TRIBUTE: Oba Adeyemi, The Inimitable Monarch Lives On – Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola Mourns Late Alaafin
OBA ADEYEMI, THE INIMITABLE MONARCH LIVES ON.
Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Atanda Adeyemi III, has joined his ancestors after a glorious 52 years reign on the throne of his fathers.
The curtain has therefore fallen on an inimitable era for a preeminent Yoruba traditional ruler whose forebears presided over the most powerful and most advanced empire ever formed in Africa South of the Sahara.
Oba Adeyemi was an elegant and colourful monarch. He was a bridge between the ancient and the modern. He encapsulated the totality of the recorded Yoruba history dating back to the 11th Century. He was also urbane and cosmopolitan, moving seamlessly between the two worlds.
He would speak and act as the patron of Yoruba traditional institutions in one breath and in another, he would be seen in a trendy sportswear, practicing the most advanced aerobic exercise. Of course, he was a boxer.
He was also a moving encyclopaedia of Yoruba history, culture and values. He could reel out events and dates in Yoruba history, ancient and modern, including significant milestones, without leaving anything out. He probably knew everything about Yoruba history.
