…Why The Family Kept The news Away From Her

The matriarch of the Yoruba nation, Chief (Mrs) Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo, who passed on yesterday at the age of 99, was known to be very close to the late Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse 11, the Ooni of Ife.

However, Mama, who was the Yeye Oodua of Ife, was not aware that her son, Oba Sijuwade, had passed on, till she breathed her last yesterday afternoon.

The ELITES gathered that Mama’s children thought it wise to keep the news of Oba Sijuwade’s demise from the matriarch of the Yoruba nation, because they feared she might not take it well,

Oba Sijuwade, who passed on, on July 29, 2015, was seen by many as a member of the Awolowo larger family. He related with the Awolowos as a blood relation. He revered Baba and adored Mama. Hence, after his coronation, he named Mama HID Awolowo, the Yeye Oba, the King’s Mother, of Ile Ife. He was later to elevate her to Yeye Odua, showing that Mama’s relevance transcends a town but extends to the whole of Yoruba race.

Oba Sijuwade always told his close friends that he would not have agreed to becoming the Ooni if not for the intervention of Papa Awolowo. According to him, it was as if the revered former Premier compelled him to accept the offer of becoming the king. Such was the reverence he had for the family. Such was the undiluted love he had for the family.