Wale Babalakin, eldest son of the late retired Supreme Court justice Bolarinwa Babalakin, revealed on Monday that he once tried to stop his father from reconciling the immediate past Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, and Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran.
“There was a day I called Baba early in the morning and I asked what he planned doing for the day. He told me that he was reconciling Ooni Sijuade and Oba Adekunle Aromolaran. I told him their fight started, even while someone like me was very young. He told me not to say that. He said God would do it,” the chairman, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited stated this during the third-day prayer for his father.
Babalakin, who died last Saturday at the age of 94, was buried in his hometown Gbongan, Osun State.
“Two weeks later, he called and said ‘didn’t I tell you? The matter has been resolved.’ He said when circumstances are known, blame may become pity, because both of them eventually realised that the cause of the disagreement was non-existent,” the businessman continued.
“He concluded by saying that the monarchs would be coming over to his house to wine and dine. I told him to make sure that he took pictures of the event. Kabiyesi (Olufi of Gbongan) was the master of ceremony, while his wife, was the chief caterer for the event that ended the fight.”
