The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has come under fire from his former wife, Queen Chanel Chin, following his recent public allegations against the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and herself.
Queen Chanel, a Canadian-born Jamaican and daughter of reggae musician Ludlow “Bobo Zaro” Chin, described the monarch as a “deadbeat father” and dismissed his claims as false and damaging to the integrity of the Yoruba traditional institution.
The row reignited this week after the Oluwo shared a video on Instagram alleging that the Ooni of Ife conspired to orchestrate his downfall by “packaging” Queen Chanel as a wife for him. Oba Akanbi claimed the former queen attempted to poison him twice and questioned the paternity of their child.
“He (Ooni) was looking for my downfall, and the next thing, they packaged a woman for me. I don’t know her from Canada, but it was packaged for me. It was a setup,” he said. “She had a child, which I don’t even know if it’s mine. I have to confirm that through DNA.”
The monarch also accused the Ooni of accommodating and having an affair with his former wife, while affirming his spiritual invincibility: “Sango cannot kill me; Ogun cannot kill me. Only God determines when someone will die.”
Efforts to reach the Ooni’s media aide, Moses Olafare, were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
In a detailed statement shared on Instagram on Friday, Queen Chanel firmly denied the Oluwo’s allegations. She stated that she was introduced to the monarch in 2015 through a respected Lagos traditional ruler and not the Ooni of Ife, as claimed.
“I was introduced to Mr Akanbi by a respected Lagos monarch, not by the Ooni of Ife,” she wrote. “During my time as Olori Oluwo, I regarded this Lagos monarch as my Royal Father and still do with respect.”
Chanel also accused the Oluwo of neglecting their son, Prince Oduduwa, for over five years.
“Mr Akanbi has been absent from Prince Oduduwa’s life for over five years,” she said. “He only resurfaced in August this year in Canada, refused to sign passport papers, but dropped $500—the first support Oduduwa ever received from him since we left the palace.”
She urged the public to disregard what she described as falsehoods and called on Yoruba traditional leaders to hold the monarch accountable.
“This shall be my final statement on the matter. Prince Oduduwa remains my beloved son, and I hold the Yoruba people in deep love and respect,” she concluded.
Oba Akanbi and Queen Chanel’s marriage, which began after meeting at a party in Lagos, ended publicly in December 2019 after nearly three years, with the monarch citing irreconcilable differences.
