As news crept in today about the speculative and unconfirmed death of the Number 1 paramount ruler in Yorubaland, Oba Ogunola Sijuade, Olubushe Ooni of Ife, we, as the leading social media contributor on Lagos social affairs, can, at least, consider the looming and likely possibility that a Lagosian by maternal descent could be the next Ooni of Ile-Ife.
While the kingmakers and elders of the ancient kingdom of Ife have, this morning, Wednesday 29th July 2015, denied the veracity of the rumours regarding the demise of the ruler, we seem to have a déjà vu akin to when the death of our highly regarded long-reigning Oba of Lagos, late Adeyinka Oyekan, was variously, spuriously and sometimes wittingly announced by the media before thenunc dimitis came and was announced by his first child, Princess Mrs Jinadu.
We shall, therefore, restrict ourselves to the possibility of one of us in Lagos becoming the next Ooni, albeit the reigning or possibly late Oba was in every way one of us in Lagos where he and his brother, late Prince Dapo Sijuade, lived from their youth and practically were citizens. Oba Sijuade, the Olubushe, ascended the throne of the cradle of the Yorubas on the death of the late Oba Adesoji Aderemi, ex Governor of Western Nigeria, and our sources inform us that the next ruling house that will produce the next Ooni may be the Ademiluyi royal family. Those likely to be considered are all leading members of the Lagos social circle:
- Prince Ademola Ademiluyi – an octogenarian, lawyer, past NEPA legal Secretary, close confidant of Chief Rasaq Okoya (Aare of Lagos), member of many social societies in Lagos, including the Yoruba Tennis Club, the Island Club and the evergreen Board Members. He is believed to be of Lagosian/Ghanaian descent maternally.
- Prince Yinka Ademiluyi – septuagenarian, immensely popular and gregarious Lagos socialite, ex Ibadan Grammar School and recently observed to be partaking in the conviviality at the Friday lunch of the Island Club.
- Prince Gboyega Ademiluyi – in his late sixties, suave, cultured and well-educated ex Gregorian, highly successful businessman, ex executive of one of Nigeria’s major oil companies, married to an Afro American beauty and member of the Yoruba Tennis Club. If he succeeds the current Ooni, his close circle of friends, Prince Gboyega Ademola, Prince Gbadebo Akisanya, Dapo Elias, Patrick Doyle, Akin Aganga-Williams and other leading Lagosian socialite will rally round him in Ile-Ife.
- Prince Adebambo Ademiluyi – in his middle sixties, ex Kings’ College, Secretary of the Kings’ College Old Boys Association, member of the Yoruba Tennis Club, with loads of elan and panache and with a high IQ, is another Prince to reckon with.
- Prince Kanmi Ademiluyi – approaching sixty, ex Gregorian, a maternal scion of the Lagos Peregrino family, is a well-known member of the Yoruba Tennis Club, an ex Editor of the Punch newspapers and a huge emblem on the journalistic circles in Lagos. He has recently been conspicuously present and an active participant in the most popular radio interviews on Classic FM where ace media journalist, Jimi Disu, rules the waves with immense contribution from his sidekick, Kanmi Ademiluyi. Very well articulated with an early life education in England, Kanmi should not be discountenanced in the selection of a new Ooni, especially, as we hear, although he is a fiercely critical and independent social analyst, that he has recently developed an affinity and amour nouveau, as a believer in CHANGE, the APC mantra, with Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Governor of Osun State in which Ile-Ife is situate. Take note of the almost consanguineous (perhaps conspiratorial?) relationship between erstwhile Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu and Police Assistant Inspector General, Rilwan Akiolu, which blossomed and culminated in the choice of Rilwan as the king of Lagos over the determined effort by the Otunba of Lagos, Chief Kunle Ojora, to lay claim to the Lagos stool.
In the interim, the leading chiefs of Ile-Ife and numerous Lagos-based citizens, chiefs and lovers of the ancient city like the Asiwaju of Ile-Ife, Chief Alex Duduyemi, Chief Omidiora, Major Biodun Doherty, other chiefs “from the source”, Chief Sola Faleye, Prince Demola Dada, Chief Tony Soetan, Chief Femi Adeniyi Williams etc are awaiting confirmation or denunciation of the grapevine snipes.
Will Lagos do it again?
http://lagosblog.net/lagosian-to-be-next-ooni-of-ile-ife/
JD, to start with the Onirisa’s first name is OKUNADE.
Secondly, culturally our kings – Obas join their ancestors.
Thirdly, all your candidates seem to be from only one ruling house which is most unlikely to be the case when the race is flagged off eventually – WHENEVER.
I keep on wandering where the information emanated from that the five prince bonafide five sons of the soil bonafide grand children of the late oba Ademiluyi ajagun are lagosians. Pls this is not true except the late oba Ademiluyi ajagun was a lagosian.
Send my mails always
I think I Adedayo Adedotun Owolabi Adenowo should be oonsidered as I poor, humble and of the grassroot am just as much a descendant of Odu ti o di iwa. I am no socialite, nor do Ilay claim to property, businesses or wealth but simply hold on to the belief that the time of the ordinary person has come and I am and should be the next in line. I am a nobody just a decendant of oduduwa like every other Yoruba kindred.