Princess Adeola Ogunwusi with her father, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi
Princess Adeola Ogunwusi, the first daughter of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi has not only described her father as a doting father and her best friend, she has also ascertained the monarch’s care even when she was growing up.
In a recent posting on her verified Instagram handle, adeola_oguns, Adeola said “Kabiyesi, I am who I am today because of you” and went on to say: “The love and admiration you constantly shower on me has made me has made me into this kind and thoughtful young woman.” (sic).
With this effusive and passionate adulation poured out on her father, Princess Adeola Ogunwusi may have now remitted the steaming controversy presently trending on the social media between her two parents over who was responsible for her growing up.
Omolara Olatubosun, the mother of Princess Adeola Ogunwusi has accused the Ooni of Ife , Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi of being an absentee father while the princess was growing up.
She insisted that the monarch was an absentee father who failed to take care of his daughter for a number of years.
The dispute began when the monarch recently recounted his experience saying he had his daughter, Adeola Ogunwusi at the age of 19, adding that parenting comes with challenges.
In a touching note via his Instagram page, Ooni described Adeola as his closest friend and great confidant.
“Profoundly, life taught me to exhibit an abundance measure of resilience, compassion, determination, and above all empathy which my daughter sought from me. We formed an unbroken bond, shared in our joy and challenges as my closest friend and great confidant,” he had written.
The two well bonded father and daughter.
“She is and will always be a huge blessing to me and life successes. I celebrate you, Princess Adeola Ogunwusi for being the epitome of my strength and dignity. Your tenacity, doggedness, and unshakable optimism to be the best in life are unarguably lifelong lessons that I cherish in you.”
However in another statement issued recently, the mother of Princess Adeola countered the revered Oba saying there was no iota of truth in Ooni’s post.
She insisted that Oba Ogunwusi was not telling the whole truth about the relationship between the monarch and daughter.
The statement read, “My name is Omolara, and I am Adeola Ogunwusi’s mother. She was born in Akobo, Ibadan, in May 1994 as a result of a teenage relationship I had with Adeyeye Ogunwusi, now the Ooni of Ife, who was then also a teenager, neighbour, and family friend”.
“The relationship was short and uneventful, but certain matters of late have forced me to break a silence I have held since 2015 when, shortly before his coronation, Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi concocted a self-serving tale about his role in our daughter’s life”, Omolara said.
“A couple of weeks ago, on his Instagram and Facebook pages, he once again wrote that he was a `single father` to my daughter — a mendacious claim that has no basis in fact, but has gone on for too long. I want to put it on the record now in public that there’s not an iota of truth to that claim, and I challenge him to prove me wrong.
I got NO monetary or material support from him or ANYONE while raising my child. I could not have, because he was also just finding his way in the world.
Adeola started spending holidays with Yeye Ogunwusi (Oba Ogunwusi) and his then wife (Bukola Bombata) in Lagos when she was thirteen in 2007, and started living with them when she was fifteen in 2009. This was when he began any financial and personal involvement in her life at all.
“All these years, I have kept quiet in the belief that all is well that ends well. I decided to be an adult in this situation for the sake of my daughter. I have also kept quiet since the first time he made this outrageous claim because I hate unnecessary publicity, and I wanted to keep my private life out of public glare.
In spite of every private outreach to him to stop repeating the lie that he ‘raised my daughter as a single parent since she was born’, he has continued to say so. It is not true, and no amount of repeating it will make it so. I was the single parent. He was, until our daughter was old enough, an absentee father. Unfortunately, a lie goes a long way around the world before the truth gets a chance to tie its shoes. So, this is my attempt at correcting the record.
“If Yeye Ogunwusi has any photos of him and our daughter, or the receipt of any expense he bore on her, before the age of ten, let him present them to the public right now. I refuse to let someone else define me or tell my story. It is a story of triumph over fear, over shame, and over doubt. It is a success story, but with several bumps and obstacles along the way. But it is mine, and no one else’s to tell”, she narrated.
“If Yeye Ogunwusi is proud of the daughter we have raised, he can say so without any attempt to minimize or denigrate the very foundation on which he’s now attempting to build, and from which he cowardly fled when the going was tough. For our daughter’s sake, enough is enough. For the sake of truth and justice, enough is enough.
“I will not allow ANYONE to disrespect a lifetime of hard work that I put into raising my child no matter how powerful, famous or seemingly influential they claim to be.
“I am also making this public to put on notice any media organisations to stop repeating Yeye Ogunwusi’s lies without proper verification and qualification. You, also, have a duty to be truthful and factual. And now, you can.”
But while Omolara Olatubosun, the mother of Princess Adeola Ogunwusi, and the Ooni of Ife , Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi are busy dueling over who actually brought up the princess while growing up, Adeola, now an adult of over 30 years old have reaffirmed the bond between her and her father.
In a post on her Instagram handle which has not only sown a little doubt in her mother’s story of lonely single mother but could also put paid to the festering squabble, Princess Adeola has praised her father for his love and affection while she was growing up.
In her verified Instagram handle, adeola_oguns, Adeola said “Kabiyesi, I am who I am today because of you.” She even posted many endearing pictures of her and the Ooni to show the affectionate relationship between her and her father.
Father and daughter
She added ” Kabiyesi, you are not only my father, but also my friend. A friend that listens, a friend that cares.
” I don’t think I can ever get used to the way you carry my matter on your head. The pride in your eyes whenever you talk about me. it is always my daughter this , my daughter that. Wahala for who no get daughter o.”
Adeola continued ” Kabiyesi, I am who I am today because of you. The love and admiration you constantly shower on me has made me into this kind and thoughtful young woman.
” Thank you for being who you are, you are forever generous and loving . I love you today, tomorrow and forever”, she concluded.
Father and daughter.
