I Married Alaafin At 19 — Estranged Queen Pens Emotional Tribute

Oyinlola Awonuga
Writer

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The estranged youngest wife of the late Alaafin of Oyo, Olori Badirat Olaitan Adeyemi, has mourned the monarch, Oba Lamide Adeyemi, who died late Friday night, aged 83.

Speaking on his demise, via an Instagram post on Monday, Olori Badirat shared an emotional tribute to the late monarch, revealing that they shared a strong bond as she married him when she was 19.

Badirat noted that the bond she shared with the Alaafin could be likened to that of a “siamese” but everything flopped when “they had an inkling about whom your favourite was.”

Sharing a photo of the monarch, she wrote, “I was thinking it’s all lies and that you are coming back but I’m afraid I was wrong.

The father of my kids, whom I met at an impressionable age, left when it was least expected. Whenever I tell people that the bond we share can be likened to that of a ‘Siamese’, having been married to you at age 19, they are more than transfixed.

We were practically best of friends but the moment they had an inkling about whom your favourite was, everything flopped.

“Alas! the kids and I can’t see you anymore nor converse with you any longer but I vehemently believe you are seeing us, how I wish we can still have few words because I’ve got a whole lot to tell you.

“I’m bereft of what to tell the boys especially, Adejuwon, because, at his age, he reads and surfs the net so much that curiosity gets hold of him and has already known a lot about you.

“You remain to me, the best father, teacher and mentor and husband that ever bestrode the landscapes. Almighty Allah will forgive all your sins and accept your return.”

Queen Ola, as she is popularly known, became prominent in the news after her exit from the Alaafin’s palace in 2020.

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