The remains of the Ooni of Ife, Okunade Sijuwade, has reportedly arrived his palace
in Ile Ife.
This website became aware of the development even as
palace authorities and notable Ile-Ife personalities insist the Oba is
alive, and is hale and hearty.
Reliable palace insiders said on
Saturday that the body of the paramount ruler left London in a chartered
air ambulance on Friday and was taken to the palace under the cover of
darkness.
The body, our sources said, is now lying in a secluded
part of the palace called Ilegbo, a sacred place where all Oonis commune
with their ancestors.
Ilegbo, we understand, is the place where highly-prized rituals take place within the confinement of the palace.
It is also the place where the Are beaded crown, worn annually by the Ooni, is kept.
The
Are crown is usually worn through the back because it is forbidden for
the Ooni to see the inside of the beaded crown. And when it is worn, the
rain must not touch it.
Our sources said only the monarch’s male
children and highly ranked priests and chiefs are allowed to access
that innermost recess of the palace and sight the Ooni’s remains.
“Even
the Oba’s female children can’t come here, tradition does not allow
them to sight the Oba at this time,” one of our sources said.
Those
who should know said the traditional chiefs had to declare the annual
Oro festival on Friday in expectation of the arrival of the corpse.
The
commencement of the Oro festival, our sources said, signalled the
beginning of the final rites of passage for the departed Ooni.
The
Oro is expected to last seven days after which the Ooni would be
committed to mother earth at a private ceremony within the palace.
Palace
sources said the announcement of the Oba’s passing had to be delayed to
allow his wives and family members move their personal belongings from
the palace, and for the traditional priests to perform some “compulsory
rituals”.
“Members of his family who were with him in London had
to hurry back home to remove their personal effects because once his
death is declared all their property will belong to the people. They
won’t be able to take anything from the palace anymore,” one of our
sources said.
Palace chiefs and notable personalities from Ile-Ife
have consistently denied reports that the revered monarch had passed on,
a news item that first broke on Tuesday.
Their visit to the Osun
State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, on Thursday and a closed-door meeting
with the governor heightened anxiety that the Ooni might have actually
passed away.
They however emerged from the meeting insisting that
the Ooni was in good health. On its part, the Osun state government is
yet to make any comment on the matter.
Oba Sijuwade’s predecessor, Oba Adesoji Aderemi died on July 3, 1980.
Mr. Sijuwade, crowned Oba on December 6, 1980 is widely believed to have passed away since July 28, 2015.