•Father, Pa JOHN OLUROPO Reveals
Pa John Oluropo Ogunwusi is a proud prince of Ile-Ife. He is the biological father of Oni of Ife, HRM Kabiesi Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II. He is a prince and descendant of the Giesi ruling house of Ojaja in Moore in Ile -Ife. The 80 years old prince during an interview with BBC Yoruba revealed many shocking things about his son, the Ooni and how they were told about his greatness long before he was born. So sit back and enjoy the worthwhile experience narrated by Prince Oluropo, Oni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi’s father:
“Kabiesi Enitan Ogunwusi is my beloved son who is now my king. He has been a wonderful person right from his childhood. He is someone I respect so much. Even though I’m his father, I now refer to him as Baba. Most times when I do this, he feels reluctant to respond but I made him realize that he is now a king and the position calls for respect and dignity from all. Even though I’m his father, I must give him his due regards for he is my king.
“His birth was something we had been long awaiting. I could remember that long before he was born, there had been a revelation about us giving birth to a great child which we kept to ourselves. Before we gave birth to Ooni Enitan Ogunwusi, there was a revelation that came to us.
On that very day, while my late wife Wuraola Sidikatu Abebi of the blessed memory and I were sitting at the front of our house in Ibadan, a strange man approached us. I couldn’t really say if the man was a human being or an angel. He was dressed in white garment and came to us. Then he told us that God will bless us with a child whose fame would traverse the entire universe. He gave a clue of how he would be born. He said that any of our children born or that would be born at exactly 1pm was the child he was talking about.
“Till today, I still can’t say much about the nature of the man that approached us and gave us the prophecy. As I went inside to get a token to give him as charity, about 2 minutes later when I came out, I couldn’t see the man in question any more. Our house was situated along the main road where you could clearly see everywhere. I went from house to house in search of the man but I couldn’t find him.
“On the day my wife would deliver Ooni Enitan, the Medical staff of the UCH,Ibadan were on strike. My wife was also working at the teaching hospital. When my wife was ready to deliver the baby, we took her to the UCH where she was working, but she was not attended to. So we eventually took her to the Oluyoro Catholic Hospital in Ibadan and that was where she delivered her baby at exactly 1pm as the prophecy said.
“Since then we have taken the prophecy we heard very seriously.
Having identified the promised child at birth, we kept quiet and continued praying about it. There was a day that my father called me. That was after we gave birth to Ooni Enitan. He called me to warn us that we shouldn’t be hitting him on his head because he is destined to be a king. It was my father who named him Adeyeye. He sometimes called him Olowoyeye. When Ooni Enitan attained the age of 7, my father started calling him Adeyeye Ooni. Then I asked my father why he usually refers to him as Ooni. He answered that we should continue to pray for him and keep taking care of him. Until my father’s death, he always called him Ooni Adeyeye.
“What I noticed was that Ooni Enitan has been so wonderful right from his tender age. He is a fast learner. He learnt so easily. Once he sat with you to observe what you were doing, before you knew it, he had started doing it perfectly.
“I gave birth to 3 sons among my children. Of course I know that I’m a descendant of one of the royal families in Ife. I usually bought history books about Yoruba and Ile –Ife in 3 copies and I would send it down to my boys. Then they were all living in Lagos. I will encourage them to read it. The Ooni was the only person who usually read it. Though I can’t really say if his brothers read the books sent to them. As God would have it, I called the 3 of them and explained to them that it’s time to choose the next Ooni and it’s our turn. I told them that all the male children in the Geesi Royal family have the right to vie for the throne. I asked my eldest son if he was interested but he declined. He stayed abroad for a while before he returned home and was not interested in kingship. Then I asked my second son who was also not interested. So I asked Ooni Enitan, who is the youngest of them, and he said he is interested and ready to take up the task.
“He was very close to the immediate past Ooni Okunade Sijuade, Olubuse II. He had been helping him build houses in Lagos. When he was working with the late Ooni, I told him; that the man you were working with in Lagos was the king of our town. So I advised him to try to take some pictures with him. The pictures he took with the late Ooni are still at the Palace in Ife. So I could see that Ooni Enitan was fully ready and prepared.
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