Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwo, expressed satisfaction with how the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, was buried according to Islamic rituals.
Oba Adetona, who died on Sunday, was buried the next day at his home in Ijebu Ode. He died at age 91.
Muslim clerics oversaw the interment process, as security personnel, including soldiers, stopped traditionalists and Osugbo cult members from handling the burial.
Speaking at the burial, Governor Dapo Abiodun revealed that the monarch had requested that he be buried according to Islamic rituals.
In response to the late traditional ruler’s funeral, Oluwo, through his press secretary, Alli Ibraheem, praised the Awujale and his family for forging ‘a part of honour’ for Yoruba rulers.
“The courage demonstrated by the late Adetona’s family, Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun, and the Attorney General of the state, Oluwasina Ogungbade (SAN), is commendable and a foundational blessing to restore the glory of Yoruba stools and their occupants. The governor is true blue blood,” he said.
Oba Abdulrosheed stated that no Yoruba monarch should ever be slain like an animal again, adding that “any town willing to have its king butchered after death should appoint a herbalist, Osugbo and Ogboni as their king.”
He added: “The sanctity of the Yoruba traditional institution has been protected by the process adopted in burying the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona.
“Kings are servants to their subjects. They are honourable men who have sacrificed themselves in the interest of their people.
“Honour doesn’t die with the king. They should be honoured to the grave and beyond and not butchered like an animal after death.
“The noble order of burial rites for Awujale is a win for the Yoruba race, particularly for me. It’s a freedom of Yoruba traditional rulers from physical and spiritual oppression after their death.”
Oluwo proposed that the burial process for Yoruba traditional rulers be based on the king’s recommendation prior to his passage or his family’s recommendation upon his death.
“The seizure of the king’s corpse from his family by any secret group should be optional, depending on the wishes of his family,” he stated.
The monarch vowed to continue his war against all types of idol worship and traditional cultism in his territory, pointing out that he had already freed the Oluwo stool from bondage since his ascension ten years ago.
