Osun APC Hails Nigerians, Others For Mourning Sijuwade

•Party pays tribute to late monarch
Osun State All Progressives Congress (APC) has hailed Nigerians and others for sympathing with the Yoruba nation over the passing of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, Olubuse II, whose body was buried last Friday.
In a statement yesterday, its state chairman, Prince Adegboyega Famodun, said that “even if all of us had wished for it, there was no way we would have stopped his passing, for his time to leave had come. And he has gone”.
Famodun, however, expressed relief in the memory of Oba Sijuwade’s dignified presence in Yorubaland and the world.
The late Ooni, the APC chief said, was a glorious symbol of the Yoruba culture ever seen in nearly two centuries.
The statement reads: “He (Ooni) was ‘Atobalete’ personified. Borne a king, he also lived it like nobody else had done before him in 200 years. Okunade Sijuade, Olubuse II was an exceptional and authentic representation of royalty that Yoruba nation has ever experienced in two centuries.
“Occasionally, his personality stirred controversy; he had been through some rough and tumbles. But what made the late Ooni so special is that he commanded your respect, even when you were reluctant to give it. The authority of Oodua radiated through him.”
Famodun added that the APC “is proud to be associated with this great monarch, who will live on in our memories as one of the greatest and compelling personalities in Yorubaland, Nigeria, Africa and the cultural world that nobody could afford to ignore”.
“Like him or hate him, the late Ooni is one royalty, whose charismatic and cultural opulence will live on in the history of world royalties. He has set a standard that will be difficult to outshine in Yorubaland. That is what makes him so unique.
“We accept his passing as natural; just as we realise that mourning the event is also natural. However, the Ooni lives on with his ancestors while we carry on and live the traditions of our forefathers to make our people prosperous and our country great.
“Osun State, the APC and the Yoruba nation thank the world for empathising with us on the death of the Ooni of Ife.
“His great soul will luxuriate in peace and comfort in the world beyond as it pleases the Creator spirit to offer him,” the APC said.
THE NATION