The Ooni of Ife took to his Instagram handle to commemorate the birth of his daughter when he was just 19 years old.
He posted images of him and his daughter, Princess Adeola Ogunwusi, at various stages of their lives, and emphasized that being a young parent came with a lot of responsibilities.
Being a single father to a young girl, he added, was a “daunting” experience, but one that taught him a lot.
He wrote;
Parenting can be a big dream with unique challenges. It’s never a game of squid. I have had my share of its beauty as a young Father who was blessed with the most precious daughter at the age of 19. It was a huge responsibility for me, and I relied on a leap of faith and determination.
The journey with my daughter, Princess Adeola was incredibly filled with uncertainty as a young Father, nonetheless, I guided my heart with all diligence and girded my loins for all the challenges.
Reminiscent of the past, those steps of molding and shaping the future of another life were huge tasks and calculated risk.
Based on my recollection, I lived through pockets of circumstances that called my integrity and competence to questioning.
I equally realized that being a single parent to a daughter in an unfamiliar footprint can be a major shift in human experience and a daunting journey as you need to help your child to navigate day to day social situations, complex feelings, and developmental changes that life prescribes.
Profoundly, life taught me to exhibit an abundance measure of resilience, compassion, determination and above all empathy which my daughter sought from me.
We formed an unbroken bond, shared in our joy and challenges as my closest friend and great confidant.
She is and will always be a huge blessing to me and life successes. I celebrate you. Princess Adeola Ogunwusi for being the epitome of my strength and dignity. Your tenacity, doggedness and unshakable optimism to be the best in life are unarguably lifelong lessons that I cherish in you.
