Chanel Chin’s interview on her palace experience has ignited online debate about gender roles and cultural expectations in Nigeria.
Chanel Chin, estranged wife of Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwo, has opened up about her time in the palace, describing it as overwhelming and culturally foreign.
In an interview, Chin, who was raised in Canada by Jamaican and British parents, said she was unprepared for palace traditions. “I didn’t know a king in Nigeria could have as many wives as he wants… When I caught him cheating, he told me, ‘I’m a king,’” she revealed. She added that when she sought advice, palace women urged her to endure. “In Yoruba land, you don’t leave your husband,” she was told.
Her remarks have fueled social media debate, with many questioning cultural practices that appear to sideline women. One user wrote: “The African culture is not woman-friendly. Most of these men are grand patrons of misogyny.”
Chin’s revelations highlight deeper conversations about marriage, gender expectations, and cultural traditions in Nigeria.