Ooni’s burial rites reach final stage

The rites of passage being performed for repose of
the soul of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade,
may have entered the final stage.
A source close to the palace told journalists in
Osogbo on Saturday that the corpse of the late
paramount ruler had been move from Ile’gbo where
it had been kept since its arrival from the United
Kingdom in the early hours of Saturday, August 1.
The source said the body had been moved from
Ile’gbo where it underwent traditional embalmment
to Ile Ase where the king was vested with spiritual
authority with which he ruled while on the throne.
According to the source, the remains of the monarch
would be stripped of the authorities vested in the
king before his final journey to the land of the dead.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
said, “The body of the Ooni has been moved from
Ilegbo to Ile Ase. The rites, which were supposed be
carried on him at Ilegbo where he was kept since his
arrival, have been completed.
“He is now at Ile Ase and he would spend some days
here, where all the authorities bestowed on him
would be reclaimed before his burial.”
The source further said the rites being carried out
now were not what uninitiated persons could witness
without paying the supreme sacrifice.
The monarch gave up the ghost in the UK on July 28,
five days after he arrived in the country for medical
treatment.
Credible sources had told our correspondent that the
monarch was flown out to the UK in an air ambulance
after his health deteriorated.
But his chiefs have continued to deny his death.
Meanwhile, Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf
Aregbesola, has said he would disclose the content of
the last text message the late monarch sent to him
before he travelled out.
Aregbesola said this at the state House of Assembly
on Friday during a special sitting to mark the 50th
birthday of the Speaker, Mr. Najeem Salaam.
The governor, who spoke in Yoruba, said the message
was touching and he promised to divulge the
information therein when it was ripe to do so.
He said he believed what the Ife Royal Traditional
Council, who visited him, told him that Oba Sijuwade
was alive. He said monarchs were immortal beings
according to Yoruba beliefs.