The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, has hailed the burial process of the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, describing it as a “liberation of the Yoruba traditional institution from ritual bondage.”
The revered Awujale, who died on Sunday, 13 July 2025, at the age of 91, was laid to rest the following day in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, according to Islamic rites, in line with his personal wish. The burial was closely protected by soldiers who ensured that no traditionalist groups interfered with the proceedings.
Reacting to the ceremony, Oba Akanbi said, “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 foundation blessing to restore the glory of Yoruba stools and its occupants. The Governor is true blue blood.”
According to the Oluwo, the departure from customary posthumous practices such as mutilation or ritualistic rites was not only progressive but also a restoration of dignity to Yoruba kingship. “Any town willing that his king be butchered after death should appoint an herbalist, Osugbo or Ogboni as their king,” he asserted.
The monarch commended the Islamic burial as honourable and aligned with the principles of dignity, stating: “The sanctity of the Yoruba traditional institution has been protected by the process adopted in burying the late Awujale. 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.”
Oba Akanbi described the moment as “a win for the Yoruba race” and reiterated that it marked freedom from “physical and spiritual oppression after death” for Yoruba monarchs.
He called for future royal burial arrangements to respect the wishes of the deceased monarchs or their families, adding that “the seizure of a king’s corpse from his family by any secret group should be optional, depending on the wishes of his family.”
In a bold reaffirmation of his stance against idol worship and secret societies, the Oluwo declared, “In Iwo, I have freed the Oluwo stool from the bondage since my ascension 10 years ago. The Osugbos and the Ogbonis have no relation with the Yoruba monarchy. Every attempt to enslave the stool will be eternally restricted by my stool.”
He continued, “Iwo throne can never be subjected to the command of any secret society. I have freed my town. Even after my death, I trust Iwo people they will never condone absurdity.”
