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OPINION: Is Èmil’ókàn Audacity Or Incantation Ritual?

Published

4 months ago

August 24, 2025

By Festus Adedayo

A few weeks ago, an outburst of then aspirant for Nigeria’s presidential office, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, marked his third anniversary. On June 2, 2022, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Tinubu bit the bullet in what has now become an epochal ad-lib commentary. In a retort to attempts to deny him the Nigerian presidency, he had said, “Èmil’ókàn, e gbékinníyìíwá” – It is my turn, bring this thing. At a meeting with Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, as well as leaders and delegates of the APC at the presidential lodge, Ibara, Abeokuta on that same day, Tinubu rained subtle invective on Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s then sitting president. He had come to meet the party’s delegates in Abeokuta ahead of its presidential primaries slated for about a week to that day.

Like Sango, the Yoruba god of thunder, lightning and fire or an enraged cobra, Tinubu spat out the magical words. “If not for me who stood behind Buhari, he wouldn’t have become the president,” he began, in an audacity many believe was sterner than Barack Obama’s. “He tried the first time, he fell; the second time, he fell; the third, he fell… He even wept on national television and vowed never to contest again but I went to meet him in Kaduna and told him he will run again. I will stand by you and you will win, but you must not joke with Yorubas and he agreed. Since he became the president, I have never got ministerial slots, I didn’t collect any contract, I have never begged for anything from him. Èmil’ókàn, e gbékinníyìíwá”; it is the turn of Yoruba, it is my turn.”

Anyone in alignment with the Nigerian political barometer of this period in time would know that, as at the morning of June 2, 2022, Tinubu was not in the reckoning of the powers-that-be for a Buhari successor. For his presidential dream, in the words of immortal Nigerian nationalist, K. O. Mbadiwe, the come has come to become. Or better put, from the tone and timbre of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s saxophonist, “réré (ti) run” – a political calamity was afoot. Shortly after the outburst, however, what was thought to be a speech fiasco morphed into a catapult that shot Tinubu up. In spite of his visible opposition to his candidacy, Buhari almost instantly got sucked into it, inexplicably. You could feel the grudge and reluctance in Buhari thereafter. The gang-ups against Tinubu thereafter melted like ice in the sun. Not long after, a major stumbling block, Godwin Emefiele’s Naira re-denomination, fell face flat on the floor. Before you could say Jack, what was thought to be Tinubu’s baggage became his greatest wattage.

What actually transpired in Abeokuta that day? Scholars have since then subjected that audacious and epochal Tinubu statement to different analytical studies. Was it a pure biting of the bullet? A daring Tinubu owns its patent since he hopped into third republic politics? Or, was it an omnivorous appetite for things magical that many claim cannot be divorced from Tinubu’s politics? After all, Yoruba say a child’s behavioural manifestation propels him to seek anti-machete protection charm (Ìwàomol’óńmúomo se òkígbé). In other words, was that Abeokuta statement a product of unscience and metaphysics (òògùnab’enugòngò), a flavour that has been known to be part and parcel of African politics?

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR:OPINION: You Be Terrorist, I No Be Terrorist!

In April 2024, during the beginning of the travails of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, a similar pronouncement, thought to have spiritual implication, went viral in a video. It had an enchanter recite an incantation with utmost fury. It went thus: “River Niger and River Benue, the confluence is in Kogi State. Except say River Niger and River Benue no come meet for Kogi; if River Niger and River Benue come meet for Kogi, dem no go fit arrest Bello… Dem dey use EFCC pursue am, dem no go succeed o. Dem go lay siege for im house for Abuja… Except say I no be born of Igala kingdom… EFCC dey front, you dey back; you dey back, dem dey front; you dey left, dem dey right; you dey right, dem dey left; you dey centre, dem come there, you jump dem pass!…a lion cannot give birth to a goat…”

Those in the know claim it would be ludicrous to claim that, since 2007 when he left the governorship of Lagos, Tinubu has welded his leadership of Lagos together only with political sagacity and tons of cash. Extra-terrestial intelligence in the form of occult practices, membership of a cult of leadership where allegiances are suborned in blood oaths, are alleged to be interwoven into the much-touted Lagos hold of power. In Africa as a whole, empirical evidence given by practitioners often interviewed to give participant observations of the phenomenon has shown that, while the electorate sees the formal practices of voting, primaries and elections, unseen, chilling, blood-curdling informal recourse to black magic is an unwritten but potent credential of African political practices. So, the question is, does metaphysics influence outcomes of electoral practices? Or put more succinctly, do politicians’ occult and traditional magical practices have any bearing on voter behaviour or electoral outcomes?

Of a truth, science has denounced the validity of the above reasoning. Austro-British philosopher of language, Ludwig Wittgenstein, was one of those who rubbished it. In his Tractatus which contained criticisms of traditional metaphysical investigation like the Èmil’ókàn outburst, Ludwig considered such as “abstract speculations” and meaningless linguistic confusion. He even said that such engagements were “metaphysical chatter(s)”. It must be said that three centuries before Wittgenstein, that is the seventeenth century, were a period in which philosophy and science could not be sharply demarcated from the occult. There, occult and reason existed side by side.

To thus think that Nigeria’s electoral politics is solely what transpires in the physical will be naivety of the highest order. In my little interface with politicians in southern Nigeria, I can confirm that there is a spiritual dimension to political leadership. Indeed, there exists a seeming incestuous relationship between politics and spirituality, especially rituals. It exists in northern Nigeria as well, solely cobbled together by the marabout system brought into Nigeria by hermitic and itinerant North African Islamic Malams. Because elections and electioneering are seen as war, Nigerian politicians visit spiritualists to fortify themselves with Òkígbé, a charm perceived to insulate them from piercing machetes, guns and machinations of political adversaries. With Òkígbé, it is said that someone thus fortified, if inflicted with machete, the metal breaks into two.

In southwest Nigeria, guests visiting homes of politicians where a mass of people throng will not fail to notice grains of millet and corns splashed on roads. They are rituals which are believed to attract a motley crowd to the sides of the politicians. Those in the know also say that, as we gravitate towards the 2027 elections, there will be a spate of ritual murders known to be handiwork of politicians in need of human parts to aid their political ambitions. Non-politicians also engage in it. When you go to road junctions where three footpaths meet (orítaméta) in the southwest, you cannot fail to see ritual offerings in calabashes which are many times spiritual electoral interventions. Election times are periods rituals, libations and incantations reign. Effigies of political opponents are sometimes also made, on which are poured frightening incantations. The belief is that such political opponents are caged and their political destinies padlocked. Nigerian politicians also visit spiritualists, either the Christian variant, the Islamic-flavoured ones or traditionalists.

In earlier pieces I did, both on September 26, 2021 and April 28, 2024, with the headlines, “Nigeria’s huge market of blood and human sacrifice” and “The marabouts of Yahaya Bello”, respectively, I explored the themes of magical and ritual practices as a pervasive phenomenon in power relations in Nigeria. I stated that this affirms that when complicated issues and challenges of life confront Nigerian politicians, they quickly run to their traditions and origins. These syncretic practices do not affect their worship in church on Sunday nor mosque on Friday. This equally demonstrates the ease with which politicians momentarily throw away their Christian and Islamic cloaks to hold on to the utilitarian purpose that magic and sorcery serve them.

Cannibalism of ritual practice isn’t strictly African as empirical documentation confirmed that during the trans-Atlantic trade, European cannibals were also on the prowl seeking the succulent fleshes of Africans to make delicacies. Andre Donelha, a Cape Verdean, who travelled in Upper Guinea from 1574 to 1585, recalled how the Mane, invaders who operated during the first half of the sixteenth century, attacked the Western coast of Africa from the eastern flank and “(ate) human flesh at any time and while at war, even that which belongs to one of their own nation. When they make war, the conquerors eat the conquered.” In fact, the Manes were reputed to bear the grisly and cruel name of Sumbas which, translated, means “eaters of human flesh,” a practice which Walter Rodney explained was “for courage and ferocity.”

Christianity and Islam have sought to wipe out blood oath, human sacrifice and cannibalism to no avail. The Ogboni itself was a recipient of this rout in 1948 in Oyo by Alaafin Raji Adeniran Adeyemi II, a pious Muslim monarch, who sought to de-link the palace from ancient voodoo practices. Hitherto, the palace held a great link to and derived its existence from the immense powers of the Ogboni fraternity.

Though a great attempt is made by the present cyber age to delink secret cults from the operations of society, they flower greatly among African elite, especially among political power cabals who run to them for metaphysical shields at moments of existential turmoil. Indeed, judges, politicians, lawyers and many leaders of societies are said to belong to these fraternal secret cults, all in the stampede for power and protection against inclement weathers of life. Pastors, Imams and many society leaders are said to be card-carrying members of the cult.

The question to ask is, how then do political leaders who take this syncretic path of rituals to power bear any allegiance to the electorate? It is believed that many of them, rather than to the electorate, show gratitude to leaders of cult groups, Babalawo, Pastors and Imams after their victory. So, what is the scale of harm of this practice on Nigerians?

Students of philosophy and traditional African religion would need to help us situate Tinubu’s June 2, 2022 outburst which culminated in the world-renowned phrase, “Èmil’ókàn, e gbékinníyìíwá”. To be where he is, did Tinubu have a dalliance with the elderly who are known to be spiritual leaders of his domain? Having hailed from a core Yoruba area of Iragbiji in Osun State, nobody needs to teach Tinubu the potent powers of autochthonous Yoruba people’s spiritual powers. For anyone who understands the lingo of the coven, the phrase “Èmil’ókàn, e gbékinníyìíwá” sounds more like an incantation ritual than the outburst of an enraged politician. It is almost synonymous with the chant, “Agbe, bring goodies to me,” Agbe, being a bird known in English as the Great Blue Turaco, a vibrant, culturally significant bird among the Yoruba which has blue plumage.

I have heard a sprinkle of scholars and practitioners say that the talismanic effect of that Tinubu outburst removes it from the ordinary. So, was it science, unscience, Realpolitik or spiritual politics that brought Tinubu to power? Did he, in 2023, realizing the eternal wisdom in the native Yoruba wisdom which says, if you do not have what elders fortify themselves with, you would remain a suckling, (B’á ò nínnkanàgbà, bíèwelàárí) decide to use what he had to get what he needed.

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OPINION: Aláàfin Ọ̀yọ́ Cuddling A Dead Empire (1)

Published

7 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

Tunde Odesola

The (Ọmọ) child (tó) is (bá) the (ma jẹ́) father (Àṣàmú) to (kékeré) the (ló ti ń jẹnu) man (ṣámú-ṣámú). Ehn, yes! Deal with it! The mishmash opening sentence is intentional because it is confusion I have on offer today, not peace or order. Not prostration or placation. My esteemed readers can’t be eating Christmas rice and chicken while I wrack my brain to produce an article, which will be digested within 20 minutes, amid mutterings of ‘uhm!’, “na wa o” and “you said it all.” No, I won’t have all that.

Dear readers, where’s my Christmas rice and chicken? At all, at all, na im bad. It’s not only your mouths that can describe the road to Ọ̀yọ́: Ẹnu yín nìkan kọ́ ni wọ́n ń bá dé Ọ̀yọ́. My own mouth too can also describe the road to Ọ̀yọ́ if I sight a plateful of chicken and jollof rice.

Even if my cheeks bulge with a mouthful of rice and my eyes ogle with foodie greed while I clutch chicken thighs in both hands, I still can describe with my mouth 100 roads leading to Ọ̀yọ́. Right now, I’m journeying to the palace of Aláàfin Abimbola Akeem Ọwọade, the Iku Baba Yeye, to celebrate Christmas with him. If you are interested, you can come along; Aláàfin has more than enough food and palm wine to go round.

Now, let’s get a bit more serious. If you run the jargony first sentence of this article through a literary sieve, you will get two intertwined proverbs: one English, the other Yoruba. The English proverb is “The child is the father of the man”, and its Yoruba counterpart is “Ọmọ tó bá ma jé Àṣàmú, kékeré ló ti ń jẹnu ṣámú-ṣámú”. Neither plagiarised the other. Only that the same stream of thought flowed through two different social milieux in different languages, at different eras, before congealing in wisdom. The English proverb was coined by William Wordsworth, an English poet, in his 1802 poem, “My Heart Leaps Up.” Its Yoruba equivalent, “Ọmọ tó bá ma jé Àṣàmú,” is a fruit of logic dangling on a communal tree at the village square.

Since the two proverbs mean the same thing, I’m taking both with me to the Ọlọ́yọ in Ọ̀yọ́. “The child is the father of the man” implies that the gamut of a person’s childhood experiences, character, and values fundamentally shape who they become as an adult, stressing that the innocent, formative years of childhood lay the groundwork for the entire adult life. The proverb has a couple of other meanings, but the meaning I deploy here suffices for this engagement. The Yoruba proverb, “Ọmọ tó bá ma jé Àṣàmú, kékeré ló ti ń jẹnu ṣámú-ṣámú,” means “A child that would grow to become Àṣàmú (an adult), would possess from childhood, Àṣàmú’s sharp oratory skill.”

Let me bore you with the story a deputy governor told me many, many years ago. “Tunde, I was a rascally child. There was no mischief beyond me. One day, I rummaged through my father’s alcohol cabinet, which had all sorts of choice drinks. Normally, I drink from any bottle that tickles my fancy. But, one particular day, I took a swig from a dark bottle, it was so sweet, nice and creamy. I took another swig and fell asleep, right by the cabinet.

“I jerked awake to my father’s car horn. Quickly, I locked the bar, bolted to my room, grabbed a book and sat like a saint. Ha, that was a close shave! Hot air zipped down my nostrils. That night, I slept soundly. I looked forward to another drink from the dark bottle. On subsequent occasions, I drank from the bottle. Each time I drank, I topped it up with a little water.”

“One day, my daddy had some of his fellow top civil servants visiting. He was happy to receive them. He went to his mahogany bar, opened it and brought out various drinks. Clutching ‘my’ bottle, my father proudly announced to his friends that he bought the creamy drink and some others from France. One of his friends took the ‘my’ bottle from him, noticed it was already opened, but he didn’t say anything. As he opened and poured the drink, my heart relocated. The drink that was once chocolate had turned snow-white. When he tasted it, his face crumpled like a deflated balloon. He called my father by his first name and showed him the content in his cup, saying, ‘Lagbaja, this is not from France.’

“My father was no-nonsense. His instrument of chastisement was an entwined six-wire whip. After seeing off his friends, he stormed back in. He called all of us to the sitting room and announced the crime. He didn’t ask who the culprit was. He just said, “I’ll begin with the youngest! Hey, you, come here!”

“My youngest sibling screamed, “Èmi kọ́ o ! It’s not me o! It’s aunty Tamedo. I saw her when she opened your cabinet and drank your drinks! It’s not me o!!”

Unknown to him that the soul of his Irish Cream had been killed by his daughter, the deputy governor’s father lived on false hope, believing that his bar was still as warm as a furnace, not knowing that it was as cold as a refrigerator. He was living in the past, like Aláàfin Ọwọade is doing today.

Enthroned in the first quarter of 2025, Ọwọade has yet to clock one year on the àpèrè of his forefathers. But it appears the Ọlọ́yọ has been reigning for over a decade. The gbas-gbos sound of the pestle pounding the mortar in Ọ̀yọ́ is not a dinner invitation. The sound is the drumbeat of an unnecessary war. On April 11, 2025, exactly six days after his inauguration on April 5, 2025, I wrote an article, “Letter to Alaafin Abimbola Owoade,” in honour of the new king, congratulating him and charging him to rule in peace, love and harmony. In the article, I prayed, “May the land not be angry with your majesty. May Ọ̀yọ́ live in harmony during your reign…Aláàfin, so far, your feet appear set on the path of honour, I beseech thee not to depart from it.”

Upon noticing the unmelodious bata sound emanating from Ọ̀yọ́ palace thereafter, I wrote another piece on May 9, 2025, titled, “Aláàfin Ọwọade: Thy bata drum is sounding too loudly.” In the article, I called on Ọwọade to tread with caution, warning that royalty road is strewn with banana skins. Specifically, I recalled the controversial death of Chief Lookman Arounfale, the Baba Ọjà of Ọ̀yọ́tùnjì, a US community, after he was reportedly attacked in Aláàfin’s palace. However, the palace issued a statement denying involvement in the death of Arounfale.

In the article, I also recalled how the Ọ̀ràngún of Ìlá, Ọba Abdulwahab Oyedotun, and his entourage were allegedly treated shoddily during a congratulatory visit to the Aláàfin.

From day one, I mean, right on Aláàfin’s coronation day, controversy erupted over what many Yoruba sons and daughters perceived as shabby treatment of the Ooni of Ife, Ọba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, whose name was not mentioned at all during the programme. As the culturally recognised head of all Yoruba traditional rulers, the Ọọni was not given the honour to speak at the occasion. This action presupposes that the Alaafin, even before his coronation, nursed a complex against the Ọọni. My personal findings showed that when it was the turn of an oba to speak on behalf of all traditional rulers present at Ọwọade’s coronation, it was the Oloro of Oro in Kwara State, Ọba Oyatoye Titiloye, a couple-of-months-old king, who was called to speak. When it was time for the Alaafin to talk, he failed to recognise the Ọọni or kings from Osun State. I don’t think that’s a good way to treat visitors who left their ‘ile ati ona’ to come and felicitate with you.

In his eight-month reign so far, Ọwọade has visited the Aseyin of Iseyin (Oyo State), Okere of Sak (Oyo State)i, Alake of Egba (Ogun State), Sultan of Sokoto (Sokoto State), Onitede of Tede (Oyo State), Olofa of Ofa (Kwara State), Oluwo of Iwo (Osun State), Emir of Ilorin (Kwara State), and the Olowu Kuta of Owu Kuta (Osun State), on a thank you and familiarisation visit. But he has yet to visit the ancestral and cultural head of the Yoruba nation, the Ooni of Ife, Ọọni Adeyeye Ogunwusi. I suspect Aláàfin Ọwọade is saving the biggest for the last. Iku Baba Yeye is at liberty to choose who and when to visit.

Ọwọade’s attitude became a matter of particular concern for me because the heatmap of his relationship with the Ooni indicates red, while that of the Arole Oduduwa is green. At this juncture, it is good to ask the Aláàfin a pertinent question. How has the Ooni wronged you? As I said earlier, it behoves the Aláàfin to associate with whosoever he desires, but it doesn’t lie in his right to exhibit an attitude that casts the Yoruba in discourteous, arrogant and unroyal light.

I ask again, what has the Ọọni done to deserve disdain from the Aláàfin – when the Ọọni has not publicly disrespected him? Before the Aláàfin thinks I’m doing a paid job for Ogunwusi, he should grab a copy of last Friday’s PUNCH and read how acerbic I was of the Ọọni for installing Senator Oluremi, the wife of President Bola Tinubu, as Yeye Asiwaju Gbogbo Ile Oduduwa, without using the symbolic ‘akoko’ leaves. The title of that my critique is “Tinubu: Ade Ori Okin befits KWAM 1, not Awujale crown”. Aláàfin, nobody send me o; I am just in the queue of Nigerians who demand responsible leadership for our society to grow.

The long queue of Nigerians demanding decorum from their leaders was shocked a few months ago when Ọwọade announced that he was the only traditional authority that could honour anyone with a title that covers the whole of Yorubaland. Ọwọade’s announcement came after the Ọọni honoured an Ibadan businessman, Dotun Sanusi, as the Okanlomo Oodua. Hehehe. The King of Oyo also gave Ogunwusi 48 hours to rescind the title given to Sanusi or face a consequence. The Ọọni has not rescinded the title. And thunder from the Ṣango of Ọyọ has failed to strike Ogunwusi. Abi, does the Aláàfin mean 48 years?
Or was the Iku Baba Yeye ‘catching cruise’ – as the youth of today would say? When confronted with an unserious or funny matter, the youth of today would also say ‘dey play’ or ‘ọ̀rọ̀ àpárá. Is the Alaafin plying?

A foremost traditionalist and Araba of Osogbo, Ifayemi Elebuibon, shared his opinion on the ongoing issue, saying the Old Oyo Empire, which Ọwọade is using as a basis for his preeminent claim, was long dead and buried. He said, “Ọyọ should pay reparation to other parts of Yorubaland that they despoiled. Ọyọ wreaked havoc on fellow Yoruba towns, lording it over towns and villages, and forcing them to pay tributes. When they argue that they rescued Yorubaland, did they fight wars as much as Ibadan? Where were they when Ibadan warriors repelled and defeated the Fulani? The Old Ọyọ empire had collapsed then. So, should Ibadan also get up and say they are superior to Ile-Ife? No. How can a child be older than his father? Did Ọranyan, who founded Ọyọ, not leave from Ile-Ife? So, what are they saying? Is supremacy fight what our kings should be engaged in now?

“Look at how many people Basorun Gaa killed. Look at how many Alaafins he killed? Is that the type of history that we should be proud of? Is that the type of history that a king should derive his present-day authority from, and try to lord it over others as if we are still in the past? The Alaafin should learn patience. Many of our traditional rulers are bringing shame to us. Was it Ifa or a royal election that made Alaafin superior? But the Ọọni derives his superiority from Ifa.”

I reminded Elebuibon that Ifa chose the new Alaafin. He said, “Yes, Ifa chooses kings, but the chosen king must also reinvent himself…”

To be continued.

Email: tundeodes2003@yahoo.com

Facebook: @Tunde Odesola

X: @Tunde_Odeso

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Makinde Increases Gratuity Payment Of Retirees From N1.5b To N3b

Published

7 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, has approved a 100 per cent increase in gratuity payments for retirees in the state.

The Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Aribatise Adebayo, confirmed the development in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan on Friday.

Adebayo noted that gratuity payments have increased significantly from ₦1.5 billion to ₦3 billion.

He said the development further confirms the governor’s worker-friendly disposition towards labour unions in the state.

Adebayo added that the governor has not reneged on his promise to continue paying the 13th-month salary at the end of every calendar year.

The statement read, “The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) in Oyo State sincerely appreciates the Governor of Oyo State, His Excellency, Engr. Seyi Makinde, for his commendable and worker-friendly gestures.

“We particularly commend the Governor for increasing the proposed gratuity payment from ₦1.5 billion to ₦3 billion, a decision that demonstrates his deep commitment to the welfare of retirees.

“We also applaud the consistent payment of the 13th-month salary, which has now been paid for the seventh time, as well as the prompt release of subventions.

“These actions further reaffirm the governor’s dedication to the well-being of workers and retirees in Oyo State and his unwavering support for industrial harmony.”

Makinde has felicitated Christians in the state and across the country on the occasion of this year’s Christmas, urging them to continue to live in love and harmony with one another and with their neighbours.

The governor made the call in a Christmas message released on Thursday and made available to journalists by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju.

According to Makinde, Christmas is a season of love, with the birth of Christ as the essence of the celebration, stressing that Christians must reflect this message by showing love to others and living in peace in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

He also counselled residents of the state to remain vigilant during the Yuletide, noting that security is a shared responsibility between the government and the people.

The governor urged citizens to report suspicious movements and activities to security agencies through the Oyo State Citizen Emergency Number, 615, reiterating that the principle of “if you see something, say something” remains in force.

He said: “This is to wish our Christian brethren and, indeed, all residents of Oyo State and Nigeria a Merry Christmas.

“Christmas, as we all know, symbolises love as exemplified by the miraculous but humble birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, we must live the message and the essence of the festival.

“Let me also use the opportunity to charge residents of the state to be vigilant and observant as they go about merrying. As a government, we have been up to the task in terms of securing the state, but there is still a role for residents to play. This is why we always say that if you see something, say something, and your government will do something.

“The Oyo State Citizen Emergency Number 615 is active. Please call to report any emergency or suspicion of criminality, and our rapid response system will be activated to bring the situation under check.

“Once again, Merry Christmas!”

News

PHOTOS: SGF George Akume Weds Ooni’s Ex-Queen

Published

7 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, has officially wed Queen Zaynab Ngohemba, the former wife of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.

The announcement was made public on Friday by a facebook user and member of the Dajoh family, Abraham Double-d Dajoh, via a celebratory social media post.

He confirmed the union between the high-ranking government official and the former Olori of the Ife Kingdom.

The Dajoh family described the union as “beautiful” and “uncommon,” as they formally welcomed her into their fold in Benue State.

In a statement that quickly went viral, the Dajoh family expressed their collective joy, signalling a significant chapter for the SGF’s household.

“We, the entire Dajoh Family, happily join our daddy, uncle and brother, His Excellency, The Secretary To The Government Of The Federation, Sen. George Akume Jugu Dajoh in welcoming his new and uncommon wife, Queen Zaynab Ngohemba-George Akume Dajoh, into the Dajoh family,” the post read.

The family further extended their appreciation to the political associates and supporters of the SGF, urging them to remain steadfast in their loyalty to him as he embarks on this personal journey.

“We appreciate and thank the fans and supporters of Sen. Akume for always standing by him. We enjoin every one of you to continue to support his Excellency even in this beautiful union with Queen Zaynab,” the post further read.

Queen Zaynab, who was previously known as Olori Wuraola during her 17-month marriage to the Ooni of Ife (which ended in 2017), was ushered into her new home with deep cultural reverence.

The Dajoh family emphasised the importance of their ancestral roots in Mbakor and the wider Benue State.

“Welcome to Benue State, the Food Basket of the Nation, welcome to Mbakor, the seat of leadership of the Tiv nation and welcome to the Dajoh family, the home of your darling husband. Welcome home, Queen Zaynab,” the statement concluded.

The announcement coincided with the festive period, as the family used the opportunity to wish Nigerians a happy holiday season.

“We wish you all a happy Christmas Celebration and a Prosperous New Year,” the post read.

Akume, a former Governor of Benue State and a politician, currently serves as a key figure in the President Bola Tinubu administration.

The news of his marriage to Queen Zaynab—a prominent humanitarian and former royal—has become a major talking point across the country’s social and political circles.

Contacted on the telephone on Friday, Akume’s spokesman, Yomi Odunuga, confirmed the marriage.

He, however, said contrary to reports that the wedding was held on December 24, the marriage is over a year old.

“I can confirm the marriage. However, contrary to the rumour that the marriage was concretised in Gboko on Christmas eve when the couple appeared together at an event to celebrate Christmas, it was actually a marriage that is over a year old,” Odunuga said.