Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has described the death of the revered traditional ruler as a huge loss to the state, Yoruba race and Nigeria at large.
Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, who died late on Friday at the Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, is expected to be buried by 4:00pm Saturday (today) in line with Islamic tradition.
The monarch was said to have died after a brief illness.
Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has described the death of the revered traditional ruler as a huge loss to the state, Yoruba race and Nigeria at large.
The governor, who described Oba Adeyemi’s death as a personal loss to him, noted that he was an ever-supportive royal father and a worthy leader, who spared nothing in trying to make Oyo State and Nigeria greater.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quoted the governor as saying that the king’s words of advice and guidance were always golden and helpful.
The statement indicated that the governor expressed his condolences to the Oyo State Traditional Council, the Oyomesi, Oba Adeyemi’s immediate family, the people of Oyo Kingdom and the entire Yoruba race, praying to God to repose the soul of the departed monarch.
The governor stated that apart from Oyo State losing its last man standing in the ranks of experienced monarchs with long years of royal leadership; it had also lost a royal institution and an authority, which Adeyemi had become through his understanding of Yoruba history, politics and national development.
Makinde said, “I have been informed about the death of our father, His Imperial Majesty, Iku Baba Yeye, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III.
“I express heartfelt condolences to the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, which Oba Adeyemi chaired for decades, the Oyomesi and the entire people of Oyo Kingdom.
“I equally commiserate with the Oloris, children and entire Adeyemi family on the demise of their patriarch and worthy father.
“Kabiyesi’s departure is a huge loss not only to Oyo State, to which he committed 52 years of his life as the Alaafin of Oyo Kingdom, but also to Nigeria and the entire Yoruba race.
“Oba Adeyemi not only elevated the Alaafin throne with his knowledge and wisdom, he became a worthy exemplar for royal leadership in Africa and brought glory to Oyo State and Nigeria. Kabiyesi never spared anything in his strive to make Oyo State greater and to bring about the Nigeria of everyone’s collective dream.”
Paying tribute to the late monarch, former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, said Oba Adeyemi left at a crucial time in the life of the country.
In the letter of condolence to Governor Makinde, Obasanjo described Oba Adeyemi as a symbol of a nation’s epic struggle in self-discovery and self-actualisation.
Obasanjo prayed that God would grant the family, the people of Oyo land and the entire Oyo State the grace to bear the loss of the monarch’s death.