Nigeria has lost another icon in the person of Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebuland, the same day former President Muhammadu Buhari died.
The Awujale was 91.
The monarch passed away on Sunday, just hours after the announcement of Buhari’s passage.
The oba’s death confirmed the fear of many following his absence at the last Ojude Oba Festival held weeks ago.
Adetona ascended the throne on April 2, 1960, and reigned for over 64 years, making him one of the longest-serving traditional rulers in Nigerian history.
His friendship with Buhari dated back to the 1980s and was cemented under extraordinary circumstances.
In 1983, just before Buhari’s military coup, Olabisi Onabanjo, then Ogun state governor, had already signed a formal order deposing Adetona. The removal was scheduled to take effect on January 2, 1984.
But the coup of December 31, 1983 — which toppled Nigeria’s civilian government — halted the plan. Buhari’s intervention inadvertently preserved the Awujale’s reign.
