How I coped with Oba Elegushi’s decision to marry second wife

Unlike the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi (Ọjájá II) who married five wives in October 2022, Oba Saheed Elegushi’s decision to take a second wife came as a bitter pill for his first wife, Olori Sekinat.

Oba Elegushi, Kusenla III is the 21st Elegushi of the Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom.

The Lagos State Government presented the staff of the office on April 27, 2010.

Oba Elegushi married his first wife, Olori Sekinat in 2003 and they have three daughters.

In May 2019, the 46-year-old monarch married a Kano indigene, Hadiza Yakasai, at the famous Jumaat Mosque, Yankaba, Kano State.

The new Olori is the daughter of politician Tanko Yakasai Kano. He is also the director of business development for an organization operating in the oil and gas industry.

She adopted her son in the UK in August 2020.

Accepting a second wife

In an interview with Kemiashefonblog Blog, Olori Sekinat said the news of a second wife came when his mother died. However, she said she had to face the fact that the man she loved was marrying another woman.

“I didn’t marry a king, I married a young man I love, and we were growing up together, managing and planning. It was difficult then, but I realized that some of these things come with the demands and pressures of the throne.

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“Why keep worrying about it? The moment he became king, I knew that such issues would arise, but I have to support him and support him,” he said.

Olori Sekinate admitted that she feared her husband would take a second wife when he was appointed to the throne.

“Part of my fear was that he would take another wife. Then I was pregnant with our third child. When he was crowned, I returned early from abroad with the baby, to be with him for the coronation and other rites.

“In the beginning, it was a bit of a challenge, because there were a lot of demands, and I wasn’t used to it, but because I knew some of the palace’s procedures and the people there, we were able to settle in,” he added.

A love story

According to Olori, he met the king, a student, at his late mother’s shop in Lagos Island.

“At that time, he had a friend near his mother’s shop, and when I was not on campus, I used to stay at his mother’s shop.

“It was one of the holidays when I was in the store when he approached me. At first, I refused, because I tried to avoid many young people in the area,” he said.

However, because of his persistence, they became friends. He stepped forward and asked her to speak to him.

“It’s interesting, I never knew he was a prince because he didn’t talk about it. We started together, and I remember he asked me to ride with him on public transport.

“He wanted to walk on the pier! I never did that because I had a car. He finally convinced me, and I did. It was a strange experience because I ended up sitting on his lap! I think I enjoyed the experience, and it was part of the memories we grew up with together. I even lost a gold earring during the Molue tour,” he says.

She said that despite her father’s initial refusal because she was still a student, marriage plans began.

In 2003, the couple had a big wedding.

In 2010, he was crowned the 21st Elegushi of Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom after the death of his father, the late Oba Yekini Adeniyi Elegushi.

He was 34 when he was crowned, making him the youngest monarch in Lagos State.