Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi is the 51st and current Ooni of Ife. He is the traditional ruler of the Yoruba kingdom of Ile-Ife. He ascended to the throne in 2015, succeeding the deceased Oba Okunade Sijuwade, who was the 50th Ooni of Ife.
Early Life and Education
Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, to Prince John Oluropo Ogunwusi and Princess Margaret Wuraola Sidikatu Abegbe Ogunwusi of the Royal House of Giesi, one of the four royal lineages of the House of Oranmiyan. His paternal grandpa was Prince Joseph Olagbaju Adewole Ogunwusi, and his maternal grandfather was ba ráygbà (also known as Ooni Orarigba or Orasigba) Ojájá I, the 44th Ooni of Ife who ruled from 1878 to 1880. He is a direct descendant of Ooni Agbedegbede, who was a descendant of Ooni Giesi (the progenitor of the Giesi royal line), and hence a descendant of Ooni Lajodogun.
Lajodogun, Oranmiyan’s grandson, was the son of Ooni Lajamisan (or Lajemisin), the legendary founder of the Oyo Empire. Oranmiyan was the son or grandchild of Ife’s first Ooni, Oduduwa.
Because his birth was said to have been predicted years before he was conceived, his mother named him Enitan, and his grandfather named him Adeyeye, which means “the crown befits the kingdom.” He is the fifth kid in a family of seven.
He had his primary schooling at Subuola Memorial Nursery and Primary School in Ibadan. He then attended Loyola College in Ibadan and St. Peters Secondary School in Ile-Ife, where he earned his secondary school diploma (SSCE). He graduated from The Polytechnic, Ibadan, with a degree in accountancy. He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Accountants. He also works as an associate accounting technician. Oba Ogunwusi is a member of the Institute of Directors.
He is also a member of the Global Real Estate Institute. He holds many honorary degrees, including one in public administration from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and another in law from Igbinedion University.
Career
The young King is an entrepreneur who specializes in real estate. He opted to follow his interest for business soon after graduating from high school. He worked in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) for the next twelve years, both locally and abroad. Through various developer business networks, he was known to be actively involved in the creation of around 2,500 housing units. He was the MD/CEO of Gran Imperio Group (GIG), a formidable Nigerian real estate consortium. He aided in the development of strong economic links between the country and international bodies through the Association for International Business (AIB), which has over 200 member countries worldwide.
Prince Adeyeye is reported to have led the team that constructed the fabled Lagos and to have been the driving force behind the establishment of Essential Homes, a real estate product that debuted in January 2014. The product was designed to provide affordable premium housing to middle- and low-income people. The South Pointe Estate, Lafiaji Road, Lekki, Lagos State, was the company’s first project, which began in February 2014. He was also involved in the establishment of Nigeria’s largest lead and aluminum recycling mill in Ota, Ogun State, by the National Steel Company of India.
The Oba is now the Chancellor of Nigeria’s University of Nsukka.
Personal Profile
Ogunwusi has had a number of well-publicized romances. He and Omolara Olatubosun had their first kid, Adeola Aanuolouwapo Ogunwusi (born in May 1994), in Ibadan while they were both teenagers.
Omolara conducted an interview in November 2021, in which she stated that he was an absentee father for their child’s first years of existence.
Ogunwusi married Adebukola Bombata in 2008, but the couple divorced in 2016.
He was married to Zaynab Otiti Obanor of Edo State from 2016 to 2017.
He married Prophetess Morenike Naomi Oluwaseyi in October 2018. Morenike Naomi announced their separation on Instagram in December 2021, but the palace rejected her story hours later.
Barely a month after the Ooni of Ife married his fourth wife, Olori Mariam Anako from Ebira land in Kogi State, the monarch is set to take two more wives in October.
Ahead of his 48th birthday celebration, Oba Adeyeye will marry two more wives, Tobi Phillips, and Princess Ashley Adegoke.
Tobi Phillips was a former Beauty Queen and a graduate of Marine Science from Lagos State University, while Princess Queen Ashley is a chartered accountant and founder of an NGO, Ashley Adegoke Foundation.
Impact and Influence
On December 7, 2015, he received his office personnel. He’s been dubbed an “astute entrepreneur driven by the need to transform impossibilities into possibilities.” Oba Ogunwusi, the Yoruba people’s spiritual leader, is now tasked with making supplications to God and the Orisrà on behalf of his people and the world at large during annual festivities like Olojo. Ooni Ogunwusi met with the Alaafin of Oyo shortly after his coronation, ushering in a new period in the Yoruba States’ history.
He effectively ended the decades-long hex of institutionalised rivalry between the thrones in Ile-Ife and Oyo. The Oba is a strong supporter of women’s and young people’s empowerment and liberation.
He has rebuilt Ile-Ife into a tourist destination, transforming the historic city via beautification, remodelling, and re-construction. Oba Ogunwusi is also a well-known philanthropist who is dedicated to humanity and a champion for those who are less privileged. Over the years, he has provided support through the House of Oduduwa Foundation and, more recently, the Hopes Alive Initiative.
Oba Adeyeye was actively involved in the establishment of Nigeria’s largest lead and aluminium recycling factory in Ota, Ogun State by the National Steel Company of India.
Awards and Nominations
- H.I.M was honoured with the proclamation of the Town of Franklin on the 12th of June 2016. Ooni Ogunwusi was given the key of the County of Somerset, Franklin Township, New Jersey in the United States.
- A recipient of an honorary doctorate degree in Law from Igbinedion University in Public Administration
Net Worth
The monarch, according to reports is worth about $70 million (est. 35 billion NGN) earning him a place on the list of Nigeria’s richest kings.
The King is not left out of monarchs with fleets of exotic cars as his garage houses a Rolls-Royce Phantom model year 2011, a Mercedes Benz S550 and 2 Bentleys.
