Sijuwade, Olubuse II, was performed on Friday, but his
wives, children and family members were unable to pay their
last respects as they were barred from the programme.
Some people who had expected to see the body of the
monarch lie in state were disappointed as his remains were
neither brought out for people to see nor was any casket
displayed during the burial service.
A lot of dignitaries were in attendance like Vice-President,
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Rear Admiral Akin Aduwo (retd.), Gen.
Alani Akinriande (retd.), Senator Babajide Omoworare, Ondo
State Governor Olusegun Mimiko.
Traditional prayers were offered for the late monarch by
Tadimole Awo Ilare, Chief Faloba. The event was conducted
in less than three hours.
A source at the palace said that no member of the royal
family was allowed to see the remains of the monarch since
he was brought back to the palace.
He said:
“As we are holding this interdenominational service
here, those concerned are performing their own rites
inside the palace where the body is kept.
“You can see that the gates of the palace are locked
and nobody is allowed to go inside. Nobody can see
him again except those who will bury him.
“The wives and children were not even supposed to
see his corpse at all but tradition was broken this
time around because he (Sijuwade) died in London.
But no family member can see him again. Those
performing the rites are there now and they will
complete it today (Friday). He will be buried in the
middle of the night, but nobody will be there apart
from those who will lower him into the grave.”
The source said those who saw the bodies of the previous
Oonis were attacked by smallpox and did not survive the
ailment.
A monarch in Osun State, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity, disclosed that traditional rulers of the town went
to various shrines, including the Obalufon shrine in Ife to
perform some rites for Oba Sijuwade on Friday.
He said the traditional rulers later went into Ooni’s palace
shortly before an interdenominational burial service for the
king commenced on the palace premises.
The monarch said:
“Nobody can see the Ooni, not even the US
President, Barrack Obama. We are with him. It’s only
the initiates who can see him. His wives and children
cannot see him.”
During the service, the Preacher, Bishop of Ife Diocese of
Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev. Oluranti Odubogun, said the
monarch’s demise demonstrated that every mortal man
would die no matter their status.
He said:
“Baba has gone. He will stand before the King of
Kings who will judge what he did while here on
earth.
“Some persons have started jostling to succeed him
now but we must all remember the judgement day
when we will give account of all that we did on earth.
“I urge you to make today a memorable one and give
your life to Christ. Jesus is the only way, accept him
today.”
As the interdenominational service was about to start,
worshippers of Oro cult in Ife, also called Isoro, stormed the
venue and attempted to stop the service. The worshippers
claimed that it was a sacrilege to hold an
interdenominational service for the departed king. And as the
service went on outside the palace, the traditional
worshippers sang and danced inside the palace.
As part of the palace tradition and custom, women are
forbidden from entering the palace while traditional rites are
being performed for a passing monarch.
During the interdenominational service, sounds of gunshots
suddenly rent the air, making some of those present at the
service run for safety.
A source said that more gunshots would be fired later in the
day, as from 5.00 pm, adding that curfew to last for seven
days would start by 4.00 pm on Friday.
One of the palace chiefs, Sooko Adelugba, said that many
parts of the town had already been deserted by residents
who were eager to comply with the curfew as announced by
the palace.
One of the initiates told one of our correspondents who had
tried to interview him that it was an abomination to speak
publicly of traditional rites offered for a departed Ooni.
Meanwhile, fresh facts have emerged as to why the
monarch would be buried beside the immediate past Ooni,
Oba Adesoji Aderemi.
The mausoleum is said to be located at the rear end of the
palace.
A palace source said the final resting place of Sijuwade had
been constructed in a mausoleum inside the Palace of Oba
Aderemi, adding that the cemetery inside the palace is
called Ile Nla (mighty house).
The worshippers of Oro cult in Ife, also called ‘Isoro’,
clashed with residents who were erecting tents for the
interdenominational burial service at the frontage of Enuwa
Palace.
A prominent chief in Ife, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity, said the ‘Isoro’ descended on the people who
erected the tents because they (initiates) wanted to observe
a seven-day burial rites for the departed king.
The chief said, “The ‘Isoro’ saw the erection of tents for an
interdenominational burial service as a sacrilege against
custom and tradition.
“They descended on the people erecting the tents and
flogged them heavily. They destroyed the tents and swore
never to allow anybody do any interdenominational service
at the palace.”
The chief revealed that the state government had to wade
into the crisis before the service was allowed.
He said, “It took the intervention of officials of the state
government, who appealed to the ‘Isoro’ to allow the people
to hold the interdenominational service before the issue was
resolved. If not for the intervention of the state government,
the interdenominational service would not have been
allowed.”
It was revealed that Sijuwade’s eldest son, Tokunbo, and
some other family members flew to England immediately the
monarch breathed his last to join the king’s three wives,
Morisola, Ladun and Odunola – who were already there.
Morisola is the eldest wife, Ladun is the second wife and
Odunola, who is the daughter of the immediate past
Orangun of Ila, is the youngest wife.
It was learnt that the family members flew down to England
to pay their last respect to the departed monarch.
The Araba of Osogbo land, Chief Yemi Elebuibon, who spoke
with one of our correspondents on Friday, disclosed that the
corpse of the Ooni belonged to Ile-Ife and not his family.
He said:
“The traditional burial rites of the kings of Ile-Ife and
Oyo are strictly complied with and they are
comprehensive.
“When the Ooni dies, the body becomes that of the
town. The ‘Isoro’ cult group will take over. The ‘Isoro’
initiates are the ones who worship the ‘Oro’ deity.
“It is the ‘Isoro’ people that would inform the various
deities, who were worshipped and appeased when
the Ooni was crowned, that he (the monarch) is no
more.
“It’s a rite. Nothing must stop it.”
The Araba dispelled the belief that the heart of the late king
would be fed to the next Ooni.
He said, “The eating of the heart of a departed King by an
incoming one belonged to the past. It no longer exists.
People still make this insinuation because many are barred
from witnessing the burial of a king.
“What the incoming king will eat is the heart of an
animal and not that of a human. Nobody would be
buried with the Ooni. Nobody would be killed for any
form of sacrifice.”
Elebuibon explained that animals are now used for the burial
rites of Yoruba Obas because of modernisation, noting that
Christianity and Islam also stopped the use of humans for
sacrifice when God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his
son, Isaac.
Punch
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