But as the Council battled to dispel the report of the revered monarch’s death, news emerged that the Osinkola ruling house, one of the four ruling houses in the ancient city, is poised to produce the next Ooni.
LEADERSHIP reliably gathered that the battle for succession has been narrowed down to the Ademiluyi Royal Family in the town regarded as the cradle of humanity by the Yoruba.
There are four ruling houses in Ile-Ife, namely Lafogido, Giesi, Ogbooru and Osinkola. The Ademiluyis are the main branch of the Osinkola dynasty.
While Oba Okunade Sijuwade is from the Ogboru ruling house, his predecessor, Oba Adesoji Aderemi, was from Giesi ruling house.
Elders from the Osinkola/Ademiluyi family, however, declined comment on the succession plan.
Our impeccable source said the reported demise of Oba Sijuwade at the St. Mary’s Royal Hospital in Paddington, London, after a brief illness on Tuesday, has thrown up at least five members of the Ademiluyi family as top contenders.
The names currently on the lips of the family include those of Princes Ademola Ademiluyi, an octogenarian, lawyer and a close confidant of Chief Rasaq Okoya (chairman, Eleganza Group); Yinka Ademiluyi, a septuagenarian socialite, and Gboyega Ademiluyi, said to be in his late sixties, but suave, cultured and a highly successful oil magnate
Others are Prince Adebambo Ademiluyi, in his mid-sixties, ex- Kings College graduate, and Prince Kanmi Ademiluyi who is in his late 50s.
It was learnt that, Kanmi, the maternal scion of the Lagos Peregrino family and former editor of The Punch may be difficult to discountenance in the selection of a new Ooni.
He is said to have close affinity with the All Progressives Congress and is extremely close to both the Osun State Governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
It is forbidden to express aspiration to succeed a reigning monarch, but there is no denying that all eyes have turned in the directions of the Osinkola ruling house to produce Oba Sijuwade’s successor.
In Yorubaland, it is unheard off and indeed a taboo for anybody to aspire to the throne of a sitting monarch. Hence, nobody wants to be identified with such aspiration.
There has been no formal announcement of the death of Oba Sijuwade, who was reportedly flown to London last week unconscious from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in an air ambulance.
Ife, the Source And the Oba’s Immortality
Ooni, the title of the traditional ruler of Ile-Ife, ranks at the forefront of traditional institutions in Yorubaland by virtue of the position of Ile-Ife as the cradle of Yoruba kingdom.
Its dynasty goes back to over a hundred years back, with fifty monarchs having ascended the throne.
Historically, Ife is where the founding deities, Oduduwa and Obatala, began the creation of the world, as directed by the paramount deity, Olodumare.
Obatala was said to have created the first humans out of clay, while Oduduwa became the first divine king of the Yoruba nation.
Other Obas in the line include Osangangan Obamakin, Ogun, Obalufon Ogbogbodirin, Obalufon Alayemore, Oranmiyan, Ayetise, Lajamisan, Lajodoogun, Lafogido, Odidimode Rogbesan, Aworokolokin, Ekun, Ajimuda, Gboonijio, Okanlajosin, Adegbalu, Osinkola, Ogboruu, Giesi, Luwoo, Lumobi, Agbedegbede, Ojelokunbinrin, Lagunja, Larunnka, Ademilu, Omogbogbo, Ajila-Oorun, Adejinlejila, Olojo, Okiti, Lugbade, Aribiwoso, Osinlade, Adagba, Ojigidiri.
Others are; Akinmoyero who reign between 1770-1800, Gbanlare (1800–1823), Gbegbaaja (1823-1835), Wumonije (between 1835-1837), Adegunle Adewela (1839-1849), Degbinsokun (1849-1878), Orarigba (1878–1880), Derin Ologbenla (1880–1894), Adelekan Olubuse (1894-1910), Adekola (1910, Ademiluyi Ajagun (1930-19800), Adesoji Aderemi (1930-1980) and Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse 11 (1980-2015).
Sijuwade: Controversial In Death
Nigerians woke up yesterday to hear again the news of the demise of Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, the Oonirisa of Ife and Oluaye of Yorubaland.
While the Royal Traditional Council (RTC) of Ile-Ife yesterday said the paramount ruler was alive and in good health, news reports indicated that the royal father passed on to eternity at the St. Mary Royal Hospital in Paddington, West London, after a brief illness.
The Ooni was reportedly flown to London last week unconscious from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in an air ambulance.
“Kabiyesi was flown out of the country about five days ago in an air ambulance. He was unconscious; his situation was critical. As a matter of fact, some people have been weeping in the palace since the weekend because of his situation when he was flown out from Ibadan in that air ambulance,” an impeccable source close to the revered monarch revealed.
Oba Sijuwade was said to have breathed his last at about 7:30pm on Tuesday. He was 85-years-old.
Ooni is hale, hearty – Royal Traditional Council
Addressing newsmen in the House of Chiefs located within the premises of Ile-Oodua Palace of the Ooni, the Lowa of Ife, Oba Joseph Ijaodola, who spoke in Yoruba, said the report in the media that the monarch died in a London Hospital of an undisclosed ailment was untrue.
The secretary of the RTC of Ife and Ladin of Ife, High Chief Adetoye Odewole, further asserted that the Ooni was hale and hearty and that he even spoke to the chiefs on the phone few hours earlier (yesterday).
Odewole added: “Those behind the death story are enemies of Ife and, as I speak with you, chiefs have not heard anything like that. This is not the first time such rumour will be carried about our father.
“They did it in 1984, also in 2004 and now these people are coming up with another rumour. Oba Sijuwade remains in sound state of health.”
Speaking in a similar vein, the chairman of Ife Development Board, Prof. Muib Opeloye, said Ife, as a town with rich tradition, has its way of managing its affairs.
Opeloye maintained that the royal father was preparing for his son’s wedding, and urged people not to panic and to go about their normal daily activities.
Many may be wondering why the death of a mortal is shrouded in mystery, but, traditionally, a king (an oba in Yorubaland) does not ‘die’; Obas join their ancestors.
Why Aregbesola Keeps Mum
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola
When Sijuwade’s predecessor, Oba Adesoji Aderemi, ‘ascended into the loft’ on July 3, 1980, his death was not announced until July 7, 1980, as demanded by the esoteric tradition of Ile-Ife where about 401 deities are worshipped all year round.
Ile-Ife competes with Egypt as the origin and custodian of a robust civilisation. According to tradition, the Ile-Ife Traditional Council is the only body that has the right to announce the demise of a sitting monarch and it is also the body saddled with the responsibility of nominating the successor.
The then governor of the old Oyo State, Chief Bola Ige, had ‘goofed’ by announcing on the floor of the Old Oyo State House of Assembly that the king was no more. His action was roundly condemned by the Ife traditional council which claimed that it was their traditional responsibility to announce the death of their monarch.
However, since the deed had been done, the traditional council went ahead with the burial rites and, thereafter, embarked on the selection of a successor.
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola Is An Ijesaman Like Ige
The Osun State government has not issued any official statement on the Ooni matter.
Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, was not willing to utter a word about the alleged demise of the late businessman and socialite who ascended the throne of his forebears almost 35 years ago.
However, our correspondents learnt that the state government and the traditional council were waiting for official announcement by the palace chiefs.
How The Obituary Will Be Announced
Among the kingmakers in Ile-Ife are the Ejiro, the Obalufe and the Obaloran, who today are traditional rulers in their right courtesy Oba Okunade Sijuwade’s tenure as the Ooni of Ile-Ife.
Immediately after the death of Ooni, it is expected that the Sookolekun, who is the head of the Ife Princes, is saddled with the responsibility of informing the traditional council officially.
The traditional council will then carry out some cultural and traditional rites before the death of the monarch is announced to the public.
The council, after declaring the demise to the public, will now declare the markets in the ancient town closed and a seven-day mourning period declared.
It is expected that all the property of the late monarch must have been removed from the palace before the announcement of the death, as whatever was left of his property belongs to the palace immediately his demise was announced.
But Saraki Tweets His Condolence As State Assembly Mourns
Earlier yesterday, Senate President Bukola Saraki tweeted:
‘Saddened to learn of death of Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuade (Ooni of Ife); my deepest sympathy to the royal family pic.twitter.com/wnBysf9cXs
— Bukola Saraki (APC) (@bukolasaraki) July 29, 2015.
Also, the Osun State House of Assembly has expressed its sympathy to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the state Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs, the people of ancient city of Ile Ife and the immediate and extended families of Oba Sijuwade.
In a statement issued by the Speaker’s spokesman, Goke Butika, the parliament through by the Speaker, Najeem Salaam, “expressed his regret and shock at the transition of the natural ruler to the silent land of his forebears’, saying that “the engine room of royalty and the custody of Yoruba cosmology has just been temporarily grounded by the clog of death.”
Salaam then celebrated the life and times of the great king, stating that the monarch exuded unique royalty, almost equivalent of imperial culture, which could not be rivalled while he called the shots on the revered stool of his fathers.
“The parliament then sent its condolence to the governor over the loss of the monarch and prayed that the Supreme Eludumare, the Cherisher of Aiye, would rest the late natural father,” the statement added.
Indigenes, Residents Mourn, Palace Gates Shut
On hearing the news of their ebullient monarch’s death, hundreds of natives and residents of Ife converged on the entrance of the palace but were prevented from entering by guards. However, the entire ancient town remains calm with people going about their normal businesses.
The sympathisers began arriving at the palace as early as 6:30am to ascertain the veracity of the report from palace chiefs, but they declined to speak.
They callers were, however, turned back at the entrance by palace guards, while the gate was shut. Many sympathisers gathered in groups a few metres from the palace gate, discussing the development in hushed tones.
Ife has a tradition of the people looting the palace of a king that has passed away. But the tradition could not be executed when Sijuwade’s predecessor, the illustrious Oba Adesoji Aderemi, died.
When the private secretary of the Ooni, Mr Saka Awojoodu, was approached to react to the development, he simply said: “I have nothing to disclose.’’
Mr Bisi Oduyemi, one of those who was at the palace, said he came to find out whether the news of the monarch’s passing on was true.
Meanwhile, the entrance of Ooni’s palace was shut to visitors. Only newsmen, chiefs and relations of Oba Sijuade were allowed into the premises.
How The Next Ooni Will Emerge?
In Yorubaland, it is unheard off and indeed a taboo for anybody to aspire to the throne of a sitting monarch. Hence, nobody wants to be identified with such aspiration.
Prince Adekunle Aderemi, son of former Ooni Adesoji Aderemi, in a published interview, recalled that his “father became king through an unwritten system in 1930. At that time, the laid down selection process was not written down. In Ife, I’d say, we have one ruling house. Ajibogun is subdivided into three: one is Sokola, another is Ogbooru (where the present Ooni came from) and then Agbedemore, sometimes called Ooni Afogido.
“In those days, the two sections of the chiefdom – right and left – would sit down to decide among the children of the Ooni who to succeed him. But things have changed. The government has created what is known as Chieftaincy Gazette of 1956; that was the first time we have recorded and documented that a chief can ascend to any throne in Yorubaland.”
Asked whether Ifa (corpus) method of choosing a royal father is no longer in use or relevant in Yorubaland, Prince Aderemi said it had not been jettisoned.
“No, it has not been jettisoned but has not been properly done. The only time they would have tested that system, it failed. It is an old system. It would have been the turn of Agbedemore. So far, I don’t know what they have in record. If it’s the right system, I think the best thing is to allow the chiefs pick their choice among the children of the ruling house,” he advised.
Between Ife And Kano
The pictures of the immediate past Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, are seen in different parts of the Ooni’s household. The Emir and the Ooni were like Siamese twins, almost inseparable. Their friendship was palpably solid and it extended to their children such as Prince Nasiru Ado Bayero (currently the Turaki Kano and one of the strongest contenders to the throne) and Prince Adetokunbo Sijuwade, the eldest child of the Ooni and his Crown Prince.
The late Emir Ado Bayero was such a wonderful networker and he broke down barriers of ethnicity and religion. He was a devout Muslim while his famous friend, the Ooni, was a full-fledged Christian. This difference in faith never affected their relationship adversely. Their religious tolerance would later get both into trouble with the then Buhari military junta when they travelled to Israel in contravention of a ban slammed against the country.
As an Oba, Sijuwade was involved in several political controversies, one of which was his position on the 12 June, 1993 election, when he prevailed on his Yoruba kinsmen to abandon the struggle for its actualisation. He was roundly vilified. It was the same manner of resistance to Boko Haram that saw the insurgents making attempt on the life of the late Emir Ado Bayero in his domain.
While the ordeal might have rattled them in a way, they remained strong, resolute and united. Theirs was a bond cemented in heaven and concretised on earth, a didactic lesson for our current and future leaders.
Sijuwade’s Unfilled Dream
One of the late Ooni’s sons, Adegbite, is set for his traditional marriage with ace television presenter and actress, Dolapo Oni.
The wedding was scheduled next Sunday. The wedding introduction was held a few days ago at the Oni’s family compound in Lagos.
In the interim, the leading chiefs of Ile-Ife and numerous Lagos-based citizens, chiefs and lovers of the ancient city, like the Asiwaju of Ile-Ife, Chief Alex Duduyemi; Chief Omidiora, Major Biodun Doherty, other chiefs “from the source”, Chief Sola Faleye, Prince Demola Dada, Chief Tony Soetan, Chief Femi Adeniyi Williams, etc, are awaiting confirmation or denunciation of the grapevine snipes.
His Life & Times
Ooni Of Ife
Adelekan was the first Ooni to venture out of his domain. At the invitation of the colonial governor he visited Lagos in 1903 to give his ruling on whether the Oba Elepe of Epe was entitled to wear a crown – which was earlier refused by Oba Akarigbo of Remo. Oba Adelekan was the father of the late Adereti Sijuwade, the father of Oba Sijuwade Olubuse II, and his mother was the late Yeyelori, Emilia Ifasesin Sijuwade.
He studied at Abeokuta Grammar School and Oduduwa College in Ile-Ife. He worked for three years in his father’s business, then for two years with the Nigerian Tribune, before attending Northampton College in the United Kingdom to study business management. By the age of 30, he was a manager in Leventis, a Greek-Nigerian conglomerate. In 1963, he became sales director of the state-owned National Motors in Lagos.
After spotting a business opportunity during a 1964 visit to the Soviet Union, he formed a company to distribute Soviet-built vehicles and equipment in Nigeria, which became the nucleus of a widespread business empire. He also invested in real estate in his hometown of Ile Ife.
By the time Sijuwade was crowned Ooni in 1980, he had become a wealthy man.
Sijuwade was a Christian. In November 2009, he attended the annual general meeting of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria, accompanied by 17 other traditional rulers. He declared that he was a full member of the church, and said all the monarchs who accompanied him would become members.
At his birthday celebration two months later, the Primate of the Anglican Communion described Sijuwade as “a humble monarch, who has the fear of God at heart.”
When Sijuwade became Ooni of Ife in December 1980, he inherited an ongoing dispute over supremacy among the obas of Yorubaland.
In 1967, a crisis was resolved when Chief Obafemi Awolowo was chosen as the leader of the Yoruba race. In 1976, the governor of Oyo State, General David Jemibewon, decreed that the Ooni of Ife would be the permanent chairman of the State Council of Obas and Chiefs. Other Obas, led by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, said the position should rotate. The dispute calmed down when Osun State was carved out of Oyo State in August 1991, but the ill-will persisted.
In January 2009, Sijuwade was quoted as saying that Oba Adeyemi was ruling a dead empire (the Oyo Empire, which collapsed in 1793). Adeyemi responded by citing “absurdities” in Sijuwade’s statements and saying the Ooni “is not in tune with his own history.”
Adeyemi, permanent chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, was conspicuously absent from a meeting of Yoruba leaders in April 2010.
Towards the end of 2009, a more local dispute between the Ooni, the Awujale of Ijebuland and the Alake of Egbaland was finally resolved. Sijuwade traced the dispute back to a falling out between Obafemi Awolowo and Ladoke Akintola during Nigeria’s First Republic, which had led to a division between the traditional rulers.
He noted that the traditional rulers were an important unifying force in the country during the illness of President Umaru Yar’Adua.
In February 2009, Sijuwade helped mediate in a dispute over land ownership between the communities of Ife and Modakeke, resolved in part through the elevation of the Ogunsua of Modakeke as an Oba. The new Oba, Francis Adedoyin, would be under the headship of Sijuwade.
In July 2009, Sijuwade said he was concerned that Yoruba socio-cultural groups such as Afenifere and the Yoruba Council of Elders were taking partisan positions in politics.
In January 2010, he attended a meeting of the Atayese pan-Yoruba group, which issued a call for a truly federal constitution in which the different nationalities in Nigeria would have greater independence in managing their affairs.
Oba Sijuwade was a great family man. Like most Africa royalties, he was a polygamists and is survived by three wives, children and grand children. Olori Monisola Sijuwade is his first wife and also the Yeyeluwa of Ife. The other two are Olori Dolapo Sijuwade, the CEO of Dalora Ventures, and Olori Ladun Sijuwade.
The children include:
Prince Tokunbo Sijuwade
Prince Gbade Sijuwade
Princess Kemi Sijuwade
Prince Adegbite Sijuwade
Princess Adedotun Sijuwade
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