Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade CFR was the fiftieth traditional ruler or Ooni of Ife from 1980 to his death in 2015, taking the regnal name Olubuse II.
19 Facts About Okunade Sijuwade
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Okunade Sijuwade was a traditional ruler of Ile-Ife, Yoruba town in Osun State, Nigeria.
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Okunade Sijuwade was crowned on 6 December 1980 in a ceremony attended by the Emir of Kano, Oba of Benin, Amayanabo of Opobo and Olu of Warri, as well as by representatives of the Queen of the United Kingdom.
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Oba Okunade Sijuwade was born in 1930 to the ruling House of Sijuwade which is a fraction of the Ogboru ruling house, Ilare, Ile-Ife.
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Okunade Sijuwade was a Christian and in November 2009 he attended the annual general meeting of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria accompanied by 17 other traditional rulers.
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Okunade Sijuwade declared that he was a full member of the church and said all the monarchs who accompanied him would now become members.
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Okunade Sijuwade worked for three years in his father's business, then for two years with the Nigerian Tribune, first as a reporter then a sales executive before going to university.
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Okunade Sijuwade invested in real estate in his hometown of Ile Ife.
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In 2016, Oba Okunade Sijuwade was named in the Panama Papers.
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When Okunade Sijuwade became Ooni of Ife in December 1980 he inherited an ongoing dispute over supremacy between the obas of Yorubaland.
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In January 2009 Okunade Sijuwade was quoted as saying that Oba Adeyemi was ruling a dead empire.
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Okunade Sijuwade traced the dispute back to a falling out between Obafemi Awolowo and Ladoke Akintola during the Nigerian First Republic, which had led to a division between the traditional rulers.
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Okunade Sijuwade noted that the traditional rulers were an important unifying force in the country during the illness of President Umaru Yar'Adua.
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In February 2009, Okunade Sijuwade helped mediate in a dispute over land ownership between the communities of Ife and Modakeke, resolved in part through the elevation of the Ogunsua of Modakeke as an Oba.
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Oba Okunade Sijuwade had 4 wives and 20 children in total.
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Okunade Sijuwade owned several residentials properties in Nigeria and the United Kingdom including Chester Terrace, Grosvenor Square, and a country home in Burnham, Buckinghamshire.
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In July 2008, Okunade Sijuwade said he was concerned that Yoruba socio-cultural groups such as Afenifere and the Yoruba Council of Elders were taking partisan positions in politics.
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When Peter Obi, controversial governor of Anambra State, was reelected on 7 February 2010, Okunade Sijuwade congratulated him, saying his victory was the will of God.
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Okunade Sijuwade was reported dead on 28 July 2015 in a London hospital at the age of 85 but the news was refuted by the Royal traditional council of Ile Ife who claimed that he is alive and in good health.