Rift with Ooni: Oluwo’s ex-wife steps in

Chanel Chin, the former wife of the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has granted another interview over recent claims by the monarch, firmly denying that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, had any hand in her marriage

In the interview, Chin opened up about her troubled years at the palace, alleging that she endured difficult experiences that eventually pushed her out of the union.

She said both she and her young son were pressured to leave the palace and barred from accessing their personal belongings.

According to her, the monarch often justified questionable actions by hiding behind his royal status.

“I’ll catch him red-handed. He will say, but I’m a king, I’m allowed. Nobody will say anything because I’m allowed to as a king. So what can I do? It’s just me and my baby. Then when I go and consult with older women in Yoruba culture, they will say, ‘Olori, just put it to God. You don’t leave your husband in Yoruba. You don’t leave your husband’s house.’”

Chin explained that her background made it difficult to adapt to certain traditions. “My father is Jamaican. My mother is British. I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. I don’t know anything about juju until I came to Iwo,” she said.

She recalled that her eventual exit from the palace was hurried and humiliating. “For that five months, me and my baby were walking along in Lagos with our luggage. I had 60 minutes to pack four years of my life. He had police standing over me while I wasn’t allowed to take any of my clothes, all my wigs, my makeup, my hair. He said to leave it. It’s for the next Olori. This is our culture.”

On the recent controversy, she clarified that her introduction to Oba Akanbi was facilitated by another respected Lagos monarch, not the Ooni of Ife. She further accused the Oluwo of being absent from their son Prince Oduduwa’s life for over five years, only reappearing in Canada this August. “He refused to sign passport papers but dropped $500, the first support Oduduwa ever received from him since we left the palace,” she said.

Chin called on the public to disregard attempts to smear the Ooni of Ife and urged traditional rulers to caution the Oluwo.

She concluded, “This shall be my final statement on the matter.”

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