Ife chiefs to announce Ooni’s death on Wednesday

The Head of Oro cult in Ife, who is also the Awara of Iwara Ife, Oba Layi Adereti, has said that the formal announcement of the demise of the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, will be made on Wednesday (tomorrow).

This, he said, would however be done after the conclusion of a traditional rite that would be done by Oro worshippers in the town on Wednesday.

Consequently, Adereti asked residents of Ife to stay indoors on Wednesday to enable the Oro worshippers to carry out one of the final rites for the death of the late traditional ruler.

Adereti, who said this in Ife while speaking on the demise of the Ooni for the first time, said residents should stay indoors between 9am and 4pm.

He said the death of the monarch would be made public on Wednesday (tomorrow), adding that there would be a procession of Oro cult members on the day.

Adereti explained that after the Oro rite and the proclamation of the passage of the monarch, other rites would be carried out.

He appealed to residents to obey the restriction of movement order.

He said, “This is an official statement from the palace of Awara of Iwara Ife, who is the head of the Oro deity – that on Wednesday, August 12, 2015, there would be an official proclamation of the demise of the Ooni of Ife.

“The proclamation will be made public during the Oro festival, being the final rite on the demise of the Ooni of Ife.

“Residents of the ancient town are, therefore, urged to keep away from the streets between the hours of 9am and 4pm during which the Oro deity would be out.

“With the announcement, the people are advised to stay indoors for the period when the Oro would be out.”

It will be recalled that the monarch died at a hospital in the United Kingdom on July 28 but the Ife Royal Traditional Council led by Oba Joseph Ijaodola, debunked the media report the following day.

The chiefs also went to Governor Rauf Aregbesola the following day and told him in the presence of journalists that the monarch was alive.

They, however, met briefly with the governor behind closed doors but did not make public what they discussed.

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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.