A viral moment of royal generosity has curdled into a public correction after the Ooni of Ife moved to shut down what he called a misreading of a lighthearted palace exchange with Nollywood actor Baba Ijesha.
The controversy traces back to a courtesy visit last Wednesday, when the actor, born James Olanrewaju Omiyinka, and his wife, fashion entrepreneur Afolashade “Luminee” Omiyinka, called on Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi at the Ile Oodua Palace to mark the birth of their son.
What was, by the palace’s own account, a warm family occasion complete with a new car and cash gifts pressed into the couple’s hands quickly took on a life of its own online.
By Thursday, Baba Ijesha had posted photographs from the visit on Facebook, thanking the monarch effusively and declaring himself honored with “the chieftaincy title, Baba Awada Konge Oduwa.”
The post spread fast, and several entertainment outlets ran with it as confirmed news: the Ooni, it was reported, had installed the comedian-turned-actor with a traditional title.
Two days later, the palace pushed back. In a statement issued Saturday, Director of Media and Public Affairs Otunba Moses Olafare relayed the Ooni’s account of what actually transpired, and it does not include a chieftaincy title.
The phrase in question, the palace insists, was nothing more than royal banter. “Awada Konge Oduwa,” the statement explained, was a “light-comedy remark” the monarch made in the moment, playing on Baba Ijesha’s reputation as a comedian, not a formal conferment.
The distinction the palace is drawing matters more in Ile-Ife than a casual observer might assume. Chieftaincy in the ancient city, the statement stressed, is not something bestowed on a whim during a social visit; it follows a “sacred traditional process” of customs, consultations, and rites conducted publicly according to long-established tradition. None of that machinery, the palace was at pains to note, was set in motion during the actor’s visit.
Still, the door hasn’t been shut entirely. The Ooni acknowledged that Baba Ijesha, as a son of Ile-Ife, is deserving of honor and could yet be considered for a genuine title down the line, just not, apparently, this way and not yet.
The episode arrives against a complicated backdrop for Baba Ijesha, whose reemergence into public life has been closely watched. The actor was released in November 2025 after serving time following a 2022 conviction for sexually assaulting a minor, and the birth of his son with Ms. Omiyinka, announced only weeks ago, had already stirred debate online, with some followers initially questioning whether the relationship reveal was genuine or promotional content.
For his part, the palace struck a conciliatory note toward the actor himself, commending him for publicly acknowledging the kindness shown to his family, even as it called on media houses and the public to disregard claims of a formal title.
The Ooni closed the statement by reaffirming a broader commitment to honoring Ile-Ife’s sons and daughters and the wider Oduduwa lineage while guarding what he described as the sanctity and integrity of the chieftaincy institution itself.
Whether the clarification catches up with the original claim, which has already been amplified across social media and several entertainment sites, remains to be seen.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Ooni of Ife did not confer any chieftaincy title on Baba Ijesha. The phrase “Awada Konge Oduwa” was a lighthearted joke made during a family visit to celebrate the actor’s newborn son, not a formal traditional installation.
Chieftaincy titles in Ile-Ife follow strict customary rites that were never carried out here, and the palace has urged the public to disregard claims suggesting otherwise.
