The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, has gooo/news/ooni-of-ife-dies-at-85/”>died at the age of 85 in a London hospital.
The monarch was said to have died around 5pm on Tuesday (today).
Relevant
officials, who spoke to Punch newspaper said
“I have heard but please, I don’t
want to be quoted on this. People have been calling but nothing has been
made public. You see, another person is calling me from London,” the
source said before picking the other call.
Another source, who
spoke on condition of anonymity explained that Oba
Sijuwade was flown out of the country from Ibadan about five days ago
in an unconscious state.
“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,” he said.
Oba Sijuwade became the fiftieth traditional ruler or Ife in 1980.
Just
last week, the Ooni resolved the industrial dispute between the
management of the Obafemi Awolowo University and some staff of the
institution, who had embarked on an indefinite strike.
Details later…