The political theater in Ondo State never disappoints. Just when you think the dust has settled after the dramatic exit of the late Governor RotimiAkeredolu, his wife, Betty, stirs the pot again. This time, she’s picked a fight with no other than the Olowo of Owo himself, and it seems the townspeople are not having it.

Reports filtering in from the ancient town speak of Owo indigenes, vexed to their very core, gathered to lay curses on the former First Lady. Her crime? Disrespecting their monarch. Complete with what we hear was a sacrifice, they made their displeasure known. One has to wonder if these potent curses wouldn’t be better aimed at the bandits still hiding in their forests, but who are we to question tradition?

The whole brouhaha started when Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, apparently acting on a formal request from the Olowo’s palace, demolished the memorial park built by the late Akeredolu to honour the victims of the heinous June 5, 2022, church massacre. According to the palace, erecting a cenotaph—a symbol of death—so close to the king’s abode is a grave cultural taboo, an “abomination.”

This, of course, sent Betty into a tailspin. In a fiery statement, she condemned the demolition as an “act of profound insensitivity” and a “desecration of sacred ground.” Fair enough. But whispers from the grapevine allege she went further, calling the revered Olowo a “baby.” A rookie mistake in Yoruba land. You don’t insult the crown.

Frankly, it’s high time Mrs. Akeredolu took a bow and left the Ondo stage. Her husband, a son of Owo, has played his part and is resting. Must she continue to meddle in the state’s politics and, now, its culture? The governor’s camp insists a more culturally appropriate site will be found to honour the dead. So why the grandstanding?

Betty seems to be losing supporters by the day following this affront to the very people she claims to care about. As one observer noted, it’s a “disturbing level of moral bankruptcy.” While Betty Akeredolu remembers her late husband’s legacy, she seems to forget that in Yoruba land, you tread carefully around the king. The people have spoken, and it seems her time as the unofficial queen mother might be finally up.

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