The body of the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade was absent at the burial service at Enuwa in Ile-Ife, Osun State on Friday.
As dignitaries including the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, Senator Babajide Omoworare, Ife Chiefs and prominent indigenes sat at the venue of the burial
service; the officiating ministers from the Ife branch of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) commenced the service without the corpse.
Christian cleric, Very Rev. Olusola Akanbi in his sermon said death was inevitable for every soul and urged people to always remember the day of judgement.
Islamic clerics drawn from Ife Muslim Community, led by Imam Mufutaudeen Yusuf also preached on death and life after death. He later prayed in Islamic way for the family left behind by the late monarch, the peace of Ile-Ife, Osun State and Nigeria as a whole.
Thereafter, it was the turn of the traditionalists who also stormed the venue of the multi-religious funeral service in their numbers. They were led by a priest, Chief Ifaloba Ifagbenro and they also performed the Iwure (blessings).
Speaking on the occasion, Osinbajo described the late Oba Sijuwade as an epitome of humility and honesty, saying Ooni was an exemplary monarch who did so much to uphold the traditions and culture of the Yoruba
people with great commitment and dedication.
Osinbajo said that the achievements of the Ooni were worth celebrating and that his legacy would be enshrined in Yoruba the history.
Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola who was represented at the burial service by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Moshood Adeoti, also praised the late Ooni for being a good role model to other Obas.
