At 23, Oba Oloyede Adekoya Akinghare II stood on the stage at Afe Babalola University in Ado-Ekiti this week, wearing both his graduation gown and the coral beads of his office. The Arujale-Ojima of Okeluse Kingdom in Ondo State, known as one of the youngest traditional rulers in Yorubaland, collected his degree in Political Science seven years after he became king at just 16. The Ooni of Ife, the Olowo of Owo, the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti and other senior monarchs were there to witness it. In that moment, a young man who carries a crown showed that the classroom still had a place for him.
Most teenagers at 16 are still figuring out secondary school. Akinghare was already a king, taking on the weight of his father’s throne after his death. Yet he finished school, enrolled at ABUAD, and chose Political Science because it spoke directly to the work of leading his people. On campus he tried to live like any other student. He walked from his hostel to class, joined in football games, and for a while many of his classmates had no idea a traditional ruler sat among them. When the truth came out, the quiet focus never changed. He simply kept showing up.
The real work was in the balancing act. While other students stayed on campus, Akinghare regularly travelled back to Okeluse to handle palace matters, settle community issues and meet his traditional responsibilities, then returned to university to pick up where he left off. He treated both roles as non-negotiable. On social media he shared ordinary student moments even as the duties of kingship continued, showing that neither the throne nor his studies would be set aside.
And then there is the internet side of the story. Clips of the young king routinely find their way onto TikTok and Instagram, where thousands of followers treat him like a proper celebrity. Fans (especially the ladies) scream, genuflect, and sometimes try to sneak photos whenever he appears in public. Graduation videos went fully viral, complete with comments asking if Kabiyesi would still do youth service and jokes about other students looking jealous. He has even had to remind people, quite firmly, that “bro” and “blood” are not acceptable ways to address a king. The mix of royal dignity and online stardom is strangely entertaining — a traditional ruler who somehow still ends up on people’s For You pages.
It was never easy. School fees were a real struggle and required help from well-wishers. The calls of the palace never stopped. Still, he refused to use his position as an excuse to step away from education. In interviews he has said he wanted the knowledge that would make him a better leader, not the privileges that might have let him skip the hard work. When he graduated as part of ABUAD’s largest class of 2,194 students, the videos of the young king in gown and beads spread quickly. People saw a young man who simply refused to choose between his two worlds.
For young people reading this, the story hits closer to home than royal titles. Here is someone their own age who carried adult responsibility early, refused to treat the throne as a free pass, and still finished what he started. In a time when many feel stretched thin by expectations or limited by circumstance, his path offers something clear: status does not replace effort, and education remains powerful no matter the title you carry. The calm way he walked across that stage, surrounded by elder kings who came to honour him, showed respect earned through consistency rather than age.
Now the newly graduated king returns fully to the work of Okeluse, carrying both traditional authority and formal training in political science. His achievement is living proof that tradition and modern education can sit side by side. For Nigeria’s youth, the image of a 23-year-old monarch crossing the stage in academic dress is more than a photo. It is a quiet invitation to chase excellence without waiting for perfect conditions, and to wear whatever crown life places on your head with both humility and hard-won knowledge.
The ceremony reportedly saw 2,194 students graduate, making it the largest graduating class in the university’s history.
