I received with sadness, news of the demise of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, aged 83.
Alaafin, custodian of Yoruba heritage, and encyclopedia of sorts, was an enigma who successfully married the past with the present; cosmopolitan in one breath, yet traditional in another, without allowing the vagaries of modernity war against his beliefs. His nearly 52-year eventful reign on the stool of Oranmiyan is testament to courage, conviction and character, and a proud advert of what true royalty should be.
Yorubaland and indeed Nigeria will sorely miss him, as this is a collosal loss to her. His seminal contributions and interventions in the polity, particularly his boldness in speaking truth to power, which showed him as a man who would always be found in his people’s corner, is worthy of effusive praise, as same is today not common currency.
As “primus inter pares” in Yorubaland, Alaafin Adeyemi would be fondly remembered for his constant avowal of federalism, and the deployment of his prized position and possessions in the defence of that which is right.
I, therefore, on behalf of myself, family, friends and loyalists commiserate with the government of Oyo State and people of Oyo Alaafin, Yorubaland and Nigeria, on the demise of Iku Baba Yeye, praying that Eledumare grant him eternal rest in the bossom of his forebears, and that Yorubaland continue to progress, aftermath Iku’s demise.
SIGNED
Senator Olufemi Lanlehin (Solan)
Ibadan
25 April, 2022.
