Prominent Nigerians have paid tribute to the late Soun of Ogbomosoland, Oba Oladunni Oyewumi, Ajagungbade III, CFR, who died earlier on Sunday at the age of 95.
President Muhammadu Buhari commiserated with the family of the highly revered traditional ruler who was laid to rest in Ogbomosho yesterday according to Islamic rites.
The President, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, condoled with the government and people of Oyo State and especially the indigenes of Ogbomosoland on the demise of the frontline traditional ruler.
President Buhari said his reign of 48 years reinforced the town as an accommodating land of peace and a bastion of history and tradition.
The President prayed that Almighty Allah would repose his soul.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, while paying glowing tributes to the late monarch, described him as “a patriot and custodian of cultural and traditional values who gave his best while on the throne of his forefathers.
The former president, in a condolence message released by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, said his close friend lived a life of not only service but also of peace among his fellow Obas and within his own community without allowing himself to be swayed from what was right and correct for a traditional ruler by politicians.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in a statement by his media office on Sunday, said the late Soun was a colourful monarch whose reign impacted positively on Ogbomosholand in many remarkable ways.
Former Lagos Governor and All Progressives Congress National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, described Oba Oyewunmi as a highly respected traditional ruler who worked for peace, unity and development in Ogbomoso, Yorubaland and indeed in Nigeria.
The governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, Minister of Youths and Sort Development, Sunday Dare, a former governor of the state, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, on Sunday described the death of Soun of Ogbomosoland, Oba Jimoh Oyewumi, as a huge loss to the Ogbomoso kingdom, Oyo State and humanity in general.
A former secretary to the state government, Akogun Sarafadeen Alli, in a statement he personally signed in Ibadan on Sunday described the late monarch as a true nationalist and a man of integrity.
Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who urged the people of Ogbomoso to take solace in the good legacy the monarch left behind, said his wise counsel would be missed.
The governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who expressed sadness at the passing of the first class “progressive traditional ruler”, described it as a great loss.
From Jeremiah Oke (Ibadan), Muideen Olaniyi (Abuja), Abiodun Alade (Lagos), Peter Moses (Abeokuta), From Bola Ojuola (Akure), & Raphael Ogbonnaiye (Ado-Ekiti)
