The body of the Alaafin of Oyo Oba Lamidi Adeyemi has been prepared for burial.
The 83-year-old died in Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital on Friday.
Islamic clerics led by the chief imam of Oyo town said prayers for the repose of his soul. They were joined by members of the family of the late traditional ruler and some of his chiefs.
After the prayers, the king’s body was taken back to the palace.
He is to be interred in Bara, a five-minute drive from the palace, The Nation learnt.
The Alaafin was on the throne for 52 years, making him the longest-reigning traditional ruler in Oyo town.
The octogenarian was the last man standing after the other two elite rulers in Oyo — the Soun of Ogbomoso and Olubadan of Ibadan — passed on.
Oba Adeyemi, who served as the permanent chairperson of the Oyo State council of obas and chiefs, was born Lamidi Olayiwola Atanda Adeyemi on October 15, 1938, and succeeded Oba Gbadegesin Ladigbolu I, as the new Alaafin on November 18, 1970.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State described the Alaafin’s death as a huge loss to the state, Nigeria, and the Yoruba race.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to show that the Alaafin was not buried at the time of reporting. Funeral prayers were only said.
