarry or date another man.
The Ifa priest made the statement while speaking with SaharaReporters on Thursday, saying women who divorce the Ooni of Ife cannot just remarry because they are no longer ordinary
On Thursday, Olori Silekunola Naomi, the wife of the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi announced her separation from the monarch via her Instagram page.
She said, “Today I announce the beginning of a new dawn and the close of a chapter. Today, I am a mother to God’s unique gift. I am no longer a slave to my thoughts of perfection. I, at this moment, announce that I shall no longer be referred to as wife to the Ooni of Ife or as Queen of Ile-Ife but as the Queen of the people and mother of my adorable Prince.”
Thereafter, the palace of his royal majesty, Ooni of Ife, denied the news of the separation between the revered monarch and his wife, Queen Naomi, alleging a possible hacking of her Instagram page.
ALSO READ: Ooni of Ife denies separation from wife
Reacting to the development, Elebuibon said women who divorce the Ooni have to undergo spiritual purification before they can start dating or marry another man.
In his words: “A woman who leaves the Ooni cannot just remarry like that; before she can marry another person, she will need to wipe off all the… Because all her life, all her body belongs to the royal palace of Ooni of Ife. Before she can remarry, she will need to come back to her former self, before she can take any other man.
”She has to become an ordinary woman, she will no longer be Yeyeluwa, Olori, all that ritual and title need to be removed, then she can go ahead. It requires a rite if she wants to do the right thing.
”Traditionally, it is forbidden for another person to woo or have sex with a queen while she’s still married to the king, it is forbidden, it is a taboo. She has to remove all that before she can go ahead with a new life.”
However, on whether the divorce trend has implications for the throne, the writer noted that it had no serious consequences, but the constant divorce by the monarch could set tongues wagging, as he could be misunderstood.
He also said all marriages, Including that of Ooni of Ife, require universal principles of marriage, which include, understanding, courage, endurance, and perseverance to prevent breakups.
It’s not going to dent the image of the palace but at the same time, if you look at it from another dimension, Yorubas have a saying that, ‘ara ile lo mo ni amodi, were lara ode ma a pe’, which means that people in the house know it is a sickness but outsiders will refer to it as madness, that’s why it needs to be cautioned. Something needs to be done to arrest situations like that.
“There are two dimensions to that. Traditionally, there is no marriage anyone will wish should be broken early, all the prayers people say is for their marriages to last long, but circumstances can lead to break up, no one knows.
“From both sides, they might be trying to make the marriage successful but they may not be able to bear further.
“But traditionally, the Yoruba culture does not allow divorce, it encourages both sides to endure the situation, take more courage. Whatever the situation is, continue to stay in the marriage and try to make it work. That is what tradition says but at the same time, it can become unbearable, maybe that’s what made her make such a decision. We may not know what is the problem but tradition does not support broken marriage.
”When you take a new wife, there are lots of rituals a woman has to undertake, the most important aspect of the marriage is for the couple to understand each other, take courage and endure; that’s what makes a marriage last long, apart from the prayer, ritual, and everything.
“No matter how you do the ritual, if you don’t have the courage or understand each other if there are constant disputes…traditionally, our fathers in the olden days used to have 10 wives, 20 wives in the same house for 20, 30 years but life is different now from that time but no matter what, we still have to do whatever it takes to make the marriage last long.”
This Ooni of Ife was previously married to Adebukola Bombata and Zaynab Otiti (now Zaynab Otiti Obanor). His marriage to Bombata was over before he ascended to the throne.
