Ooni finally dies

The Ife Traditional Council has formally announced the death of Oba Okunade Sijuwade, the Ooni of Ife.

The chiefs, accompanied by the Crown Prince, Tokunbo Sijuwade, announced the demise of the monarch while meeting with Governor Rauf Aregbesola at the Government House in Osogbo on Wednesday.

One of the chiefs, Oba Solomon Omisakin, told the governor that the Ooni had joined his ancestors.

The Lowa of Ife also broke the news traditionally when he came to the main entrance of the palace where he beat the gong and announced the demise of the Ooni to the public.

A movement restriction today was announced on Monday by the Awara of Iwara-Ife, Oba Layi Adereti, who declared that the death of Oba Sijuwade would be announced today.

The monarch, who was flown out in an air ambulance, died on July 28, in a London hospital.

The visit of the chiefs to the governor was the second in about 15 days since the media reported the death of the monarch.

The chiefs led by the Lowa of Ife, Oba Joseph Ijaodola, had on July 29 debunked the reports of the death of the monarch.

The following day, they took their rebuttal to the Government House where they briefed the governor and told him before journalists that the monarch was very much alive.

Earlier in the day, the Isoros were seen in some parts of Ile Ife singing dirges, which is one of the precursors leading to the formal announcement of the death of the Ooni.

The Isoros were said to be dressed in white clothes and carried earthen pots and embarked on a procession outside the palace gate to Enuwa Square.

SEGUN ADEYEMI, Ile-Ife