Gabriel Dike and Shina Ogunbiyi
A first class traditional ruler in Lagos State, the Oniba of Iba, HRM Oba Yushau Goriola Oseni is dead.
He passed on Friday night in his palace after a brief illness. He was aged 77.
The late Oba Oseni, who would have marked his 45th coronation anniversary in November 2020, ascended the throne at the age of 31.
One of the wives of the deceased, Olori Alhaja Nofisat Oseni, told Sunday Sun that Oba Oseni was taken to the hospital on Wednesday and brought back home on Friday but died the same night.
According to a family source, Oba Oseni had been buried in line with Islamic rites. As part of the ritual tradition, the source said, “There will be Oro festival today (Saturday) and Ajeran Masquerade will come out on Monday,”
Already, markets and other social activities have been paralyzed since the sad news filtered into the community. Chairperson of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Lagos State Council, Comrade Chief Agnes Funmi Sessi, said she received the news of Oba Oseni’s death with a rude shock and condoled with the family, Iba community and the government of Lagos State.
She said: “As the traditional ruler and father of the host community to Lagos State University and also the father of the chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), LASU branch, on behalf of the 44 unions under the NLC Lagos State Council, I commiserate with the children, family, community and Lagos State on the passage of Oba Oseni.”
Sessi described the late monarch as an amiable and approachable royal father who left an indelible mark in the sand of time.