OONI of IFE's daughter speaks on his last moments»»

“Ooni of Ife’s daughters were to Skype with him last night”

Following the passage of Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade who passed away on Tuesday, 28th July 1025 at the age of 85 years and 7 months, the entire country has been thrown into mourning. The residents of the ancient Ife town have been wailing since the news broke last night.

A close friend to one of the late Ooni’s children tweeting from @torioke has recounted happenings at the grand palace in Osun State. According to his tweets, “One of the Sijuwade princesses called 6am this morning to tell me her dad had passed.The Ooni was flown to London on Friday. So I checked on her when I arrived Ife yesterday evening. To ask how he was doing. She said, “He was better. We didn’t know he was going to join his ancestors in a few hours”.

“I left for the palace immediately. The royal courts was in mourning. The ‘emese’ (servants of the king) were weeping uncontrollably.Baba is gone! The have served at his feet all their lives. I understood how they felt. They cried much, they made me cry. The high chiefs started to arrive. They were crying while they called His Imperial Majesty Oba Okunade Sijuwade various names.

“After all the routine security wahala, I entered into the inner palace. The princesses till couldn’t believe their daddy was gone. They were to see/talk to him on Skype last night. That will never happen again!They lamented how they should have gone with him if not the aircraft had just 12 seats. They never got to hug him one last time.

“Then they thought to go to their dad’s chambers and lie on his bed one more time. But guess what..it had become a ‘no go area’! To them, Kabiyesi is their dad but to everyone else he was the king of kings. King of all the Yorubas. He was a god.Palace gates are locked. I am stuck here for God knows how long. The Ooni of Ife has gone to join his ancestors. A lot will happen.

“To the chiefs and palace guards, he is Kabiyesi.To his kids, dad. They talk about everything. They swim in the same pool. They talk to him the way we all talk to our fathers. To me, the Late Ooni was one posh Oba. He wore the finest clothes and jewelleries. His assistants were British. He spoke so well. The Ooni kept the originality of the palace but pimped it more than you can imagine. The throne rooms had the finest interiors.Horses, camels, ostriches, peacocks all in the royal courts.”

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About Unknown

Deji Sadiq, a.k.a DEJI OF LAGOS is a LASU trained Economist turned freelance journalist, a Blogger, an information strategist, a public affairs analyst and a committed activist with a passion for equal opportunities.