The Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Alaiyeluwa, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse 11, has joined his ancestors.
The ELITES reliably gathered that Oba Sijuwade died in London on Tuesday evening, at around 7pm. He was aged 85.
The royal father passed on at Saint Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, United Kingdom (U.K), where he was being treated.
He was reportedly flown out on Thursday in an air ambulance for treatment at the London hospital when his health reportedly suffered a relapse.
St. Mary’s is a general acute hospital that diagnoses and treats a range of adult and paediatric conditions.
The hospital is one of the four Major Trauma Centres (MTCs) in London, acting as the hub for the northwest London trauma network and a vital part of the London-wide trauma system which connects a series of trauma units and rehabilitation facilities.
It pioneered the use of robotic surgery, including the UK’s first da Vinci robot for keyhole surgery.
Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade was born on 1 January 1930.
He became the fiftieth traditional ruler or Ooni of Ife in 1980, taking the regnal name Olubuse II. He was crowned on 6 December 1980 in a ceremony attended by the Emir of Kano, Oba of Benin, Amayanabo of Opobo and Olu of Warri, as well as by representatives of the Queen of England.
Oba Sijuwade was born on 1 January 1930 in Ile-Ife to the Ogboru ruling house, grandson of the Ooni Sijuwade Adelekan Olubuse I.
He studied at Abeokuta Grammar School and Oduduwa College in Ile-Ife. He worked for three years in his father’s business, then for two years with the Nigerian Tribune, before attending Northampton College in the United Kingdom to study business management.
By the age of 30 he was a manager in Leventis, a Greek-Nigerian conglomerate. In 1963 he became Sales Director of the state-owned National Motor in Lagos.
After spotting a business opportunity during a 1964 visit to the Soviet Union, he formed a company to distribute Soviet-built vehicles and equipment in Nigeria, which became the nucleus of a widespread business empire.
He also invested in real estate in his home town of Ile Ife. By the time Sijuwade was crowned Ooni in 1980 he had become a wealthy man.
Sijuwade was a Christian. In November 2009 he attended the annual general meeting of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria accompanied by 17 other traditional rulers.
He declared that he a was full member of the church, and said all the monarchs who accompanied him would now become members.
At his birthday celebration two months later, the Primate of the Anglican Communion described Sijuwade as “a humble monarch, who has the fear of God at heart”