A chief who is a member of the Ife traditional council in Osun State has officially confirmed the death of the Ooni of Ife, Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II. Laye Adereti, who is the Wara of Iwara-Ife, told reporters today that the official announcement of the Ooni’s death would be made on Wednesday, August 12, 2015.
A source at the Osun State Government House also confirmed that the formal announcement of the Ife monarch’s death is due in two days.
SaharaReporters had reported the news of the death of the Ooni of Ife at the elite London Clinic at 20 Devonshire Place, London on July 28, 2015. He had been rushed to the UK hospital after he took ill in Nigeria and his condition worsened.
A palace source also disclosed to a correspondent of SaharaReporters that the Ooni’s remains would be flown into Nigeria on Wednesday. The latest information contradicts some media reports that the late traditional ruler’s body had already arrived in his palace in the ancient town of Ile-Ife.
SaharaReporters also learned that an interdenominational service is scheduled for Thursday in the Enuwa-Ile area of Ife to herald the beginning of the late Ooni’s funeral rites.
A family source at the Ooni’s palace told SaharaReporters that the late monarch would be interred in a private burial. Asked to explain what “private” meant, the source, who is a prince, disclosed that no one will see the late traditional ruler’s body before it is committed to earth.