Ooni of Ife ‘Oba Sijuwade’ dies at 82

[caption id="attachment_514" align="alignnone" width="520"]Late Ooni of Ife; Oba Sijuwade[/caption]

Oba Okunade Sijuwade the Ooni of Ife joins his ancestors at the age of 85. He died after a brief illness in a London hospital.

The death of the Oba has not being officially announced, this is a culture which  which stipulates that the death of a traditional ruler cannot be announced until some rituals are done. Oba Okunade lived from 1st January 1930 – July 28, 2015.

 

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The late Oba became the Ooni of Ife at age 50, coincidentally he was the 50th Ooni of Ife, a ceremony attended by notable traditional leaders and rulers like himself. He ruled for about 34 years.

The Oba hails from a notable royal family in Ile-Ife, the Ogboru house. On his coronation he was given a monumental name Olubuse II, his predecessor Oba Sijuwade Adelekan was the Olubuse I.

 

Oba Okunade who did both primary and secondary education all in Ile-Ife worked with Chief Obafemi Awolowo at the Nigerian tribune and before then he ran his father’s business for a period of 3 years, he later went to the United Kingdom for further studies before touring Europe for further training. He then became a successful business man and had investment in almost all sectors of the Nigerian economy.

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He was one of the country’s most revered royal fathers and custodian of Yoruba culture and tradition.

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