A prince among graduates

Manitoba’s public school system is receiving high praise from a Nigerian king who sent his only son to Grade 12 in Transcona.

Prince Adetola Samuel Owoade — known as “Sam,” to friends and family — kept his royal title under wraps throughout his tenure at Transcona Collegiate.

It wasn’t until an end-of-year ceremony that many of Sam’s peers and their families learned nobility was among the Class of 2026.

His Royal Majesty, Abimbola Owoade I, was unable to vacate his throne in southwestern Nigeria for the occasion, but he made his fatherly pride known.

“The task of raising a child, especially one who carries the heritage and expectations of a royal lineage, is neither simple nor light. It requires patience, expertise, and genuine commitment,” Owoade wrote in a letter that was hand delivered to the school’s principal by a representative from his ancient palace.

“For the diligence, mentorship, and fatherly/motherly care that you and your team have invested in my son, Prince Adetola Samuel Owoade, the Alaafin and the entire Oyo Kingdom remain eternally grateful.”

The Alaafin of Oyo Kingdom — one of several titles he received during his coronation 15 months ago — is “the spiritual head, cultural custodian, and moral compass of the Yoruba nation,” he noted.

In the king’s absence, Oyo Queen Abiwumi Olajumoke Owoade was escorted to their teenager’s high school convocation with an entourage carrying a staff of honour. The beaded baton served as a physical symbol of the king.

The queen assumed her seat, a reserved chair in the front row, in traditional Yoruba dress. She wore a velvet-maroon ensemble adorned with gold stitching and a matching headwrap.

Sam, 17, who served as a point guard for the Transcona Titans basketball team, wore a kelly green-coloured cap and gown, like his fellow graduates.

“I enjoy being normal,” he said during an interview, surrounded by leftover graduation party decorations in his family’s living room in Devonshire Park.

The desire to experience normalcy was what led him to enrol in the River East Transcona School Division in September.

Shortly after his Nigerian-Canadian parents were crowned supreme leaders of the Oyo Empire, Sam convinced them studying in a “real-world” environment would better prepare him for public service. He attended a private Christian school in Winnipeg before 2025-26.

Sam and his mother, neither of whom are big fans of crowds or being the centre of attention, said their family’s recent transition has been filled with learning curves.

“The freedom is no more there,” the Oyo Queen told the Free Press.

“I remember mentioning to the king at one point, I said, ‘I just feel like just taking a stroll to go out by myself. I just want to be alone, which is impossible — you have security, you have the police.’”

The numerous changes for the reigning royals include being in charge of a staff of roughly 100 people and no longer being able to eat in public or wear casual clothing.

Sam recalled he became a prince “overnight.”

It was around 5 a.m. (early afternoon West Africa Time) on Jan. 10, 2025, a regular school day for Sam, when he awoke to shrieks of excitement.

His father had been named the 46th Alaafin of Oyo, supreme monarch and traditional ruler of the state where his parents grew up.

The announcement was made following a multi-year and community-driven search during which their relatives endorsed Owoade to replace a king who died in 2022 following a nearly 52-year reign.

Unlike the Commonwealth, Nigeria has more than one royal family. It has multiple non-sovereign monarchs whose titles typically derive from independent states that existed before the modern federal republic formed.

These local leaders oversee religious activities, mediate local disputes and liaise with elected officials. Successors are selected based on royal lineage in a kingdom — such as the Owoades in Oyo — and extensive community consultation.

Sam’s parents were officially crowned last spring. He didn’t attend the event, owing to their insistence the prince prioritize his studies in Winnipeg. Although he grew up speaking Yoruba, the U.K.-born Nigerian-Canadian has yet to visit the region where his family reigns.

His parents moved to England so his father could complete his mechanical engineering studies. They immigrated to Manitoba so his mother, a registered nurse, could take a job at a personal care home in Lundar in 2012. The trio moved to Transcona two years later.

The king and queen left their respective jobs at Manitoba Hydro and the Health Sciences Centre when their now-lifetime titles were formalized.

While the family’s new reality comes with many perks, Sam said it’s been challenging to spend so much time apart from his parents given their titles come with busy itineraries. The distance has forced him to become more independent, he said.

His mother regularly travels back and forth from the ancient palace where her husband has taken up full-time residency and their suburban house in east Winnipeg.

The prince hasn’t seen the king for more than a year. He didn’t see his mother for three months in Grade 12, during which he lived with relatives in Transcona.

In his June 22 letter, Owoade applauded the school division’s role in helping his son develop respect for elders, integrity, industry, humility “and an unwavering commitment to excellence.”

Principal Anita Maharaj said she was in shock upon receiving the “very, very complimentary letter” printed on royal letterhead.

There was no precedent for responding to such a letter or preparing to welcome royals to a convocation, Maharaj said, noting the prince had requested he be treated as any other student at the start of the year.

Sam agreed to be recognized as a prince when he was called out on stage at convocation.

Following ceremony, school staff organized for the queen to privately meet local Yoruba who wanted to pay their respects. Roughly a third of the public school’s student population is Nigerian.

While most children hugged their parents, Sam greeted his mother with “complete respect, dignity and surrender,” his principal recalled.

“It was beyond a bow,” Maharaj said, adding the prince laid on the floor and touched his forehead to her feet before receiving a blessing.

“Regardless of the prefix that comes before the student’s name, he is truly a testament of what we value here at Transcona Collegiate,” she added. “And that’s a sense of pride in self and a sense of pride in community and a sense of always trying to do your best.”

Transcona Collegiate’s other famous alumni include professional wrestler Tyson Smith, better known as Kenny Omega, and country musicians Tom and Jason Petric.

Now that Sam’s graduated, he has more flexibility to join his parents — at least before he starts his bachelor of science degree at the University of Manitoba.

Sam returned from his first official trip as a royal, a 10-day outing to Brazil, over the weekend.

The Yoruba is one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa.

There are an estimated 50 million Yoruba people across the globe and while the majority of them reside in Nigeria, there are diasporas in South America, North America and Europe.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca