Alaafin Of Oyo: Gbajabiamila Cancels Chieftaincy Title Ceremony

• The coronation ceremony for Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila as the Aare Baasofin of Yoruba Land has been cancelled
• This was announced in a statement from the speaker's office on Sunday, April 24, following the death of Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi
• In the statement, it was revealed that Oba Adeyemi died even before the invitation card for the ceremony was distributed

The speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has cancelled his chieftaincy ceremony as Aare Baasofin of Yoruba Land.

The lawmaker's decision was influenced by the recent death of Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, Vanguard reports.

Speaking on the cancellation of the ceremony, a statement from Gbajabiamila's office said:

“You will recall that his Royal Highness, the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III communicated the conferment of the title of Aare Baasofin of Yoruba Land to Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila through an appointment letter dated September 7, 2021, and presented to the Speaker on Thursday, September 30, 2021, at the National Assembly, Abuja, by members of the Oyomesi Council led by the Bashorun of Oyo Kingdom, High Chief Olayinka Ayoola, who is the traditional Prime Minister of Oyo Kingdom and Bishop Ayo Ladigbolu; upon which the Speaker, in turn, accepted the appointment with gratitude to God.

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"However, due to the tight work schedule of the Speaker, the chieftaincy ceremony could not hold throughout 2021, until this year when the date of May 27, 2022, was agreed with the palace, but as God in His majesty will have it, the revered monarch passed away on Friday night before the distribution of invitation cards for the event (May Allah grant him Aljanah Firdaus).

“Naturally, the event can no longer hold as the Speaker, the entire Yoruba race and Nigerians home and abroad mourn the demise of the widely respected monarch.'

Traditionalists hold burial rites for Alaafin of Oyo after Muslim prayers

Meanwhile, Sango devotees had taken custody of the remains of Oba Adeyemi, for apparent continuation of traditional rites after Islamic prayers were performed on the body.

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But Sango devotees were later seen carrying the remains from Ode Aro part of the palace into the Oba Adeyemi III Hall, where they initially covered the “sleeping” monarch with a mat before forming a circle around the remains.

But they later asked mourners and journalists, to leave the hall. As the remains were carried, the devotees chanted dirges and eulogies of Sango, whom an Alaafin embodies, according to Yoruba mythology.

Source: Legit.ng